|
Bob Kirkwood manages quality for Sipco
A Six Sigma black belt, Kirkwood divides time between policy-making and process improvement. “We collect data and work to understand it,” he says
 Bob Kirkwood is quality manager for Sipco Mechanical Linkage Solutions (Webster, TX), which makes gearboxes, motors, actuators, clutches and the like for wind and solar energy, the oilfield, robotic packaging and material handling.
Kirkwood employs Six Sigma methodologies and statistical techniques to guide projects to successful completion. He estimates these process improvement initiatives have saved the company more than $1.3 million annually.
His current project is focused on updating Sipco’s quality management system to ISO 9001 2008, forming self-directed work teams and reconfiguring the company’s manufacturing processes for maximum effectiveness.
Generational diversity
Kirkwood is part of an emerging category of diversity: a techie with many years of experience, meshing his work ethic and management style with younger employees coming into a field he knows well.
“The younger employees are a bit different,” he says. “They come from different backgrounds and cultures and there can be some miscommunication in the beginning. But once they buy into our program the communication improves and the results are dynamic.”
Quality goes individual
Because Sipco is a relatively small company, Kirkwood employs an unusual strategy to ensure quality. “We mold the quality function into the jobs of the operations people,” he explains. “Instead of having a dedicated quality department we empower our employees and include the quality tasks in their jobs.” This, he says, is key to remaining competitive.
Kirkwood divides his time between formulating quality policy and managing process improvement initiatives. “We collect the data and work to understand it. We don’t believe in trying to inspect quality into our products. We’re moving away from the traditional practices that were employed for so many years,” he says.
Data analysis is the part of his job that Kirkwood enjoys most. He uses proprietary software to perform what he calls “classic statistical analysis.”
The change to Six Sigma
If data analysis is the best part of the job, the biggest challenge is changing an organization to a Six Sigma culture. But Kirkwood got good training from Pinnacle Partners (Oak Ridge, TN). “The people there are extraordinary,” he says. “I’ve completely bought into their way of thinking: we rely on the analysis of empirical data to prompt taking action on our processes; we employ basic and fundamental statistical techniques.”
Kirkwood grew up in Tulsa, OK and started college on a baseball scholarship, then went on to Tulsa Community College. After college he worked in the engineering department of a major oil company. He and his boss, an ME with experience at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, did five reverse engineering projects together, defining parts for the company’s aftermarket sales. That experience shaped Kirkwood’s entire career path, he says.
R&D and inspection
Kirkwood went on to do R&D work for Allied Signal in Tulsa, OK, working on small runs of catalytic converters, intended to gain information to support larger production runs. At his next job, with a division of Nordam (Tulsa, OK), he had the opportunity to go back to mechanical inspection, this time for the aircraft industry. He spent the next six years there, learning about the design of quality systems.
From 1995 to 2007 Kirkwood was a quality supervisor and process improvement specialist for Precision Components Co (Owasso, OK), a sole source supplier to Lycoming Engines for machining and assembly of major engine components.
Working with the new crowd
Kirkwood relocated to Houston and joined Sipco in 2008. Goal Recruiting Group, a Los Angeles-based national recruiting and placement firm, was instrumental in making the connection with Sipco. Goal specializes in direct hire recruiting for a variety of specialties, including engineering and technical positions like Kirkwood’s.
Today Kirkwood is greatly enjoying the changes in how quality is managed. “I believe my career has a lot of longevity,” he says. “The baby boomers are beginning to retire, my future looks bright and I like working with this crowd of new engineers and young talent just coming in.
“I can’t say it enough. The younger folks I’ve been involved with are very talented! I think our country’s manufacturing base is being turned over to some very capable hands and I am proud to be a part of that.”
D/C
Back to Top
|
