The AMC's Team

The AMC has been designed as a "Virtual Organisation" with a small permanent staff
group who are graduates in Manufacturing and other Sciences relevant to their support roles for AMC. Industry projects undertaken by the AMC are managed by one of our Group Leaders who contribute professional skills, industry competence and commercial knowledge. In instances where specialist knowledge are required, the expertise of consultants are called upon who contribute professional skills, industry involvement and technical knowledge.

---

	Dr. Farhad Shafaghi (AMC Executive Director) Ph.D Production Technology, Brunel University London M.Tech. Production Technology, Brunel University London FIEAust CP Eng (Fellow Institute of Engineers)
Dr Shafaghi, currently Executive Director of the Advanced Manufacturing Centre at the Australian Technology Park has over 30 years experience in manufacturing and consulting. This includes wide international experience in the leadership of commercialisation projects establishing new industries by adapting or transferring new technologies. In Australia, he has assisted the DIST in industry development programs through the IMMT. He is also a Visiting Professor for University of NSW, the University of Sydney and the University of South Australia, teaching postgraduate studies in manufacturing management, design and technologies. Ausindustry / NIES Registered Lead Consultant in: Total Quality Management; Quality function Deployment; Team Based Organisations; Strategic Planning WCM; Planning Export Program PEP; Mechanical Design; Machine Shop Layouts; Project Management and Control; Systems and Technologies Diagnostic; NIES Initial Generic Diagnostic; Design of Experiment; Concurrent Engineering. Qualifications and Experience also include: - Director, Institute for Manufacturing Management Technologies (IMMT). Total Quality Management, "Train the Trainer" programme involving implementation techniques for ISO9000 and internal auditing procedures run by Dr Shafaghi. Over 4 year period trained over 1000 practitioners in QA and internal auditing. - Recent consulting client include: Austrade, Department of Primary Industry, Dunlop Flexible Foams, GlaxoSmithKline, Kysor Warren Pty Ltd, Pfizer Global Manufacturing, Pfizer Pty Ltd, ResMed Ltd.
	Dr. Andrew Aschner
Andrew Aschner is the managing consultant in the South Pacific Technologies group basedin New South Wales. Over a 25-year period he has worked as a business systems specialist, as a line manager in Industry, responsible for logistics, production, inventory management systems, and as an industry consultant, he is currently an associate of the Advanced Manufacturing Centre. Having operated as both line manager and specialist, he is able to provide leadership to manufacturing and distribution companies for speedy and effective implementation of new technologies and ideas. His current projects include the formation of a Sustainable Business Development program as well as a number of Supply Chain Management and E-Business concepts.
	John Brooks Bachelor of Engineering, (Mech.) University of Sydney Fellow, Institute of Company Directors, Australia
John Brooks is a Director of The Proteus Management Group specialising in regional and industry strategy. He has worked as a consultant and consultant manager in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong and Indonesia. He managed consulting offices in Wellington, N.Z, Perth, Western Australia and Melbourne. He is a Committee member and Fellow of The Warren Centre in the Engineering School of the University of Sydney. Projects in industry strategy and regional development include: - Currently he is part of an international consulting team developing a long term Research and Development strategy for the Australian Wool Industry. - In 1999/2000, he helped develop an industry Strategy for the Softwood Industry of New South Wales. This study was undertaken as a joint project for State Forests of NSW and State and Regional Development. It involved wide consultation with the softwood industry throughout the State. - In 1998, he completed an industry development strategy for the Greater Western Sydney Economic Development Board. The strategy looks at employment development opportunities and investment planning for the period to year 2020. In the current Waste Minimisation Program, he contracted to the AMC as the Coordinator of the Wood Products Group and leads the AMC group developing the Waste Reduction Manual to guide management in the process of reducing waste in ways that are both profitable and environmentally responsible
	Dragan Bejatovic Mechanical Engineer MIEAust CPEng
Dragan is employed in the Advanced Manufacturing Centre at Australian Technology Park, Sydney from 1998. He is responsible for the maintenance and development of the computers and office facilities and AMC's web site as the Network Development Engineer. He was involved in: - Transfer of images through Internet and videoconferencing technology, - Installation of the Digital Cameras, - Providing system and application technical support for the AMC e-Business On-line Education and Training System, and - Some activities related to utilasation of ATP's Fuel Cell Power Plant, - Preparation for Simulation Moddeling (Arena) projects, and - Manufacturing Processes and Process Improvements related projects. He participated as Project Coordinator in: - The Cleaner Production for Diecasters and Molten Metal Users Project, - Environmental Change in the Elctroplating Industry Project (partially), - Industry Sustainability Initiative Project, and - MITA-Sydney Group/METALS Project. Dragan has over 15 years experience in Mechanical Engineering field, involving: - Project Engineering, - Process Engineering, - Equipment and Tool Design, - Toolroom, Workshop and Technical Office Management, - Maintenance problem solving.
