Career Portfolio

William R Richards II

OverviewAttached is an overview of the accomplishments during each phase of my career. • Lecturer at WVUP Community Education Center.• Project Engineer at Jacobs and KBR• Six Sigma Continuous Improvement Consultant at

DuPont and Chemours• Lead Systems Engineer at United Space Alliance• Recommendations/ References

Lecturer at WVUPPerforms a community service by developing and teaching the following courses at the Community Education Center.

o LinkedIn Essentials: A basic overview of the professional networking tool LinkedIn. This walks students thru the creation of an account, the use of an account, and the proper etiquette on LinkedIn.

o History of the Shuttle Program: This provides a lighthearted tour of the Shuttle Program as told from the eyes of a veteran engineer of 22 years.

LinkedIn EssentialsPurpose/Process/ Product

Purpose: To learn the basics of the professional networking site LinkedIn.Process: This will be a combination of hands on and lecture. In this class you will set up your LinkedIn account. You will create your profile. You will search for contacts and you will send requests. We will search for Jobs and endorse skills.Product: A practical understanding of LinkedIn as it differs from the social networks and how to use LinkedIn to aid in your professional endeavors/

History of the Shuttle ProgramPurpose/Process/ Product

Purpose: To provide an overview of the history of the Shuttle ProgramProcess: This will be accomplished by a combination of history and personal anecdotes. Product: The student should come away with an appreciation of the Shuttle Program and attach the history to the actual human beings that made the Space Shuttle Fly

Project Engineer at Jacobs and KBR

I started work as a contract employee supporting the Chemours Belle WV plant. At the time I started KBR owned the contract, but it was later awarded to Jacobs. In this function I provided project management for capital projects less than 500 thousand dollars for three business units at the site with an annual budget of 1.5 million dollars, 125 thousand dollars and 1 million dollars. This includes scheduling, creating the Work Breakdown Structures, budgeting, prioritizing based on business unit needs and leading the design and execution teams.

Amines Business Unit• Managed five projects in the 2015 shutdown from

May till installation in September. o Three of these were newly initiated projects.o Two of these were stagnated projects.o The projects were successfully executed on time and under budget.

• Managed a transition for business needs from contractors performing capital work to plant area maintenance.

• Developed in house tools for estimating when budget cuts forced the release of our estimatoro This was used by other Project Engineers at the site.

• Managed a total of seven projects from May 2015 thru Dec 2005.o All were on time and on budget

Amines Business Unit• Managed four projects for the 2016 Scheduled

shutdown.• Managed one project in 2016 from concept to

completion in two months (less than half the nominal time). This included:o Driving design to completion.o Overseeing of the order of partso Managing the construction

• Managed Three project designs from concept to design issue for construction.o One of these projects was an access cage that the design had been

stalled for years and I led the design team to come up with a solution.o One was a regulatory requirement for above ground storage tanks

where I sat with the civil designers and led a design that saves 40 thousand dollars.

DME Business Unit• Managed two projects to completion.• Worked with the client to adjust the priorities for a

budget cut of 50%.

Lucite Business Unit• Worked with the Lucite team to improve the

communications within the team.o Utilized collaborative software to ensure that the communications were

continuously updated.o Continuously upgraded the presentation by engaging the team.o These efforts resulted in a reduction in team meeting time from 90

minutes to 30 minutes.• Activated four stalled projects and managed them

thru to completion.• Led the design team to complete the design and

issue for construction on three other projects.

Six Sigma Continuous Improvement

Consultant at DuPont and Chemours

Review and analyze processes using the Six Sigma methodology and lean tools to identify and implement improvements in support of the Flouroproducts business unit at the Washington Works facility.

Recovering Production Time From

Lost Product

BackgroundMaterial is skimmed across a tank. Typically, once per shift the process is stopped so that material loss at the bottom of the tank may be cleaned.

ProblemThe mean shut down time to perform this cleaning process is 90.6 minutes.

ProblemThe mean shut down time to perform this cleaning process is 90.6 minutes.

Solutions• Revised the procedures to more efficiently

perform the tasks.o Reviewed the shifts to find a consistent pattern.o Engaged the shift with the best performance to capture best

practices for the procedure.• Increased water pressure to ensure better

breakup of materials and more efficient cleaning.o Assessed the equipment to find a consistent pattern.o Reviewed the process in cleaningo Listened to the stake holders to incorporate VOC

• Created software to allow for faster fill of the tanks when coming out of a cleaning.o Analyzed the equipmento Created a basic logic patho Handed over to programmers to developo Tested with stake holders

ResultsThe average time dropped from 94.0 minutes with a standard deviation of 34.1 minutes to 66.2 minutes with a standard deviation of 20.8 minutes.

Packout Room HVAC

BackgroundDuring a review of possible sources of contamination, the product packout room was found to be lacking in the control of air. A project was initiate to repair the room to better control air pressures. Total budgeted repair was $300,000.

