My short form resume is available on LinkedIn. This is a narrative resume in the long form. A long form resume helps you to see details of work that I have performed and a few projects that I have been involved in. It is partially sequential where I place the most current information at the front and then functional relating to my early work details.

MY CURRENT MISSION

To achieve individual and business success by propagating mastery, autonomy, and purpose as a vehicle to engage every employee every day and to enlist the psychology of the mind to help individuals self-improve at work and at home.

HOW I ACHIEVE MY MISSION

I have been interested in problem solving and continuous improvement for over three decades. I have studied thousands of articles, read books, taken courses and attended seminars on the psychology and resultant physiology of success. I have applied this learning as I have trained and educated employees, clients and friends. I have used my employment and my personal practice to further develop and apply many effective techniques. This has resulted in the creation of advanced innovative training methods that has benefited both employees and employers and enriched my clients greatly.

VALUES PROFILE

I am a mentoring leader who understands and uses innovative and effective grassroots and on-the-floor change methodologies and advanced culture change methodologies, to invite and get employee safety, productivity, quality, and cost engagement. I invite the workforce itself to change their culture. I have a simple axiom, ‘tell people why, show people how, then give them lead and let them succeed.’ Making work, WORK, should be simple.

Specialising in teaching employees how to standardize, collect, and document workplace tribal knowledge easily, and then how to teach that tribal knowledge to others.


WORK EXPERIENCE

Freelance Training Specialist

Dale Syrota Learning Development - August 2020 to Present

I teach very few of the Lean tools I have used past, rather, I do use and continue to develop the grassroots learning methods that companies may use to optimize lean.

Ninety-eight percent of Lean companies are unable to optimize Lean fully. I have found that the two percent that can fully optimize Lean are also grassroots learning organizations. Providing training for grassroots learning methods has become my North Star.

I aim to support industry through my hands-on training speciality that I currently call Jibs-LP training. This is a mnemonic formed from the terms ‘Job Instruction Training, Job Breakdown Sheet, and Learning Psychology.’

Jibs-LP training reduces company quality, production, and safety costs, related to loss of company tribal knowledge such as when skilled employees leave. This training also reduces knowledge-hoarding due to an employee’s perceived need for job security, or knowledge-hoarding due to employees seeking an ego boost, or feeling they have little time to document.

We tend also to focus on our core responsibilities and often do not take the time to document our knowledge. Jibs-LP training provides a process one can use to collect and transfer that knowledge to others.

Jibs-LP training is a grassroots program. It is based on the training that Lean forgot. It teaches workers how to write standardised work instructions for the tasks that they perform within their jobs. Effective work instructions capture tribal knowledge, directly from and by the people who know the work tasks best.

Jibs-LP work instructions do double duty as lesson plans for job instruction training, and as the current-state documents for continuous-improvement activities. Workers learn to use cutting-edge learning psychologies to understand the job instruction creation and use process. Once a worker has learned how to create the standardised work instructions, learning how to teach these documented tasks to others can be the next step in the worker’s self-improvement process.

Training Specialist

Bulldog Bag Langley, BC  - September 2022 to February 24

Mandate: Establish a training function within the manufacturing plant. Teach shop floor leaders how to train others successfully. Select and establish a smartphone-based Learning Management System (LMS). Created e-learning and classroom-based training sessions for train-the-trainer.

Created a video training program for maintenance technicians to use the smartphone based Fiix CMMS (computer maintenance management system) interface.

Created a video training program for production supervisors to use APD payroll to track and approve time and attendance.

 Acquired and Introduced the TalentCards LMS (learning management system) to supervisory and office staff.

Created a 3-part video training e-learning program for employees to become familiar with pre-lean’s Job Instruction Breakdown Sheets.

Created a video e-learning training program teaching employees the psychology of how we learn, and how we can use this knowledge to improve the workplace.

Created a 3-part video training e-learning program for employees to become familiar with the docket document. The docket is the master scheduling document within the printing industry.

Provided the industry standard 10-hour Job Instruction Training program to supervisors providing ongoing coaching.

