Henry Hicks
Houston
Summary
Strategic Operations Manager with over 15 years of experience in railroad and transportation sectors. Demonstrated ability in project supervision and safety compliance for large-scale operations. Expertise in workflow optimization, delay reduction, and adherence to safety and quality standards. Achievements include significant cost savings and enhanced operational efficiency through strategic initiatives.
Overview
29
29
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
On-Site Railroad Operations Manager
RailPros Field Services
Houston
01.2017 - Current
- Directe multi-trade external crews (signals, track, civil and utlities) across concurrent rail projects enrforcing FRA aligned safety and operating standards while maintaining live track productivity.
- Adherence to safety and operational standards.
- Reduced project delays by 28% through field based inspections, crew sequencing, and work window optmization accelerating customer handoffs and protecting contractual revenue milestones.
- Improved safety compliance by 33% by standardizing shift startup, job briefings, real- time hazard correction, reducing incident driven downtim and claim exposure through enhanced traffic control measures.
- Delivered $500K + annual EBITDA impact by optimizing labor deployment, eliminating idle equipment hours, improving maintenance turnarounds across high utilization assets.
- Increased job site productivity by 17% through strategic scheduling, cross trade coordination and constraint management; expanding capacity without adding incremental headcount.
Locomotive Engineer
Union Pacific Railroad
Houston
08.2004 - 01.2017
- Conducted preventive maintenance inspections, reducing mechanical failures by 20%.
- Reduced operational errors by 30% through rigorous brake testing and compliance checks.
- Improved on-time delivery performance by 15% through effective route planning and coordination.
- Drove diesel-electric rail-detector cars to transport rail-flaw- detecting machines while checking tracks for obstructions.
- Operated locomotives to transport freight or passengers between stations to assemble/disassemble trains in railyard.
- Performed supply-level inspections on locomotives to verify adequate fuel, sand, water and other supplies, as well as overall inspections to prevent potential mechanical issues.
- Monitored gauges/meters to measure speed, amperage, battery charge and air pressure in brake lines and main reservoirs.
- Ensured that brake examination tests were conducted at shunting stations to reduce over 30% errors.
Marketing Manager
John Daugherty Realtors
Houston
08.2002 - 08.2004
- Developed marketing strategies that improved business operations by 28%.
- Increased client engagement by 35% through targeted branding and communication initiatives.
- Capitalized on industry and marketplace trends to strategize solutions for 20% enhanced business operations.
- Collaborated with senior sales, engineering, and other business development executives to create best practices marketing initiatives and media positioning for vertical markets.
- Created and maintained mailing databases and marketing materials for sales target areas.
- Improved product marketing objectives by constructing communication initiatives and branding strategies to increase client outreach.
Mail Processor
US Postal Service
Houston
11.1996 - 02.2002
- Maintained 99% accuracy in sorting and processing mail using automated systems.
- Used automated mail processing equipment to sort and collate mail.
- Assisted customers in completing and submitting forms to update address or report lost and stolen mail.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Business
University of Houston
Houston, TXAssociate of Arts -
US Marine Corps Vocational College
Skills
- Operations management
- Strategic planning
- Safety compliance
- Risk mitigation
- Project management
- Scheduling
- Vendor and stakeholder coordination
- Budgeting and resource allocation
- Data analysis and reporting
- Leadership development
Certification
Lean Six Sigma Green Belt
Accomplishments
USMC - Honorable Discharge
Timeline
On-Site Railroad Operations Manager
RailPros Field Services
01.2017 - Current
Locomotive Engineer
Union Pacific Railroad
08.2004 - 01.2017
Marketing Manager
John Daugherty Realtors
08.2002 - 08.2004
Mail Processor
US Postal Service
11.1996 - 02.2002
Bachelor of Science - Business
University of Houston
Associate of Arts -
US Marine Corps Vocational College