ProblemThe airflow thru the packout room was inconsistent. There was negative pressure in some locations. Critical filters were open to the nominal warehouse and processing environment. Large portions of the HVAC system were not defined on the site drawings

Problem• Airflow was not well defined.• HVAC units abandoned in place and replacement

not on drawing.• Air for HVAC unit pulled directly from the

processing area in violation of building code.• Make up air pulled down stream of HVAC which

is not filtered.• Make up air in Zone 2 closed off. • Numerous ducts were disconnected from the

filter units.• Zone 2 was drawing 300+ cfm from zone 1 thru

the door and make up air blower was drawing 500+ cfm from outside the clean room.

SolutionsThis consisted of two ProjectsThe first was architectural. The following items were performed:

o Ceiling tiles were repaired and replaced.o Ceiling tiles in the Lag area(except those designated for FFU filter

access) were sealed.o Plenum was built above the drum prep room so that air is not

supplied from the Warehouse area.o The static bars were removed and replaced.o Repair of entry routes into room to minimize leakage.

SolutionsThe second was a redesign of the HVAC system consisting of 2 phasesPhase I

• Analysis of existing system for HVAC Zone 1• Rerouting of duct work to draw air from outside

instead of process area in accordance with building and industrial hygiene codes.

• Routing of all supply air thru a single MERV 15 filter before entering the air handling system.

Phase II• Create an airflow diagram• Repair Zone II HVAC unit

ResultsBalanced airflow with slight positive pressure which meets the original design intent for the room.A statically improved particle count in the room. Was a Z score of 0.628 now Z score of 1.540.HVAC system that meets industrial hygiene and building codes in that it no longer draws makeup air from the processing area.

A+ Transitions

BackgroundA Transition is the process to clean and prepare the equipment for the next material in the product wheel. The A+ transition is the transition that is the most intensive and requires the greatest amount of cleaning and preparation. To optimize this I pulled together a Kaizen team.

ProblemA+ transitions are not optimized from the last powder off the dryer belt to the next good powder. Data from 2012 indicates the total down time due to A+ transition average 25.2 hrs.

Define Current StateI collected data to present to the team with regard to the current state, brought the team together and obtained buy in of current state. Used both Gant and swim lane charts to present states to the team

Target State

– Reduce average turnaround time by six hours per transition– Increase dryer uptime by six additional days per year (6 hrs X 50 transitions

per year/ 2 dryers) equivalent to a 2% increase in capacity release per dryer

Engaged the team to define the following target state of 19 hours per transition instead of 25.2 hours per transition.

Solutions• Revised the procedures to more efficiently

perform the tasks.o Engaged stakeholders to review procedureso Facilitated stakeholder updates to procedures.

• Provide visual metric of performance to operations.o Developed tool in Microsoft Excel to tabulate data being collected

on this operation.o Developed visual presentation of this data in Excel.

• Improved tooling and ergonomics.• Consolidated locations of lockout points.

o Engaged operators as to locations of the switches.o Engaged design to locate switches where needed.o Engaged electricians on installation to correct design shortcomings.o Directed design in correcting the issue

• Provided interlock bypass to allow for safe, but more efficient cleaning of the system.

ResultsThe average time for an A+ transition dropped from 25.2 hours in 2012 to 19.2 hours in 2013 and 2014.

Filter Wrench

ProblemThe Eye Bolts holding the lid on filters are ergonomically difficult to tighten and loosen.

Current stateA wrench was made to slide over the eye bolt and hold it while opening and closing filter lid

Future StateRatchet Wrench added to socket to increase ergonomics.

Packout Room Particle Counter

BackgroundDuring a review of possible sources of contamination, monitoring of the cleanliness of the room was found to be lacking. For this purpose methods of continuously monitoring the room were explored.

ProblemThe particles in the room are monitored as a spot check once per month and there is no method to where the check points are chosen.

Process• Contact vendor and describe the size and shape of the room.

• Perform walk thru with the vendor to place sensors at the best locations based on modern clean room design.

• Determined with the stake holders the date that this room needed to be complete.

• Guided design, the vendor and the stake holders to chose the proper milestone dates.

• Followed up to ensure that the due dates were met.• Oversaw installation vendors to ensure the work was

complete as promised.

ResultsA complete continuous particle counter that can be monitored by anyone with access to the process explorer software at the plant.

ET Mechanical Lead Systems Engineer

• Participate in Final inspection activities,o which include hydrogen leak detector installation, visual inspections, photographic inspections and film

inspection of mechanical interfaces, launch pad systems and cryogenic tanks and engines.•  Author and maintain controlling documents and procedures for

processing the ET (External Tank)• Perform real time trouble shooting of the ET mechanical and

Thermal Protection Systems using engineering discipline and methodology.

•  Lead project efforts including coordinating with customer, design and construction resources.

• Provide management/ leadership for 6 engineers by Assigning shift schedules and work assignments for the ET Mechanical Engineering group.

• Provide input in hiring of personnel.•  Provide inputs to management for personnel performance

reviews.•  Develop engineering training packages and manuals.

Managing Personnel • Provided management of a group that consisted

of six engineers.• Trained and mentored ten engineers who went on

to provide contributions in the space program.• Hired five engineers.