Industrial Trainer

Vitrum Glass Group - Langley, BC - October 6, 2020, to April 27, 2022

Initially attached to the continuous improvement team, my focus was on developing and applying a curriculum related to Lean manufacturing training. This included presenting and coaching the traditional Training Within Industry Job Instruction Train-the-Trainer program. I revised it to be delivered over 10 days. It included a correction to a fatal flaw that was evident within the public availability of the program.

It is the training basics that Toyota has been using consistently since 1951. Companies that are Lean or that aspire to become Lean, must, like Toyota, effectively adopt this training methodology if they ever want to optimize the outcomes for their current or impending Lean systems efforts. The continuous improvement training function also included developing and maintaining a cross-training matrix.

When attached to the quality department my focus changed to reviewing, correcting, and re-writing or creating standard operating procedures, creating an approval process for document revisions, assessment of specific tasks, creating of training curriculum, and route cause analysis. Most of our employees speak English as a second language. To address this, I was tasked with the creation of what we called quick guides. I created many of these guides, based largely on the job instruction methodology, for areas where quality errors had occurred. The guides worked extremely well.

I also performed specific onboarding functions. For weekly first-day onboarding, I performed two training sessions, specifically general plant tours for new employee orientation, as well as presented Vitrum Glass Group’s quality ideology of delivering to our corporate customers the highest quality products, ensuring complete orders, and that they are delivered on-time.

For second-day onboarding, I provided day-long new employee orientation and specific training and assessment of production staff. This included employee-specific functional tours of operations within both plants, behavioural assessment training, an overview of their first 6 months, quality requirements, and simple skills such as using tape measures and both Imperial and Metric measurements.


Maintenance & Mechanical Technician

Valley Power Sweep - Chilliwack, BC - July 2019 to August 2020

The job was primarily unsupervised and normally involved opening the shop and the yard in the morning and then moving and servicing trucks at a wash area. Servicing vacuum sweeper trucks involves using a fire hose to remove mud and debris from the external operating systems (hoppers, metal screens, vacuum piping, sweeper brooms, interior and exterior mechanical equipment, etc.), inspecting the vehicles for damage, and wear and tear. This is followed by truck exterior cleaning in preparation for return to work or shop repair.

I then moved to service the trucks mechanically. This included all sorts of minor repairs, to vacuum and sweeper systems and to trucks such as brush replacement, bumper and dent straightening, changing of light bulbs, air filter cleaning and changing, 20-hour carriage and auxiliary turbine lubrication, and 100-hour engine oil and filter changes of auxiliary diesel engines.


Facilities Operations Manager (contract)

Cultus Lake Holiday Park - Chilliwack, BC - May 2015 August 2018

This was a hands-on customer-facing, general labour, general maintenance, and operations management position, for a 26-acre, 225-resident site, where I would help solve park-related operational and maintenance issues.

I reported to the board and operated the park in support of the members and provided daily maintenance of the common areas of the park, capital maintenance improvements, and monitoring of seasonal maintenance tracking.

I provided administrative support related to ongoing member billing of dues and services as well as the procurement and payment for necessary operational supplies. A most enjoyable part was assisting membership prospects in understanding what they were buying, to understand the implications of the various rules and bylaws, and to assist outgoing members through the unit selling and membership transfer process.

Work included ongoing maintenance of the site wells and waterworks, pool, sewer system, roads, electrical both site and street lighting, play areas, clubhouse, gardens and grounds. I assisted and often led capital improvements that included everything from major drainage projects to roof repairs and garden development.

I created new operating manuals for the water systems to ensure there were standard operating procedures for all maintenance processes, including annual water tank cleaning, pipe inspections, well inspections, and weekly water testing etc.

I also created new manuals for pool maintenance and inspection, seasonal maintenance processes, and first aid and emergency response.


Health Safety Environment Coordinator Manager - Manufacturing and Technology

Halliburton Sperry Drilling - Nisku, AB - December 2006 to November 2014

I was hired by the company to coach the Sperry Manufacturing and World Class Technology Centre leadership and shop floor management team to ensure implementation and ongoing improvement of effective health and safety processes outcomes, and to adopt the Corporate Health and Safety System. Sperry had culture of safety complacency imbedded throughout the Nisku Campus. People were being hurt and that needed to change.

