Udo Sobotta's Profile / Curriculum Vitæ

Summary

Throughout his decades as an electrical engineer Udo Sobotta has consistently risen to the top of his field. His extensive knowledge and dedication to continual self improvement both within the workplace and externally has allowed him manage the most complex deployments and resolve long standing issues that could not be resolved by other engineers; enhancing his extensive experience with factory automation systems, Unix/Linux systems, software and hardware development. Udo has a rock-solid understanding of electronics and computer systems that allows him to quickly identify solutions to first case issues.

For the last two decades Udo Sobotta has held a team leader position where he has worked to pass on his extensive knowledge and experience to other technicians through mentoring and seminars run on a variety of topics. Udo works extremely well in a position where he is able to use his personal and mentoring skills to enhance the work of other team members in addition to his duties as a senior engineer.

Across his professional career Udo Sobotta has continuously been acknowledged for his dedication to excellence, self improvement and dedication to both is colleagues and his employer. Udo's strong workplace ethics drive him to own tasks and processes even where he is not directly responsible. This strong initiative has resulted in him substantially improving both the quality of his work but also the quality of the work produced by any team he participates in.

Udo is currently looking for other work opportunities in Singapore, or Asia. He hopes to continue to progress both his skills and his professional career.

Employment History

CiMSO Business Solutions Pty, Singapore 2018 - 2022

System Consultant for CiMSO ERP-Suite

A new page in Udo's work experience. The CiMSO Software Suite is a complete ERP software, covering all areas of hospitality, clubs, restaurants and shops. Servicing, installing, configuring and maintaining this kind of software is not an easy task. Nobody cares for th elast cent - finance is doing it. Getting new installed systems configured, that the results are working and accurate within the reporting system is a big task. Udo mastered it within a short period of time. Working in a Microsoft world is another task he had to master - protective measurements against virus, phishing and ransomware attacks are in high demand nowadays. As a Systems consultant he touched all sites of the huge CiMSO ERP Suite. Troubleshooting the clients problems and resolving / reporting bugs, the regular discussion with R&D about future developments is a huge part of his current activity.
Currently he finished two projects online, located in Thailand. The projects are related to a leisure park paired with golf driving range and full equipped F&B sector as well as many kind of activities and Spa. The second project accumulates five golf courses with Hotel, Spa and F&B around Bangkok which are under one headoffice located in Bangkok. All sites will replicate their data to the main server to be managed by headquarter staff. The challenge here is the replication due to the quite instable internet connectivity. The first site went live at the end of November 2021, the next followed December 2021, staggered by a three month pitch. Those two projects are completed and live since end of 2021. Online training of clients and handholding for going live had been part of Udo's activities. During that time, the existing software will be extended by many new modules covering the agricultural part of a golfcourse as well as the management of the machinepark, mainly the heavy equipment and the golf buggies. Total volume of the projects: 3 Million Singapore Dollar.
Unfortunately due to CoVID19 losses, the company moved away from the very expensive business place Singapore to the cheaper region of Bangkok(Thailand), leaving the Singapore staff behind, only caring for the important staff, originated from South Africa. Sad to see such developments.

• Servicing and supporting the tier one project migration from Oracle to CiMSO with customer Sentosa Golf Club. Provided support, solutions and developments for this migration



• Introduced new developed modules to the client, improved the implementation and documentation



• Championed the not yet implemented MySQL installation on MS-Windows Server and on CentOS, triggering the creation of the documentation for this kind of installation.



