2024 Year in Review

2024 was another busy year for TMAC’s Lean Six Sigma Program. In January I partnered with Chris Meeks to deliver our Lean 101 workshop for Fresh Pets. This pet food company is growing by leaps and bounds (pun intended) and Chris has been instrumental in helping them improve quality and productivity. I also was fortunate to work with another colleague, Rolando Colindres-Bran, to deliver a Lean for Leaders workshop for Argon Medical Devices. Later in the month Alberto Yanez and Satya Kudapa delivered a LSS Yellow Belt for Interstate Batteries.

Starting in February we kicked off a new LSS Green Belt/Black Belt course. We had 16 students from various companies including Bluff Manufacturing, Integrated Warehouse Solutions, Jeld-Wen, Dallas County, Setpoint Integrated Solutions, USG Corporation. The instructors were Alberto and Mike Boyte.

Later in the month Alberto traveled down to Port Arthur, TX to teach another LSS Yellow Belt, this time for Setpoint. His co-instructor was Shatu Mohammed, a TMAC colleague based at Lamar University. At the end of the month Alberto and Mike were back in action teaching yet another LSS Yellow Belt for Interstate Batteries. Finally, we kicked off a new LSS Master Black Belt course late in February. The class included students from PepsiCo, Interstate Batteries, USG Corporation, and Knauf Insulation.  

In March I began work on a study for the Department of Defense. The goal was to evaluate the efficacy of different types of tourniquets when used in various battlefield conditions (wet, dry, cold, etc.). My role was to help plan the study – basically a designed experiment. TMAC colleagues Cyrus Rahimzadeh and Juan Paramo will be conducting this study. Also, during March a team made up of myself, Mike, and Alberto traveled to Orlando for the Lean and Six Sigma World Conference.

In April we continued with both the LSS Black Belt and Master Black Belt courses at the TMAC training facility in Arlington, TX. The BB class even took a break from all the statistics to look at the Solar Eclipse. Alberto and Mike traveled to deliver a LSS Green Belt for Medline Industries at their beautiful corporate campus in Northfield, IL, outside Chicago. Nate Mlinac leads their Continuous Improvement Program.

That same month I took a short vacation to Washington, DC. While there I checked out several museums, ate some great food, enjoyed the local live jazz scene, and visited the Library of Congress.

In May I spoke about Lean Six Sigma at the Metrocrest Chamber of Commerce luncheon in Addison, TX. This was a rare chance to share the potential of the DMAIC process with a group of non-manufacturers. We also wrapped up the LSS Green Belt at Medline and the Black Belt course in Arlington.

Then in June Mike Boyte and Chris Meeks took their show on the road to deliver (you guessed it) another LSS Yellow Belt, this time for Setpoint at their HQ in Baton Rouge, LA. We also wrapped up the LSS Master Black Belt course.  And we welcomed Eric Thompson to the LSS Team. He’s a former customer with a background in the oil and gas industry, air travel, and high precision machining.

Usually, the month of July is a slow one as many people are on vacation. But I ended up traveling to Houston to teach a LSS Green Belt with Shatu Mohammed as my co-instructor.  This class was almost canceled due to Hurricane Beryl which caused widespread damage and power outages in the Houston area the week before the class. We weren’t sure the University of Houston-Clear Lake would even be open. Fortunately, they were operational by the time the class began with students from Setpoint, W&O Supply, Brandsafway, and Mitsubishi.

During August I worked closely with Yesenia Zamora, our Marketing Manager, on our first animated video about Lean Six Sigma. She created the script, I provided the narration, and Lydia Burge, a talented animator, created the animation. We’ve completed two additional videos and I’m always amazed at how they turn out.

We also held our annual TMAC Customer Appreciation Night in August. Yesenia teamed up with Robin Evans and Brittany Rosenburg in planning this highly successful event. I gave out a special award to Setpoint Integrated Solutions for their ongoing commitment to Continuous Improvement. Representing Setpoint at the event were Johnathan Miller and Joel Fernandes.

During September several members of TMAC’s LSS Team attended a local 1-day Minitab seminar. The special guest speaker: Joel Smith of Keurig Dr Pepper. Joel actually worked at Minitab for several years before joining KRDP. He always has insightful things to say about statistics and continuous improvement. I also took a short vacation to see longtime friends who live in Michigan. While there I got in some bike rides, went to an apple cider mill, and visited the Detroit Institute of Art. I always enjoy seeing Rivera Court there with its stunning mural about the automotive industry and Henry Ford.

October was a busy month as we kicked off a new LSS Green Belt class taught by Alberto Yanez and Eric Thompson. TMAC also participated in the local Manufacturing Day event. I gave a short presentation about 5 Whys and visited with students in attendance. Later that month Eric and Satya taught one more LSS Yellow Belt, this time for Interstate Batteries here in Dallas. At the end of the month, I joined in TMAC’s Halloween Party/Mad Labs event. Finally, we bid farewell to Mike Boyte who left TMAC for another job opportunity.

In November we wrapped up our Fall LSS Green Belt class. And I enjoyed a great dinner with Chad Schweitzer, a former MBB student who works for Quaker Oats in Iowa. He was in town for some quality seminars. We started a new project at RECARO focused on improving their design process. Finally, I participated in a Lockheed Martin Supply Chain event at UTARI, the University of Texas at Arlington Automation & Robotics Institute.

Over the course of the year TMAC certified five Green Belts, five Black Belts, and one Master Black Belt. The total combined financial impact for this group was $9.2M.

In closing, I want to thank each of our customers. Without you TMAC would not exist. We appreciate your hard work, creativity, enthusiasm, and perseverance through good times and bad. You are why we look forward to going to work every day. I would also like to recognize my coworkers at TMAC for their commitment to excellence.

All of us at TMAC wish you a Safe and Happy Holiday Season, and much success in the New Year!