Paul T. Graves

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EXPERIENCE

Tech Data, Groveport, Ohio
2017 – Present

Acquired Services organizations from Avnet, job responsibilities continued from Avnet Senior Quality Engineer position and evolved into Quality Management.

Senior Manager, Global Services Quality 2020 to Present

Join Tech Data global Quality Operations team to enable the use of a much larger team of Quality professionals and help move all of Tech Data operations to common management system principles.

  • Global Management: Increase role in international operations to facilitate implementation of ISO 13485 medical device certification to global repair facilities
  • Analytics Improvements: Expand data analytics to the Tableau platform available within Tech Data, improving on visualization and publish capabilities of existing data
  • Customer Focus: Apply the concept of a Perfect Order Index to repair operations as the core quality objective
  • Colleague Engagement: Share best practices among a global team of Quality professionals
  • Continuous Improvement: Roll out the Quality Center of Performance Excellence to facilitate the standardization of Quality principles across certified and uncertified portions of the business.
  • Software Validation: Bring on a Business Analyst role and engage in the improvement of test and documentation for support of ISO 13485 compliant software validation for in house developed systems.

Quality, Environmental, Health and Safety Manager 2018 to 2020

Focus on maintenance and implementation of management systems for the Groveport Ohio Tech Data Global Lifecycle Management location.

  • Engineering Management: Manage team of Quality Engineers to support operations and maintenance of management systems
  • Audit Ownership: Manage scheduling and execution of internal and external audits
  • Safety Management Improvements: Successfully upgraded from OHSAS 18001 certification to the ISO 45001:2018 standard for Occupational Health and Safety
  • Medical Device Certification: Successfully pursued and achieved ISO 13485:2016 certification for medical device services
  • X-Ray Imaging systems: Implemented radiation control programs for CT systems repair and test on site
  • Hot Lab Setup: Implemented radioactive materials handling process and achieved license for the handling of Technetium 99m materials in a hot lab for test and calibration of advanced medical imaging systems
  • International Coordination: Facilitate the normalization of Quality Management systems practices and processes between the Groveport Ohio and international locations in the Netherlands and Singapore

ITT Technical Institute, Columbus, Ohio
2010 – 2015

Adjunct Instructor, school of Electronics

Develop and teach electronics courses to students using ITT guidelines.  Generate curriculum and assign work to meet course objectives.  Ensure the success of the ITT students through multiple teaching methods in both theory and laboratory environments.  Primary courses taught:

  • DC Electronics – Introduction to Ohm’s Law and other theorems for circuit analysis
  • AC Electronics – Introduction to sinusoidal waveforms and their interactions with capacitors, inductors and resistors.
  • Electronic Devices I – Introduction to basic semiconductor components and their use in discreet electronics
  • Electronic Devices II – Continuation into small scale analog integrated circuits such as operational amplifiers

Avnet, Inc., Groveport, Ohio
2012 – 2017

Senior Quality Engineer 2009 to 2018

Avnet acquired Pinnacle Data Systems in 2012, position was rolled into company with current roles intact.  Added responsibility for the combination of Quality Management Systems across 3 acquired companies in a new common facility.

  • eCycling Support: Added support for a R2:2013  and RIOS certified electronics recycling operation with responsibility for Downstream compliance.
  • Training expansion: Worked with cross functional management teams to expand application systems and roll training out to new parts of the organization.
  • Document Control: Update document control systems to a SharePoint based platform with a custom approval workflow
  • SharePoint administration: Take over administration of SharePoint team sites for local use.  Create, manage, and design sites and libraries using InfoPath and SharePoint Designer on SharePoint 365 platform.

Pinnacle Data Systems, Inc., Groveport, Ohio
2006 – 2012

Senior Quality Engineer 2009 to Present

Quality Engineer through 2009

Focus on the production and improvement of business operation metrics to identify opportunities for improvement and drive corrective and preventative actions.  Develop and provide customer specific metrics packages for the monitoring and communication of quality and delivery performance of PDSi products.  Collect, investigate, and provide clear root cause and corrective actions for customer identified issues.   Interface with engineering resources to assist hardware validation, process validation, and assist in the identification of technical issues in the implementation of both new and existing products.  Develop and review quality system documentation based on internal and external auditing and constantly changing production processes.  Work with suppliers on identified quality issues and drive corrective actions when required.  Lead internal quality system audits to ensure compliance to ISO9000, ISO14000, ISO13485, TL9000 and FDA 820CFR regulations.

