Brent Mikelson

 

2136 Winterstone Way, Bowling Green, KY 42104  Cell: (270) 791-9819

Brent_Mikelson@Yahoo.com

 

Objective: Position with a company that utilizes my business systems, Six Sigma, ISO and Metallurgical/Materials Engineering and Master of Business Administration background.

 

     Career Achievements

·          ASQ certified Six Sigma Black Belt and Certified Quality Auditor. 

·          A capable leader with a proven record of implementing and managing successful continual improvement projects and ISO in a manufacturing setting.

·          Recognized and promoted for commitment to continual improvement and a proven ability to identify and solve systemic process problems delivering bottom line results using PDCA and DMAIC.

·          Team-focused project manager able to build and lead high performance, cross-functional teams in union and non-union facilities.

 

·   Trained in Aluminum Sheet processeing for five months.

·   Represented Tri-Arrows Aluminum and Novelis can body products at Ball, Crown, Rexam and Metal Container facilities. Including qualifying trials in Rome, GA, Saratoga Springs, NY, and Metal Container Corporation in Jacksonville, FL.  Also visited Crown Metal and Rexam Metal facilities for tear off studies.

·   Evaluated customer problems for root cause, processed laboratory samples, wrote RCA and Customer Corrective Actions for accounts.  Team responsibilities included the daily quality meeting, customer complaint meetings, Novelis and Tri-Arrows Aluminum (TAA) meetings and dispositioning of daily and control hold metal.

·   Set up process routings for customer specifications.  Monitored and reported process and customer specifications quarterly.

·   Received Novelis Lean Yellowbelt training, Novelis can body and can end training and ISO 16949 training.

 

Lower Neches Valley Authority, Beaumont, TX

Customer Service ManagerJanuary 2012 – October 2012

·   Managed eight canal riders and a budget of over $600,000 annually. 

·   Implemented new metering system, including customer billing infmation for over 22,000 acres of farmland. 

·   Created database for all aerial pipelines and worked with customers to move them underground.

·   Assisted in creating new customer contracts, seismic data contracts, customer contract addendums.

·   Interacted with Industrial, Municipal and Agricultural customers.

 

Engineer September 2009-Dec. 2011

·   Modeled Lake levels for Sam Rayburn Reservoir during the drought of record in 2011.  Modeled flow of Atlantic Canal using HEC-RAS.  Used WAM/WRAP to model water availability in Neches River Basin.  Attended classes in Houston for HEC-RAS and HEC-HMS and Texas A&M courses for WAM/WRAP. 

·   Created budget models for operational job tasks and assisted with an air quality model with the environmental department.

·   Coordinated purchase and coating of materials for pipe flume.

·   Assigned over $200,000 in Canal Right of Way (ROW) crossing access to varying pipeline and seismic customers.

·   Submitted water conservation project grants for the Bureau of Reclamation, Texas Environmental Infrastructure Program, Texas Department of Rural Affairs, etc…  Assisted in selection and purchase of materials for previously awarded grant.

·   Participated in bid and award process including co-authoring several bids.

·   Assisted during intake upgrade at Neches First Pumping Plant construction and maintenance project including evaluating material and corrosion coatings. 

 

·   Implemented and ran the Scrap Optimization System (SOS) in Beaumont, saving over $400,000 in the first three months.

·   Achieved an ASQ Certified Six Sigma Blackbelt and Certified Quality Auditor.

·   Coached third place process improvement team at Gerdau Ameristeel competition.  Team competed in Brazil against 14 other Gerdau Division finalists.  Managed six other process improvement teams using PDCA and DMAIC principles, at least one in every major department saving over $750K and reducing quality defects and environmental impacts.

·   Completed ISO 9001:2000 QMS Lead Auditor Training course from Pillar Management Associates (in conjunction with ABS Consulting).  Also organized RABQSA lead auditor training for other ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 lead auditors.

·   Developed and led training for internal ISO auditors.  Led ISO internal audit initiative for 9001 and 14001.

·   Trained employee’s in the Gerdau Business Systems improvement initiatives during 6 week Supervisor training.  Assisted Management Systems Coordinator mentoring plant-wide 5S facilitator.

 

Management Systems Facilitator2006-December 2007

·   Implemented Gerdau Business Systems (GBS) throughout plant to engage employee’s and achieve key process indicators (KPI’s) through successful project planning and tracking.

·   Managed four improvement teams of managers and hourly employee’s. Teams focused on mechanical damage, scrap optimization and loading and unloading demurrage and saved over $500,000.

·   Assisted in developing departmental and plant annual action plans and 3-year business case for the departments and plant.

·   Developed and conducted training courses for managers and hourly employees. Assisted in standardization, failure analysis, standards auditing and 5S systems implementation.

·   Maintained compliance with ISO-9001 system while integrating it into the corporate business system.

