Simone Naidoo
Johannesburg
Summary
Strong leader and problem-solver dedicated to streamlining operations to decrease costs, promote organizational efficiency and building a high performance autonomous team. Skilled in working under pressure and adapting to new challenges.
Overview
11
11
years of professional experience
Work History
Operations Manager
Royal Canin
05.2022 - Current
- Managed a dry pet food manufacturing facility, from raw material receiving to final packaging.
- Drove continuous improvement efforts, including optimizing inventory management, reducing waste, and implementing Mars Supply Excellence (MSE) strategies.
- Led people-focused initiatives, increasing productivity by 60%, through reducing workforce size while improving efficiency, and enhancing employee education by lowering the percentage of workers with only primary school education from 73% to 46%.
- Delivered significant improvements in safety, quality, waste, and service: eliminated high-risk safety areas, increased product quality from 68% to 81%, reduced raw material consumption variance to less than 5% and increased ATS to greater than 90%.
Plant Manager – Nitro Phosphate Complex
Omnia Fertilizer
06.2018 - 04.2022
- Led the successful commissioning of the Nitro-Phosphate 2 Greenfields production facility, achieving design capacity of 1500 tons per day in 2020.
- Managed the decommissioning of two old plants (NP1 & LCN1), while establishing new management systems, contractor SLAs, and infrastructure for sustainable production at the new NP2 plant.
- Maintained a safety record of zero injuries for over 700 days, met production targets with no quality non-conformances, and adapted plant processes during raw material shortages to maintain production.
- Focused on continuous improvement, managing a 60 million Rand monthly budget, optimizing operations, upholding safety and legal compliance, and implementing lean manufacturing and WCM strategies for cost, quality, and efficiency improvements.
Process Engineer Roles
Omnia Fertilizer
06.2014 - 06.2018
- Supported plant and operations management by evaluating raw material efficiency, energy use, production capacity, and cost, while leading process engineering efforts, overseeing design to commissioning.
- Successfully reduced waste by 76% in Nitro Phosphate and LCN plants through the Kalsti Reduction Project, and upgraded the NOx scrubber to meet NEMA air quality standards, reducing harmful emissions.
- Improved production capacity by optimizing intake systems, adjusting chute angles, and upgrading materials for ammonia and sulfuric acid piping, eliminating over 600 hours of annual availability loss and enhancing operational efficiency.
Education
Master of Science - Engineering
University of The Witwatersrand
03-2018
Bachelor of Science - Chemical Engineering
University of The Witwatersrand
12-2013
Skills
Production and Operations management
Performance monitoring
Problem solving
Process engineering
Project management
Timeline
Operations Manager
Royal Canin
05.2022 - Current
Plant Manager – Nitro Phosphate Complex
Omnia Fertilizer
06.2018 - 04.2022
Process Engineer Roles
Omnia Fertilizer
06.2014 - 06.2018
Master of Science - Engineering
University of The Witwatersrand
Bachelor of Science - Chemical Engineering
University of The Witwatersrand
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