Expert Details

Conveyors & Conveyor Systems: design, build & install

ID: 734610 Pennsylvania, USA

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Industrial Engineer with a B.S. degree in Industrial Engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology (class of 1972), a New Jersey Professional Engineer’s license (Mechanical Engineering issued November 19, 1981) (now retired) and has over 45 years of professional experience. He has one engagement as an expert witness in any capacity, but has the professional background, training and experience to provide observations and opinions as an expert witness
His experience includes, but is not limited to, the following:
1. 14+ years as a Project Engineer (employed by Hillside Metal Products a.k.a Art metal, Owens-Illinois, Foster-Forbes and Diamond-Bathurst) and worked at various manufacturing facilities. Included in this time is work on several projects containing conveyor, inspection equipment, packaging and load building equipment. The conveyor types included product, case and pallet conveyors.
a. In this position, he was responsible for system design, justification, equipment selection, purchasing of equipment and installation services, installation execution, punch list generation, commissioning, final acceptance and transferring the system to owner operation personnel.
2. 16+ years as the Owner of KJE Associates Inc an equipment systems and equipment design, build and installation company.
a. The company worked with a variety of industries.
b. They supplied new equipment, rebuilt customer owned equipment and installed new and rebuilt equipment.
c. Their customers were mostly operating in the contiguous 48 states of the United States. In addition, it sold products and equipment systems to China, Canada, Mexico and Jamaica.
3. 5 years+ as a Sales Engineer for Precision Automation Company, they built and designed various types of equipment used in manufacturing plants. The company also sold equipment manufactured by other companies. This company would install the machinery and conveyors for their customers as part of the sale.
a. He was responsible for identifying prospects and seeking business opportunities with these companies.
b. His work with the customer continued beyond the identification and acquisition of new business. His duties included, but were not limited to:
i. Helping the customer define the project scope, requirements, specifications, layouts…etc.
ii. Preparing a proposal.
iii. Accepting and processing the purchase order.
iv. Acting as project engineer/manager.
v. Managing the installation (if necessary).
vi. Working with the customer to prepare a project punch list.
vii. Managing the installer as he completed the punch list.
viii. Monitoring start-up and troubleshooting as needed.
ix. Coordinating commissioning and customer acceptance.
x. Handing off the equipment/system to the customer.
4. 9+ years as an Independent Sales Engineer and Consultant.
a. Performed time studies for a variety of manufacturers.
b. As a partner in Indoff, a material handling sales organization, he supplied material handling equipment to industry in general.
c. Coordinated the removal, transportation and re-installation of conveyors and process equipment.
d. As a manufacturer’s representative, He worked with two automation system providers, Employer and Keystone Automation, who delivered a combination of conveyors and special automated equipment to my customers.
e. He worked probono for Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeast Pennsylvania, a non-profit group that lends/grants money to new or growing manufacturing companies in Pennsylvania. This group asks him to review certain loan/grant applications as part of their due diligence process.
f. Also, as pro bono, he provided my services to the local public library. BB&T, a local bank, donated a large building to the Boyertown Area Community Library. The library was operating out of small and crowded facility.
i. He provided layout assistance for relocating the used book stacks from the old library to the new library.
ii. Directed a group of volunteers in the removal of specified stacks from the old building to their location in the new building.
iii. Worked with the vendor who supplied the new circulation area furniture by providing him with the layout specifications and directed the installers as to the placement of the new furniture.


Expert witness experience:
a. A lawsuit by a distribution center organization was brought against my client, an electrical/mechanical
contractor. The suit alleged that the contractor failed to successfully complete the conveyor/automation
project in a timely fashion. The damages requested were in excess of six million dollars.
b. I was able to demonstrate, based upon the information provided to me, that the contractor was not at fault.
The customer’s scope of work changed significantly as did the system’s requirements. Also, a significant
amount of the customer provided equipment was used and incomplete and needed to be repaired and/or
modified prior to use.
c. An additional factor was that the customer did not allow the contractor to run, troubleshoot and refine each
individual sub-section of the overall system. The customer insisted on using each sub-section of the
system immediately. Thereby incurring downtime and product loss.
.


Project Engineer: at various manufacturing facilities. Included is work on several projects containing
conveyor, inspection equipment, packaging and load building equipment. The conveyor types included
product, case and pallet conveyors.
a. In this position, he was responsible for system design, justification, equipment selection, purchasing of
equipment and installation services, installation execution, punch list generation, commissioning, final
acceptance and transferring the system to owner operation personnel.