The drilling company was acquired a few years prior to my arrival. We designed, prototyped, test and manufactured the world’s most advanced down-hole directional drilling tools. The corporation separated the Manufacturing and Technology divisions, from the parental Drilling Operations side of the business to facilitate better tool utilisation and to adopt the Corporate HMS and Health and Safety Management System. In spite of the reporting separation, the Nisku Manufacturing and Technology team clung desperately to the Operations Group; they too were having difficulties of their own in affecting the change.

OSHA level recordable rate ‘0’:  Nisku Manufacturing and Technology team truly became an integral part of the Corporate Supply Chain. I offer the following actions I took that that contributed to that successful outcome. We saw frequent OSHA level recordable incident free years and even went for a period of 2 ½ years incident free. Prior to my arrival it was not unusual to have seven any given year. Even our first aid incidents saw a year over year reduction of 56 per cent.

Shell Oil’s Heart and Minds Culture Change Program: I introduced Shell Oil’s Heart and Minds culture change program into our Nisku operation. Hearts and Minds, is a tool kit, partnered through the energy institute, intended to help organisations to improve their HSE performance by leading the way the ‘route to the top’ of the HSE culture ladder, and by providing the process and tools to get everyone involved and to facilitate behavioural change, the necessary components of a solution. The Hearts and Minds toolkit enables a company to create a truly proactive and generative approach to HSE management.

BP Internationals Safety Leadership Assessment: We has global teams (part of a Performance Improvement Initiative we called PII), made of a cross-section of local volunteer leaders that deployed HSE strategies. I led the initiative that sought out and acquired the rights to implement `BP International's’, Health and Safety Leadership Assessment skills program; skills that lead to behaviours used to develop a world class safety culture. Yes, in spite of BP International’s involvement in a major oil spill, I believe they were and continue to be headed in the right direction and was health and safety leader.

We initially introduced the Safety Leadership Assessment to 300 supply chain manufacturing managers (Nisku was first in), performing over 3000 assessments using the 360-degree assessment process. Leaders picked 3 of the 31 elements where they could show improvement. Was it successful? We internalised the program with an intranet based activity so that every manager was able to complete the safety leadership self-assessment online.

To further support this, I have created a SharePoint coaching website called, The Safety Leader’s Voice. It was a site where senior corporate managers recorded and wrote coaching advice to those new to safety leadership, based on their perceptions of the various elements of the Safety Leadership Assessment.

Leadership needs to be highly visible to invite culture change. Our PII team created a standard work document, and I actively mentored our site leaders (managers, supervisors and team leads), in the use of the standard work document and applying leadership safety assessment results.

The standard work encouraged leaders to go out onto the floor and focus on elements such as: hazard observation and follow-up; use and development of standard operating procedures; risk analysis performance observation and follow-up; action and follow-up related to root-cause; and to perform one-on-one safety discussions.

TWI Lean Culture Change Tool: To facilitate the invitation of the workforce itself to change culture, I introduced the Lean TWI culture change tool of Job Instruction Training. One of our Business Units, Multi-Lateral Tools (MLT), built tools from drawings. Technicians had no work instructions to follow and that increased risk in many areas. I taught the MLT team how to break down a task, assess it for safety issues, and to create work instructions to support the task. The team created ‘build-manuals’ for 32 down-hole drilling support tools. The team was able to create documents to train employees and ensure quality, and also followed-up with risk analysis and resultant process safety improvements.

Other: I reconfigured our tiered inspection program to include site leadership to prevent reoccurrence of negative audit findings. When they saw a reoccurrence, it was the team that needed to build processes to preventive it. The team was getting great results and incidentally, a better understanding of regulatory and corporate HSE requirements.

I also I created a green hat safety skills program, for both new office and shop floor employees. It included a simple technique to assess their everyday work environment for hazards; simple job safety analysis; behaviour based peer safety observation methods; the skill/habit of stopping the process when the process changes unexpectedly; to present user knowledge of a MSDS from their work area; how to apply a stop-work intervention;  how to assess a safety issue for risk and probability and to propose and complete a safety improvement project; and how our safety award system worked when they complete a safety improvement.


