Keynote
September 23, 2016 (FRIDAY)
9:30 am – Welcome Address
Dr. Virinder K. Moudgil
President
Lawrence Technological University
Southfields, Michigan
USA
10:00 am – 10:50 am (Friday, September 23) – Opening Keynote
Carlo Materazzo
Head of World Class Manufacturing (WCM), FCA – Global
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA)
Auburn Hills, Michigan
Carlo Materazzo was appointed Head of World Class Manufacturing (WCM), FCA – Global, in October 2015. In this position, Materazzo will be responsible for the WCM audit process, knowledge sharing, implementation and coordination between the four regions – EMEA, APAC, LATAM and North America. This assignment is in addition to his current responsibilities for WCM expansion at the Company’s 37 manufacturing facilities in North America. WCM is a methodology that focuses on eliminating waste, increasing productivity, and improving quality and safety in a systematic and organized way. WCM engages the workforce to provide and implement suggestions on how to improve their jobs and their plants.
Before coming to the U.S., Materazzo was the plant manager at Fiat’s Giambattista Vico Plant in Pomigliano, Italy, which was awarded Gold status in WCM in June 2013. In his role, Materazzo was responsible for all day-to-day operations, including meeting quality standards; ensuring compliance with health, safety and environmental regulations; and achieving production targets for the Fiat Panda.
Materazzo joined Iveco S.p.A. in Turin, Italy, in 1996, working in the axle plant. He has held various positions of increasing responsibility in manufacturing and has been certified as a WCM auditor.
His work and academic background includes:
- October 2015 – current, Head of World Class Manufacturing, FCA – Global
- March 2015 – current, Head of World Class Manufacturing, FCA – North America
- 2013, Plant Manager, Giambattista Vico Plant, Pomigliano, Italy, Fiat S.p.A.
- 2009, Plant Manager, Atessa, Italy, Sevel S.p.A.
- 2007, Plant Manager, Valladolid, Spain, Iveco Espana S.L.
- 2005, Russia Project Manager and Lean Manufacturing Project Manager, Suzzara Plant, Suzzara, Italy, Iveco S.p.A.
- 2003, Change Agent – Lean Manufacturing, Turin, Italy
- 2000, Operational Unit Manager
- 1999, Field Engineer – CPE
- 1997, Integrated Group Head
- 1997, Manufacturing Engineering Specialist, Iveco Axle Plant
Materazzo earned a Master of Mechanical Engineering from La Sapienza in Rome, Italy (1996). He was born in Spoleto, Italy.
11:15 am – 12:00 pm (Friday, September 23) – Keynote
Dr. Charles Mbohwa
Professor and Vice-Dean Postgraduate Studies, Research and Innovation Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment (FEBE)
University of Johannesburg’s (UJ)
South Africa
Bio: Professor Charles Mbohwa is the Vice-Dean Postgraduate Studies, Research and Innovation at University of Johannesburg’s (UJ) Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment (FEBE). As an established researcher and professor in the field of sustainability engineering and energy, his specializations include sustainable engineering, energy systems, life cycle assessment and bio-energy/fuel feasibility and sustainability with general research interests in renewable energies and sustainability issues. Professor Mbohwa has presented at numerous conferences and published more than 150 papers in peer-reviewed journals and conferences, 6 book chapters and one book. Upon graduating with his B.Sc. Honors in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Zimbabwe in 1986, he was employed as a mechanical engineer by the National Railways of Zimbabwe. He holds a Masters in Operations Management and Manufacturing Systems from University of Nottingham and completed his doctoral studies at Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Technology in Japan. Prof Mbohwa was a Fulbright Scholar visiting the Supply Chain and Logistics Institute at the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, is a fellow of the Zimbabwean Institution of Engineers and is a registered mechanical engineer with the Engineering Council of Zimbabwe. He has been a collaborator to the United Nations Environment Programme, and Visiting Exchange Professor at Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná. He has also visited many countries on research and training engagements including the United Kingdom, Japan, German, France, the USA, Brazil, Sweden, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mauritius, Austria, the Netherlands, Uganda, Namibia and Australia.