Rolling Mill Process Metallurgist2002-2006

·   Drove process control efforts within the rolling mill that included: Implementing a reheat furnace practice that reduced decarburization defects by 90%, defining process parameters to run cold-heading, plating and automotive quality steel and justifying Capital Expenditure projects on the reheat furnace and pass design.

·   Led Six Sigma Black Belt Beaumont Pass Design team utilizing DMAIC, saving over $250,000 and presented at corporate contest.

·   Operations training included: workings as a shift supervisor for five months, operating Cooling and Coiling Pulpit, running overhead crane, man lift and forklift. Technical training included: Certified IBM Six Sigma Green Belt and Black Belt, ABS trained ISO Internal Auditor (worked as lead auditor for both ISO-9001 & 14001), Wire Drawing 101, Fundamentals of Wire Drawing and ASTM Metallurgical Failure Analysis.

 

Birmingham Southeast, LLC, Jackson, MS

Quality Control Supervisor1999-2002

·   Supervised and directed chemical and tensile lab personnel.

·   Wrote and revised tensile lab Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s) and Job Safety Analysis (JSA’s).

·   Implemented Statistical Process Control (SPC) software program that resulted in a 98% reduction in

customer complaints on out of tolerance material.

·   Responsible for certifying and maintaining Department of Transportation (DOT) rebar certification.

·   Created a monthly quality summary.

·   Created electronic customer complaint forms.

·  Provided customer support by making visits and providing summary information on products.

 

GST Steel, Kansas City, MO

Associate Applications Engineer1998-1999

·   Assisted sales department on customer visits in the copper, gold, phosphate, and cement industries.

·   Performed optimization studies, ball size evaluations, and charge analysis for mines.

·   Assignments also included audits to achieve and maintain ISO-9001 certification, editing standard practices and writing a JSA.

·   Spent two months as an inspector in the ball and rod department in a closed die forging operation.

·   Assisted Quality Assurance department as an Applications and Process Engineer.

Applications projects included: Balancing a ball charge, Circuit optimization proposals, simulating ball charges, Maintaining customer consumption records, General customer concerns.

Process projects included: Created a database on drop ball testing, (an internal quality check), Involved in experimental chemistry and mechanical changes in ball steel with a quenched and tempered martensitic structure.

Other Work Experience

 

Montana Tech of the University of Montana, Butte, MT

Undergraduate Research1996-1998

·   Proposed, designed, analyzed and presented experiments simulating acid mine drainage to understand and clean environmental hazards - such as the Berkeley Pitlake - by studying the cation exchange properties of Vermiculite.

·   Presented to research committee at Montana Tech. Vermiculite research led to at least four other projects.

·   Assisted with QA/QC experiments meeting EPA standards regarding ultraviolet photalysis of metal-cyanide complexes and the oxidation of nitrogen compounds.

·   Research presented at the SME conference titled “Metal-Complexed Cyanides and Their Remediation by Photolysis” in 1997 by Dr. Courtney Young.

 

Phelps Dodge, Morenci Inc., Morenci, AZ

Metallurgical Test Lab AssistantSummer 1997

·   Performed metallurgical analyses on regrind ball mill circuits, flotation columns, and flotation cleaner cells for circuit optimization.

·   Compiled and assessed results from metallurgical analyses. Summarized daily performance reports.

 

Montana Standard, Missoulian, and Miles City Star

Sports Reporter-Part-time1992-1998

·   Worked as lead reporter for women’s college basketball and volleyball and men’s college basketball.

·   Covered athletic events such as basketball, volleyball, football, baseball, soccer, softball, golf and hockey.

·   Wrote features, season and game previews, box scores, kept and analyzed statistics and conducted interviews.

·   Assisted in page layout and design and edited copy.

 

Education

 

Lamar University, Beaumont TX, Master Business Administration, May 2007

Mississippi College, Clinton, MS, Fall 2000-Fall 2001

Montana Tech, Butte, MT Bachelor of Science, Metallurgical Engineering, May 1998

University of Montana, Missoula, MT, 1993-1995; majored in Journalism

 

Technological Skills

 

Computer software experience includes: MS OFFICE SUITE, including classes in: Word, Excel, Access, Project,

Outlook and Visio. Other software includes: BI Query, HEC-HMS, HEC-RAS, WinWrap/WAM, Mini-tab, Powerway SPC software, Reflections, WordPerfect and Quattro-pro. Journalism software: Harris-writes, Quark, LNS, and C-Text computer software.

 

Organizations

Assistant Den Leader, Cub Scouts Den 705, 2013-2015

Treasurer, ASQ Section 1420, 2010

Chair, ASQ Section 1420, 2008-2009

Vice-Chair for ASQ Section 1420, 2007

Nominating Chair for ASQ section 1420, 2006

Senior Member of ASQ, 2001-2011

Past President of Anderson-Carlisle Society, 1997-98

Past President of Metallurgy Club, 1997-98

Past Member of WAI, ISS, TMS and SME.