Having ‘cut my teeth’ in design, design management and process management in the European Office Systems Furniture industry & marketplace, as well as quantifiable success in the US Office Furniture marketplace, I believe that I am very well suited to offer a complete & pro-active hands-on approach to your company as implementer, manager & mentor for all staff and the company’s processes.
In addition, I have a very strong background and understanding of operational Process Analysis, Improvement & Implementation based on the ISO 9000 Quality Assurance model.
I am also a ‘dual citizen’ of both the UK & US and, as such, have total freedom of movement for business throughout the entire European Community and the United States.
NEIL A CARTER BA(HONS)
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE.
January 2008 – Present
Workplace Resource of Florida, Jacksonville, FL 32256. US
VP of Design & Operations.
Design - Ultimate responsibility for 18 ‘in house’ and 5 external resource designers - in 6 separate locations.
Design - Responsible for creating cohesion, compliance and conformity across the teams.
Design – Liaison with software suppliers to ensure current releases were always available, unifying multiple AutoCAD licenses into one ‘multi seat’ license (saving cost and confusion).
Design – Counselor and mentor to the entire Design team covering ALL issues.
Operations - Responsible for the entire Company’s process and procedures from Client Request -> Sales -> Design -> Specifications & Quotation -> Order Entry -> Installation -> Punch.
Operations – Responsibility for tracking Project Managers’ time.
ACHIEVEMENTS.
My initial objective was to ‘centralise’ the design teams and processes by creating uniformity, increasing productivity, increasing actual ‘hours’ billed to each project and reducing overall cost.
After having ‘investigated’ issues raised by the Company’s designers, Sales and other managers, it became apparent of the need to undertake a complete audit and overhaul of the entire operating processes. Nothing was in writing, with each office doing their ‘own thing’ based on verbally accepted processes – mainly to arrive at specific order entry requirements as laid down by HMI.
I successfully created and implemented a set of written procedures – based on the ISO 9000 Quality Assurance model – together with a series of user friendly forms and documents which followed the process from inception to installation.
Results:
Included necessary ‘checks and balances’ at each crucial step of the overall process.
Successfully reduced communication errors across all departments.
Empowered each department to question and ‘push back’ incomplete documentation.
Increased accuracy of specifications going through to final order entry.
Decreased the volume of ‘Zero Sells’ – Company ‘write offs’ - due to errors.
Obtained (almost) 100% “buy in†from all staff members in all locations.
Additionally, I audited and successfully ‘overhauled’ the in-house developed (on line) Design Time Tracker, allowing better and more pertinent reporting. This not only aided in identifying where there was spare capacity, but provided information about Clients and Sales associates and their ‘use’ (or ‘abuse’) of design resource.
THE COMPANY.
Workplace Resource of Florida is a successful Herman Miller dealership with 5 offices in Florida - Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, Ft. Myers and Ft. Lauderdale - and 1 in Jackson, Mississippi with a total of $52m Sales during the 2007 – 2008 fiscal year.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE.
August 2003 – December 2007
FMGI, Wave (Vortex) Division; Plano; Dallas TX 75024. US
Senior Space Analyst.
Responsible for 5 million sq.ft. of property for cross charging purposes – EMEA.
Jointly responsible for a total of 12 million sq.ft. of property - as above - Global.
Actively support web based 24/7 Client ‘interactive reporting mechanism’.
Full Client liaison- to board level - with ‘Change Management’ consultancy and training.
Full user manual creation for in-house designed web based 24/7 ‘reporting mechanism’.
August 1999 – August 2003
Facility Interiors Inc.; Fleet; Hampshire. UK
Head of Design & Planning Services.
Full Design Management – products, projects & personnel - with responsibility for 3 direct reports (internal) and all external design and vendor resource.
Client liaison - at all levels - for brief generation, proposal presentation and new product & process training.
Space Analysis & Evaluation determining efficiency ratios, generating sales prospects and reducing Client costs.
Cost control & target achievement responsibility for design department.
Site surveying/space planning with regulatory advice.
Managing and full implementation of ISO 9000 (QA process flow and procedures).
ACHIEVEMENTS.
