Sam Beaird

Sam Beaird is an Associate of TranSystems | The ACCESS Group and has over 35 years of hands-on manufacturing management experience in a wide variety of products, processes, and environments. He has been a facilitator and consultant implementing the principles and techniques of the lean enterprise for the past four years. In industry he held senior management positions including general manager, vice president of manufacturing, plant manager, materials manager (including purchasing), and manufacturing systems manager. Sam has worked in a diversity of industries including mechanical power transmission products, large rotating machinery, electrical distribution equipment, electro-mechanical commercial products, automotive components, computers, and consumer goods. He has served such Fortune 500 companies as General Electric, Reliance Electric, and Dresser-Rand; small companies such as Lufkin Industries; and a European-owned company, S.E.W. – Eurodrive. He has consulted with clients primarily in consumer goods manufacturing.

Sam’s experience includes successfully planning and starting up new plants, orchestrating aggressive business turnarounds, and accelerating profitable market growth within existing organizations. His areas of expertise include developing and effectively implementing sound manufacturing strategies that address competitive and global issues; transforming businesses to operate according to the concepts and methodologies of the lean enterprise; designing or redesigning manufacturing operations and implementing training programs that enable companies to learn to be superior competitors; and applying advanced technologies to streamlining businesses and achieving best-in-class production performance. In addition, Sam has been at the forefront of creating nurturing organizational environments and developing high performance work teams that accelerate rapid improvements in quality, productivity, and cycle time. He has led successful strategic initiatives in sales & operations planning, lean manufacturing conversion, cycle time reduction, cellular manufacturing, focused factories, Total Quality Management, value stream management, large system changes, and high performance work systems. These initiatives have resulted in increased market value, performance, and profitability of businesses. Whatever the assignment, project, or responsibility, Sam brings a balance of technical acumen, manufacturing management expertise, and personal commitment to identifying opportunities for increasing market value and developing and implementing cost-effective solutions.

Sam has a B.E. in Mechanical Engineering (magna cum laude) from Vanderbilt University and an M.S. in Industrial Administration from Carnegie Mellon University. In addition, he is a graduate of General Electric’s two-year Manufacturing Management Program.