Robert K. Buchheim

     I have been blessed with interesting assignments, challenging opportunities, and surrounded by smart, skilled, enthusiastic people.  Sometimes I have been the neophyte, sometimes a team member, and sometimes the leader.  Almost always, we achieved good results.  I'm not arrogant enough to claim that the good results were solely due to my actions or decisions:  sometimes I had the good fortune to be the cheerleader while other people made very good things happen.  Such as:

• As General Manager of a plant producing and developing thrust-control valves: 
  • Extended sales by ten years (beyond sales forecast when I took over)
  • Achieved ISO-9001, AS-9100, and ISO-14001 certification
  • Developed advanced-capability technology and product enhancements
  • Consistent record of on-schedule, below-cost deliveries and above-target profit
  • Partnership with customers to resolve contractual and production issues
  • Successfully led completion of production and Plant closure
• As Manager of an OptoMechanical Engineering Dept:
  • improved design efficiency (hours per drawing) by 2.5X
  • improved design drawing quality by 3X (measured by pass-rate at design check)
• As Manager of a Product & Test Equipment Design Dept:
  • Consolidated mechanical design onto a single CAD system, reducing overhead costs, improving staff training, and improving schedule performance
  • Initiated design process monitoring, yielding improved quality and a 5X reduction in drawing-check labor
• As Program Manager of Chaparral Air Defense programs:
  • Developed and transitioned to production a new infrared-seeking missile
  • Produced and deployed night-vision kits for missile launcher
  • Successfully transitioned from a sole-source to a competitive environment, winning the initial competitive procurement of missile launchers.
• As Manager of Systems Engineering Dept:
  • Demonstrated one of the first laser beam control systems incorporating adaptive optics for turbulence compensation

Education

BS Physics, Arizona State University

UCLA Executive Program in Management

Defense Systems Management College

Publications

Lead-angle Effects in Turbulence-compensating Reciprocity Tracking Systems (Applied Optics)

Developing Performance Metrics for a Design Engineering Department (IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management)

Patent

Apparatus Comprising a Rotary-Acting Pilot Valve (US 6,962,323 B2)