LSS Reflections
by Russ Aikman
Do you remember the mid-to-late 1990s? It was the era of Friends and Seinfeld on the small screen, Toy Story, Titanic, and Saving Private Ryan on the big screen. Grunge was in decline while Alt-Rock and Hip-Hop became mainstream. There was also a renaissance of highly produced Pop Music from the likes of Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys. Teens were wearing cargo pants, crop tops, Tommy Hilfiger and FUBU. The World Wide Web was really taking off as were AOL and Napster. Mobile phones were becoming affordable. It was during this time, in April of 1996, that I began work at TMAC. After 30 years as part of the TMAC team I’ve decided it’s time to retire. My last day will be the end of May.
Back when I started our director was Drew Casani. He worked closely with the late Dr. Don Liles, who served as our de facto technical advisor. At that time Don was head of the Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Department at UT-Arlington. He was incredibly important to our success in guiding our nascent organization through the twists and turns of university policies and politics.
My early years at TMAC were spent in a variety of roles, primarily working with DFW area small manufacturers on their ISO 9000 quality management systems. Some of my customers included Williams Pyro, Flow Design, and Powder Metallurgy. I have fond memories of those projects as I got to learn a lot about each company, their processes, products, and people.
Another early project involved improving the efficiency of a factory making 5-gallon metal buckets. I recall conducting a time study one cold, snowy day. Some of the windows in the factory were missing panes of glass, allowing snowflakes to drift inside. I was happy to get back to a warm environment after that project!
My switch to Lean Six Sigma began in Fall of 2002 when several companies contacted TMAC about Black Belt training. Drew Casani asked me to lead our effort in responding to this need. We reached out to George Group, the Dallas-based consulting company that pioneered the integration of Lean and Six Sigma. Soon we had a handshake deal and began using GG materials and methods.
Drew had the insight to partner me with Dr. Mary Johnson as my first co-instructor. At the time Mary was on the staff of what is now called UTARI – The University of Texas at Arlington Research Institute. A gifted teacher who has a knack for making complex concepts straightforward, Mary was an immediate hit with our LSS students back in 2003.
Our very first class together in Spring 2003 was for a group of about a dozen students in an LSS Green Belt for Johnson & Johnson. Our second class was an LSS Black Belt in May of that year. With those two classes we were off and running.
By the Fall of 2004 we had our first class with 20 students. Those Black Belt students came from six different states: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Arkansas, Illinois, and Texas. Since that time, we’ve had students travel to Texas for LSS training from 40 different states and 23 different foreign countries.
Over the years I worked with a Who’s Who of different TMAC staff as Lean Six Sigma instructors including Mark Sessumes, B. J. Fontaine, Pat Boutier, Barbara Ward, Randy Bohannon, Alberto Yanez, Esteban Pedraza, Satya Kudapa, Diana Martinez, Chris Meeks, Mike Boyte, Rolando Colindres-Bran and Eric Thompson. Each of them brought their own uniquebackground, business knowledge, charisma, and perspective to our classes. Both Mike and Eric were former TMAC customers who went through our BB program. It says a lot about your organization when former students want to become part of your team.
Randy served as my main co-instructor in the early years from about 2005 until he retired in 2010. Always prepared, he had a great sense of humor and really connected with our students. I feel fortunate to have worked with him.
After Randy retired, I worked most closely with Alberto Yanez. I’ve lost count of the number of GB and BB classes we taught together. Despite having a PhD in mechanical engineering, he was very down-to-earth and our students really gravitated to him. He would regale classes with tales of his tennis exploits, motorcycle adventures, and cooking acumen. We traveled well together and delivered LSS training at multiple locations around Texas and outside the state. After a hard day of teaching when on the road we would go in search of local cuisine and enjoyed many fine meals together. I’ve missed working with him since his retirement last year.
Starting in 2008 we began offering LSS Master Black Belt training. We’ve partnered with Kimberly Watson-Hemphill of Firefly Consulting for MBB training. In addition to technical knowledge, Kimberly – along with her colleague Chuck Cox – brought a ton of business experience across a wide range of industries. I feel fortunate to have worked with them.
Over the years TMAC staff taught ~3,000 students in 246 Lean Six Sigma classes. Included were 65 BB, 88 GB, and 26 MBB courses. In addition to our Open Enrollment classes at UTA, we’ve delivered LSS training at customer locations all over the Dallas-Fort Worth area, around Texas, plus several states, and internationally in Canada, Ireland, and England.
And we had fun along the way. Most classes enjoyed going out to dinner. Some classes sought other opportunities such as attending local sports team games including the Texas Rangers and Dallas Mavericks. One class went to the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo – a true Texas experience! These activities helped establish bonds which continue to this day.
Most gratifying for TMAC staff was to see the growth of students who met the requirements to become certified as a LSS Green Belt, Black Belt, or Master Black Belt. We were fortunate to be invited by some customers to events to celebrate and honor these individuals.
Over the past 23 years TMAC provided LSS training, coaching, or consulting to 260+ companies. A partial list of companies that made the biggest investment in training staff includes USG Corporation, Uber Freight (formerly Transplace), Oncor, Keurig Dr Pepper, Baker Hughes, Knauf Insulation, and Children’s Medical Center. Each of these companies reaped the benefits of their investment with millions of dollars in impact. Not only that, many of the individuals trained in LSS moved into leadership positions at their companies.
It’s been a great ride and I will really miss spending time with students and coworkers. Often learning about student projects was the highlight of my day. Observing and learning about your processes, project work, and results has been incredibly interesting – and gratifying. I wish you all the best and future success in work and life.
