GARY DEDERA

gd84b3ce@westpost.net
SUMMARY
Degreed Mechanical Engineer, CQE with over 20 years of manufacturing experience
in progressively more responsible positions in quality and management. Skilled i
n the application of Lean Manufacturing techniques, supplier certification, DOE,
SPC, FMEA, and QS 9000/ISO 9000 auditing.
EDUCATION/TRAINING
M. A., Business Administration (90% complete) B. S., Mechanical Engineering
University of Phoenix University of Arizona
Certified Quality Engineer (CQE), ASQ since 1992
Kaisen Project Management
Design of Experiments ISO 9000 Lead Assessor/Auditor
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Curtis Industries Inc. Nogales, Arizona/Senora
8/2004 to 6/2009
Manufacturer of EMI/RFI filters, Transformer Position Indicators, molder of term
inal blocks and sockets.
QUALITY ASSURANCE MANAGER Reporting directly to the President. Responsible for
coordinating all in plant quality activities, such as developing and administeri
ng inspection procedures and auditing the overall quality system within the plan
t. Establishing customer contacts.
Accomplishments
Implemented ISO 9000 Quality system and achieved ISO certification Oct. 2008
Restructured first Lean assembly cell in plant. Currently, 80% of plant has bee
n restructured to Lean manufacturing.
Reorganized QA department to be compatible with Lean manufacturing concepts.
Written and directed over 80 corrective action projects in past 12 months.
Developed and implemented a design modification which resulted in the successful
approval of a new position indicator to a new customer.
Completed a transfer of product line into our Mexican facility, which included a
completely new process of wave soldering.
Oversaw the transition to lead free solder throughout the organization.
First year reduced customer returns by 50%.
FCI Automotive, El Paso, Texas/Juarez, Mexico 11/2002 to 7/2003
Manufacturer of automotive fuel system components, transmission harnesses, integ
rated truck gas tank flanges, and airbag connectors.
MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING MANAGER. Responsible for developing, improving & docu
menting processes, appropriating capital, quoting new product, and cost containm
ent. Primary initiatives are to improve line flow, reduce lead times, improve pl
ant productivity, and provide leadership for production teams. Additional respon
sibilities include plant layout, establishing focused inventories, and achieving
cost of quality objectives.
Accomplishments
Met start-up requirements on-time with no loss of production in the layout of 14
horizontal molding machines, 12 automating assembly machines, 5 vertical moldin
g machines, and 1 wire & cut termination machine.
Reorganized Engineering Department: assigned engineers to specific functional ar
eas providing coverage for all areas of current production, and transfer of new
equipment and processes.
Developed an hourly production reporting structure and established a 7-day 24-ho
ur production schedule on critical processes increasing production levels to 3x
previous levels. Eliminated air shipments and returned to ground transportation
.
Reorganized Maintenance Department into three areas (machine maintenance, machin
e set-up, and tooling change over & maintenance). Reduced overtime by 70% while
increasing coverage and reducing downtime by 50%.

Mercury Marine (Brunswick Corporation) El Paso, Texas/Juarez, Mexico 07/1994 to

01/2002
Manufacturer of engine and boat wire harnesses, remote control throttle assembli
es, high pressure single cylinder air compressor, fuel pumps, and a variety of m
iscellaneous sensors and switches.
MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING MANAGER (05/1997 to 01/2002). Responsible for developi
ng, improving & documenting processes, appropriating capital, quoting new produc
t, and cost containment. Primary initiatives are to improve line flow, reduce le
ad times, improve plant productivity, and provide leadership for production team
s. Additional responsibilities include plant layout, establishing focused invent
ories, and achieving cost of quality objectives. Responsible for over $500k in c
apital annually.
Accomplishments
Established first JIT line flow in plant resulting in annual savings of over $50
0k. Redesigned plant layout for harness and assembly areas, which reduced, lead
-time from 3 days to 1 day.
QUALITY ENGINEERING MANAGER (07/1994 to 05/1997). Responsible for coordinating a
ll in plant quality activities, such as developing and administering control pla
ns, procedures, and auditing the overall quality system within the plant.
Accomplishments
Installed first plant CMM for measuring engine blocks and block assemblies, crea
ting inspection programs and training operators, evaluating process capability s
tudies which resulted in reduced inspection time and increased quality level tha
t reduced inspection costs by $25k per year.
Conducted audits to determine compatibility of current quality system to QS9000
standards. Worked with teams to develop coaching techniques for training all pla
nt workers.

Daniel Woodhead Company, El Paso, Texas 10/1993 to 07/1994

QUALITY MANAGER. Responsible for administering quality program. Specific respon
sibilities were to correct issues involved with customer complaints and conduct
audits for ISO 9000 compliance.
Accomplishments
Eliminated OEM product complaints which resulted in new orders for product and s
aved over $1MM in business per year.
Honeywell Keyboard Division, El Paso, Texas/Juarez, Mexico 10/1986 to 08/1993
SR. PROCUREMENT QUALITY ENGINEER. Responsibilities included: coordinate activity
and establish control plans with suppliers to achieve higher standards of purch
ased material quality; work with Design Engineering and suppliers to establish c
ritical parameters; establish control plans with suppliers; and establish inspec
tion procedures for receiving inspection. Types of commodities include: electron
ic components, PCBs, computer cables, rubber-molded components, sublimation pape
r media, and packaging materials. Far East Asia procurement experience involved
trips to Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong and Mainland China.
Accomplishments
Implemented a supplier certification system, which included participation by 25
of Keyboard's highest volume suppliers.
Implemented a ship-to-stock program, which in 2 years resulted in over 80% of i
ncoming material going directly to stock without requiring inspection. Benefits
include: reducing receiving inspection department by over 50% saving over $150k
in employee costs and enabling the initiation of a JIT system where materials ar
e delivered daily direct to production lines.
Consolidated supplier base, reduced active part numbers in system, reduced numbe
r of non-conformances detected both at receiving and in-process inspection point
s.
SR. MANUFACTURING ENGINEER. In the fabrication and assembly of membrane switches
: responsibilities included; coordinate establishment of cost efficient processe
s and methods with Industrial Engineering, initiate and implement product cost r
eductions, work with Quality Engineering to define quality problems, determine c
orrective actions, and improve test procedures.
Accomplishments
Reduced labor required for assembly of keyboard switch pad from 8 to 5 individua
ls by developing improved lamination method and balanced work flow resulting in
annual savings of $75k.
Implemented first SPC system in facility; included personnel training, performin
g process capability studies, analyzing of data, and implementing in-line charti
ng. Resulted in reduced inspection time and eliminated need for inspection pers
onnel, while increasing outgoing quality; realized a 30% reduction in scrap in f
irst year.
Cherry Electrical Products, Waukegan, Illinois 05/1984 to 10/1986
SR. MANUFACTURING ENGINEER. Responsible for 3 high volume automotive electro-mec
hanical switch lines; included implementing improvements in insert injection mol
ding process, directing repairs to molds and assembly tooling, working with Indu
strial Engineers utilizing a team approach to improving assembly line flow, impl
ementing a KanBan system, and optimizing use of SPC.