	Dr. Amir Dadgostar Ph.D. (UNSW, Sydney Australia, 1997) M.Eng.Sc. (UNSW, 1993), B.Sc.(1989). Senior Research Associate, School of Mechanical & Manufacturing, University of NSW,
Dr. Dadgostar has been involved in various industrial projects both in Australia and overseas, and has developed a Dynamic Reactive Fuzzy Scheduling System (DRFSS). He is specialised in areas of Production Management Systems, Scheduling, Computer modelling and simulation of processes.
	Martin Drerup B.Sc. in Chemistry/Geology Post-graduate certificate in Plastics at the Borough Polytechnic in London. M.B.A. at the University of Cape Town.
For the past 10 years, Martin has been the Manager for Environmental Affairs for a packaging industry association, where the focus has been on the overall environmental impacts associated with consumer goods and services and the role packaging plays. Prior to this, Martin worked in the manufacturing and general management area, with a focus on product development and innovation. He worked in the Vinyl flooring and the Packaging industries, as well as spending two years with the Victorian EPA. Close involvement with the Packaging industry, the issues associated with packaging waste and recycling and the National Packaging Covenant, has qualified Martin to advise and assist the AMC with environmental policy and related strategic matters.
	Dr Peter Fisher B.Sc., Ph.D, University of New South Wales, Sydney
Dr Peter Fisher is Director of the manufacturing consultancy organization, Breakthrough Management. Over 20 years ago, he was amongst the first to introduce JIT, TQM and related concepts to Australian Manufacturing companies. He has personally implemented major improvement programs in companies as diverse as pharmaceutical, appliance, and timber. He has developed and pioneered into Australia, many innovative programs for manufacturing including Design for Assembly, Strategic Supply Management and most recently, the Shainin/Motorola approach to Design of Experiments.
	Diana Gibbs B.Sc. (Hons), Agriculture with Economics, London University, 1972 M.Env. Stud. (Environmental Economics), Macquarie University, 1986
Diana Gibbs is an economist with over twenty years' experience as a consultant, involving projects throughout Australia and in the Asia/Pacific region. Her experience and expertise were recognised by the N.S.W. Treasury, via accreditation (although the register is now discontinued) as a consultant qualified to undertake economic analyses for N.S.W. State Government departments and authorities. Currently she is Project Leader for the development of the Global Wool Pipeline analysis and report to assist AWI in setting its Research and development priorities. She also worked on: - an analysis for ANM of the net benefits available to the State from use of some recycled newsprint as part of the resource used in their Albury paper mill, as compared to the benefits derived from use of virgin pulp alone; - a study on behalf of the Queensland Department of Primary Industry, and the Queensland forest industries, to prepare a Strategic Plan for future operations and activities of the State's forest and timber industry. - She is working with the community of the Riverina, via the Riverina Regional Development Board, to prepare a regional economic development strategy (REDS) for the period 1991 to 2001. - Similar projects have been undertaken for the Central-West Economic Development Group, the Orana Development and Employment Council, the Central Coast Economic Development Board, and the Greater Western Sydney Economic Development Board.
	Philip Goode
Phil is a Director of Tendidea Pty Ltd, a management consultancy that specialises in performance management and improvement. Whilst he works at all levels, he concentrates mainly on the parti- cular challenges faced by senior managers, especially in the implementation of change. Phil has spent the last 15 years facilitating and applying enterprise improvement strategies in many of Australia's leading companies. He has completed major consulting assignments for AusIndustry, NSW State and Regional Development, The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia, Southcorp Packaging and Water Heater Divisions, ABB Service and Installation, RTA Fleet Services, Mayne Logistics and Mannesman Dematic Colby. He has had considerable and varied experience in service and manufacturing companies in the United Kingdom, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. Prior to establishing Tendidea, Phil was a Director of Manatec Pty Ltd, with offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. As a consultancy, Manatec specialised in Strategic Planning, Team Driven improvement and large Cultural Change Programs across a wide range of industries. Before joining Manatec, Phil was State General Manager for the Technology Transfer Council, where he helped develop and implement strategy to assist the effectiveness of Australian manufacturing industry.
	Prof. Hartmut Kaebernick
Professor Kaebernick is a mechanical engineer with degrees from the Technical University of Berlin in Germany, leading to the Doctor of Engineering in manufacturing. He has a professional background of 28 years in industry, research and tertiary education, including several engineering and management positions in the University of Hamburg. In 1986 he moved to Australia to head the CSIRO Division of Manufacturing Technology's Sydney Laboratory with growing research activities in assembly automation and industrial lasers. In October 1991 he was appointed Professor of Manufacturing Engineering at the University of New South Wales.
