Brian Harms

Milwaukee Tool - TTi - Techtronic Industries, Brookfield WI (2012 to 2022)

Vice President – Brookfield Production and Advanced Manuf. Engineering - Accessories 03/21 – 10/22

Reporting to the Exec. Sr. VP of the Accessories business unit I created, implemented, executed and drove an operational strategy for manufacturing and development as well as production.Tactically supported the strategy via ground up creation of a Manufacturing Innovation Center serviced by a 120+ team to accelerate and surpass the competition.I lead this world class center/team by implementing an agile approach that enabled the team to design/build highly automated engineered systems that culminated in significant achievements; 700% increase in throughput, 65% decrease in capital equipment, 55% product decrease and enabled acceleration of key project launches by 9-12 months.

• Recognized by executive management team as the benchmark for organizational growth and empowerment as well as appointed consultant to mentor other business leaders in other growth areas within Milwaukee Tool.
• Recognized as a Milwaukee Cultural Champion embodying cultural spirit of “Never Settled, Always Improving”.
• Championed multiple Category Leadership Teams that created new vertical integration, X2i, new product market expansion opportunities.
• Rolled out Operational Excellence (OpEx) initiative that leverages Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning for optimization and continuous iterative improvements towards complexity reduction, cost out and improved throughput as well as accelerate Industry 4.0 efforts.
• Established two Brookfield manufacturing sites and supporting production staff including Maintenance, CI and Advanced Manufacturing Technology to support LEAN initiatives within.Implemented a thin film (PVD) manufacturing center of excellence.

Director - Advanced Manufacturing Engineering - Accessories - 12/16 – 03/21

• Directed the Manufacturing Process Development team, Operations Project Leaders, Value Engineering and Operation’s Support managers to assure cost, quality, throughput and overall labor efficiencies are met across sites to meet revenue objectives, create new product engineering design space as well as support introduction of new product programs.Responsibility for multi-site (multi-country) organization.
• Lead/participated in customer visits.Identified and baseline business cases of acquisitions to drive growth.

Engineering Manager NPD – Advanced Engineering – Accessories - 02/14 – 12/16

Reporting to the VP of Accessories Engineering I supported the exploration of new technologies, processes and development of advanced products. Envisioned, implemented and executed a ground up Rapid Innovation Center (prototyping) that explored, applied new technologies, disrupted the industry with new to the world concepts.

• Identify and lead R&D efforts, develop manufacturing processes as well as new product design for the accessory’s unit while decreasing design cycle by 50%.
• Lead efforts through the utilization of statistical tools, DOE (design of experiment).

Chief Engineer – Advanced Engineering - Accessories - 11/12 – 02/14

• Initiated, develop & manage efforts involving stamping (cold, hot and hardened), laser processing, cladding, coating, welding/joining, machining, PVD
• Collaborated directly with vendors, universities and research firms on material science intensive projects, metrology development/procurement, component design(s) and emerging manufacturing processes

Chief Engineer – Value Engineering – Power Tools - 07/12 – 11/12

Stanley Black & Decker Towson, MD (2004 – 2012)

Manufacturing Process Engineering Manager, Accessories 03/11 – 07/12

Reporting to the VP of Manufacturing, led manufacturing efforts for consumer and DeWalt Accessories to deliver a quality product on time at required cost targets.Provided new technology solutions through process and equipment identification and procurement.Dotted line to the Director of Manufacturing, lead plant transfer and consolidation.

• Provide engineering direction for DFM (design for manufacturability) throughout the design cycle
• Interact with innovations team(s) and provide design concepts, direction, models (using CATIA), proto-types and manufacturing/implementation direction for new products

Advanced Manufacturing Engineer, Stanley Black & Decker - 07/09 – 03/11

• Led Manufacturing Engr. efforts for Corded and Cordless Power Tool New Product Development
• Develop standardized product cost model for Power Tools Group, provide competitive costs as well as perform financial assessments for make vs. make vs. buy models for final manufacturing site selection or vendor selection

VI/VA & New Product Engineering Manager, Black & Decker. Jackson, TN 10/07 – 7/09

• Establish and manage projects from conception, design, testing, qualification and implementation that leverages internal resources to maximize cross plant overhead absorption and vertical integration
• Assist global marketing teams with strategic products including the development of, design, costing, competitor costing and customer presentations

VI Engineering Manager, Black & Decker. South Jackson, TN 04/07 – 10/07

• Managed VI Group to develop, drive, and initiate projects that provide material / labor variances, as means to level set standard cost of production where needed as well as improve overall profitability, placement and technology

Senior Project Engineer, Black & Decker. South Jackson, TN 04/05–04/07

• Provided monthly reporting and metrics on Value Improvement (VI) initiatives up to division president level

Project Engineer, Black & Decker. South Jackson, TN 8/04-4/05

• Managed VI group for DeWalt, Porter Cable, Sears and Delta air compressors (ASME and non-ASME coded (pressure vessels) and generators as well as designed and prototyped components

Wabtec- Young Touchstone

Standard Product Engineering Manager, Young Touchstone. Jackson, TN 12/03-8/04

• Program Manager for newly developed companywide value analysis/cost reduction initiative
• Led re-designs on five standard mature product lines while reducing material costs by over 1/3 while improving build rates

Product Engr. Young Touchstone. Jackson, TN 3/02-12/03

Roller Bearing Corporation- Ball Screw Division Design/Quality Engineer Walterboro, SC 10/00-3/02

Continental Teves- Automotive Brakes Engineer Auburn Hills, MI. 2/00-10/00

Ford Motor Company- Quality Engineer (Contract) Dearborn, MI 4/98-2/00

General Motors- Chevrolet Division- Technical Assistance Consultant Troy, MI 12/96-4/98

Bachelors in Advance Industrial Technology/Automotive Engineering, Southern Illinois University.

-Member of Dean’s Academic List

-Member of S.I.U. Automotive Club

A.S., A.S.E.P. (Automotive Service Excellence Program). Triton College. Rivergrove, Il