Vishalkumar N. Prajapati

• Supervised daily production activities for large ASME Section VIII pressure vessels, reactors, and heat exchangers in a unionized, heavy industrial environment.
• Managed a team of 30+ skilled tradespeople, including welders, fitters, and riggers, across rotating shifts (day, evening, night) to meet safety, quality, and production targets.
• Assigned schedules and work orders, ensuring alignment with sales demand, maintenance planning, and training needs.
• Implemented preventive maintenance coordination in collaboration with the Maintenance team, reducing unplanned downtime by 18%.
• Led root-cause investigations of non-conformities and issued corrective/preventive actions (CAPA) in line with ISO 9001 and ASME procedures.
• Liaised regularly with QA/QC, Engineering, Safety, and Planning departments to troubleshoot issues, improve efficiency, and maintain workflow continuity.
• Monitored production KPIs (efficiency, defect rates, rework hours) and reported key variances daily, supporting continuous improvement efforts.
• Played an active role in health & safety audits, incident reporting, and toolbox talks, promoting a strong safety culture in accordance with company policy and regulatory standards.
• Assisted in environmental compliance audits by maintaining documentation and adherence to waste disposal and emissions protocols.
• Oversaw raw material loading and in-process handling, ensuring timely readiness for fabrication and adherence to quality procedures.
• Coordinated and supervised loading of finished pressure vessels and heavy components for dispatch to global clients, ensuring proper documentation and handling.
• Participated in daily morning production meetings to review targets, constraints, and safety actions; contributed to shift handover planning.
• Facilitated the training and onboarding of new hires, apprentices, and cross-shift workers, aligning with job-specific requirements and safety standards.
• Generated and tracked maintenance work requests, coordinating with technical teams for timely repairs.
• Ensured compliance with client specifications, welding procedures (WPS/PQR), and inspection plans (ITPs).
• Worked closely with cross-functional teams and external third-party inspectors to achieve on-time delivery and client satisfaction.

Key Equipment & Materials Handled:

• Pressure vessels and columns up to 300mm thick, made from carbon steel, Cr-Mo, stainless steel, and other exotic alloys.
• Welding processes: SAW, GTAW, SMAW, FCAW, in compliance with ASME, AWS, and client-specific codes.
• Major clients included: Shell, Aramco, ADNOC, Petronas, ExxonMobil, EIL, KBR, Worley.

• Oversaw production activities for boiler pressure parts including superheaters and economizers for ultra-supercritical projects.
• Coordinated shift planning, material readiness, and personnel allocation to support smooth execution of production tasks.
• Supported senior supervisors in conducting toolbox talks, employee briefings, and performance tracking.
• Monitored hydraulic and semi-automatic cold bending operations, ensuring specification compliance and dimensional control.
• Supervised tube welding and NDT coordination, ensuring RT clearance, WPS adherence, and weld quality tracking.
• Maintained detailed logs for shift production, weld traceability, NDT records, and coil configuration per project scope.
• Championed 5S and Kaizen improvement projects; enforced HSE protocols during high-risk fabrication activities.
• Collaborated with cross-functional teams to implement minor layout changes and process improvements.

• Supervised tool store operations including issuance, calibration, preventive maintenance, and shift-wise usage analysis, resulting in a 20% improvement in tool availability and reduced downtime.
• Developed and maintained tracking systems for tool inventory, wear rates, and regrinding schedules, cutting unnecessary procurement costs by 15% and ensuring uninterrupted operations.
• Scheduled preventive maintenance and supported major overhauls for critical shop floor equipment and measuring instruments, improving equipment reliability and extending service life.
• Conducted tool audits, inspection checks, and cycle monitoring in alignment with safety and quality standards, which contributed to passing third-party audits with zero non-conformities.
• Provided hands-on training to junior store assistants and apprentices, enhancing team efficiency and ensuring 100% compliance with tool handling and safety protocols.
• Participated in cost optimization initiatives by analyzing tool consumption patterns, reducing tool scrap by 12%, and increasing average tool life through regrinding and proper usage tracking.