Business Owner of an equipment systems and equipment design, build and installation company.
a. The company worked with a variety of industries.
b. They supplied new equipment, rebuilt customer owned equipment and installed new and rebuilt equipment.
c. Their customers were mostly operating in the contiguous 48 states of the United States. In addition, it sold
products and equipment systems to China, Canada, Mexico and Jamaica.


5 years+ as a Sales Engineer for an automation company, they built and designed various types of equipment used in manufacturing plants. The company also sold equipment manufactured by other companies. This company would install the machinery and conveyors for their customers as part of the sale.
a. He was responsible for identifying prospects and seeking business opportunities with these companies.
b. His work with the customer continued beyond the identification and acquisition of new business. His duties
included, but were not limited to:
i. Helping the customer define the project scope, requirements, specifications, layouts…etc.
ii. Preparing a proposal.
iii. Accepting and processing the purchase order.
iv. Acting as project engineer/manager.
v. Managing the installation (if necessary).
vi. Working with the customer to prepare a project punch list.
vii. Managing the installer as he completed the punch list.
viii. Monitoring start-up and troubleshooting as needed.
ix. Co-ordinating commissioning and customer acceptance.
x. Handing off the equipment/system to the customer.


Independent Sales Engineer and Consultant.
1. Performed time studies for a variety of manufacturers.
2. As a partner in a material handling sales organization, he supplied material handling equipment to
industry in general.
3. Coordinated the removal, transportation and re-installation of conveyors and process equipment.
4. As a manufacturer’s representative, He worked with two automation system providers, who delivered a
combination of conveyors and special automated equipment to his customers.


1. He worked pro-bono for Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeast Pennsylvania, a non-profit group
that lends/grants money to new or growing manufacturing companies in Pennsylvania. This group asks
him to review certain loan/grant applications as part of their due diligence process.
2. Also, as pro-bono, he provided my services to the local public library. BB&T, a local bank, donated a large
building to the Boyertown Area Community Library. The library was operating out of small and crowded
facility.
a. He provided layout assistance for relocating the used book stacks from the old library to the new
library.
b. Directed a group of volunteers in the removal of specified stacks from the old building to their location
in the new building.
c. Worked with the vendor who supplied the new circulation area furniture by providing him with the
layout specifications and directed the installers as to the placement of the new furniture.

Expert travels nationally and Canada.

Education

Year Degree Subject Institution
Year: 2008 Degree: Completed Basic and Intermediate courses in AutoCad Subject: AutoCad Institution: Camden County College
Year: 1986 Degree: Completed 15 credits towards MS in Engineering including courses in Robotics and Simulation. Subject: Industrial Systems Engineering Institution: Pennsylvania State University- Great Valley Graduate Center
Year: 1972 Degree: BS Industrial Engineering Subject: Industrial Engineering Institution: New Jersey Institute of Technology

