David Lazzara

Experience

• 

  H.J. Heinz Company

  Aug 1997 - May 2004

  Maintenance Planner / Draftsman

   Responsible for daily creation, distribution, and processing of maintenance planning work orders via the CHAMPS Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS).  Worked closely with both salary & hourly employees to create and maintain the Preventative Maintenance program.  Designed several reports utilizing Microsoft Excel to record & chart the effectiveness of the Maintenance Planning program, point out problem areas, trend equipment histories, and analyze downtime issues to increase line up-time. Drafting responsibilities included creation of a drawing database using Microsoft Access, modification of existing drawings for contracted maintenance work, & continuous updating of facility USDA drawings to match ever-changing conditions by using Microstation SE & AutoCAD Lt programs.  Sat as the Maintenance Planning Chairperson at the weekly Maintenance Planning meetings.During this period of time the Pittsburgh Production Facility was purchased by Del Monte Foods from the H.J. Heinz Company Show less

• 

  Del Monte Foods, Inc.

  May 2004 - Jun 2007

  Production Supervisor

   Oversee the operation of three private label soup labeling lines, four soup stackers & warehousing operations simultaneously.  Conduct twice a month safety meetings and safety committee meetings with union employees and enforce company issued safety guidelines. Assist in creating job-training checklists to verify that new employees are being taught comprehensively.  Resolve unexpected problems in a timely & efficient manner to meet deadlines & maximize productivity.  Utilized Microsoft Office programs to track & present productivity results. Conducted annual training for labeling department employees emphasizing allergens, the understanding of lot codes, and importance of the proper application of customer labels to the correct variety of products.During this period of time Bay Valley Foods acquired the Pittsburgh Production Facility from Del Monte Foods. Show less

• 

  Bay Valley Foods

  Jun 2007 - May 2017

   Mange all aspects of Pittsburgh Factory Warehouse operations including shipping, receiving, and inventory control. A member of the Pittsburgh Factory BRC – HACCP team that prepares our facility for audits, approves factory procedures, and responds to any issues concerning USDA review of our facility.  Order the necessary materials for departmental operation not kept in the factory storeroom, enter PO’s to pay for the materials required, approve & file all documentation. Work closely with local, corporate, & third party representatives to detail out a shipping schedule that keeps finished goods moving in an expedient manner while keeping detention time to a minimum. Coordinate with production planning and labeling operations to determine manpower needs for the upcoming week. Create procedures for the warehousing department, establish training for those procedures & supervisory audits to assure the procedures are being followed. Show less  Oversee shipping, receiving, and inventory control operations to maximize fill rate and deliver products on time & damage free. Responsible for all aspects of the cycle counting program for the Pittsburgh warehouse. Investigate Overages, Shortages and Damages claims & verify if possible, coaching employees and holding accountable those responsible for the errors in accordance with company issued performance guidelines. Assure compliance with company issued Good Manufacturing Practices, perform monthly Food Safety Audits, monitor & resolve issues discovered during BRC audits. Attained internal BRC auditor certification during a class presented at the Pittsburgh Factory. Attended two Lean Manufacturing courses presented at the Pittsburgh Factory. Attained SAP certification via internal training course. Warehouse Management System (WMS) Coordinator responsible for modifying & updating the warehouse management system settings & rules of operation for the warehouse building. Able to resolve conflicts between the union workforce & management in a calm & effective manner.  Conduct monthly safety meetings & enforce company issued safety policies.  Work with Transportation, Customer Service, and Replenishment Coordinators to satisfy customer and distribution center needs. Work with various customers on an ongoing basis regarding inventory levels, stock releases, and inventory discrepancy resolution. Come up with innovative ways to segregate inventory when normal systemic solutions are not possible & communicate those effectively across the network. Work with hourly employees to assist them in understanding how our warehouse management system works and coach them on proper procedures for system use. Monitor all inventory movements & resolve issues as necessary. In the absence of the Warehouse Manager, update necessary reports & attend conference calls to represent the Pittsburgh factory to the network. Show less  Supervise all aspects of operation for a multimillion-dollar inventory covering in excess of five hundred thousand square feet including shipping, receiving, and order picking. Responsible for all aspects of the cycle counting program. Investigate Overages, Shortages and Damages claims & verify if possible, coaching employees and holding accountable those responsible for the errors in accordance with company issued performance guidelines. Integral part of the Cheswick facility transition & implementation of the company WMS system. Member of the “go live” team for the company WMS implementation at their North East facility in Erie PA.  Warehouse Management Coordinator responsible for modifying & updating the warehouse management system settings & rules of operation to meet the ever-changing needs of a warehousing facility. Worked closely with the IT group to resolve the issue of selling items before shipment and keeping the dollar vales for the inventory properly accounted while still being able to utilize the WMS system for inventory tracking.  Coordinate with representatives of the Quality Assurance Department in regards to held inventory & segregate as necessary.  Assure compliance with company issued Good Manufacturing Practices; perform monthly Food Safety Audits, monitor & resolve issues discovered during American Institute of Baking audits.  Able to resolve conflicts between the union workforce & management in a calm & effective manner.  Conduct monthly safety meetings & enforce company issued safety policies.  Work with Transportation, Customer Service, and Replenishment Coordinators to satisfy customer needs. Selected as an Area Specialist for the transition project from the current VAX based warehouse management system to SAP. Show less

  • Warehouse Manager

    Jun 2014 - May 2017

  • Warehouse Supervisor

    Aug 2011 - Jun 2014

  • Warehouse Supervisor

    Jun 2007 - Aug 2011
• 

  Riverbend Foods LLC

  May 2017 - Aug 2019

  Warehouse Manager

   Over 21 years of experience in a food manufacturing environment. Constantly drive for increased productivity to meet or exceed all financial goals & pursue cost savings measures to increase overall profitability. Work diligently with all levels of leadership and varied factory departments to assure safety, quality, productivity, and operational policies are executed to the company’s standards.  Responsible for all aspects of Warehouse operations including shipping, receiving, inventory control, audit preparedness, and safety. Implement 5S process to eliminate clutter and increase employee uptime. Primary contact for the Warehouse during the implementation of a new Warehouse Management System. Work closely with the employees & the development team to relay and address any issues. Optimize existing processes & procedures to best fit with the new Deacom system. Discovered issues with the company’s pallet rental company & pallet tracking process. Worked over several months to resolve the issues utilizing internal & external resources to see a significant cost savings. Work through the transition from a private unionized fleet to a contracted 3rd party fleet for all local deliveries & shuttles. Primary contact for all issues or concerns regarding our 3rd party transportation team.  Assure the warehouse is audit ready at all times in adherence to BRC standards by means of monthly audits and a constant attention to detail by the warehouse team.  Work closely with production planning, production, & labeling to maximize customer fulfillment rates.  Utilize Lead, Teach, Coach methodology to assure all team members are well versed on departmental procedures.  Worked with a packaging specialist to pinpoint areas of opportunity for cost savings. By the end of the project cost savings were estimated to be approximately 20k annually. Additional cost savings also projected to be seen as a result of this project with an estimate as yet to be developed. Show less

• 

  Fourth Street Barbeque Packaging

  Aug 2019 - Dec 2020

  Director of Transportation and Warehousing
• 

  BFG Supply Co

  Jan 2021 - now

  Warehouse Manager