  • Data Availability Improvements: Developed web based real time systems for monitoring defect rates and providing detailed Pareto analysis of top failures.  Enabled all employees to access the current status of production and field returns.  Worked directly with customers to provide automated tools to analyze their data and improve the presentation of their monthly performance reports.
  • Document Control and Configuration Management: Route all incoming change requests for both documentation and product bill of material configurations to appropriate personnel for approval.  Audit all change requests for completion and correctness.  Review approval records and comments and facilitate resolution of any issues.  Release updated documents, parts, bills of material using the Agile Change Management software system.  Mirror updates to bills of material to ERP system to ensure correct material flow from purchasing to work in process.
  • Engineering Change Control: Review and approve all Engineering Change Control event using the Agile Change Management software system.
  • Lead Internal Auditor: Facilitate, schedule, and ensure all Quality System Internal audits are completed to meet ISO regulatory standards.  Ensure internal audit team is trained and the schedule is balanced to minimize workload burden.
  • Audit Hosting:  Hosted and facilitated the successful passing of a comprehensive Quality System re-certification audit including ISO9001, ISO13485, and TL9000 4.0 standards.
  • Systems Upgrade and Development:  Redeveloped and upgraded internally developed Microsoft Access databases for tracking of internal defects, customer returns, and corrective and preventive actions to improve scalability and performance in multi user environments.  Worked collaboratively with IT to move applications to a SQL server back end to move applications toward enterprise class stability.
  • Corrective Action Improvements:  Updated corrective action procedures to consolidate closure process and streamline reporting of open and overdue corrective actions.  Implemented improved automated reporting to alert responsible persons of corrective action status.
  • Performance Metrics improvements:  Developed end user tools to ease the creation of business metrics on a common format.  Developed online training material to educate operational groups responsible for their measurements on the use of the Microsoft Excel charting tools.  Developed a Microsoft Access database to gather business data from multiple sources and ease the gathering and calculation of business metrics including escaping defects, test yields, on time delivery statistics, and other key performance indicators.  Constantly maintain and upgrade the metric tools to keep up with changing business focus, product mix, and IT systems updates.

Pinnacle Data Systems, Inc., Groveport, Ohio
2004 – 2006

Quality Specialist

Maintain and track flow of non-conforming materials from production and repair operations.  Coordinate RMA process for failed components with suppliers.  Track and produce business metrics for continuous improvement.  Assist QA auditors with their duties and ensure timely support of production and repair operations.  Investigate and resolve customer complaints involving outbound product quality and assist Quality management and engineering in communicating satisfactory resolutions.  Manage the ESD control progam and provide training for the entire Groveport facility.  Manage all calibrated measurement and test equipment  and act as primary interface to the calibration contractor.  Participate and host customer and regulatory audits on the quality system.

  • Tool Development:  Developed database utility to track the serialization of assemblies for future reference.  Streamlined previous process by combining defect tracking functions with serial data entry with an easy to use graphical interface.
  • Corrective Action Management:  Initiated and facilitated Quality System Corrective Action Requests from any source.  Documented all actions and followed through to final resolution and customer acceptance.
  • Business Metric Development:  Developed core business metrics from raw data collection to final presentation and distribution.  Interfaced with ERP systems such as BaaN, BHR, and SBT to collect and sort appropriate business data to establish measurements such as on time delivery, repair turn around time and effectiveness, and defect levels.  Developed and implemented automated systems to gather and count the raw data speeding the development and distribution of reports to the management team, customers, and the TL9000 Quest Forum.
  • Database software validation: Developed the process for and successfully completed the validation of custom Microsoft Access applications for compliance to FDA 820CFR requirements.

DecisionOne, Columbus, Ohio
2004 – 2004

Repair Technician

Trouble shoot and repair customer returned PC monitors for NEC.  Responsible for identifying and dispositioning incoming monitors as fast and efficiently as possible.  Deal with inventory control and management software to track product movement and report performance results.

Andrew, Inc., Columbus, Ohio
2003 – 2004

RF Technician

Work directly with design and test engineering to provide support for current product manufacturing.  Machine and assemble test fixturing designs to improve test capacity and reliability in manufactuing environment.  Support test engineering with Visual Basic software development for both current production and on an experimental basis for problem resolution.  Operate test equipment including high speen digital oscilloscopes, network and spectrum analyzers to evaluate product performance.

  • Problem Resolution: Assisted in the measurement of unwanted transients caused by mechanical switching.  Created Visual Basic routine to repeat switching periodically in order to simplify transient measurement and failure duplication.  Provided assistance in de-bugging existing test code to eliminate potential failure causing sequences of events.
  • Data Analysis: Retrofitted Access database tools to use new systems of real-time manufacturing data collection.  Used these tools to evaluate test process capability and throughput.  Recommended test limit or design modifications to greatly increase test yield and reduce product re-work.

Celestica, Inc., Columbus, Ohio
2001 – 2002

Functional Test Engineer

Performed troubleshooting and maintained test equipment.  Controlled software for testing. Held responsibility for analysis and disposition of defective assemblies.  Provided on-call support of manufacturing problem resolution.  Identified and implemented test yield improvements.  Offered internal and external customers detailed parametric data analysis.  Created and maintained custom data analysis tools using Excel and Access to identify trends in parametric measurements, process yield and capability, and test time.