• Actively tested and modified the implementation of the Agricultural extension of the existing software



• Understood functionalities of the new developed module to manage the bookings on multiple golf courses, creating different price structures depending in status / type of a registered client or guest

Significant Accomplishments

Kromberg & Schubert GmbH 2017 - 2017

Manager R&D department Vehicle Electrical Systems
(Harness Porsche 911)

Managing the fast growing development centre in Renningen (Germany) Udo′s broad experience across the electric and electronic field as well as his experience in project management allowed him to merge seamlessly the widely splitted development centres in Wolfsburg, Renningen, Sibiu (Romania) finally into one location. From those days onwards the service centre in Sibiu was following the clear instructed development rules given by the united development centre in Renningen. This move was a big boost to increase delivery quality and stability of the Porsche 911 electrical system. His logical understanding and the clear structured work attitude allowed him to improve fundamental areas of documentation and change management in addition to the improvement on Production site in Timisoara (Romania).

• Servicing the tier one project Porsche 911 with customer Porsche. Provided support, solutions and developments for this brand-new developed product



• Since Documentation did not exist, he introduced multiple level of Information and documentation



• Championed the not yet installed change managment, reducing the amount of open issues from more than 1000 to less than 80 and the showstopper had been completely eliminated



• Actively supported production site to achieve customers requirements in terms of quality and design



• Understood functionalities of development work to anchor between Customer, technical product management and the Production in Timisoara and development centre in Renningen. He furthermore established new and reliable channel of communication, since there been was no control and no feedback existing. Udo realised the limitations and shortcomings of this company and moved on with his life, focussing to change his central point of living back to Singapore. This change and the preparation to realise it did not happen in zero time.

Significant Accomplishments

• Negotiated and implemented new quality control process structures to ensure a significat increase in quality of goods delivered by the principal suppliers



• Responsible for lean and stable round up between all different departments involved.



• Udo had to to follow up the change control process which he had implemented closely since the whole team was not used to have a straight follow up of work instructins and customer requests. He held multiple Workshops about ′Change management′ to introduce and to internalise the idea of change management and its control mechanisms



• Liaise with third party supplier. Re-structured the handling of data and products between R&D - technical product management in Timisoara (Romania) - Production in Timisoara - purchasing- and quality department in Wolfsburg and supplier(Germany/Poland). These new data handling processes where directly responsible for a measurable lift in both quality and a reduction in time lost due to errors in production due to incorrect data interpretation

Dräxlmaier Elektrik & Elektronik GmbH 2012 - 2017

Development Engineer Vehicle Electrical Systems (Porsche)

Working at the fast growing development centre in Hemmingen (Germany) Udo′s broad experience across the electric and electronic field allowed him to merge seamlessly into the established environment and to immediately become a key contributor to the development of the latest Porsche product Macan. His logical understanding and the clear structured work attitude allowed him to improve fundamental areas of documentation and change management in addition to the technical delivery task.

• Servicing the tier one project Macan with customer Porsche. Provided support, solutions and developments for this new developed product



• Responsible for the development of a documentation framework that allowed easy intergation of information from all members of the extended team into a comprehensive document.



• Championed significant improvements in change management



• Actively supported production site to achieve customers requirements in terms of quality and design



• Understood functionalities of development work to anchor between Customer, technical product management in Vilsbiburg, Production in Satu Mare and development centre in Hemmingen

Significant Accomplishments

• Negotiated and implemented new quality control process to ensure a significat increase in quality of goods delivered by the principal suppliers



• Responsible for a ground up re-design of the main cable loom for the new Porsche Macan, comprised of numerous parts to deliver against changing customer′s expectations and to improve product reliability



• Following change control process implemented by Udo in the Macan team was recognised company wide as the example of how all other teams should manage change control including being documented in the internal publication Workshops: ‘Change management‘



• Liaise with third party supplier. Re-structured the handling of data and products between R&D - technical product management in Vilsbiburg(Germany) - Production in Satu Mare - purchasing department in Temesoara(Romania) and supplier(Germany/Poland).
  These new data handling processes where directly responsible for a measurable lift in both quality and a reduction in time lost due to errors in production due to incorrect interpretation of data

Panasonic Factory Solutions Asia Pacific 2008 - 2012

Senior Solutions Engineer

Servicing the growing Asia pacific market Panasonic Factory Solutions Asia Pacific is one of the fastest growing provider of automation solutions in the world. To manage continual growth in the Asia Pacific region Panasonic transferred Udo to its Singapore based Asia-Pacific office. In this new role Panasonic leveraged the skills and initiative that Udo demonstrated in his European role to improve its internal processes. During this time Udo worked within Panasonic and its clients to improve quality and efficiency.

