Junior Achievement classroom instructor
Christine Knapp
Strategic Leader And Mentor
Cedar Rapids,IA
Work Preference
Summary
Plant Manager with a progressive career in industry and manufacturing. Committed to reducing costs and improving efficiency. Motivational and influential leader with excellent team-building and training skills and a focus on product/consumer safety and quality.
Overview
22
22
years of professional experience
5
5
Certificates
Work History
Water Utility Plant Manager
City Of Cedar Rapids
Cedar Rapids, United States
02.2021 - Current
- Manage treatment plant operations and maintenance portion of Water Department’s $43M annual budget.
- Short- and long-range Capital Improvement Planning (CIP).
- Oversee construction project management.
- Administer vendor contracts, and project bidding/award processes.
- Organizational steering committee member for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Organizational Health.
- City-wide Ambassador for Innovation and Continuous Improvement programs.
- Lead and mentor of non-bargaining and bargaining unit staff.
- Manage direction and planning for plant with focus on optimization of daily functions and achieving KPIs.
- Oversee daily operations of two water treatment plants with capacity of 60 million gallons per day.
- Track data about all aspects of production to assess areas in need of improvement.
- Evaluate and realign operational processes to maximize efficiency.
- Maximize plant safety through proactive strategies and well-structured training.
- Make strategic decisions and developed key plans that affected direction of business.
- Utilize proven problem-solving techniques to improve customer satisfaction.
- Train staff and implement process safety management procedures to protect team members and property.
- Analyze and determine resolutions to multi-faceted issues that affect management and business objectives.
- Manage and allocate $23 Million in operational/maintenance budget funds and approve expenditures to oversee spending.
- Ensure compliance with necessary permits and renewals to keep operations compliance with regulatory standards.
Water Utility Operations Manager
City Of Cedar Rapids
Cedar Rapids, United States
08.2020 - 02.2021
- Oversaw all aspects of operations activities in treating 60 million gallons per day of drinking water.
- Administered vendor contracts, and project bidding/award processes.
- Organizational steering committee member for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Organizational Health.
- City-wide Ambassador for Innovation and Continuous Improvement programs.
- Led and mentored non-bargaining and bargaining unit staff.
- Prepared annual budgets with controls to prevent overages.
- Implemented process improvement to shape organizational culture, optimize procedures for higher efficiency and help operating department evolve and grow.
- Established positive and effective communication among staff and organization leadership, reducing miscommunications and missed deadlines.
- Led improvement initiatives to advance operational efficiencies and reduce waste.
- Directed initiatives to improve work environment, company culture or overall business strategy.
- Reviewed operations reports to understand numbers and trends.
- Collaborated cross-functionally to refine procedures, devise best practices and enforce process metrics.
- Identified and resolved unauthorized, unsafe or ineffective practices.
- Identified procedure or process changes required to improve performance and productivity.
- Improved systems to track and log work issues.
Utilities Laboratory Manager
City Of Cedar Rapids
Cedar Rapids, United States
03.2017 - 08.2020
- Provided overall direction for laboratory priorities to meet Safe Drinking Water Act and Clean Water Act operational permit parameters
- Led relationship building and agreements with internal and external partners/clients
- Served as strategic project leader over renovation of two separate certified lab spaces simultaneously (>$2.5M) with zero service or compliance interruptions
- Provided performance feedback to team members to achieve SMART goals.
- Fostered outreach by coordinating mentoring experiences- local high school and college students.
- Member of organizational initiatives: Chair of training and tools committee for Innovation and Continuous Improvement programs
- Team member for Recognition program creation and implementation.
- Implemented company policies, protocols, work rules and disciplinary action for 11-person team
- Trained staff, scheduled work hours and assigned projects for entire work group.
- Designed processes to increase efficiency by minimizing error and reducing repetitive tasks.
- Maintained professional demeanor by staying calm when addressing unhappy or angry customers.
- Cultivated positive rapport with fellow employees to boost organizational morale and promote employee retention.
- Defined clear targets and objectives and communicated to all team members.
- Maintained positive customer relations by addressing problems head-on and implementing successful corrective actions.
Sr. Quality Engineer
General Mills
Cedar Rapids, IA
08.2000 - 03.2017
- Managed Food safety, regulatory compliance in multi-platform 80M case/year facility
- Monitored and implemented corrective actions for equipment failure and employee performance
- Developed plant prerequisite food safety programs and SOPs
- Created and delivered food-safety and process improvement training/education
- Expanded risk management measures through spot-checking and increased randomization of inspections.
- Led problem-solving activities to quickly identify and permanently resolve quality and productivity issues.
- Participated in multi-disciplinary defect reviews to discern and address root causes.
- Demonstrated product and quality expertise in product inspections.
- Reported on non-compliance issues and other negative factors discovered during production.
- Developed action plan for company certification using ISO 22000 standard knowledge.
- Developed traceability documentation to aid in investigating faults and defects.
- Recommended revisions to internal controls and operational and management policies and procedures.
- Executed operational audits and assessed company operations, compliance and other associated risks.
- Maintained compliance with industry standards and regulatory compliance during managed projects.
- Built strong rapport with team members, management and corporate partners to facilitate efficiency and productivity.
Education
MBA - Organizational Development
Upper Iowa University
Fayette, IABachelor of Science - Business
Mount Mercy University
Cedar Rapids, IA 05.2001 -
Associate of Science - Business
Kirkwood Community College
Cedar Rapids, IACertification
Certified Quality Engineer, ASQ -[2003-2006]
Interests
Linn-Mar Diversity, Equity & Inclusion committee member
International City/County Management Association (ICMA)
American Water Works Association (AWWA)
Work Availability
monday
tuesday
wednesday
thursday
friday
saturday
sunday
morning
afternoon
evening
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Quote
Every problem is a gift—without problems we would not grow.
Tony Robbins
Skills
Plant Manager-Industrial
Accomplishments
- Achieved fully electronic data tracking by introducing eRIS software for water production lab and equipment output tasks.
Timeline
Water Utility Plant Manager
City Of Cedar Rapids
02.2021 - Current
Water Utility Operations Manager
City Of Cedar Rapids
08.2020 - 02.2021
Utilities Laboratory Manager
City Of Cedar Rapids
03.2017 - 08.2020
Bachelor of Science - Business
Mount Mercy University
05.2001 -
Sr. Quality Engineer
General Mills
08.2000 - 03.2017
MBA - Organizational Development
Upper Iowa University
Associate of Science - Business
Kirkwood Community College