Shahir Altaf

Setting up the UK's first rail industry hub in Goole. I am the first quality assurance technician to be employed at the site. This role is crucial to ensure the safety and quality of the trains throughout the Manufacturing Process.

I am currently setting up the London Underground Piccadilly Line Project which is expected to start around March 2024.

Brief overview of the tasks;

• Being part of the Quality Team interacting directly with the production and logistics teams, to ensure governance and compliance are maintained at all times.
• Supporting the Team Lead Quality and your fellow team members, being directly responsible for performing checks and inspections within the facility, including regular checks against manufacturing milestones, and supporting customer inspections.

In my role as a Quality Team Lead, I managed a team of eight inspectors, providing guidance and training to ensure the entire team adhered to Alstom's rigorous inspection processes. I was also responsible for identifying areas for improvement and implementing new working processes, practices, and standards.

Furthermore, I played a pivotal role within the sales and commissioning department, collaborating closely with esteemed clients such as Rock Rail and TXM. In this capacity, my primary objective was to facilitate the sale and commissioning of trains during the Buy-Off stage. I am proud of my documented success in enhancing production across a diverse range of high-value projects, each exceeding £1 billion in value.

I am now poised to bring my wealth of knowledge and experience to Siemens Mobility (Rolling Stock), where I anticipate making a significant contribution to their operations.

I played a pivotal role in overseeing the comprehensive inspection and quality assurance of new rail vehicles, ensuring they met the highest industry standards before their sale or handover to customers. This work took place within a demanding and fast-paced facility, with a focus on impeccable vehicle delivery. My responsibilities encompassed a wide range of quality inspection activities, spanning from goods in to supporting the assembly line and conducting final sale assessments. Additionally, I actively collaborated with customers to facilitate the sale of trains and secure payments for Alstom.

My day-to-day tasks included:

• Vigilant quality control and inspection to identify recurring systemic issues.
• Initiating effective problem-solving processes, supporting constructive feedback, and integrating the insights gained into core functions.
• Conducting final inspections as a critical step prior to customer handover.
• Managing non-conformance reports (NCRs) and material reject reports (MRRs) from both suppliers and Alstom.
• Ensuring that all supplied parts met the required quality standards (supplier quality) by meticulously reviewing engineering drawings and bills of materials (BOMs).
• Resolving manufacturing line issues by investigating root causes, finding viable solutions, or escalating to relevant departments while maintaining compliance with industry standards and regulations.
• Keeping all departments informed of issues and their resolutions during daily Andon meetings.
• Conducting final inspections as required by customers to attain buy-off for complete train sets.

My role extended to working on a range of significant projects involving brand-new fleets, including the Class 701 for Southwestern Railway, Class 730 for West Midlands Railway, Class 720 for East Anglia, and the prestigious new Cairo monorail project.

My tenure as a Quality Team Lead at Alstom significantly enriched my professional skill set and broadened my experiences, positioning me as a valuable asset in the railway industry.

My ability to lead teams effectively, drive quality improvement initiatives, and facilitate collaborative efforts across multifaceted functions have been crucial elements contributing to my success in the railway sector.

As a Quality Inspector at Jaguar, I played a key role in maintaining the brand's high standards of quality and safety in vehicle production. My responsibilities included:

My work contributed to Jaguar's commitment to excellence in automotive manufacturing.

During my tenure at Rolls-Royce in Derby, I held a position with the following responsibilities:

1. Test Standards Development: I was tasked with developing and maintaining test standards for production engines. This involved the implementation of performance limitation reports and engineering reports to ensure that our engines met the highest performance and quality standards.

2. Data Analysis and Process Improvement: I captured and analysed data to continuously improve our test processes. This iterative approach was instrumental in meeting safety, quality, cost, and delivery requirements.

3. Cross-functional Collaboration: I closely collaborated with cross-functional teams, including design, operations, test, and measurements, to address technical aspects of the test processes, fostering a cohesive and collaborative work environment.

4. Production Test Support: I provided support for production test schedules and built sequence amendments through the special test instructions (STI) process to ensure seamless test continuity.

5. Problem Resolution and Coaching: I resolved technical issues using the disciplined 8D problem-solving process and also provided coaching in this method to enhance team problem-solving skills.

6. Performance Tracking: I meticulously tracked delay captures and right-first-time sheets in our systems to identify and address the main sources of production delays.

7. Certification and Documentation: I was responsible for preparing data plates for etching on engine components, as well as generating the necessary certification paperwork for the pass-off process.

My contributions in this role supported Rolls-Royce's commitment to excellence in aerospace manufacturing, safety, and quality assurance.