• Planning, Implementation, introduction and activation of Europe«s BBS System using Prince methodology to strengthen customer relations, optimising internal data handling and structures



• On site Solution Engineering to improve Quality, Quantity and Flexibility at customers sites



• Implementation and installation of Software and Hardware solutions for tier 1 clients



• Responsible for governing quality control and process improvement both internally and for major accounts



• Driving the ′Cutting Age Auto Insert project′ preparing ‘Going Green‘ move of customer by replacement or overhaul of older machinery. Est. Volume: 1000 machines, total project cost $250k



• Responsible to resolve long standing issues



• Continuation of most duties performed in European region for Asia Pacific region



• Responsible for oversight of all deployments and maintenance for the Asia pacific region



• Leading migration of teams to think, to understand and to perform the meaning of being an ECO friendly company in customer′s view.

Significant Accomplishments

• Implemented new internal project management and quality control processes and systems to support the unique requirements of the Asia pacific region. The duration of the "Request to Answer" cycle was improved by over 10%. This allowed Panasonic to increase its customer satisfaction and improve customer retention



• Presented a series of customer seminar days regarding changes to promote environmentally friendly production methodology. This highly successful series of seminars focusing on techniques to reduce energy consumption and implement Green production areas was applauded by both industry and environmental groups



• Ran the ″Bringing Words to action″ program aimed at increasing customer understanding of ECO friendly and CO² reduced production. This program was responsible for a estimated increase of sales by 3-5% / year during its three year lifespan



• Conducted customer process Audits to improve Quality and Productivity and to optimise maintenance time



• Conducted equipment audits focused on improving machine performance and to provide recommendations to customers regarding the overhaul or replacement of machinery



• Recommended and implemented machine software generation and management Software PanaPRO at Panasonic Audio Video, Johor-Bahru, (Malaysia)



• Ran internal training seminars on RoHS, CE-Regulations, ISO9000/9001 Quality improvement and productivity enhancement

Panasonic Factory Solutions Hamburg 1999 - 2008

Firmware and Controller Specialist

The parent entity to the automation group Panasonic′s Factory Solutions group oversees the development of new automation systems and processes. With thousands of sites across Europe each with unique requirements Panasonic solutions provides support for an incredibly diverse range of continually evolving automation solutions.
In order to further capitalise on Udo′s continuously growing skill set Panasonic transferred Udo from the automation division to the senior solutions group where he was given sole responsibility for all firmware and software testing and deployment across all of Panasonic‘s European sites.

• Top level of support for all issues relating to controller, firmware and electronics within the European region



• Test and certify all new firmware before release



• Responsible for version control and oversight of 4500 installation sites within Europe



• Interface between Panasonic support personal, hardware and software developers



• Administrator of Panasonic Factory Solution Europe homed customer and machine data management System (BBS)



• Administrator of Trouble Ticket System

Significant Accomplishments

• Developed and championed internal trouble ticket process and automation system. This system was implanted in conjunction with the new BBS Database System



• Programmed and maintained Panasonic−FA BBS computer system
  Implementation into existing Service, Hotline and Sales and Support structure. This Database System was an integral deliverable for a Bosch Contract spanning 15 production plants in 8 Countries worth and $3.6 Million annually



• Project management for firmware, machine interfaces, network infrastructure, customer training and initial start-up of manufacturing management Software PanaCIM at the Panasonic Automotive Equipment production Plant Plzen in the Czech Republic. Finally joint the CIM-Team as member to administrate the Client−Server Systems. Value: $580,000.



