EDUCATION:

1981 - 1984 Preston Polytechnic.

H.N.D. Mechanical and Production Engineering; 3 years full time study:

· Mathematics

· Stress Analysis and Materials

· Engineering Dynamics

· Thermo-Mechanics and Fluid-Mechanics

· Manufacturing Technology

· Industrial Design

1978 - 1981 Leyland Motors Technical College.

T.E.C. I, II & III.;Mechanical and Production Engineering.

Hobbies / Interests:

Hiking, Cycling, Painting, Graphic Design, Music.

KEY STRENGTHS:

· Works well with all levels. Have represented supplier clients at meetings and design reviews with OEM customers.

· Uses initiative to find preferred working practices. Including BOM Structure, development of macros, power copies, use of published links, formulas, spread sheets, etc. to expedite the design process.

· Works well within both team and individual task oriented environments.

· Mentors and shares experience freely with colleagues.

· Maintains an up to date understanding of trends, emerging technologies, and applies these to operational projects; where feasible.

· Provides input to technical / business proposals / cost models in support of achieving new or follow-on business.

· Have a broad range of advanced level "hands on" design skills, including advanced 3d Surfacing and FEA.

· Takes lead responsibility for the design of projects from concept through to manufacturing.

EXPERIENCE:

Aug 2001 to Present : Disher Design, USA : Senior Designer / Assistant Design Manager.

Here, I undertook Mechanical Design activities for Automotive Interior suppliers, Consumer goods, furniture and the medical industry firms. I also acted as assistant to the design manager, to manage the internal resources for various projects and developed preferred modelling practices for Catia operators.

Automotive clients included Tier 1 suppliers, such as JCI (Studio, overhead and seating systems), Gentex (Mirrors / Smart Beam technology), and Behr (Door Panels). My services were used to develop products for BMW, Volvo, Chrysler, GM, Peugeot, Mercedes, Toyota, Nissan, Auto Show, etc.

Design work covered the following tasks:

· Studio Engineering

· Class A Surfacing -> respecting aesthetic themes and engineering requirements.

· Surface from Scan Data / Reverse Engineering using Shape (GSD and FS2) techniques.

· Concept and Feasibility Studies

· Swing Studies / Sight-line Studies

· Stamping Circuit Design

· Surface - Head form contact assessment

· Tooling requirement checks

· Packaging Studies

· Detailed DFM experience:

· Injection Moulding, Rotational Moulding, Stampings, Die Castings, Foam for seating, Insert Moulding (including circuitry for lighting products).

· FEA structural optimisation for metal and plastic parts / assemblies and completion of both detailed and summary technical reports.

· Developed CATIA V5 Macros, Power Copies using formulae based non orientational topology, Published Links, Auto BOM generation, etc. to significantly improve design methodologies and efficiency.

· Created feasibility studies for presentation to end customers.

· Completed many data transfers between Catia V4, V5 and other Cad systems.

While consulting with Gentex, I carried out mechanical feasibility studies and detailed part design for various new windscreen mounted camera technologies. My services were used to help OEM's determine the mechanical feasibility of their systems with respect to functionality, assembly, manufacture, effects of integrating parts from various suppliers, human factors and aesthetic needs.

This work involved liaising with other suppliers contributing to the various systems, requiring travel to Sweden and Germany to attend meetings with VCC and Gentex gmbh. I also worked from the USA with Gentex's Paris and Asian offices, providing them with various design studies for presentation to their local OEM's.

To assist with other internal needs at Gentex, I Managed and coordinated other "Disher Design" on-site / off-site resource support. Helped with the deployment of Catia V5 into the organisation by using my mentoring skills to quickly bring Catia operators up to speed and transition from v4 to v5.

Whilst at Disher Design, I also travelled to Budapest to Interview candidates to manage Disher's now independently successful Hungarian facility, participated in Business Development activities, provided sales support, design reviews and developed the companies website ( www.disherdesign.com).

Software used:Catia V4 - 4520hrs here - ( 15440 total), Catia V5 - 5600hrs, Solidworks, Rhino, Femap / Nastran / IDEAS -FEA / Pro Mechanica FEA

Nov 1999 to July 2001 : Swift Design Solutions (UK) : Owner / Consultant

I started my own company to provide various design consultancy and support services. Clients included Electrolux and British Aerospace.

Software used: Catia V4 3880 hrs. here, (10980 total).

Clients:

Electrolux : Freelance Design Consultancy and Support.

