Director of Operations

Direct and coordinate the operations of a multi-commodity organization, responsible for ensuring and improving the performance, productivity, efficiency, and profitability of departmental and organizational operations through the provision of effective methods and strategies.
• Coordinate, manage and monitor the workings of various departments in the organization, the organization grows and packs round tomatoes, roma tomatoes, bell peppers and jalapeño peppers. Heavy packing season from early June to early November. Multi shift operation, manage shipping department personnel.
• Company is in the process of building a new state of the art cooling facility along with other equipment such as stackers, accumulators of product, wrappers for all four commodities to minimize labor and become more efficient.
• The organizations runs a multi shift operation with approximately 300 employees during the season, responsible for all production and safety of all four departments, purchasing, vendor relationships.

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• Utilize financial data to improve profitability. Prepare and control operational budgets. Control inventory. Plan effective strategies for the financial well-being of the company.
• Improve processes and policies in support of organizational goals. Formulate and implement departmental and organizational policies and procedures to maximize output. Monitor adherence to rules, regulations and procedures.
• Plan the use of human resources. Organize recruitment and placement of required staff. Establish organizational structures. Delegate tasks and accountabilities. Establish work schedules. Supervise staff. Monitor and evaluate performance.
• Coordinate and monitor the work of all 4 production areas involved in production, warehousing, pricing, and distribution of goods. Monitor performance and implement improvements. Ensure quality of products. Manage quality and quantity of employee productivity. Manage maintenance of equipment and machinery. Provide technical support where necessary.
• Monitor, manage and improve the efficiency of support services such as IT, HR, Accounts and Finance. Facilitate coordination and communication between support functions. Involved in establishing communication with field operations to ensure a smoother transition for daily production requirements.
• Help in customer support. Support sales and marketing activities.
• Liaison with top management. Assist in the development of strategic plans for operational activity. Implement and manage operational plans, including the installation of a Warehouse Management System (Redline) along with Famous Software.

Operations Manager

Position entails many and diverse managerial and senior level responsibilities, with changes as demanded by the time and situation.

MONITOR CONSTRUCTION OF THE NEW COLD STORAGE FACILITY

 Responsible for monitoring the construction process and evaluate the performance of the selected vendors to the prevailing schedule determined for the project. This cold storage facility is a LEED certified building and has a total of 110,000 square feet, with 60,000 square feet of cooling storage area in five cooling rooms, a tomato packing line and future space for a cut celery processing area. The construction includes a total of ten forced air coolers. The holding capacity of the facility is approximately 3,000 pallets of product.
 Responsible for all aspects of Food Safety, Food Security and Sanitation Programs as well as all employee training and the responsibility of the written and posted safety and food safety to ensure that employee knowledge of the building and working components are fully understood.
 Responsible for the ammonia refrigeration system which holds 22,000 of refrigerant RMP Program, SOP’s for the entire facility.

 Assist the Food Safety Manager with AIB and PRIMUS LABS and other third party audits as well with procedures and the requirements of documentation and testing needed to ensure a high mark during the audit period.

 Company grows/ships around 40 different products throughout the year, both organic and conventional.
 Develop working schedules for the shifts involved and to ensure sufficient and competent supervision for these seasonal endeavors.
 Heavy tomato packing season from mid-June thru mid-December, managing a multiple shift packing operation which employs 90+ employees in the morning shift and around 60 employees in the night, organic and conventional products.
 The tomato packing includes multiple packs and multiple colors, bulk pack and in RPC’s, as well as special packs per customer’s requests. Flexible and alert to the changes needed for each situation.
 Continuous contact with sales force to understand and plan for future commitments, by customer and by pack type.
 Heavy celery and strawberry shipping season from the beginning of November through the middle of June, receiving and shipping an average of 65,000 units per day six days per week.
 Company also provides contract cooling, warehousing, and shipping of celery and strawberries for other well-known shippers in the vegetable industry.
 Provide assistance to encourage and to provide the linkage required from harvest and sales in order to run an efficient operational system for the daily harvest, provide input to the expected flow of product to be received, and to forecast with sales the pack sizes and nits required by the customer, continual monitoring of these functions in a daily basis, combine the harvest and the sales requirements to the successful and efficient cooling and shipping schedules.
 Purchasing relationships with vendors for all materials and equipment needed at the facility, as well as selecting contractors for projects needed throughout the year.
 Equipment leasing and purchasing.
 Ammonia system operator.
 Highly proficient in Famous Software and Redline Software Managing Systems.
 Manage preventative maintenance programs for all equipment in the facility including ammonia system.

