​SKILLS
Leadership – successfully led direct and indirect reports
Communication – direct, forthright communications with people at all levels, from blue collar to corporate management
Presentation Skills - recognized with multiple awards
​Analytical problem solving – enjoy defining a problem, sorting out potential causes, developing and testing possible solutions 
Networking – many business contacts/friends, both within and outside companies where I worked, and in other industries  
Consensus building – Excel at understanding differences, finding mutually beneficial areas, jointly building on them
Implementing – Anticipate roadblocks to circumvent and incentives to build on to move a project from concept to implementation 
Strong ethics - Never compromised my principles; because something is legal, doesn’t necessarily mean that it is ethical
Experience – 40 years’ experience in a broad range of areas, including engine oils, industrial lubes, used oil, etc.
Sense of humor – useful in diffusing volatile situations and making long meetings more tolerable  
  
MOST SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Co-invented the GM Engine Oil Life Monitor with Dr. Shirley Schwartz, who developed a model for oil degradation in various types of service.  My contribution was to synch the model with electronic inputs already available in the vehicle, ensuring implementation at very low cost. The EOLM is installed in over 300M vehicles, and has saved 1/2 billion gallons of oil and significant warranty costs. 

- With help from people from nearly all GM North America plants, I developed the GM LS2 Industrial Lubricant Standards, which defined the required properties of all high-volume plant lubes. LS2 tapped collective plant knowledge to develop one of most comprehensive standards in the industry. I achieved a strong consensus and solid support of my plant friends that drove better than 90% implementation in GM North America plants,  resulting in product consolidation, lower downtime and reduced maintenance costs.

- With Dr. Steve Bergin, I co-developed the ASTM Sequence IIIE engine oil test for defining high temperature deposit and wear protection for passenger car engine oils. Developing a wear test is a "nuts and bolts project", in some ways, learning things about the test engine that the engine developers didn’t even know.  The Sequence IIIE test was a key component in industry engine oil specifications for several years. 

- I led the GM North America plant used oil program, responsible for 18M gallons of used oil generated annually. I ensured that we tracked volume, composition and cost of all plant used oil, as well as ultimate disposition of recovered oil and by-products. I had obtained a mandate from  GM Powertrain Manufacturing management requiring the use of 5, 10 and 20% recycled oil purchases over 3 years.  Many plants were over 50% by year 3. The program returned more than four million gallons of recycled oil to the plants annually, for purchased product savings over twice the cost of the program.  

- When I was involved in indirect chemicals (those used to produce vehicles) management, I developed and championed commodity indexing, using appropriate published indices for highest volume chemicals, which allowed for adjustments in fixed price contracts.  This was fairer to suppliers, and also reduced supplier price hedges, saving GM an estimated $11M annually in North America.
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- I have experience as an expert witness in oil-related areas.  

CONSULTING AREAS

Engine Oil Management
Are you familiar with:
 -    the basic composition of engine oils? 
 -    the purpose and details of engine tests? 
 -    industry engine oil specifications?  
SMO can:
 -    cover key industry meetings
 -    train your staff on engine oils – basic or advanced
 -    develop your own specifications and qualification process for engine oils
 
Plant Lubricant Management
 -    Do your plants buy lubes autonomously, often only by supplier recommendations?
 -    Do you have too many different lubricants?
 -    Are there no comprehensive purchase specifications, no assurance of consistent delivered product?
 -    Is there no approval process or approval list?
 -    Is there insufficient focus on lubricant handling and maintenance?
 -    Do you have high oil purchase and disposal costs?
 -    Is lubricant-related downtime unacceptable?  
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SMO can:
 -    Provide comprehensive standards for plant lubricants, approve products for ease of implementation
 -    Consolidate products for simplicity and cost reduction
 -    Improve quality, reduce overall cost of plant lubricants
 -    Deal with equipment suppliers conditioning their warranty on the use of a “special oil”
 -    Help protect worker health and safety
​ -    Improve equipment reliability, durability, uptime
 -    Engage and educate plant stakeholders to ensure ownership of better lubrication practices
 -    Provide guidance on maintenance and recycling of lubricants

Plant Used Oil Management, Recycling
 -    Do you know how much oil you purchase annually?
 -    Do you know how much oil leaks from machines?
 -    Do you know if you are buying the best oil for your  machines/equipment?
 -    Do you know volume and, composition of used oil generated, and its disposal costs?
 -    Do you want to be more environmentally responsible?
 
SMO can help with cradle to grave plant oil management:
 -    Proper lubricant selection for each application
 -    Proper maintenance and handling of lubricants
 -    Evaluating if reconditioning at production machines is an option
 -    Evaluating whether different waste streams should be segregated
 -    Considering if on-site trailer recycling is a possibility
 -    Deciding if off-site oil recycling, either reclamation or full re-refining, is possible
​ -    Screening any potential off-site service providers