12:00 pm – 12:45 pm (Friday, September 23) – Keynote
Kevin Poet
Head of Plant Operations
Siemens Charlotte Energy Hub
North Carolina, USA
Kevin Poet is the Head of Plant Operations for the Siemens Charlotte Energy Hub in Charlotte, NC, a position he assumed in May 2016. The Siemens Charlotte Energy Hub is the company’s global location for 60Hz fossil power generation equipment manufacturing and service, with additional capabilities for the 50Hz market.
Mr. Poet is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Charlotte facility, with a strong focus on safety, quality, on-time delivery and cost metrics. In addition, his role focuses on providing strong customer support for the factory and its three product lines: Large Gas Turbines, Steam Turbines and Generators.
Prior to his most recent position, Mr. Poet was the Plant Manager for the Rawsonville, MI Components Plant for the Ford Motor Company. For more than 26 years, Mr. Poet spent his career in roles of increasing responsibility, supporting varying divisions and product lines for the Ford Motor Company.
Mr. Poet has been a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers for more than 25 years, a Senior Member of the Institute of Industrial Engineers for 15 years, and is a Six Sigma Green Belt and Project Champion.
Mr. Poet holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Industrial Engineering from Wayne State University and a MBA from the University of Michigan.
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm (Friday, September 23) – Lunch Keynote
Jeffrey Abell, PhD, FSME, PE
GM Technical Fellow
Lab Group Manager
Manufacturing Systems Research
General Motors Global Research and Development
Warren, Michigan
Next Generation Quality Management Systems
Jeffrey Abell is GM technical fellow and lab group manager, Manufacturing Systems Research Lab, General Motors Global Research and Development. He is responsible for all battery manufacturing research in the company, and his team was key to bringing the Chevy Volt advanced, high-power battery to production. Abell was awarded the 2011 General Motors Boss Kettering Award for outstanding technical innovation in battery manufacturing, and the 2014 Boss Kettering Award for work related to automotive application of elastic averaging. Previous assignments include robust synthesis and optimization; global engineering integration (GM Europe); vehicle development process engineering; robotics simulation (DaimlerChrysler); and advanced manufacturing development (Delphi Automotive Systems). He has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from General Motors Institute (now Kettering University), and graduate degrees in systems engineering from Oakland University. Abell is an SME Fellow, a member of the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, chair of SME’s Accreditation Committee and member of SAE’s ABET Committee. He has written numerous technical papers for conferences and journals. Abell is a licensed professional engineer in the state of Michigan.
September 24, 2016 (SATURDAY)
9:30 am (Saturday, September 24) – Morning Keynote
Aaron Rubel
Engineering Lead
Cabin & Cargo Standard Parts, Flammability Certification & Mass Properties
Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt
AIRBUS Americas Engineering Inc.
Aaron Rubel is the engineering supervisor for functions of global Cabin & Cargo Standard Parts, Mobile, Alabama site Flammability Certification and Mass Properties teams within the engineering cabin perimeter at Airbus. He is a certified and practicing Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, and additionally serves as site intellectual property liaison.
Prior to 2009, Mr. Rubel served 20 years in the automotive industry. He was lead engineer of the 2007 Chrysler Sebring rear seat program at Faurecia Automotive Seating, contributed to body design on the Dodge Dakota and Durango vehicles at Chrysler Corporation, and spent several years gaining manufacturing experience in production and prototype facilities.
He has received awards in both the aerospace and automotive industries for driving process improvements, cost savings, innovating methods, and mentorship. Mr. Rubel has earned two patents in the automotive industry and has one currently pending within aerospace. Aaron was honored with induction into the Lawrence Technological University College of Engineering Hall of Fame.
Rubel is a master’s candidate at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga within the M.S. in Engineering Management degree program and earned his Bachelor of Science in Engineering Technology at Lawrence Tech University.
He also has made significant contributions to the community in areas of education and watershed conservation. He serves as vice-chair on the board of directors for the Bayshore Christian School in Fairhope, Alabama, and chairs the strategic planning committee of the school board. He also contributed to the development of a Mobile, Alabama, Area Education Foundation strategic plan for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) that was published in 2015. Rubel is a former state membership committee chair in the Michigan Trout Unlimited conservation organization and has authored articles on watershed conservation and fly fishing that have been published in nationally distributed periodicals.