Work History

Years Employer Title Department
Years: 2013 to Present Employer: Undisclosed Title: Senior Project Engineer Department:
Responsibilities:
Available upon request.
Years Employer Title Department
Years: 2009 to Present Employer: Undisclosed Title: Project Engineer- Material Handling Group Department:
Responsibilities:
Through work measurement and material flow studies, identified production and in plant logistics problems and recommended continuous improvement solutions to customers.
Years Employer Title Department
Years: 2014 to 2016 Employer: Keystone Automation Inc. Title: Senior Engineer Department:
Responsibilities:
• Provide solutions for customer processes and material handling systems.
• Assistance from machining one part to designing & building equipment & complete systems.
• Listen to the concerns of the clients' operations, engineering and finance personnel
• Results that meet or exceed the expectations of all involved.
• Experienced in and know intimately the requirements of a successful project.
• Team player working with all levels of the organization providing globally accepted solutions.
Years Employer Title Department
Years: 2013 to 2014 Employer: IES Group Title: Senior Industrial Engineer Department:
Responsibilities:
Working with manufacturers and distribution centers on a project to project basis. Utilizing skills and experience on cost reduction, production and quality improvement projects.
RECENT PROJECTS:
LEESPORT, PA. - COMMERCIAL FIXTURE MANUFACTURER
• Completed continuous time studies in two machining centers.
o Established standard times for the purpose of production planning and staffing.
o Identified events that caused production delays and recommended solutions.
NEWTOWN, PA - STRETCH AND SHRINK CONTINUOUS LABEL MANUFACTURER
• Completed continuous time studies on the new 10 color press operation with the objective of streamlining the changeover process.
• Provided guideline recommendations for systematically balancing the work of the three man operating crews.
• Identified and provided lean solutions for existing production bottlenecks.
• Net results would reduce changeover downtime by 10-20%.
NORTHEAST, PA - FOOD MANUFACTURER
• Provided solution to convey and effectively transfer liquid food product in a sealed flexible container.
• Equipment allowed for package to either flow onto the main transportation conveyor or to the secondary operation.
Years Employer Title Department
Years: 2012 to 2013 Employer: NCC Automated Systems Title: Application/ Project Engineer Contract Department:
Responsibilities:
o Developed process documentation for standard products.
o Provided lean solutions for pre-engineered modular conveyor applications.
o Managed conveyor projects from purchase order through installation.
o Assisted in the formation of a quality management system.
Years Employer Title Department
Years: 2011 to 2012 Employer: Follett Corporation Title: Industrial Engineer/ Contract Department:
Responsibilities:
o Conducted time studies to update labor standards throughout the production departments.
o Successfully applied OEE techniques to an underperforming work-cell.
o Analyzed process documentation for methods improvements.
o Assisted with layout and implementation of new assembly work-cell.
Years Employer Title Department
Years: 2004 to 2009 Employer: Precision Automation Company Inc. Title: Project Engineer- Conveyor Systems Group Department:
Responsibilities:
o Through work measurement and material flow studies, identified production and in plant logistics problems and recommended continuous improvement solutions to customers.
o Engineered lean and continuous improvement projects from inception to start up with expertise in planning, justification, cost estimating, proposal writing, system design, machine selection, installation, and troubleshooting. Integrating new and existing equipment.
o Integrated product, case and pallet conveyors with inspection, packaging and palletizing equipment to create packaging and palletizing systems.
o Continuously improving customer service by investigating and solving issues and problems.
Years Employer Title Department
Years: 1986 to 2004 Employer: KJE Associates, Inc. Title: Industrial and Manufacturing Engineer Department:
Responsibilities:
o Started, grew and operated a design/build conveyor and packaging equipment manufacturing company.
o Using time studies and process documentation, established efficient machining, welding and assembly work cells.
o Engineered projects from inception to start up with expertise in planning, justification, system design, machine selection, installation, and troubleshooting. Incorporating new and existing equipment.
o Managed and prioritized multiple projects integrating product, case and pallet conveyors with inspection, packaging and palletizing equipment.
o Analyzed and consulted on improvements in manufacturing processes and material handling systems.
o Developed a 20-man equipment installation crew.
o The projects were installed throughout the United States and Canada.
Years Employer Title Department
Years: 1978 to 1986 Employer: Anchor Glass Co. Title: Manager of Industrial Engineering Department:
Responsibilities:
o Initiated, managed and controlled the capital budget at the local plant level.
o Engineered and managed production improvement and cost reduction projects at various US plants, resulting in the reduction of operating costs by over $2.5 million/year.
o Managed and prioritized multiple projects integrating product, case and pallet conveyors with inspection, packaging and palletizing equipment.
o Through work measurement and material flow studies, identified production and in plant logistics problems and recommended continuous improvement solutions to customers. problems and recommended continuous improvement solutions to customers.
Years Employer Title Department
Years: 1977 to 1978 Employer: St. Gobain Glass Co. Title: Maintenance Supervisor Department:
Responsibilities:
o Managed the maintenance activities of a factory that operated 24 hours/ day, 7 days/week.
o Observes, analyzed and upgraded a manufacturing process increasing system production over 10%.
Years Employer Title Department
Years: 1974 to 1977 Employer: Owens- Illinois Title: Senior Industrial Engineer Department:
Responsibilities:
o Responsible for process improvement and cost reduction projects.
o Managed the production monitoring computer system.
o Directed hourly workforce in the Inspection and Packaging Department.
o As Maintenance Foreman directed a multi-functional maintenance group.
o Chaired process improvement, safety and suggestion committees implementing ideas from hourly and salary personnel.
o Designed/installed automated load building center, saved $150K/yr.
Years Employer Title Department
Years: 1972 to 1974 Employer: Artmetal Title: Industrial Engineer & Assistant Plant Engineer Department:
Responsibilities:
o Engineered process improvement projects.
o Supervised maintenance tradesmen

Career Accomplishments

Associations / Societies
Boyertown Area Community Library
Ben Franklin Technology Partners - Northeastern Pennsylvania
IIE
Lehigh Valley Professional
Licenses / Certifications
Professional Engineer
Publications and Patents Summary
Publications: 1
Applied Lean Solutions

Additional Experience

Vendor Selection
My experience includes several conveyor system and automation equipment projects where vendor selection was an important part of the project.
Marketing Experience
As a company owner and sales engineer I was heavily involved in the marketing of conveyors and packaging equipment products.
Other Relevant Experience
Many years of project engineering and project management including supervising installations utilizing contractors and plant technical personnel.

Fields of Expertise

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