• Installation, Customer training and initial start-up of production management Software PanaPRO including traceability modules at Lear Corporation Kronach and Barcelona, (Germany, Spain) Value: each 260k$. Udo′s main target: Machine Interfaces, Machine Software and combining Production with Company Network infrastructure.

Panasonic Factory Automation Hamburg 1989 - 1999

Service Engineer / Diagnostic Specialist

Panasonic‘s factory automation division develops and deploys innovative solutions for both industrial and electronics manufacture. Providing total solutions that encompass both robotic and semi robotic automation hardware and custom software solutions Panasonic provides end to end solutions for the most complex manufacturing processes.
Recognising his skills Panasonic employed Udo as a member of their primary deployment and maintenance team where his electronic and programming skills allowed him to strengthen Panasonic‘s ability to deliver significant projects. Utilising his diverse experience and focused diagnostics skills Panasonic also employed Udo to address and resolve long standing issues.

• Responsible for installation maintenance Service and modifications on all types of Panasonic Factory automation systems



• Specialisation in Controller programming, diagnostics and fault resolution



• Assigned to address and resolve long standing issues that could not be resolved by other technical team members



• Performed Internal and customer training on new systems or modifications



• Technical Pre-sales and presentations for major accounts

Significant Accomplishments

• Team leader for the Installation, operational training and handover of four production lines for Set Top Boxes of European Satellite Pay TV System df1, at Nokia Satellite Production plant Motala (Sweden). Total project value $5.4 Million



• One out of three team-leader for set up of production machinery at Nokia Mobile Phones plant in Bochum, (Germany). Total project value $30 Million



• Team Leader and technical specialist for the installation and initial start up of production machines for new developed Blue tooth extensions at Ericsson Mobile phone Plant in Kumla,(Sweden). Total project value $0.77 Million



• Team member to Install Solaris and PanaCIM Production- and material management Software at Ericsson Head Quarter Kumla (Sweden). Total project value $0.8 Million

Siemens AG Witten 1985 - 1989

Electronic Maintenance Engineer / Service Team Leader

With a global customer base Siemens is one of the leading providers of industrial information technology. This Key-plant in Witten was the major development, production and test plant for HiCom private telephone Networks. HiCom equipment is widely used in German/European Governments and Companies. Saturn 8/12 was a special development for Australia. Initially responsible for the electronics aspects of large deployments Udo′s dedication and competence allowed him to rise to the position of team leader where in addition to his responsibility for the electronic control systems and software design he also oversaw a small team of installers and was responsible for overseeing every aspect of installation from delivery to handover.

• Team leader of service group (Mechanic/Electronic)



• Responsible for scheduling and time planning



• Performed mentoring and internal training



• Responsible for deployment and maintenance of both hardware and software



• Deployed Panasonic®, Universal®, Siemens®, Streckfuss® and PSB® production equipment

Significant Accomplishments

• Installation of Warehouse automation system utilising Siemens M40 Computer and S5 Controller. Responsible for deployment from planning to handover and activation. Total project value $4.3Million




• Deployed MANU-Tech Robotic technology controlled by Siemens RCM3 and RCM5 control systems for automatic EPROM testing, sorting, programming and insertion. Total project value $0.7Million




• Implementation of very first German Safety structure into Panasonic′s PanaSERT machinery. This German Safety Structure is recognised as the base for the later derived European CE-Safety structure for machinery

Wilhelm Terfloth, Bus Operator, Freight forwarder, Lingen/Ems 1982 - 1985

Maintenance Workshop Leader

• Responsible for maintenance workshop



• Responsible for maintenance of company fleet

Significant Accomplishments

• reduction in-fleet breakdown within 6 months



• Annual OPEX:$014 Million

German Navy - National Service on Board Frigate Cologne 1977 - 1981

Electronic specialist for ASW Weapons and SONAR equipment

• Duty Chief responsible for commanding two other officers and 7 seamen



• Directly responsible for all weapon control and guidance systems



• Completed Service as Chief Petty Officer



• Honourably left the service at the completion of national service requirements