Corporate Health and Safety Manager

Murray-Latta Machine Co - Vancouver, BC - May 2006 to August 2006

Hired by Murray-Latta Machine Company, I served as Corporate Health and Safety Manager for the Murray-Latta Machine Company (150 employees) and their heavy equipment manufacturing, fabricating, machining and assembly job shop and millwright field installations operations. I was also responsible for Health and Safety at Rodgers Industrial Moving and Rigging (10 employees), and for Progressive Mill Supplies (30 employees) and their repair shop and field operations.

My initial vision was to implement a written operational safety framework to baseline operations, implement a return-to-work program to stop the bleed (their safety record - upwards of 88% demerit on the inside plant worker base rate and 82% on outside worker base rate). We then planned to further improve the numbers by implementing the Toyota like TWI improvement methodologies and finally to move firmly to Lean manufacturing of which safety would be a natural element.

It was unfortunate but the company ownership decided that they would not support the vision of world class safety that the president, that had hired me, had envisioned. None the less, within four months, I orchestrated and chaired a meeting between the BC Division Vice President of the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters group and the Forestry, Manufacturing and TruckSafe Industry and Labour Services Manager for WorkSafe BC. This meeting was to explore bringing the Manufacturing Sector into a COR SAFE framework where manufacturers could get up to 15% base rate rebates for qualifying programs and improved health and safety.

In addition, I implemented the written operational safety framework, the return-to-work program, created a forward thinking health and safety policy, reviewed and recreated the corporate occupational health and safety (OH&S) policy manual, created four OH&S support manuals for use by workers and supervisory staff, and instituted a safety work order system.

A few sample on-the-floor Gemba improvements (Gemba = where the work happens). These included developing, training and supervising staff in a complicated confined space entry procedure and entrance for a chemical tank, cut and weld, that included a vertical entrance drop, a sloping floor, toxic chemical and air flushing, double wall interior metal cutting, nine lockouts, and constant air monitoring for three tanks at the CAPTIN Toyota plant.

Gemba improvements also included improving standard operating procedures (SOPs) for facility air handling (welding plume); developing safe SOPs for a 50-ton press, the 5 and 10-ton overhead cranes and for several milling and shop machines; coaching on proper safety committee functions and interventions; resolving serious safety machine guarding issues, and instituting regulated First Aid coverage for off-shifts.

Lean Manufacturing, Quality, and Environment, Health & Safety Manager

Stanley Door Systems / Masonite - Langley, BC - April 2001 to May 2006

I served as the Lean (Continuous Improvement), Quality Assurance, and Environmental, Health and Safety Manager for the 120 employee exterior door manufacturing facility. The plant manufactured 1,200,000 exterior metal and fibreglass doors a year and pre-hung (assembled in frames) 110,000 of those for The Home Depot.

Environment, Health, and Safety: Although, The Stanley Works Corporation had a formal corporate EH&S Management System, it had not been implemented at the plant prior to my arrival. Within 12 months of arrival, the changes I implemented moved the Langley plant from 40th position to 4th position in environment, health, and safety. Corporate metrics changed causing us to drop to a rating of 44th out of 47 plants, and within 18 months, the new programs I implemented allowed the Langley plant to get to 1st place in environment and 4th place in health and safety.

I completed all the necessary documentation to self-certify the plant in the OHSAS 18001. I completed all the necessary documentation to self-certify the plant in the ISO 14001. I affected a reduction in OHSA recordable accidents; the year prior to my arrival, the plant had 56 recordable incidents. At the end of the 1st year, we had 26; at the end of the 2nd year, we had 7 incidents; and at the end of the 3rd year, we had 3 incidents.

Lean -Productivity: My mandate was to institute the Stanley Production System (SPS) that was fashioned after the Toyota Production System (TPS). The improvements I implemented, resulted in improving production from 6.3 units per m/h to 9.8, and basic units per shift went from 600 to 1250 units on flow lines and by improving high-value-added pre-hung production from 2.3 units per m/h to 3.4 by moving to cell configuration.

I completed preliminary facility lay-out designs for a new double-size factory for equipment, chemical storage, material flow, office, parking, and truck and trailer shipping and receiving. I provided training and coaching on Focused Factory, Poke-Yoke, Value Stream Maps, Visual Controls, SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Dies), TPM (Total Production Maintenance), Cell Design, and 5S. I developed Key Performance Indicator job descriptions and instituted supervisory performance appraisals moving lead-hands to supervisor positions.

