Industrial Engineer · Lean Six Sigma Black Belt · Process, data & AI systems

I find the constraints that don’t show up in the data.

I fix industrial operations and design the digital systems that run them, as one piece of work. Fifteen years embedded in petrochemicals, rail, logistics and manufacturing, finding what the reporting misses. Most improvement work stops at the process, while most digital work starts without understanding it.

Calgary, Alberta · Serving Western Canada

15 yrsembedded in operations
5 sectorspetrochemical, rail, logistics, pharma distribution, building products
$70M+risk prevented on one capital project
9 sitesone improvement program
Track record

Fifteen years on the floor. Here’s what it surfaced.

Embedded as an engineer and continuous-improvement lead, full-time and contract, across five sectors. Each is a constraint found where it actually occurred, and the measured impact of removing it. Companies anonymized.

$70M+
Risk prevented
Petrochemical manufacturer · Western Canada
Constraint

A planned $1B reactor expansion would have forced the entire plant to run at 78% capacity, because of a shared railcar infrastructure constraint nobody had modelled.

What I did

Built a production model showing a 22% capacity shortfall site-wide, with a financial impact analysis, and presented it to executive leadership two years before startup.

Result

Prevented $70M+ in cumulative losses: a scope change in planning instead of a post-startup retrofit.

Production modellingCapacity analysisFinancial impact model
$1.7M
Potential savings · +41% capacity
Contract logistics (3PL) · Western Canada
Constraint

Layout and processes capping capacity and throughput in a pharmaceutical distribution operation.

What I did

Process analysis with layout optimization and workflow redesign for the medical-sector operation.

Result

Identified $1.7M in potential savings while adding 41% warehouse capacity, enabling expansion without capital investment.

Layout optimizationFlow analysisWorkflow redesign
$650K
Documented savings
Contract logistics (3PL) · 9 sites across Canada
Constraint

Inconsistent processes across sites preventing sustained gains and knowledge transfer between facilities.

What I did

Designed an enterprise improvement program with a standardized problem-solving framework; coached site managers and mentored improvement teams across all locations.

Result

$650K documented savings across 9 sites, 18-month roadmaps built with site managers, and teams that sustained results on their own.

Enterprise CI programStandard problem-solvingCoaching
35%
Rework reduction
Global railcar lessor · Western Canada
Constraint

No standardized processes, causing quality issues and rework across 700 railcars per year.

What I did

Developed standardized work procedures, shop-floor controls, and an operator training program.

Result

Cut rework 35% and supported a $9M strategic capital expansion analysis.

Standard workShop-floor controlsCapital analysis
5%
Production volume retained
Building-products manufacturer · Western Canada
Constraint

A critical quality defect with failed inline detection threatened a major customer. The organization had switched to 100% manual inspection and abandoned a newly purchased automated system.

What I did

Ran a structured root-cause investigation into calibration, process controls and specifications instead of accepting the equipment-failure assumption.

Result

Retained the customer (5% of production volume), found the real root cause, and restored the automated inspection system.

Root-cause analysisInspection systemsCalibration
Where I help

Where I’m usually brought in.

A capital project is about to lock in capacity.

I model the whole site, including shared infrastructure nobody owns, while a scope change is still cheap.

Output is stuck or costs are creeping.

I go to the floor, find the constraint the reports don’t show, and put a dollar figure on it.

Improvement keeps fading after the consultant leaves.

I build the program, the standards and the habits with your people, so results hold on their own.

Leadership wants AI in operations.

I show where it pays on your floor and where it doesn’t, then size one or two pilots in dollars.

How we work together depends on the problem: a short diagnostic, a defined project, or time embedded with your team. We settle that on the first call.

Already have a CI team? Good. I work alongside them. They know your plant; I add system-level modelling, data, AI and digital tooling they rarely have time to build, and an outside view of constraints that cross departments and sites.
How I work

Verify the constraint where it occurs, not in the spreadsheet.

Observation over data

I find the risks others miss by going beyond the existing reports, through direct observation in plants, distribution centres and rail yards.

Problems before solutions

I don’t recommend fixes until the work clearly identifies your highest-value problems, solved in the right sequence.

Tied to the number

Every finding is connected to measurable financial impact. If it doesn’t move a number, it isn’t the constraint.

Process and system, designed together

A fix that depends on people remembering fails. I design the standard and the digital support for it together: the procedure, the data capture, the dashboard, and AI where it earns its place.

Fieldmark

Some clients want the system to keep running. That’s Fieldmark.

The floor-capture method behind my engagements, packaged so your team can run it every day.

Contact

Start with a 30‑minute call.

Tell me what you’re working on. In 30 minutes I’ll say whether I can help and what a first step would look like.


linkedin.com/in/lawrenceyip ↗
Calgary, Alberta · Western Canada
Response within 24 hours