David Coombes

Experience

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  Neville Clarke International

  Mar 1991 - Oct 1993

  Management Consultant and Trainer

  Provided consulting and training services for Total Quality Management, process improvement and business management systems within a variety of business sectors. Activities included: business process audits, metrics reviews, process mapping, development and management of action plans, conducting executive and company wide training programs for ISO 9000, QMS, Lead Auditor and Internal Auditing. Companies included:BBC Transmission EngineeringDECForensic Science ServicesKraft General FoodsNational Air Traffic ServicesNeville Clarke InternationalPedigree Pet FoodsPhilips Lighting. Show less

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  Biz Improvements (formerly Vanguard Business Solutions)

  Oct 1992 - Nov 1996

  Principal Consultant

  Provided consulting and training services to hi-tech, telecom and consumer product companies in Total Quality Management initiatives within the Design, Manufacturing and Service sectors. Activities included conducting initial management systems reviews/gap assessments, providing action plans and facilitating cross-functional teams to drive continuous improvement and achieve certification for ISO 9001. Clients included:3M Apple Computer American Racing Equipment Blue DiamondGTE Telecommunications OPW RefuelingValenite Xtra International Show less

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  RSP Manufacturing, Fremont, CA

  Nov 1996 - Sept 1997

  Director, Quality Assurance

  Directed a team of six Quality Engineers and an Inspection/QC team of fourteen personnel within a “build to print” organization, offering turnkey operations to a number of high tech companies including Sun Microsystems, Cisco Systems, Solectron and SGI. • Reduced manufacturing defect levels from 250,000 parts per million (ppm) to 1,500 ppm by deploying work cell training programs for statistical quality control and defect prevention methods (Poka Yoke).• Drove cycle time down for returned materials from 30+ days to 5 days by deploying Return to Stock (RTS) and Materials Review Board (MRB) processes.• Overall improvements in quality led to company being awarded Cisco Systems’ “Supplier of the Year” Show less

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  Applied Materials

  Sept 1997 - Jun 2003

  Responsible for creating an enterprise wide environment for software process improvement, with the primary goals of increasing the reliability of the company’s software products and of reducing cost of ownership for customers. • Utililized 6 Sigma approach to define problem statements, determine project scope and develop process metrics, to drive quality improvement programs resulting in: - Improved software reliability across all products by 5X. - Reduced Software Bug backlog from an average of 15 bugs per product to less than 5. - Improved responsiveness for external customer issues (reported to fixed) by an average of 50%.• Implemented software process audits, identifying gaps and action plans, which improved overall ratings by 65% while maintaining the ISO 9001 certification.• Deployed root cause analysis process for coordinating responses on critical issues to key customers, which provided status reports and improved communications, increasing customer satisfaction.• Defined business process for conducting post mortems for major software releases to eliminate repeat errors and reduce overall development cycle time.• Incorporated key aspects of BS7799, such as Access Control / Information Security, Backup and Recovery / Business Continuity, Equipment Security, Outsourcing, Virus Control / Configuration Management, etc.Deployed SEI/CMM through level 3 across multiple software groups Show less Led an internal consultancy group, responsible for identifying project improvement opportunities within design, manufacturing and supply chain management and providing solutions. Conducted benchmarking studies of customer requirements resulting in the definition of the structure and measurement criteria for the corporation's QMS program.• Obtained 100% buy in for the QMS program by presenting to all Quality Directors within the company.• Trained 1200 employees to implement ISO 9000 by developing and presenting training classes to all divisions within Santa Clara, Austin and Taiwan locations.• Led key business units to achieve certification to ISO 9000 by conducting QMS audits, identifying gaps and action plans, and providing follow up verification assessments.• Re-engineered the Quality Recognition Program resulting in employee participation and recognition improving by greater than 100%. Show less

  • Director of Quality - Software Quality & Reliability

    Sept 1999 - Jun 2003

  • Total Quality Manager for Quality Management Systems

    Sept 1997 - Sept 1999
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  Oracle Corporation

  Feb 2004 - Aug 2005

  Principal Program Manager, Continuous Improvement

  Primarily operating in the Global IT group, but with additional responsibilities for working with the internal and external customer base to define and drive continuous improvement projects utilizing six sigma methods. Additional responsibilities as Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) 404 Compliance Manager for Global IT including: - Change Management / Change Control - Disaster Recover and Back Up / Business Continuity - Access Control - Logical and Physical including Security Management for IT groups and Data centers - Segregation of Duties (SOD) - IT Organization / Communications - Problem Management - Capacity Management• Defined business processes and metrics for Root Cause Analysis and Corrective Action• Developed "Project Prioritization" System utilizing risk management and failure mode effect analysis (FMEA) protocols• Demonstrated savings in excess of $2.5M over a period of 9 months (costs agreed by Finance Dept.)• Deployed SOX tracking matrix for key controls testing and remediation closure - Single point of contact for independent audit body for SOX certification - Utilized ISO 27001 / ISO 17799 within the audit controls - Achieved all milestones for Management Testing and Remediation actions Show less

