Benjamin S.

Ben is a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt with ample experience in Lean and Six Sigma programs development, project and process performance improvement, knowledge management and technology implementation. He’s an expert trainer, coach and facilitator with a strong technical and statistical background as well as a well-rounded business experience. He has developed and implemented performance improvement programs and projects for Chevron, Hess, Unocal, Petrobras, PDVSA, Saudi Aramco, Shell and other companies involved in drilling, facilities, reservoir management, operations, instrumentation and support functions at onshore and offshore locations, for conventional and non-conventional oil, as well as other businesses in the chemical, distribution, manufacturing, transportation and heavy equipment sectors. His career highlights are: Recent Publications: - “Organizing for Lean: Autonomy, Recursion and Cohesion” Kybernetes, Vol 44, Number 6/7, 2015 Master Black Belt Lean Six Sigma Consultant US and international locations, 2006 – to date) Engaging management, designing and coordinating Lean Six Sigma deployments, and materializing project and process improvement gains. Among other work, Upstream Oil, United States: Led the extension of an oil company’s Lean Sigma program to their key suppliers in the Gulf of Mexico. This included engaging and training supplier executives and Green Belts, setting goals and identifying and coaching projects. Deployed Lean Sigma to a large Drilling and Completions engineering group, supporting project identification and execution and Green Belt development. Upstream Oil, South America: Led Kaizen-type events including all the major contractors in the review and improvement of the Project Plan for the first installation of a deepwater Tension Leg Platform in the region. Facilitated key contractors and internal personnel workshops for streamlining the execution of on-shore production and compression projects. Led offshore deepwater rig personnel through a Lean project for improving the productivity of their casing run operations. Oil Processing, South America: Supported turnaround preparations at a medium-size refining center. This included Kaizen-type events for reviewing, synchronizing and optimizing contractors work plans, as well as DMAIC projects for improving the flow of work packages, materials and personnel during the turnaround. Chemical Plant (Europe): Tasked with re-steering the faltering Lean Sigma program at the plant. Re-energized the program, aligned management, trained Green and Black Belts and coached the local LS Advisor to take over at the end of the assignment. Conceptualized and coached a Value Stream mapping initiative that resulted in multiple improvement projects and supported the establishment of Kanban boards and daily performance meetings to identify issues and align line personnel. Large Chemical and Biochemical Manufacturer (Europe and US): Sole external consultant in a global team chartered with identifying, tracking and supporting Lean-based cost reduction improvements at multiple plants and distribution centers. The activities reviewed included chemical, biological and assembly production, filling, warehousing and distribution at multiple company locations. The projects identified led to highly significant savings at each of the locations. At several locations across the US, South America and Africa: Delivered Lean Sigma training at executive, champion and Green and Black Belt level, coached belts and champions on project execution and program management and developed local Lean Sigma coaches so they can take over training and project mentoring. Provided data analysis support and training; performed data analysis for complex and large data sets. Developed the Lean training materials for a large multinational oil company. Senior Consultant and Project Leader with SAIC San Diego and international locations, 1998 – 2005 Improving performance through Six Sigma and Knowledge Management projects, for clients and in-house. Selected projects: Led an intensive project performance improvement and learning exercise at a client’s large refinery turnaround, including quick PDSA exercises by work specialty at the end of each shift and phase-by-phase and overall Retrospectives at the end of the project. This resulted in smoother project execution, better communications, and valuable lessons learnt for a similar project occurring a couple of years later. Designed, led and facilitated improvement programs for international corporations in the US, UK, South East Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. Achieved significant, measurable improvements in project execution and operational performance while also training and developing the clients’ internal consultants. He has experience in engaging personnel at all levels, from operators to executives to contractors as well as selecting the approach that best fits certain situations at hand. From end-of-shift performance tracking for operations and project execution, to Kaizen-type events to improve a project plan or work area layout, to more conventional DMAIC projects for complex issues with hidden root causes. He is a committed individual and expertly practices enhancing the depth and the impact of performance improvement programs by better addressing their organizational components and by incorporating effective tools from current Lean thinking areas such as Lean Construction and the Toyota Kata. His career experience consists of consulting with regards to Six Sigma, engaging management, designing and coordinating Lean Six Sigma deployment and materializing project and process improvement gains. In addition, he has had extensive experience in implementing his knowledge and expertise for companies operating as/with upstream oil, oil processing, chemical plants, large chemical and biochemical manufacturers. Ben has led initiatives to improve the quality of project management, operational performance, technological implementations, organizational performance, marketing, sales, infrastructure, strategic planning and execution of said plans, business development for many international companies as well as having a full professor status.