Quality: I managed the implementation of a system to use scrap cost data, resulting in reduced scrap cost (COPQ) by $1M the first year, $400K the second, and $350K the third year, and reduced return goods costs by 50% - being the only Stanley plant to meet that aggressive target.

I became a certified SPS Manager, similar to what we call today, a Lean Black belt. I also acquired a Lean Sigma - Green Belt. My green-belt project qualification required a $25K in adjustment reductions and I fully achieved a $200K reduction. The $1M COPQ reduction would have qualified me as a Lean Sigma Black belt in today's terms.


College Vocational Instructor and Vocational Course Designer

THEOBC College - Vancouver, BC - February 1993 to March 2001

I served as a vocational instructor with the THEOBC College. The college specialised in giving vocational training and finding employment for adults with or recovering from mental illness. I also served as the Union Safety Steward for 5 years.

In my seven years at THEOBC, I developed five work ready programs from scratch. This included the development of vocational curriculum, lesson plans and lesson material, and delivering training curriculum for Warehousing, Sales and Service, Retail Sales, Customer Service, First Aid, Personal Presentation, Interpersonal Communication Skills, WHMIS, Institutional Environmental Services, Building Services - 250 hour Certificate and 500 hour Diploma level programs. I delivered training in Job Seeking courses that included training basic computer skills for Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel. I developed and delivered practical skills training (wall papering, painting, etc.) to adults that were not work ready.

While working at THEOBC, I attended the Provincial Instructors Diploma program. I developed a framework, for a 40‑hour design of curriculum course, called, ‘An Occupational Health and Safety Course for Maintenance Supervisors.’ I received a mark of A+ on all my assignments, and I had the highest available grade point average of 4.3 for the program for the four components I completed.

The assignment included a Needs Assessment, Objectives and Learning Tasks, Development of Lesson Plans, a Curriculum Guide, and an Integration Assignment. The safety course topics included: The New OH&S Regulation, Confined Spaces and Dangers, Confined Space Program, De-energization & Lockout, Chemical and Biological Substances (WHMIS), Asbestos Removal-Abatement-and-Containment, Fall Protection, and Using an Instructional Guide to Deliver a Lesson.


Technical Writer - Jet Engine Repair and Overhaul

Standard Aero - Winnipeg, MB - March 1990 to December 1992

StandardAero is a large-scale jet engine repair and overhaul facility. Technical writer and project leader on several jet-engine repair and overhaul manuals. I interpreted engineering documentation and shop processes and wrote or re-created user documentation meeting military specifications.

The reporter for the company newsletter on Total Quality Management change program for jet engine re-manufacturer.

 

Department Director - Environmental Services

Deer Lodge Centre Inc. - Winnipeg, MB - February 1985 to October 1989

Deer Lodge Centre is a 450-bed extended and personal care healthcare facility and hospital. I was the Department Director of Environmental Services.

During transitioning from federal to provincial control and the renovation of the nine-building complex and the addition of a Personal Care tower. Decanted all residents/patient wards (four times).

I managed the department (planning, organizing, staffing, controlling), developed job descriptions, hiring questionnaires, interviewed, hired, designed training programs and work assignments for the worker, supervisory, and clerical staff (45 FTE's).

Designed, developed, wrote, and instituted departmental QA, and Operation manuals.


Senior Supervisor / Staff Trainer

Health Sciences Centre Inc. - Winnipeg, MB - June 1980 to February 1985

At the Health Sciences Centre, a 1200-bed tertiary-care teaching hospital with 7,000 employees,

I served as senior supervisor (responsible for all training) then department coordinator for the environmental services department of this tertiary-care hospital with 7000 employees and 4.5M sq. ft. over 22 buildings.

I managed the activities and the performance of 20 supervisors who collectively controlled the operations of 340 staff where I developed action plans for problem resolution, was liaison between professionals, departments, visitors, other staff, and patients as it related to departmental issues.

I had direct control of emergency planning, quality, training and development, I performed departmental staff training and performed week-long orientation and training and I revised all work assignments to achieve a mandated 10% staff reductions.


