Andreas Kälber-Project Manager

As part of a greenfield project, a new production plant is being built in Slovakia to produce industrial media storage for OEMs and distributors once completed.

Procurement and industrialization of production equipment for prefabrication.

Design, procurement, installation and integration of complete production lines based on stamping, forming and welding technology with integrated, labor-reducing processes.

Establishment of a production environment under strategic aspects according to the latest state of the art.

Overall and continuous communication with the entire greenfield team, adjacent departments and plant and executive management.

Development of concepts together with key suppliers and identification of ratio potentials along manufacturing process chains using value stream analyses.

Collection, assessment and application of process data such as throughput times, manufacturing times, setup times, wait and idle times using time and multimoment studies as well as surveys.

Forward-looking design of production systems and processes with the goal of implementing automated and competitive process solutions as part of comprehensive supply chain management.

Planning of production workflows, definition of manufacturing methods, design of the overall layout and workstations.

Determination and recording of process cost rates, overhead rates, cost evaluation of production processes, machine hourly rates, depreciation as well as expected share of claims and rework costs to optimize manufacturing costs.

Continuous optimizations of product designs for their adaptation into automation-oriented production environments until the plant's SOP.

Multi-project management for the engineering, design, procurement, installation and process integration of all relevant trades with respect to plant engineering, lifting equipment, production equipment and QA installations.

Ongoing establishment of an overall concept in constructive, plant engineering, logistical, IT and QA aspects.

Managed process engineering for the construction and dismantling of bulk material storage areas and mixing beds for the bulk industry, especially coal stockyards.

Central coordination of customers and suppliers in an international environment as the single point of contact for the global project portfolio.

Responsible for cost, profit and contract controlling as well as claims and change management.

Led the project team and ensured milestone achievement.

Organized and moderated meetings with EPC service providers, engineering firms and key suppliers in Asia.

Conducted timezone-based video conferences with global escalation authority.

Independently ensured project execution on time and with quality within the defined budget.

Acted as the active interface between customers and suppliers and internally coordinated responsible team members.

Improved communication structure and gained transparency through straight-forward management and punctuality.

Set global direction and coordination of project management for production plants with involvement of customers Daimler and AMG.

Acted as the central customer contact and was globally responsible for cost, profit, contract controlling and change management.

Led the program team (quality, sales, engineering) and project teams in Europe, USA and China.

Supported, guided and coached plant project managers to improve management.

Managed internal planning, alignment, support and standardization of interface communication between central engineering and production plants.

Responsible for achieving milestones and individual Q-gates.

Organized business unit meetings and program steering committees with escalation authority to automotive management in Japan and the EU business unit in France.

Moderated conference calls, coordinated and tracked issues and provided detailed training for participants.

Managed engineering change requests (ECR) in collaboration with sales and plants.

Handled technical and commercial discussions with Daimler to close gaps to nominated status.

Accompanied process audits according to VDA 6.3 by Daimler and AMG at various production plants.

Successfully completed the process audits and incorporated the implementation concept into standards.

Achieved significant gains in transparency, adherence to timelines and open communication with customer Daimler.

Interim management of the order center during a pre-series phase until the start of series production of seating systems for trucks, vans, and buses.

Planning production timings for single seats, reclining seats, driver and passenger seats, and rear seat systems.

Supporting and overseeing the sourcing of special parts for pre-series production.

Managing requirements via a FileMaker database due to ongoing SAP integrations.

Conducting technical reviews with sales, QA, prototype shop, and lab to source specific components.

Integrating pre-series requirements into the upcoming serial production program and allocating capacity.

Generating corrective actions through daily fine-tuning and reporting from picking, production, and shipping.

Leading daily status meetings and production rounds to align on the day's tasks.

Providing intensive training and support to the production team for task takeover.

Smooth fulfillment of requirements and efficient resource planning by implementing self-developed tools.

Establishing transparent daily reporting for better coordination between the customer and internal departments.

Project and program management for interior commodities such as doors, instrument panels, and center consoles.

Designing concepts and preparing proposals for the Daimler S-Class BR223 in multiple loops according to the tender.

Leading the commodity teams through the offer loops, both technically and operationally.

Preparing offer documentation considering target goals and customer requests.

Holding daily Scrum meetings for team guidance and correcting content-related issues.

Coordinating international processes across multiple production sites.

Presenting and explaining the loops to the customer, including creating presentation materials.

Reducing production costs to meet target goals.

Delivering concept and proposal documentation on time.

Supported and led in an escalation situation within a turnkey major project for aviation production facilities.

Developed a planning system with defined structures and an interface matrix.

Introduced tools for operational reviews to align overall and sub-project plans.

Enabled cross-project planning and integration back into project teams together with the client.

Successfully trained all team members and ensured the sustainability of the new planning system.

Planning and execution of retrofit and maintenance projects for water cooler production lines.

Managing system suppliers and coordinating based on specification requirements.

Monitoring specifications, budgets, and schedules.

Claim management and preparation of change order documentation.

Site management at the production facility, including briefing up to 13 staff members.

Coordinating materials for commissioning and machine capability tests.

Performing commissioning and creating internal acceptance reports.

Increased production by 7% to 25%.

Reduced follow-up costs by over 30%.

Project management for the relocation of a plastics plant as well as planning and design of operational facilities.

Sizing and cost estimation of production equipment based on P&IDs, PFDs, and customer documentation.

Procurement, acceptance, and commissioning of plant components.

Selection and management of system suppliers as well as coordination of specification requirements.

Preparation of tender cost estimates based on value analyses and comparison results.

Development of problem solutions for pneumatic conveying systems.

Supply chain management and claims management, including preparation of change order proposals.

Came in approximately 14% under the project budgets (approx. 30 million euros).

Established reliable execution conditions despite ongoing customer changes.

Planning, design, engineering, and costing of press systems for water radiators.

Selecting and managing system suppliers and budgeting (about 5 million euros).

Developing technical solutions for equipment to process aluminum and steel stamped sheets.

Site management at the Hannover/Wolfsburg production plant, including staff training.

Executing commissioning, final acceptance, and first sample production.

Full on-time project delivery within budget.

Increased production output by over 50% thanks to the concept.

Engineering and costing of press systems for water radiators to produce cooler fins.

Budget responsibility of about 11 million euros.

Managing system suppliers and coordinating based on specifications.

Site management at international production sites, including staff briefing.

Conducting machine capability tests and first sample production.

On-budget and on-time concept implementation.

Increased production by around 44%.