STS- 117 Hail

Damage

BackgroundFebruary 26 2007 hail struck the Space Shuttle System. Over 1,000 dents were created in the insulating foam on the External Tank.

ProblemThe damage to the vehicle was of such scope and magnitude that it exceeded the engineering allowances for safe flight and for a qualified repair.

My Role• Organized a Rapid Response Team day of event to get

early assessment of the damage.• Partnered with thermal, structural and aerodynamic

design disciplines to ensure that all repairs were documented and that the engineering for each repair was properly incorporated.

• Organized repairs in accordance with the engineering redesign.

• Maintained controlling documents for the overall repair/project.

• Coordinated and directed construction and support organization to ensure environmental conditions and access were obtained for repairs

• Ensured all work was completed and that engineering designs were properly incorporated then summed up the entire repair for flight readiness.

My Role

New Repair Processes developed for this project

Scaffolding and HVAC resources directed in place to support this project

Overseeing and directing work in accordance with the defined plan and engineering

ResultsThe safe flight of STS 117.

Awards• 2008 NASA medallion for contributions to the STS 122 and STS 123 ECO

Sensor recovery.• 2007 NASA medallion for contributions to the STS 117 hails damage

recovery.•  2007 Personal commendation from Shuttle Program Manager Wayne Hale

for contributions to the STS 117 hail damage recovery. • Dec 2002 Employee of the Month for work with employing digital video

capture for Launch inspections.• 1996 Engineering Excellence Award for work with implementing new foams.• 2003 NASA Group Achievement Award for work with the alternate offload

process.• 2010 NASA Group Achievement Award for support of two processing flows

to support launch on need• 2005 NASA Group Achievement award for efforts in the return to flight

modifications.• 2006 Personal commendation from Shuttle Launch Director Mike Lienbach

for work with the imaging techniques that allowed for the July 4th launch.• 2006 USA Employee of the year for work with the imaging techniques that

allowed for the July 4th launch.• Completion of the 12 module USA Leadership course 2007

ReferencesHal BandyClick to drag this recommendationTS/SCI Senior Logistician at EXELISBill is a great employee with a wonderful work ethic, he works well within a team environment or as an individual. Bill has a great knowledge of Engineering functions as well as leadership abilities. Bill also has a great deal of experience in Lean Six Sigma and has excelled in whatever challenge is placed before him. He is always supportive of those around him and performs his assigned tasks with a willingness that any employer would be glad to have on staff. It has been my pleasure to both work with Bill and to know him personally. He is honest in his dealings with his fellow man and I can attest to his high moral character and his desire to serve those around him.lessMarch 17, 2015, Hal worked with William at United Space Alliance Tony BartoloneClick to drag this recommendationGround Processing SLS Ops Integration Lead at NASA KSCI had the distinct pleasure of working with Bill for the last 24 missions of the Space Shuttle Program at NASA KSC. Bill played an integral role as we finished safely flying the Shuttle into the history books. As one of his NASA engineering counterparts, I had the opportunity to lead numerous projects and anomaly teams that included Bill as a key player and I got to witness first hand his outstanding dedication and passion for his work. As the USA External Tank Mechanical Lead system engineer, Bill had a large amount of responsibility to oversee a team of engineers and technicians that performed the routine and non-routine work to prepare the ET for flight. The expertise Bill acquired through his long career at KSC was invaluable to NASA as an agency and the Space Shuttle Program and he met every challenge with the External Tank that came his way with tremendous professionalism and tenacity. Bill was a key component to our success here at KSC and he is a very talented and extremely hard working engineer who would be an outstanding asset to any organization that will give him an opportunity to put his skills to work for them. lessMarch 17, 2015, Tony managed William indirectly at United Space Alliance Jim StickleyClick to drag this recommendationSLS Propulsion Integration & Analysis Engineer at The Boeing CompanyIt gives me great pleasure to recommend Bill as an Engineer and as an individual. The following comments related to Bill Richards are bounded by perspectives and relationships as his Engineering Manager, a joint-systems Engineering (ET Mechanical-to-Orbiter Main Propulsion), and as an ET/SRB Technician. Bill stands out among peers as a man with integrity who pours himself into his work assignments and his personal life. His abilities to prioritize and separate work from family are clearly visible on his resume. He accomplishes assigned tasks with fervor and dedication. It has been a pleasure to lead, work side-by-side, and under Bill.lessJune 15, 2011, Jim managed William at United Space Alliance

Kenneth RevayClick to drag this recommendationEntrepreneur & PhilanthropistI am very pleased to write this recommendation for Bill Richards. His efforts have led to improved processing of our Space Shuttle External Tanks from the lifting and mating operations of the flight hardware to the inspection and repair of insulting foam covering the exterior of the ET. He is a member of the Final Inspection team that inspected the Space Shuttle vehicle on the launch pad prior to launch. He works well with our NASA, Lockheed-Martin ,and other team members ,and has supported significant events such as the STS-117 ET Hail Damage repair and Return to flight activities. His work contributed to the safety of flight and resulted in numerous positive award fee write-ups for our team during my time as his Manager II. I wish him all the best. lessJune 13, 2011, Kenneth managed William indirectly at United Space Alliance