Successfully managed to reduce a global Client’s excessive annual real estate budget loss by implementing a method to calculate accurate property portfolio area and assign that total - proportionally - to the business units/cost centres for cross-charging purposes. This has now been fully integrated into a 24/7 online reporting mechanism.
THE COMPANY.
Facility Interiors Inc. is the European “arm†of FMGI (Furniture Marketing Group Inc.), one of Haworth’s largest dealers. FI offers a complete turnkey design & sales solution to its Clients.
I transferred to the Dallas Head Office at the end of July 2003.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE.
May 1996 – July 1999
Ergonomic Workstations; High Wycombe; Bucks. UK
Design Manager.
Total Product Design Management – “Cradle to Graveâ€.
Full brief generation through Client & Sales liaison to concept proposals.
Managed â€cross functional†teams consisting of, e.g. Sales, engineers & designers.
Full production detail specifications with fully costed bills of materials.
Preparation of Quotes - with margin calculations - for Sales submission to Client.
Space planning with site surveying.
Creating and Maintaining the Design Office.
Responsibility for external designers/manufacturers/contract testing houses etc.
Implementation and managing of QA System (Design) ISO 9000.
Full technical & Sales support, copy for brochures/technical literature etc.
ACHIEVEMENTS.
Taking on the responsibility to redesign the entire product ranges - each of which had originally been designed in isolation from the others by other design personnel. I successfully re-engineered components to be more flexible and interchangeable with the entire product portfolio. I reduced unnecessary excesses by ‘downgrading’ certain bought-in components without losing stability, aesthetic etc. These changes automatically created a higher financial return from a smaller outlay.
AWARDS.
Winner of the Gold Award at NeoCon 1997 – ‘Hot Top’- remote satellite ‘workstation’ for ‘Hotelling/Hot desking’.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE.
March 1986 – May 1996
Intercraft Designs Ltd.; Dunstable; Bedfordshire; UK
Design Manager – Custom Projects/Senior Product Designer.
Brief generation through client liaison to custom concept proposals – predominantly dealing/trading desk and associated furniture design for City Financial Institutions.
Full manufacturing/production detail specifications – piece-part drawings.
Full costing analyses – with margin calculations - for Custom designed products.
Full standard product design support, knowledge and training for Sales staff.
Value engineered & consolidated existing furniture ranges, creating interchangeable components, thereby increasing total offer to Client whilst reducing manufacturing cost.
Liaison with and management of “third party†manufacturers & contractors.
Responsible for maintaining “up to date†British Standards document library and liaison with Contract Testing of finished products with external testing house.
Responsibility for Quality Procedural System (Design) ISO 9000.
ACHIEVEMENTS.
Completely value engineered several existing furniture ranges, creating interchangeable components – effectively creating a ‘mix & match’ of work surfaces and support structures. This increased the total offering available to Clients and successfully reduced overall manufacturing costs through shared and more flexible component use.
COMPUTER SKILLS.
Fully conversant with ALL Windows versions of AutoCAD – up to and including 2008 - (only recently upgraded to 2009).
Conversant with AutoDesk Map 6.3.
Conversant with Microsoft Office Products (Excel, Word, PowerPoint).
Working knowledge of Outlook, MS Access, CAP 2020, Team Design & Project Spec.
EDUCATION.
1981 – 1985
Nottingham Trent University; Nottingham; Notts. UK
Bachelor of Arts Degree (Honours) in Furniture Design.
BA (Hons) – Furniture Design.
(The ‘Honours’ element of the degree relates to ‘Verbal/Written Communication Skills’ - a 10,000+ word Thesis was an essential part of the final year’s curriculum).
1979 – 1981
Croydon College; Fairfield; Croydon; Surrey. UK
2 Year Part Time “In-College†Apprenticeship.
City & Guilds – Carpentry & Joinery.
HOBBIES & INTERESTS.
Most forms of Visual & Performing Arts, TV, Cinema, Music & Literature.
I am an avid book reader, enjoying thriller-based fiction with factual overtones.
I like to keep abreast of European & foreign news and current affairs.
I enjoy problem solving e.g. crosswords and brainteaser puzzles.
I enjoy foreign travel & all forms of sports, particularly Rugby Union Football.
I am a home PC “freak†spending time troubleshooting & solving soft and hardware issues.
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