Phillip A. Tapia
Spring,TX
Summary
Results-oriented Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Maintenance and Engineering Manager with a strong emphasis on systematic, data-driven root cause analysis to enhance predictive maintenance platforms. Extensive hands-on experience with manufacturing systems and industrial automated equipment in the plastics industry ensures optimal operational efficiency and reliability. Demonstrated expertise in high-speed technical plastics molding environments consistently drives continuous improvement and fosters innovation. Committed to leveraging analytical skills and industry knowledge to elevate maintenance strategies, aligning them with organizational goals for sustained success.
Overview
31
31
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Maintenance Manager Molding
TESLA GIGA
01.2021 - Current
- Built from greenfield, sustainable Injection Molding facility supporting the building of Tesla Model Y vehicles working with external cross functional teams including machine manufacturers and parts suppliers plus internal cross functional teams including Design, NPI, Manufacturing, Engineering, Production Quality, Process Engineering, and Safety resulting in a unified TESLA Performance Maintenance Team.
- Driven and focused on building a lean, quality internal maintenance and service organization. Utilized over 30+ years of technical skillset including Lean Six Sigma, Continuous Improvement and Kaizen Activities to reduce waste, increase O.E.E., build reliability and repeatability by utilizing structured data systems to drive toward MTBF and MTTR. Focused on Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM).
- Drove and supported installation of large injection molding machinery, automation, auxiliary, fully integrated systems to support 7.5k vehicle ramp. Collaborated and partnered with OEMs both internal and external suppliers to drive machine integrity, and reliability to produce quality product.
- Interviewed, hired, and trained complete Equipment Engineering and Maintenance group plus Process Technicians group applying methodologies such as Cost of Poor Quality, CT Diagrams, Gage R&R, FMEA as tools for logical decision and troubleshooting techniques to drive risk and root cause analysis to sustain the Maintenance Operation.
- Ensured all equipment is safe with Industrial Safety Training including LOTO, 5-S, Arc Flash, PPE, etc. to operate with high availability, good reliability, best quality, and cycle rate performance.
- Established the first PM, repair, tooling, spares, data collection and reporting systems for GIGA Austin Molding Operation that provided data for focused decisions.
- Critical component development and qualification activities of suppliers of parts for machines and injection molding resulting in delivering on time quantities of high-quality plastics component parts into Tesla’s production processes to decrease downtime and enable high quality production parts.
- Drove MTTR from 150 to 9.6 minutes in 10 months, while adding new systems, headcount, commissioning 30+ tools on multiple machines during increased vehicle ramps.
Senior Equipment Engineer
TESLA GIGA
01.2021 - 01.2022
- Assisted in the new build and start-up of Plastics Shop GIGA – Austin utilizing 35+ years’ industrial maintenance experience, encompassing Electrical/PLC, Robotics, Mechanical, Painting, Machining, Hydraulics/Pneumatics, and Material conveyance Systems while leading process optimization, preventive maintenance validations, safety validations and improvements, upgrades, and new installation of equipment.
- Established supplier relationships to support plastics shop build.
- Worked directly with Manufacturing Engineering Team on handover of equipment to Operations including spares packages and tooling related to building Plastics Shop GIGA – Austin development and sustaining engineering.
- Initiated Flux system infrastructure with team to build a systematic data collection system.
- Built shift structure for Plastics Shop then personally responsible for interviewing and hiring qualified candidates.
- Managed Control Engineers to implement Ignition system for real time monitoring of critical downtime variables.
Maintenance Operations Manager
LETICA CORPORATION
01.2016 - 01.2017
- Built and managed 24/7 Packaging-Printing, Facilities, and Injection Molding Maintenance Team and operation.
- Increased uptime from 65% to 97% in 4 months while moving from reactive to planned Maintenance platform.
- Developed, managed, audited, improved, and corrected parts and supplies resulting in decreased reactive parts ordering from 80% to 10% by building inventory stock and planned maintenance.
- Offset production labor by six personnel by resurrecting $460k of warehouse equipment saving $194k annually.
- Cost avoidance of $268k annually by eliminating or containing oil leaks and labor offset in 6.5 months.
- Invalidated OSHA complaint by proactively addressing oil leaks and safety guarding issues on floor in first 60 days.
- Increased quality of supplier relations by working directly to rebuild critical partnerships.
Technical Operations Manager
AMBRIT ENGINEERING
01.2015 - 01.2016
- Directed and improved all aspects of the operation. Responsible for quantifying cost savings, CAPEX, OEE and process improvement strategies. Managed Manufacturing Engineering, Process Engineering, Maintenance, Facilities and Operations Groups.