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  PayPal

  Aug 2005 - Jan 2008

  Manager, Engineering Efficiency

  The initial challenge was to develop and deploy a series of measurements that would provide a measure for Software Engineering Efficiency. The metrics were reported monthly to management to track progress on upcoming software releases and to track the performance of released software and patches.Developed and deployed a complete set of software engineering metricsParticipated in management reviewsDeveloped and presented training material for software metrics for engineering teams and new employeesAudit / Compliance Manager Aug 2007 to Jan 2008Responsible for conducting audits, developing action plans and for verifying implementation in accordance with ISO 17799/27001 for security management across multiple business groups. Show less

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  Biz Improvements

  Feb 2008 - Aug 2011

  Principal Consultant

  Biz Improvements provides consulting and training services based on problem solving and continuous improvement approaches such as:DMAIC - Define / Measure / Analyze / Improve / Control (Six Sigma approach)SIPOC - Supplier / Input / Process / Output / Customer (Process approach)PDCA - Plan / Do / Check (Study) / Act (Dr W Edwards Deming)CMMI - (Capability Maturity Model Integration) - Initial / Managed / Defined / Quantitatively Managed / OptimizedAdditionally, Sarbanes Oxley key controls (SOX), SAS 70, ITIL, Quality Management Systems ISO 9000), PCI QSA, Security Management (ISO 27000), Risk Management and Business Continuity are covered.Biz Improvements works with companies to help them identify problem areas, identify the root causes of the issues and fully implement corrective actions. This can include documentation of the company’s management / quality systems from scratch or re-engineering existing systems and procedures that have become overly complex or no longer match current practice. We also have extensive experience in helping improve supply chain management for larger organizations who have suppliers that are in need of assistance with their process improvement programs and overall supplier performance.Customized training programs can be delivered for each of the programs with the objective of providing your employees with the knowledge required to fully deploy and operate the new / revised processes.The techniques employed can be applied to a wide range of industry sectors as well as differing sizes of organizations – anything from privately owned companies with several employees all the way up to multinationals.Key Words:Process ImprovementBusiness Process Re-engineeringSix SigmaQuality Management SystemsQMSISO / AS 9000ISO 14000ISO 17799ISO 27000ITILBusiness ContinuityBusiness MetricsRisk ManagementSecurity ManagementStrategic PlanningSarbanes OxleySOX 404Working CapitalAsset Based Funding Show less

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  ABX Engineering

  Aug 2011 - Jul 2016

  Director of Operations and Quality

  Drive and maintain QMS compliance to ISO 9001-2015, ISO 13485 and customer requirements.develop and deploy process updates to achieve registration to AS9100 rev D (2016)Plan and conduct internal audits and host all customer and 3rd party audits.Improve operating inefficiencies across the organization.Deploy continuous improvement reviews across all departments and deploy a six sigma approach to ongoing projects which included Customer Acceptance > 99.5%, Component PPM 1st Time Yield <200PPM, with DPMO> 50Identify risks for defects occurring within business processes by deploying Process FMEAs and RPNs to identify improvement programs.Remove opportunities for defects within the manufacturing and support functions by deploying 5s / lean manufacturing philosophyConduct root cause analysis 8D / 5Ys on reported issues and complete closed loop corrective actions / CAPA where required.Develop and maintain the organization's metrics and KPIs for the overall scorecard for internal processes / work centers and voice of the customer data. Show less

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  Amazon Lab126

  Jun 2016 - Mar 2020

  Senior Manager - QMS & Configuration Management

  Development and deployment of the Amazon Devices Quality Management System

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  Coherent Inc.

  Mar 2020 - Jan 2025

  Senior Manager, Quality Systems
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  David Coombes Consulting

  Feb 2025 - now

  Principal Consultant

  Consulting and training services based on continuous improvement approaches such as:DMAIC - Define / Measure / Analyze / Improve / Control (Six Sigma approach)SIPOC - Supplier / Input / Process / Output / Customer (Process approach)PDCA - Plan / Do / Check (Study) / Act (Dr W Edwards Deming)PFMEA - Process Failure Modes and Effect AnalysisCAPA - Corrective and Preventive ActionsCMMI - (Capability Maturity Model Integration) - Initial / Managed / Defined / Quantitatively Managed / OptimizedAlso including Quality Management Systems ISO 9000, AS9100, ISO 13485), together with Risk Management and Business Continuity.We work with clients to help them identify problem areas, understand the root causes of the issues and fully implement corrective and preventive actions. This can include documentation of the company’s management / quality systems from scratch or re-engineering existing systems and procedures that have become overly complex or no longer match current practice. We also have extensive experience in helping improve supply chain management for larger organizations who have suppliers that are in need of assistance with their process improvement programs and overall supplier performance.Customized training programs can be developed for each of the programs with the objective of providing your employees with the knowledge required to fully deploy and operate the new / revised processes.The techniques employed can be applied to a wide range of industry sectors as well as differing sizes of organizations – anything from privately owned companies with several employees all the way up to multinationals.Key Words:Process ImprovementBusiness Process Re-engineeringSix SigmaQuality Management SystemsCAPARCCAQMSISO 9000AS 9100ISO 27000ITILFMEABusiness ContinuityBusiness MetricsKey Process Indicators KPIsLeanRisk ManagementSecurity ManagementSix SigmaStrategic Planning Show less