AUG 2001 – JUN 2005
Exel (Technical Services), Wommelgem, Belgium
I met the Exel Technical Services team during a short temporary assignment of two weeks assisting in setting up document nomenclature and structure for their tapestreamer assembly operations. Some time later, they called me and asked if I wanted to replace the responsible process engineer, who was about to move abroad. I accepted, knowing that this was a key turning point in my professional journey…
I had many exciting, fun, and interesting years with the team that not only finished the tapestreamers for Sony and HP, but also – like a kind of ‘A-team’ – was always ready to be called upon. Technology companies like LG, Sony, Dell, and so forth could ask for help when possible faulty products were already shipped out before the defect was detected in their factories. Testing, grading, going through the RMA process, and if need be, refurbishing the items – monitors, flatscreens, but also USB-sticks and other stuff – were activities the Exel Technical Services team could quickly and easily perform for them.
MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES
» Manage the process improvements and control for the tapestreamer production
» Be the liaison with Sony Japan HQ for all things related to changes in product or product configuration
» Streamline and execute processes such as Incoming Quality Control, Out of Box Audit, New Product Introduction and so forth
» Manage the technical environment: serial number control, secure electrostatic discharge stations, control barcode printers, manage work stations, upgrade systems, etc.
» Assist in setting up and monitoring other VAS activities e.g. by defining lay-out of rework process or building production control databases
ILLUSTRATIVE ACCOMPLISHMENTS
» When I started, in all fairness, the way the production line for the tapestreamers was organized was a mess, resulting in many errors during the assembly process: wrongly labelled devices, wrong firmware, faulty configurations, drives stacked in towers that regularly fell apart… I changed all that, did a complete overhaul, and nearly eradicated all the previous errors and unnecessary production stops: centralized control of workstations for firmware updates (by connecting all workstations to a central server), lean process implementation for flow control, automated serial number follow-up and generation, updated work instructions for the operators and so forth
» In a later stage, I even re-designed the entire lay-out of the production room, resulting in additional efficiency in product and material flows, a further reduction in errors, and greater visibility on flow and bottleneck assembly procedures