Interfaced with IT department to ensure operability of test equipment and defect collection tools.  Administrated Windows 2000 server used for custom web-based data collection applications and shared file storage.  Set up and maintained Windows 2000 workstation dedicated to automated collection and distribution of manufacturing performance reports sent both to internal and external customers.

  • Tool Enhancement: Redesigned existing web-based data collection tool to allow entry of test failure defects.  Enabled viewing of current problems in process and supplied customers with data on design-related flaws and suggestions for improvement.  Created databases and distributed Excel spreadsheet tools to retrieve and display data.
  • Error Identification: Provided valuable input on creation of factory-wide process tracking tool capable of identifying missed test processes and halting shipment of misrouted product.  Developed web instrument capable of reporting test errors to Oracle database.  Tracked frequency of test errors, enabling improvements in test process and reducing time lost due to non-defects.
  • Systems Creation: Created web-based data retrieval systems to provide anywhere on intranet access to detailed data on any serialized assembly.  Simplified verification of test set operability and allowed engineers and operators to view status of any serial number from any web enabled computer in factory.
  • Data Collection: Developed data collection device to track merging of multiple subassemblies into finished product.  Provided input for assemblies requiring parent child data collection.  Ensured interface designed for simple use.  Built supporting databases to maintain reference tables and ensure lack of downtime.  Integrated system into Oracle database used for all production data.  Set up and ensured Windows NT workstations used to collect data.
  • Data Distribution: Created database queries and Visual Basic functions and forms to sort and analyze yield, defect, and failure mode data.  Distributed to quality engineering for customer reports.

Lucent Technologies (Acquired by Celestica), Columbus, Ohio
2000 – 2001

Process Engineer

Monitored and sought improvement opportunities dealing with high-velocity surface mount assembly.  Created and administered supporting databases, spreadsheets, and shared file structures for performance management.  Developed and reported weekly and monthly metrics to management teams.  Improved reliability and automation of database structures and queries.  Built reporting tools to organize data retrieved from Oracle systems into reports of test yields, failures, repair actions, repair efficiency, and data collection percentages.  Using Visual Basic automation of tasks and graphical user interface design, created instruments to improve insight into manufacturing problems and process improvement.

  • Server Update: Rebuilt shared file server on new platform, installed redundant hard disk back-up systems, and documented layers of file access permissions to ease recovery of future failures.  Served as primary contact for network issues resulting in access problems to server.
  • System Enhancement: Implemented statistical process control system.  Adjusted graphical interface and provided feedback on system usability and improvement opportunities.
  • Visual Presentation: Acted on team chosen as finalist to compete for the Association for Quality and Participation in Chicago, Illinois.  Utilized PowerPoint skills to create presentation visual aides.  Won “Best Visual Aids” award.
  • Tracking Labor: Created apparatus to track labor force based on schedule requirements and surface mount capabilities.  Utilized in management’s decisions on staffing levels, overtime scheduling, and line balancing for the entire factory.
  • Tool Development: Developed tools capable of calculating surface mount utilization and direct labor efficiency. Created reporting tools for defects per million opportunities.
  • Interface Design: Designed interfaces for data collection tools run on newly built Windows 2000 server.  Facilitated accurate reporting of operational metrics.

Test Technician 1997 – 2000

Performed troubleshooting and repaired circuit packs using calibrated test set and Labview software.  Collaborated with test and process engineering on resolution of manufacturing, component, and product issues.  Introduced team-oriented work force for manufacturing cells.  Operated RF test equipment, including spectrum analyzers, network analyzers, and supporting equipment.  Used effective troubleshooting on RF products, including TDMA PCS linear amplifiers and TDMA PCS digital radios.

  • Auditing Performance: Served on high-performance team as quality star point contact.  Organized internal auditing of ISO documentation and ESD practices.
  • Quality Improvement: Oversaw quality improvement projects and organized supporting data.  Won internal quality spirit award for completion of quality improvement process resulting in over $701,000 of yearly cost savings by implementing more efficient repair process for most common defect.

Ticketmaster, Columbus, Ohio
1995 – 1997

Sales Floor Supervisor

Held responsibility for tracking sales, assisting sales agents with questions, monitoring call traffic, and communicating with other phone centers.  Opened and closed call center, maintained order among sales floor agent staff, and relayed important event information to sales agents.   Correlated operation of 50+ workstation Windows network.  Analyzed and debugged Visual Basic code found in Excel spreadsheet to track call volume and sales rates.

EDUCATION

DeVry Institute of Technology, Columbus, Ohio

B.S., Electronics Engineering Technology, 1997.

Oakland Technical Center Northeast Campus, Pontiac, Michigan

Certificate in Electricity/Electronics, 1993.