Rockwell Collins’ Principal Lean Six Sigma Consultant Brion Hurley is responsible for teaching Lean and Six Sigma courses, facilitating lean events, mentoring Six Sigma projects, and helping develop the strategy for continuous improvement at the company’s Wilsonville facility. He also manages and coordinates the environmental “Green Team” activity.
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Rockwell Collins designs, produces, and supports technologies for its aerospace and defense customers and has expertise in flight-deck avionics, cabin electronics, mission communications, information management, and simulation and training. In Wilsonville, the company is designing and developing head-up and helmet-mounted displays for commercial and military applications.
Brion is a Certified Six Sigma Black Belt (CSSBB) from the American Society for Quality (ASQ) and a Lean Master certified through Rockwell Collins. He has a bachelor’s degree in statistics and a master’s degree in quality management and productivity from the University of Iowa. He is certified as a Green Manufacturing Specialist from the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), certified as a Zero Waste Business Associate from USZWBC, and obtained a Certificate of Sustainability from the University of Iowa. He has worked at Rockwell Collins for 16 years and has led numerous environmental initiatives and projects across three different facilities.
Brion notes that the price of materials, energy, and waste handling services will continue to rise, and externality costs will continue to be assigned back to the source of the pollution and emissions, which can be impactful to many manufacturers.
“Sustainable manufacturers will have a competitive advantage over their competition in avoiding and mitigating these future cost increases,” he says.
“Employees are becoming more concerned with sustainable practices of their employer, and sustainable businesses are attracting and retaining more talented and loyal employees. More important, customers and stakeholders are demanding to know about the sustainable practices of the companies they spend money with, or invest in, and are supporting those that more closely align with their views.”
He feels that the best approach for manufacturers to become more sustainable is to embrace Lean and Six Sigma techniques, and they will be pleasantly surprised at the side benefits from their events and projects on the environment in the form of reduced trash, water, energy, and resources.
Hurley adds that “when they focus their Lean Six Sigma efforts directly on their environmental impacts, they will also get the side benefits of process efficiency and employee engagement. It’s a win-win-win for the business, employees, and the environment.”
The post Sustainable Manufacturer Network Member Spotlight: Brion Hurley appeared first on The Sustainable Manufacturer Network.