Married with two children, Mr. Rubel lives in the Mobile, Alabama area.
10:15 am (Saturday, September 24) – Morning Keynote
Dr. Srinivas Garimella
Leader – Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence
Eaton Corporation
Southfield, Michigan
Srinivas Garimella directs the strategy and operation of Eaton’s Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence. He joined Eaton in September 2013 in the Manufacturing and Supply Chain team in Electrical Sector to lead initiatives in global manufacturing strategies and innovation.
Prior to Eaton, Srinivas worked for Alcoa and Deloitte Consulting. At Alcoa, he led programs to align innovation strategy to business strategy, structure robust early stage innovation processes, deliver breakthrough technologies in energy efficiency, drive collaborative new product/process development with external entities as part of Alcoa’s Open Innovation initiative, and develop/deploy control and automation technologies to improve productivity and product quality in Alcoa’s facilities world-wide. At Deloitte, he led a variety of engagements in manufacturing/supply chain strategy, operations transformation, inventory reduction, lean manufacturing, merger integration planning, ERP system planning, and infrastructure risk assessment.
Srinivas earned a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Ohio State and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business. He received numerous awards for outstanding academic accomplishments.
1:00 pm (Saturday, September 24) – Lunch Keynote
John Fleming
Executive VP Manufacturing and Labor Affairs (retired)
Ford Motor Company
John retired from Ford Motor Company at the end of 2015 after 48 years with the Company. At the time of his retirement he was Executive Vice President of Global Manufacturing and Labor Affairs a role he held since 2008. Prior to the Manufacturing role he was the Chairman and CEO of Ford of Europe and Export Markets and Chairman of Volvo Cars. Prior to this time he spent his career in Various Manufacturing Roles Globally. Born in Liverpool England he joined Ford as an Engineering Apprentice in 1967. Mr. Fleming holds an Honorary Degree from the John Moores University in Liverpool and production engineering qualifications from North East London Polytechnic.
7:00 pm (Saturday, September 24) – Award Keynote
Hulas King
Director, Diversity, Professional Affiliations & Global Community Relations
Siemens PLM Software
St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Hulas is responsible for the strategy and operational leadership of Siemens PLM Software Global Diversity Council. He also leads Professional Affiliations & Global Community Relations Teams, driving innovation and digitalization value for youth, displaced workers, strategic customers and business partners. Mr. King is a decorated Vietnam veteran, a Certified Manufacturing Engineer and a Certified NC Manager. He was inducted into the African-American Biographies Hall of Fame for outstanding contributions in Business and Engineering. He represents SIEMENS on several professional boards including the Institute of Industrial Engineers, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, Advancing Minorities’ Interest in Engineering, the Stone Soup Foundation, the Accreditation Board for Engineering & Technology (ABET), the International Federation of Engineering Education Societies (IFEES) and the Professional Business Leadership Council. He travels extensively within the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, speaking at various technical seminars in support of Global Opportunities in PLM.
Hulas managed the GO PLM (Global Opportunities in Product Lifecycle Management) program, nurturing strategic partnerships that provide significant added value for academic institutions, youth development programs and our global communities. These partnerships exemplify SIEMENS as the PLM Industry Leader and are successful in developing technology environments where underutilized citizens of the world can work together to improve their economic conditions and promote peace. He served as McDonnell-Douglas’ Program Manager for Enterprise Life-Cycle Processes for Team Columbus Engineering / Manufacturing in support of C-17 Production in Columbus, OH.
Education
- Belleville Area College, 1970: AS, Data Processing
- Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, 1972: BS, Management Science/Data Processing
- Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, 1974: MBA, Marketing and Business Administration
- Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, 1975: MS, Government/International Relations.
- Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, 1978: MS, Management Science and Systems
- Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, 1979: SPC, Health Care Management Systems
- University of Missouri – Columbia, 1983: MS, Industrial Engineering
September 25, 2016 (SUNDAY)
9:30 – 10:15 am (Sunday, September 25) – Morning Keynote
Dr. Helmuth Ludwig
Executive Vice President
Digital Enterprise Realization and
Chief Manufacturing Officer
SIEMENS PLM
USA
“The Digital Enterprise”
Dr. Helmuth Ludwig is executive vice president of Digital Enterprise Realization and chief manufacturing officer for Siemens PLM Software, a business unit of the Siemens Digital Factory Division.
Dr. Ludwig has a long history of developing and leading highly successful organizations. He began his career at Siemens in 1990, working in Corporate Development to create regional strategies. He subsequently opened and built up the first Siemens organization in Kazakhstan, serving as general manager until 1996, when he joined Siemens’ Automation and Drives (A&D) group with responsibility for Process Instrumentation Systems. From 1998 until 2001 he was head of Siemens’ Energy and Industry division in Buenos Aires, then from 2001 to 2002 served as division president for Software and Systems House. In 2002 he moved to A&D’s Systems Engineering division as president. Dr. Ludwig served as president of Siemens PLM Software from 2007 until 2012, later taking on the role of CEO of the Industry Sector USA immediately prior to assuming his current position.
Dr. Ludwig holds a Master of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Karlsruhe, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago and a PhD in Political Science from Christian-Albrechts-University in Kiel. He teaches as adjunct professor for International Corporate Strategy at SMU’s Cox School of Business in Dallas.
Committed to community service, he has served as president of the Spanish-German Executive Committee of Rotary International, was the founding president of the first Rotary Club in Central Asia and a member of the Board of Trustees for the Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics and Strategic Research (KIMEP) among numerous other activities.
Married with two children, Dr. Ludwig lives in the Dallas area.
10:15 – 11:00 am (Sunday, September 25) – Morning Keynote
Richard D. Shainin
Executive Vice President
Shainin, The Red X Company
Washington, D.C., USA
Richard is an author and lecturer. He wrote the “Multi-Vari Charts” chapter for the Encyclopedia of Statistics in Quality and Reliability (Wiley 2008). He has also published papers in Quality Engineering and Six Sigma Forum. He has been a frequent speaker at quality conferences including the ASQ World Conference. Dick was named the 2014 Quality Leader of the Year by the ASQ Automotive Division. His insights on quality, reliability and technical problem solving have been quoted by Bloomberg News, Automotive Engineering, The Detroit Free Press, The Detroit News and Automotive News. He has also been interviewed for radio and television. Prior to joining Shainin in 1991, Dick worked at AT&T where he led high-performance teams in engineering, operations, marketing and sales. He currently guides class development and delivery, and he continues to work with client leadership to develop and implement Shainin programs. Dick has a bachelor of engineering degree from Stevens Institute of Technology (Hoboken, NJ), and an MBA from American University (Washington, D.C.). He is a graduate of the AT&T Management Development Program.
11:00 – 11:15 am Break
11:15 – 11:45 am (Sunday, September 25) – Morning Keynote
Jd Marhevko
Vice President of Quality, Lean and & EHS Systems
Accuride Corporation
The Marriage of the PFMEA and Control Plan…A Dynamic Control Plan
JD Marhevko is the Vice President of Quality, Lean and EHS Systems for Accuride Corporation. Three (3) Accuride sites have won the prestigious Manufacturing Excellence Award (in 2014-2015). She is a business and operational excellence executive with over 25 years of operations, QA and lean experience in a variety of industries including Automotive, Aerospace, Plastics and Machining. JD is an ASQ Fellow, a Certified Manager of Quality and Organizational Excellence (CMQ/OE), a Certified Quality Engineer (CQE) and a Certified Six Sigma Blackbelt (CSSBB). She is also a trained Master Black Belt (MBB). In 2016 she was awarded both the Shainin Medal and honored as one of the top 100 Women in Manufacturing by Washington DC’s Manufacturing Institute. JD has been a senior Baldrige System assessor for the state of Michigan for several years. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) from Oakland University in Michigan and a Master’s of Science Administration (MSA) from Central Michigan University. JD is a Past-Chair of ASQ’s Quality Management Division (QMD), a 24,000 member global professional organization. She is a recipient of the Howard Jones award, the QMD’s highest honor.