- Increased production OEE by 24%, quality by 30% and availability by 14% in four months through coaching 120 team members in OEE (Overall Equipment Efficiency), resulting in 30k impact to bottom line.
- Engaged team members in applied Just in Time (JIT) processes at press and secondary operations resulting in annual labor optimization or reduction of $720k+.
- Increased production capacity by 48% with clean expansion. Received “Making the Difference” Award for overall plant wide achievements.
Equipment Maintenance Manager
TESLA MOTORS
01.2014 - 01.2015
- Managed complex automated Body in White (BIW) Assembly Line Maintenance Operation. Collaborated with Engineering Teams on development of Automotive Prototype Assembly Lines to accommodate new electric vehicle models.
- Hired, coached, supported, and developed twelve new Maintenance Technicians for a total of thirty-six employees with two supervisors that enabled BIW to operate 24/7 operations.
- Optimized equipment performance to improve and enable a 33% increase in equipment availability resulting in record production of 102 cars in a 12-hour shift resulting in savings of $4.2 million per 12-hour shift.
- Managed Critical Spares Department growth by providing input on new or alternative materials for improved design and cost reduction by developing key vendors and key maintenance personnel to evaluate all assets, define parts gaps and critical inventory levels resulting in “zero” hours lost due to parts inventory.
- Implemented Central Maintenance Management System (CMMS) to streamline routine maintenance and repair cycles. Utilized CMMS to quantify Mean Time to Repair (MTTR) and Mean Time Before Failure (MTBF) by cycles/hours to allow predictive maintenance. Occurrences reduced from 155 to 110 per shift in 7 months.
- Aligned and load leveled Maintenance Technicians based on skill set evaluations, capability and capacity resulting in 8% overtime reduction or $88k annual savings.
- Facilitated KUKA robotics training to develop seven technicians in Robotic ARC Welding, electrical, mechanical, and basic operations.
Global Manufacturing Maintenance Manager
INTRALOX L.L.C.
01.2012 - 01.2014
- Developed and executed strategic change management and initiatives while fostering internal and external technical Engineering partnerships. Supported Plastics Engineering, Assembly and Production Groups in seven global locations while coaching twenty-nine personnel.
- Directed two injection molding manufacturing facilities with 111 injection molding machines plus support equipment while increasing scheduled run hours by 32%.
- Introduced OE Andon Board which led to an average 12-15 % capacity increase.
- Executed first sustainable Maintenance 5’s Exercise reducing safety risks and pre-existing hazards.
- Implemented 24/7 shift coverage by load leveling technicians by capacity and capability resulting in:
- Reduced equipment downtime by 7% while adding fourteen injection molding machines in two plants.
- Managed 60% turnover with 16% fewer people with zero impact on production.
- Increasing training hours by 12% while reducing overtime by 11% with zero impact on production.
- Growing project capacity by 18% while reducing PM Backlog by 60%.
Technical Services Manager
CARLISLE FOOD SERVICE PRODUCTS
01.2010 - 01.2011
- Promoted from Maintenance Manager to Technical Services Manager after nine months absorbing Mold Shop and Injection Molding Process Technicians. Managed forty-four technical staff in two facilities. Frontline support for Kaizen and Sigma Events.
- Reduced equipment downtime by 67% in the first six months. Approximate savings of $10,920k per week.
- Implemented 5s and trained twenty-three technical staff in lean strategies at floor level.
- Utilized MATTEC data to quantify, root cause, sort and plan improvements which saved $428k in cycle time improvements, labor utilization and inventory.
- Reduced maintenance staffing by 35% while increasing equipment uptime. Savings of $5,280k per week.
- Spearheaded process and quality process improvements for technical staff.
- Implemented $4.1 million in equipment, material, and facility systems improvements.
I.M.P.A.Q. Leader Black Belt Molding Maintenance Supervisor
FRESENIUS MEDICAL CARE
01.2009 - 01.2010
- Managed Maintenance Team of forty-seven injection molding machines plus support systems with eight maintenance technicians resulting in savings of $7.5M over 5.75 years via molding process improvements. Promoted to one of 8 Lean Six Sigma Black Belts out of 1500 plant employees.
- Slashed 45-day inventory by two-thirds by implementing inventory pull system resulting in $3.1 million cost savings. Worked with a cross functional plant project which included team members from across the plant.
- Saved 326K by reintroducing controlled scrap into Medical Injection Molding process as Green Belt project, using tools such as Minitab, Value Stream Mapping, Ishikawa, Pugh matrices, and Gage R&R.
- Reduced staffing by 58% over five years by automation, process mapping and load leveling.
- Implemented integrated SPC software applications to improve quality and sustain compliance. Used this data to build visual system to trap anomalies and predict deficiencies and issues within injection molding machine states.