Shipping/Distribution Manager/ Bakery Manager's assistant/Production Manager

 Establish and maintain effective working relationships and two-way communication with co-workers and other personnel throughout the company.
 Manage the people and the physical consolidation on the floor to support shift activities and meet weekly customer requirements.
 Manage product inventory and coordinate with all areas necessary inside and outside of the plant to ensure adequate stock level management.
 Coordinate documentation of products to ensure timely, damage-free, and accurate shipments to customers.
 Provide training and development activities for personnel. Interface with appropriate personnel to ensure timely and accurate receipt of products and to resolve work order discrepancies.
 Develop annual budget for approval by the Plant Manager.
 Work closely with Plant Management and Customer Service to keep special deliveries and out-of code product at a minimum.
 Manage warehouse activities for both incoming and outgoing shipments.
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 Manage loading operations to ensure compliance with shipping specifications.
 Inspect material handling equipment for defects, notify maintenance personnel as appropriate or contact outside service facility repair.
 Maintain a regular trailer inspection program for all ingoing and outgoing shipments.
 Conduct investigations related to any truck damage or shortage discrepancies.
 Train and develop employees in the use of inventory and production reporting.
 Assist the Quality Assurance and Sanitation Departments with questions and programs for Food Safety and Sanitation matters.

General Manager, Cooling and Shipping Facility

 Supervise shipping/receiving operations of 12,000 units, loading of 20 trucks, and scheduling of five long haul vehicles.
 Manage 90+ staff most of the year, company also has a basil plucking seasonal run with an additional 35 to 40 employees as well as a seasonal watermelon run which adds an additional 25 to 35 employees.
 Prepare sanitation schedules and review documentation of activities and procedures for the AIB annual audit, and PRIMUS LABS annual audit.
 Facilitate staff training on computer program usage for truck scheduling.
 Arrange inventory requirements of cartons, wood pallets, Chep pallets, and RPC containers.
 Introduce sanitation, safety, and workflow procedures, prepare capital expenditure plans, and develop service/maintenance programs.
 Work with Assistant Facility Manager and Maintenance Supervisor to schedule cooling equipment maintenance and/or replacement.
 Established channels of communication and organization by being the central point of organization and leadership between the harvest department and the Cooling Facility by providing help to harvest department from the Harvest Department Managers to the Crew Leaders and individual employees at the field level, increasing the flow and quality of the product.
 Reduced overtime by five hours per day and increased annual sales by 20% by providing efficient machinery equipment, visual inspections, and higher employee wages.
 Improved repack efficiency, machine repair and costing data, and truck mileage/log records by developing new database reporting methodologies.
 Advanced FAMOUS features for easier usability for reporting, inventory, receiving, and re-pack and sales modules.
 Achieved superior AIB and PRIMUS LABS audit ratings by introducing clear and concise processes and procedures for rapid production.

Shipping Manager/In House Sales/Production Manager/Customer Service

 Managed a team of up to 120 employee and $25M in annual sales.
 Oversaw shipping and packing list preparation, customer services, and order taking.
 Directed shipment of 25 million grapevines, 2 million fruit and nut trees, and approximately 90,000 poinsettias across California and Oregon.
 Planned production and distribution schedules for up to ten drivers and data reporting needs for office personnel.
 Provided leadership and sales support for 3,500 clients and vendors ensuring accurate order preparation and change communication.
 Interfaced with winery field supervisors and vineyard owners regarding specific orders and scheduling.

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 Worked with safety and HR to audit worker compensation insurance policies, CHP BIT program, DMV reporting, and repair and maintenance program.
 Pioneered a refined structure for planning, analysis, and product flow by implementing Oracle database order entry functions within six months of software implementation.
 Championed implementation of more efficient reporting procedures by effectively organizing and tracking expenditures and payroll related projects.