Provided design support on Electrolux's latest cooker projects (Insight) - Now on sale in you local store (UK). Carried out feasibility studies to suit the needs of industrial design, marketing, engineering development and manufacturing needs. Designs were then fully surfaced (free form) and engineered in 3d to produce prototypes and subsequent production tooling. The types of components designed were predominantly Steel Pressings, Injection Mouldings and Glass components. Travelled to Sweden to consult at design reviews on advanced project developments.

British Aerospace: Freelance Design Consultancy and Support.

Using CATIA V4, on a mid-life update program for a military aircraft project, I provided design support on Airframe and Systems Installation (Hydraulics, OBOGS, etc.). Work also involved providing CATIA support and training for the less experienced designers. The work also involved liaison with various departments, other sites and suppliers regarding interfacing issues, stress, weights and manufacturing techniques.

May 1995 to Oct 1999: Worked in the USA, primarily supporting activities at the Prince Corporation (subsequently JCI)

November 1997 to Oct 1999 Priority Product Design, USA : Senior Designer

This was a design firm that primarily supported JCI. Within this organisation I carried out automotive interior product design support and assisted with new client development. The projects included the design of products for BMW, Honda, Chrysler, Ford, GM, Toyota, etc. Also structural FEA design work was provided for John Deere Tractors and Furniture design clients based in South West Michigan.

Specific responsibilities: - Design feasibility - studio and engineering, Surfacing, Part Design, production of detailed component / assembly drawings and Finite Element Analyses. Undertook an assignment within JCI Interiors to provide interior studio-engineering design support on a Chrysler advanced technology demonstration vehicle. I was also involved in software evaluation, quoting, design reviews and internal project planning. Specific automotive areas worked on included; Door panels, Headliners, Instrument panels, Overhead consoles, Floor consoles, IP interfaces, Head impact foam mating with BIW, Visors, etc.

Software used: CATIA 4000 hrs. here (7100 total). FEMAP and NASTRAN (FEA) 800 hours.

May 1995 to November 1997 : Prince Corporation (USA) : Contract Designer

Employed as a contract designer, providing FEA and Catia design support at the Prince corporation, which subsequently became Johnson Controls Interiors (JCI). Work undertaken was for various US and international automotive interior Sun Visor development projects. Tasks involved the detailed design and developmental of various injection moulded parts, steel stampings, die cast components and assemblies. Designs were from concept through to production. New concept work required detailed liaison with both tooling and studio departments. FEA was used extensively to reduce the time for product and concept development.

I also provided support at design reviews, compiled a materials database, undertook detailed software assessment and helped with the training of designers and the CAE team.

Software used: Catia (3100 Hrs), SDRC IDEAS (1900 Hrs), MECHANICA (1000 Hrs).

November 1993 to May 1995 : Arvin Exhausts: Senior Structural Analyst

FEA of various exhaust systems to support both internal R & D activities and project work for many of the major automotive OEM's throughout Europe. The studies carried out were predominantly NVH and Stress. I was also involved in giving presentations of the departments activities.

Software used: PATRAN (2400 Hours), MECHANICA (350 Hours), LUSAS.

April 1993 to November 1993 : Hawtal Whiting : Project Engineer

My main focus in this position was to provide FEA on an automotive instrument panel and hand calculations supporting various interior railway carriage components.

Software used: HYPERMESH ( 480 Hours), PATRAN and NASTRAN.

1989 to 1993 : LEYLAND DAF Ltd. : Structural Designer

My duties here were to create and analyse finite element models, predicting stress and stiffness within various assemblies. Components analysed included various castings, forgings and fabricated parts. I was also responsible for the supervision of various students and giving presentations of the departments activities.

Software used: In house 3d modelling package FEMADS (4500 hours), PAFEC and LUSAS.

1984 to 1989 : British Aerospace : Graduate Engineer

As a graduate engineer, I spent 18 months in various parts of the design office. i.e. A320 Airbus project (leading edge track ribs). Experimental Aircraft Program - aircraft systems installations. R & D group - designing packaging for avionics systems, accounting for various cooling configurations. On completion of the graduate training I transferred to the stress office, where I spent three years working on fatigue prediction and monitoring. I also spent 6 months working on aircraft simulators performing mechanical troubleshooting, designing and liaison with suppliers.

Software Used: Anvil 4000 (900 Hours). Robocad (500 Hours).

1978 to 1984 : Leyland Truck and Bus Ltd. : Apprentice

This involved 18 months shop floor and 18 months technical assignments in various areas to gain experience of working in the many disciplines contained within the company. Here I Learned "hands on" about the numerous manufacturing, design, test and sales / support systems that were involved in the business. The following 3 years were spent full time studying for a Higher National Diploma in Mechanical and Production Engineering.