11:45 am – 12:15 pm (Sunday, September 25) – Keynote
Dr. Kai Yang
Professor, Department of Industrial an d Systems Engineering
Director, Healthcare Systems Engineering Group
Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan
Biography: Dr Kai Yang is a Professor of the Industrial and Systems Engineering Department at Wayne State University. Dr. Kai Yang has been the Director of the Healthcare System Engineering Group of Wayne State University since 2009. Dr. Yang’s areas of research include statistical methods in quality and reliability, healthcare system engineering, data analytics and applications, his research has been supported by NSF, the VA, Siemens, General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, and many others.. He is the author of 8 books in 4 languages, and hundreds of publications. He speaks frequently in international conferences, and research seminars, and consults for industrial corporations. Dr Yang serves important roles in American Society of Quality and Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineering (IISE), and serves various editorial roles for many journals, especially his leadership role in two flag journals of IISE.
Dr. Yang is one of the founding proposal writers and an academic faculty advisor of VA Center of Applied Systems Engineering (VA CASE), by far the largest national engineering resource center sponsored by the US Department of Veteran Affairs whose mission is to promote the use of industrial engineering to improve healthcare systems. Dr. Yang’s healthcare system engineering group works closely with VA CASE and Dr. Yang is the PI of 28 healthcare system engineering-sponsored projects. Dr Yang has been a quality engineering coach to several famous international companies, including Apple Inc and Siemens Energy. Dr. Yang obtained both his MS and PhD degrees from the University of Michigan.
12:15 pm – 12:45 pm (Sunday, September 25) – Keynote
Prabhu Patil
President & CEO
Prolim Corporation
Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas
Prabhu Patil has hands-on Technology and Management experience and proven record of developing technology solutions to address customer business problems to reduce time-to-market, cost and increase productivity. He comes with nearly two decade of diverse experience across Government, Private and Public Companies such as IBM, EDS and Siemens. As President of the company, he helps global companies to build strategies, innovative products, and set up and scale software centers / R&D centers / offshore development centers (ODC).
Prabhu has been widely recognized with several awards in every company he worked for; Defense Outstanding Scientist (1994), Excellence Award (1995), Rookie of year (1997), MVP (1998), Product Manager Award (2000), EDS Achievement Award (2002), Outstanding Achievement Award (2005), Siemens Americas Consulting Award (2009).
Specialties: Program Management, Product Management, Account/Contract Management, Building Offshore Centers, Overall General Management of IT Infrastructure/Software Business.
12:45 – 1:00 pm Break
1:00 – 1:45 pm (Sunday, September 25) – Lunch Keynote
Steven Sibrel
Senior Supplier Quality Manager
Harman International, Novi, MI
Chair – ASQ Greater Detroit
Steve Sibrel is a business process improvement trainer, coach and auditor with over 35 years of experience in the business and manufacturing world. He is currently working as Senior Supplier Quality Manager at Harman International, a manufacturer of audio and infotainment systems for consumer, professional, and automotive industries, with well-known brands such as JBL, Lexicon, Crown, Infinity, Mark Levinson, Becker and Harman-Kardon. Previously he held a number of engineering and management positions in diverse industries at Applied Materials (Semiconductor), NEC (Telecommunications) and Texas Instruments (Military). He has conducted over 200 supplier audits in North America, Europe, and Asia and is a Lead Auditor for ISO/TS16949, ISO9001, ISO13485, ISO17025, and 21CFR820. He has been the Chair for Professional Development for the ASQ Detroit section since 2008. He received the Distinguished Service Award in 2008 and the Leadership Award in 2013 from ASQ. Current ASQ Certifications held are Six Sigma Black Belt, Quality Engineer, Quality Inspector, Quality Auditor, and Manager of Quality/ Organizational Excellence. He is an adjunct facility member at Macomb Community College. Steve has a BSEE degree from Rose Hulman Institute of Technology and an MSEE degree from Southern Methodist University.