Robert M. Hodges has been involved in the Aerospace, Automotive, Consumer Products and Distribution industries for the past 25 years. He has led and established Lean practices in these organizations responding to changing business climates and strategies. Mr. Hodges uses a strategic approach to understand the business and manufacturing practices and develops reliable and repeatable solutions that are simple, effective and responsive to customer's needs.
Bob began his Lean/Six Sigma journey over 16 years ago at Pratt & Whitney, a Division of United Technologies. He developed his Lean and Kaizen skills under the tutelage of retired Toyota executives and working with Jim Womack and the Lean Enterprise Institute. His ability to work at all levels of the enterprise enables him to implement changes quickly on the shop floor and in the offices. He has demonstrated success in the Board room and on the shop floor.
Devising a Lean strategy that would improve operating margins, lower the total cost to market and produce five new products to market in two years.
Leading a $26.0 Million Restructuring of the Aerospace business segment of a Fortune 500 company that reduced lead times by 70% and manufacturing cost rates by 60%.
Developing an operational strategy for a diversified $275.0 Million company that improved customer satisfaction as well as improved bottom line performance by embracing realistic Lean solutions, that improved manufacturing flows, reduced inventories and implemented a global procurement strategy that produced high velocity, low cost products.
Guiding the Materials Team of a Fortune 100 Company to improvements in the procurement and stocking processes that led to a 50% reduction in lead time.
Mr. Hodges earned a Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA in Finance from Western New England College in Massachusetts.
Lean is a process for strategy development. Its application is not a purely "follow the rules" philosophy but an integration of what the customer wants and how the company can import the principles for strategic process improvement and profitability. Boosting the effectiveness of the Lean transformation only happens when people approach it with an open mind; cost cutting, elimination of waste and enhanced operational capabilities are the typical changes, but the real change is in the mindset. It is the passionate leadership, the willingness to exploit different paths and the ability to demonstrate how the strategic changes impact your customer and lead to real breakthroughs.