	A/Prof. Roger Kerr
Prof Kerr is an internationally acclaimed expert on the management of manufacturing systems. In addition to many published journal papers and edited conference proceedings, he is the author of "Knowledge-Based Manufacturing Management" (Addison Wesley 1990) a seminal introduction to, and survey of, the potential applications of artificial intelligence and expert systems to manufacturing management. He is chairman for the Asia-Pacific region of IFIP (International Federation for Information Processing) Working Group 5.7 on Computer Aided Production Management, and co-chairman of the IFIP TC5 Special-Interest Group on Knowledge-Based Reactive Scheduling. He is on editorial boards of a number of international journals relating to manufacturing, production and operations management, and has been on the International Programme Committees of over 50 international conferences in this field. He has also had extensive consulting experience with manufacturing companies in Australia, the USA, Europe, and Southeast Asia.
	Rita Lahoud
Rita commenced working for the AMC in 2004 as the Project Co-ordinator for the Food Manufacturing Industry Project. She graduated with Honours from the Bachelor of Arts in Communication (Writing and Contemporary Cultures) degree from the University of Technology, Sydney and has completed a 'Writing and Presenting for Television' Course. She also has extensive sales and marketing experience and previously worked as an accounts executive for an advertising agency.
	D.A. O'Malley B.Tech. (Civil Engineering), University of Adelaide, M.B.A., University of Alberta Ph.D. (Economics), University of Alberta Registered under AusIndustry to conduct Enterprise Reviews as accredited by the South Australian Centre for Manufacturing
Tony O'Malley specialises in regional economic development, project feasibility and cost benefit analysis, facilitation of planning groups and enterprise improvement planning. Following 18 years consulting in economics, strategy and strategic management with leading international management consultants based in Australia, he formed Outlook Management in 1991 and practices as a sole consultant and in teams. He has conducted economic development studies in Canada, United States of America, western New South Wales, Sunraysia, the Iron Triangle Region, Port Pirie, Edwardstown, and in the City of Adelaide (King William Street South, and City West). Other local government clients include Burnside, Elizabeth, Marion, Mitcham, Broken Hill, Cobar and Maryborough (Queensland). Among the studies relevant to this project are: - identifying and evaluating the costs and benefits of overcoming critical infrastructure deficits, such as the evaluation of the costs and benefits of deepening and upgrading the Port of Port Pirie and the Gillman corridor, and - preparation in 1990 of the regional economic development strategy for the Far West region of New South Wales. In 1995 this strategy was updated and extended and a strategy was prepared for the Area Consultative Committee for Far West New South Wales.
	Gerard van Rijswijk
Gerard is the Executive Director for the Association of Liquidpaperboard Carton Manufacturers Inc on a consultancy basis. He has been involved with the packaging and packaged goods sector for over thirty years starting in packaging design and quality roles in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical sectors in 1970 moving on to packaging and product research and development and then marketing positions which had a new product development emphasis. He has headed a number of packaging related industry bodies including the Aerosol Association of Australia and currently the Association of Liquidpaperboard Carton Manufacturers Inc. He is a member of the key committees managing the Covenant process including the National Packaging Covenant Council, and chairs the National Kerbside Recycling Group. He also manages the industry association used to collect and manage the funds contributed by industry signatories to the Covenant. Gerard has been working with the Advanced Manufacturing Centre to establish and run a training and information access program on the National Packaging Covenant to assist companies, particularly SMEs, with their Covenant compliance. He has travelled extensively to study packaging technology, recycling and waste management policy and practice as well as the regulatory frameworks within which these operate. As a result of his travels and industry roles he has established an extensive network of international contacts within companies at the forefront of packaging technology in Europe and the USA.
	David Somerville
David has recently completed a management contract with Resource NSW. The range of work spanned contract development models for Recycling services for local council, the 'Drive Through Recycling Centre', management of major wood recovery projects in the Western Sydney region, facilitation in developing supply contracts for organic waste reprocessing and advocacy of resource recovery in a range of projects within the Sydney region. Prior to this consultancy, David has had a wide-range of experience in management of construction and related projects.
	Prem Premachandran Dr. Eng., University of Tokyo, Japan
Dr. Premachandran is FEA Consultant with broad experience and knowledge in advanced computer modeling and analysis for design, research and development, and management of product development processes. After obtaining his post graduate degree in 1993, he had more than ten years of professional experience working with consulting teams, and research & development teams in Tokyo and Australia. He carried out static and dynamic analyses of structures, non-linear interaction of machine components and aircraft components using several leading commercial FE software. He used FORGE3® software for simulation of hot forging process of gears and racks. He estimated fatigue life of forging tools which was later closely matched by testing. In designing a long span bridge in Japan, he modeled air flow around box-girder bridge using a CFD code. He has lectured on finite element training courses conducted for industrial engineers by UNSW.