Fixing an insurer's mobile app
I helped a national insurer move their mobile and web teams to Agile and their app to React Native. Releases went from twice a year to a bimonthly schedule.
James Healey
Product lead, robotics · New York
I lead product for a portfolio of more than 150,000 deployed devices at a large robotics company. Before that I spent six years in consulting across insurance, manufacturing and software.
Robots slow down in the outer ring around the person and stop in the inner ring.
- 150,000+
- deployed devices in the portfolio I manage
- 300
- live robotics buildings where I've shipped hardware and software changes
- 10 years
- in product and program roles, split between robotics and consulting
Programs I have led
Re-platforming a floor safety system
The business case, financial model and requirements to move an embedded safety system onto a new platform, built around hardware cost, cybersecurity, commissioning time and ease of use.
Teaching a device fleet to fix itself
When a wearable safety device lost communication, robots stopped until someone reset the system by hand. With the firmware and wireless teams, I shipped automated recovery across 15,000 devices, so operations pause briefly and resume on their own.
Retrofitting a live robotics network
Hardware and safety changes across 300 live buildings, inside short maintenance windows.
Simulating the safety system in 3D
I used Three.js to build a simulation that shows how the safety system works in action, with robots, people and the safety zones between them.
Bringing a safety platform to Europe
I led onsite pilots of an automated gate access system in Germany. The pilot buildings had the lowest fault and emergency stop rates in the global fleet, which cleared the way for 52 European buildings.
Getting a 250-item backlog moving
A client had four separate ways to request work. We merged them into one flow and one backlog, and the wait for a priority decision dropped from ten days to about half a day. The changes saved $5M over three years.
Other engagements
An ERP center of excellence for a global manufacturer across three regions, compliance work that avoided about $1M a year in fines, and an executive roadmap for a software firm.
Four principles I work by
01
A compelling, ROI-driven why.
You need to understand clearly why you're doing something and what return it will bring. Build the business case around ROI, and make sure it stays clear and defensible even when it's scrutinized at the lowest level of detail.
02
Course-correct early and often.
Consistent communication keeps corrections small. Lots of small adjustments along the way are far easier than a major pivot once a program has gone off the rails.
03
Gemba: go and see.
In-person experience is the most valuable kind. When a few buildings in Japan needed safety controller upgrades inside two-hour downtime windows, I went and did them myself.
04
Deliver value in increments.
Find ways to deliver value a piece at a time. Small, consistent wins build momentum, excitement and buy-in.
What I do when I'm not working
- Local AI
- Playing with my dog
- Building PCs
- Hobby electronics
- 3D printing
- Woodworking
- Skiing
- Rowing
- Travel
- Stargate
If you want to talk about robotics, hardware or product work, LinkedIn is the best way to reach me.
Message me