Demonstrating the level of importance C&W Services sees in engineering and maintenance for the facilities services industry, David Auton has been hired for the newly created role of senior director of reliability engineering. With 30 years of experience, David has held myriad engineering and leadership positions. Most recently, he served as the director of maintenance excellence/maintenance optimization for CBRE’s Global Workplace Solutions. Other roles found him at Johnson Controls, Northwestern Mutual, GE Healthcare and Marquette Medical Systems. David is a Six Sigma Master Black Belt and an IFMA Facilities Management Professional; he has received a number of certifications in sustainability and reliability. He earned his master’s degree in engineering from the Milwaukee School of Engineering and his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.

But to get a real feel for David, we asked him a number of questions. Herewith, a look into his experiences, goals and interests.

1. Why did you join C&W Services?

I am very excited to join C&W Services as this will challenge me to further develop my abilities and support others in providing a world-class services program. I feel this opportunity enables application of process improvements to the facilities service industry in a manner that will accelerate our team’s performance and leadership.

2. Can you tell me about yourself and your career trajectory?

Over the course of about 20 years, I have worked my way up from a service technician to service engineer to product development to operations manager. Learning the Six Sigma and LEAN methodologies has given me the ability to develop service programs and processes for implementing Reliability Centered Maintenance models for the past six years; my education and certifications have progressed with my career.

After starting out with an associate degree in medical equipment, I earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering while working full time. After this, I became a product development engineer and completed a master’s degree in engineering. Working for a major medical equipment manufacturer, I have managed cardiology products, a company’s global web presence, customer data master and parts data master systems. Moving to an FM services provider in 2009, I became a global reliability engineer supporting 24 countries before taking a corporate role to direct and develop the company service reliability program. At C&W Services I will develop the policy, procedures and implementation of our reliability engineering products.

3. Tell me about your past industry experience and how it has prepared you for your new role.

Having worked in the medical devices world since 1984, I have become very familiar with the critical elements of good equipment performance. Being responsible for servicing and maintaining a broad spectrum of medical devices, has allowed me to become familiar with the significance of device performance in affecting the ability to render care and enable product and service delivery. A majority of my work has included direct interaction with the end users and direct observations of equipment performance results.

My regulated industry experience has helped me understand and achieve the same level of rigor for traceability, process-driven quality and accountability. I feel it is my mission to help colleagues understand this necessity, as well as benefits and value. Providing an accurate historical record of events not only ensures relevant accountability but enables the organization to dramatically improve capability and reliability. Through my extensive experience in the industry, I have learned, quite rapidly, the effective methods that achieve significant benefits.

4. What are you most looking forward to in your new role with C&W Services?

I most look forward to exchanging lifelong learnings with my colleagues and seeing the impact of my contributions. I feel that progress is defined by our willingness to grow, and I want to grow in this organization as I help others grow. Achieving the most out of my experience and helping others achieve the most from their experiences will be my objective.

5. What goals do you have in mind for your new position?

  • Demonstrate industry leadership in reliability.
  • Successfully implement of a reliability and service quality program that receives recognition from our clients.
  • Receive recognition from my colleagues of having made admirable contributions to our organization that will become embedded in our corporate DNA.

6. What drew you to the position?

An opportunity to apply my craft in a meaningful way and to help others in our industry achieve a higher level of performance.

7. What motivates you?
The ability to make a positive impact.

8. What interests you most about the facilities services industry?

Facilities services is a significant contributor to societal well-being. More than 60 percent of all energy is consumed in facility-required activities. Applying my experience to help improve skills and processes in this industry is one of the most effective ways to ensure long-term sustainability of our economy and enable societal progress.

9. Any other comments you have about your career or C&W Services in general?

I am very excited about this opportunity and am looking forward to the many challenges it will provide. I would like to look back in 10 years and be proud (and humbled) by what we have accomplished together.