nicholas ward

* Supported team at a retail client on a project to define a future product development process and capture requirements for a PLM technology * Led preparation for and actively participated in workshops to develop future process maps, and gained responsibility for a subset of team deliverables while meeting all deadlines

* Assisted construction, production trials, launch, and operation of a brand new $800 million vehicle assembly plant as a member of the Body Weld and Stamping Engineering Team * Benchmarked global Toyota plants to develop a variety of quality strategies and standards for use in new plant including defect reaction plan, defect tracking system, and standard repair procedures * Planned and executed $4 million annual departmental operating budget resulting in 10% reduction over previous year * Led cross-functional team in project decreasing Stamping changeover times by an average of 15 seconds by analyzing and changing the sequence of process elements * Reduced Stamping split defects by 50% following major model change by close defect tracking and follow up with steel vendors

* Led development of sheet metal and plastic parts in a major model development project, meeting 100% of deadlines while producing deliverables of CAD data and production drawings * Took initiative to develop countermeasures to meet target for reduction of engine booming by balancing performance and manufacturing needs

Responsible for implementing new customer drawings for steam turbine hydraulic control system and redesigning Visio layer naming convention

Manufacturing engineering co op in an Anti-lock Brake manufacturing facility, focusing on projects to increase productivity and learning lean principles

* Spearheaded $250,000 project to upgrade delivery systems for model-specific parts in support of launch of new product on existing assembly line * Increased productivity of repair area by 30% by overseeing project to add lift capacity and lighting, cutting down on repair backlog and improved lead time

Earned responsibility for training new production workers on packaging line of major steel processing facility

* Project delivery experience has included digital business case development, data architecture analysis, R&D process design, and data migration * Specialized in project delivery in consumer good, retail, food & beverage, and industrial manufacturing industries * Thought leader of digital content within the firm with 4 viewpoints published as an author in addition to contributions in an editor role

GPA: 3.89 * Awarded merit-based Fisher Fellowship to cover partial tuition and fees * Awarded Barry Scholarship as the top operations student in class, as chosen by the faculty * Selected to participate in a 3-week Global Applied Project trip to Tanzania in support of Global Water Initiative * Finalist, 2014 Smeal MBA Sustainability Case Competition; Finalist, 2014 Donald J. Bowersox Graduate Supply Chain Challenge; Honorable Mention, 2014 GE Case Competition