Joseph Macktal is a seasoned troubleshooter with a lifelong dedication to honing his skills. His passion for technology extends beyond the workplace, as he actively engages in various technical hobbies, eagerly researching, learning, and mastering new skills. An ardent advocate of continuous self-education, Joseph consistently seeks opportunities to expand his knowledge base. Throughout his career, he has earned a reputation as the go-to person for assistance — standing out for his ability to solve complex problems that others find challenging, and for his exceptional talent in sharing that expertise clearly with individuals of all skill levels.
Added PLC, SCADA, and HMI logic to display a Congratulations window when changeovers were completed early. The company coupled this with a reward system, resulting in a 37% reduction in changeover time.
Replaced an obsolete scoreboard system that was incompatible with the existing SCADA environment. Wrote a custom Visual Basic 5 Script to bridge the data, transmitting over an Ethernet/serial link to a Raspberry Pi running a custom Python script — displaying live scoreboard data on a standard TV.
A Blown Film line's aging Allen-Bradley PLC failed; a full upgrade was budgeted for the following year. Rather than pay a $24K replacement quote, Joseph converted the program to an Automation Direct PLC for under $3K, keeping the line running for a full year and saving the company $21,000.
Currently upgrading two production lines to AI-assisted control centers based on conveyor accumulation data — dynamically slowing lines to minimize stop/start cycles and reduce mechanical wear.