- Implemented 24/7 Maintenance Schedule reducing equipment downtime 45% in first year. Sustained.
- Increased production capacity by 60% through two molding room expansions including installation of 18 (85-300 ton) presses, ancillary equipment, automated robotic packaging automation equipment and retrofitting.
- Increased drying capacity using existing footprint by demonstrating to manufacturer that equipment could be upsized thus saving $130k. OEM- Did not see this solution.
- Honored with five Corporate Excellence Awards
Field Service-Hot Runners
HUSKY INJECTION MOLDING SYSTEMS
01.2003 - 01.2004
Field Service Engineer
WOODRELL PROJECT MANAGEMENT
01.2002 - 01.2003
Field Service Engineer
MILACRON
01.1995 - 01.2002
- Independently serviced Injection Molding Equipment and auxiliaries for Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Costa Rica, and Puerto Rico responding within a 12-to-24-hour period.
- Used Voice of Customer to gain feedback for on-the-spot critical decision making and problem-solving major production constraints related to equipment, processes, and training.
- Facilitated communication at all levels to mediate, between local sales, internal and external customers, plus corporate management to repair, sustain, improve, and implement equipment solutions.
- Used problem solving tools such as Pugh Matrices, EFMEA, PMEA, and Gauge R&R to solve multi-factor machine issues.
- Troubleshoot, repair, and retrofit, hydraulic, electrical, mechanical, auxiliary and process issues related to down machine and/or process improvements to equipment and upstream plus downstream systems.
- Expertise in logical troubleshooting, print reading, process engineering and problem-solving related to all aspects of injection molding and auxiliary support equipment.
- Directly trained and mentored other technicians, customers, and facilitated support call-ins for technicians for advice or technical direction on specialty packaging machines.
- Capital project management, training, installation, and commissioning of equipment. Risk and defect elimination.
Education
BYU Pathway
Skills
- Preventive Maintenance
- Project management
- Equipment troubleshooting
- Maintenance planning
- Predictive maintenance
- Team leadership
- Continuous improvement
- Facilities maintenance
- Computerized maintenance management system
- Facilities management
Certification
- Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (BMGi)
- Six Sigma Green Belt
- Leadership Consultants International Training
- Pacific Institute Interaction Management Excellence Program
- RJG System 1 Decoupled
- Eagle Scout, Scout Master, Boy Scouts of America Committee Chair, Disaster Recovery Volunteer
Timeline
Maintenance Manager Molding
TESLA GIGA
01.2021 - Current
Senior Equipment Engineer
TESLA GIGA
01.2021 - 01.2022
Maintenance Operations Manager
LETICA CORPORATION
01.2016 - 01.2017
Technical Operations Manager
AMBRIT ENGINEERING
01.2015 - 01.2016
Equipment Maintenance Manager
TESLA MOTORS
01.2014 - 01.2015
Global Manufacturing Maintenance Manager
INTRALOX L.L.C.
01.2012 - 01.2014
Technical Services Manager
CARLISLE FOOD SERVICE PRODUCTS
01.2010 - 01.2011
I.M.P.A.Q. Leader Black Belt Molding Maintenance Supervisor
FRESENIUS MEDICAL CARE
01.2009 - 01.2010
Field Service-Hot Runners
HUSKY INJECTION MOLDING SYSTEMS
01.2003 - 01.2004
Field Service Engineer
WOODRELL PROJECT MANAGEMENT
01.2002 - 01.2003
Field Service Engineer
MILACRON
01.1995 - 01.2002
BYU Pathway
Military and Certifications
UNITED STATES ARMY • OKLAHOMA, TEXAS & GERMANY
Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (BMGi)
Six Sigma Green Belt
Leadership Consultants International Training
Pacific Institute Interaction Management Excellence Program
RJG System 1 Decoupled
Eagle Scout, Scout Master, Boy Scouts of America Committee Chair, Disaster Recovery Volunteer
Similar Profiles
Tejkumar KansagraTejkumar Kansagra
Production Supervisor at Tesla GigaProduction Supervisor at Tesla Giga
Jami WebberJami Webber
Production Associate at Tesla Giga FactoryProduction Associate at Tesla Giga Factory
KENNY IVYKENNY IVY
Contractor Agent – Quality Assurance/Quality Control for Civil, Structural, Architectural (CSA), and Mechanical Systems at Tesla Giga Factory TexasContractor Agent – Quality Assurance/Quality Control for Civil, Structural, Architectural (CSA), and Mechanical Systems at Tesla Giga Factory Texas
Miaonaye RoseMiaonaye Rose
Valet at LAZ ParkingValet at LAZ Parking
Esther VixamarEsther Vixamar
HHA at Mariner MarbleheadHHA at Mariner Marblehead