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

I have included a summary list of my past experience:

  • Training Specialist – Paper and Plastic Bag Manufacturing (current 1 yr. 5 mo.)
  • Industrial Trainer – BC Largest Window Glass Manufacturer (1 yr. 7 mo.)
  • Course Designer – Research and create an online training business (3.5 years)
  • Maintenance & Mechanic – Industrial Trucks (1 year)
  • Facility Operation Manager (26-acre, 225-resident, holiday park) 3.5 years
  • EHS Coordinator (heavy drilling equipment manufacturing) 8 years
  • Corporate Safety Manager (heavy equipment manufacturing and contact millwrighting) .5 years
  • EHS/Lean/Quality Manager (high volume door manufacturing) 5 years
  • College Vocational Instructor (adult vocational training education) 7 years
  • Technical Writer – Jet engine overhaul and repair (turbo-jet engines) 2 years
  • Department Manager/Director (hospital) 4 years
  • Senior Supervisor, Scheduler and Staff Trainer (for 400 department employees - hospital) 5 years
  • Building Maintenance Industrial Restorations Manager 4 years
  • Shop maintenance then Material Controller (mobile trailer maintenance) 2 years
  • Mechanic then Parts Manager (engine remanufacturing) 1.5 years
  • Industrial Mechanic (in steel and tanning factories) 2 years
  • Formally trained (power mechanics diploma) Service station Vehicle Mechanic 3 years
  • A service station attendant 1 year


EDUCATION

Diploma in Business Administration - Management

Red River Community College

Diploma in Power Mechanics

Sturgeon Creek Regional Secondary School

Departmental Directors Program

Canadian Hospital Association (1-year program)

Fire Prevention I, Care Facility Emergency Manual Development II

Manitoba Fire College - Winnipeg, MB

Principles of Production and Inventory Management

Purchasing Management Association of Canada

Provincial Instructors Diploma Program (4 of 6)

Centre for Curriculum Transfer and Training

CSTS

Alberta Construction Safety Association


CORPORATE EDUCATION

Halliburton: Red Level Lean Leadership, Overhead Crane Training Instructor, 5-Day TapRooT® Advanced Root Cause Analysis Team Leader Training, Safety Leadership (2 Days), 10 Management Related Courses (2-3 Days ea.), 75 Computer Delivered HSE Courses (each were 1-4 hrs.)

The Stanley Works: Stanley Environmental Health and Safety Coordinators - Certificate, Lean Sigma - Green Belt, Stanley Production Systems Manager - Certificate (Lean Manager)

Standard Aero: Allison Turboshaft Jet Engine Maintenance

Health Sciences Centre: Manitoba Fire College - Fire Prevention I, Manitoba Fire College - Care Facility Emergency Manual Development II, Fire and Patient Evacuation (Train the Trainer),

Controlling Aggression in a Patient Setting (Train the Trainer),

Performance Evaluation and Job Enrichment - Multi- Cultural Management, Quality Assurance - Progressive Discipline Methods, Effective Communications - Report Writing

Other Training: CSTS Alberta, 5th Class Power Engineering, Fundamental Principles in the Operation and Maintenance of Hydraulics, Small Water Systems Operator


FROM A PAST WORKPLACE PSYCHOMETRIC ASSESSMENT

You may be wondering who Dale is? Who do you get? The following is from an extensive workplace psychometric assessment from a past leadership position.

  • a self-starter that prefers to go after solutions to problems rather than take a ‘wait and see’ approach
  • daring and bold; tackles problems aggressively and independently
  • seeks to solve problems in an independent yet persuasive manner with the support of others
  • confident and relaxed with others; even in social situations that may seem risky and uncertain
  • sees people for their qualities rather than as a threat
  • a pioneering and venturesome risk taker
  • results and goal-oriented with a sense of urgency when dealing with issues and deadlines
  • highly utilitarian wanting every investment of time, talent, and resources to have an adequate return
  • a passion for utilizing resources, application, return on investment, capitalism, conservatism, and production; characteristically practical, efficient and maximizes resources
  • highly theoretical and motivated to use cognitive ability to understand and discover truth; a passion for solving problems, identifying, analyzing, and clarifying; characteristically objective, focused, rational, and use a fact-based cognitive approach
  • incisive, direct and creative
  • enjoys a variety of tasks at a given time with the opportunity to display originality
  • projects a strong sense of self-confidence