MSU alum heads up engineering’s Six Sigma program
September 28, 2004
September 28, 2004
STARKVILLE, Miss. – A Mississippi State graduate whose engineering and business career spans more than two decades is the first director of the university’s Six Sigma Certificate Program, which teaches students how to blend problem-solving and quality-control techniques into the practice of their profession.
Larry G. Dalton, a Corinth native and more recently a resident of Brandon, was named this fall to direct the program for MSU’s James Worth Bagley College of Engineering. He is teaching an engineering statistics course and developing curriculum criteria that will guide participating students to Six Sigma “Black Belt” certification.
“We’re very pleased to have him,” Larry Brown, professor and head of MSU’s industrial engineering department, said of Dalton. “We had some very strong applicants for the job and brought several of them to campus for a visit before selecting Larry.”
Dalton earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in industrial engineering at MSU in 1976 and 1978, respectively, and received a Master’s of Business Administration degree from Mississippi College in 1985. He is a member of the MSU Engineering Hall of Fame and a registered professional engineer in Mississippi since 1984, and received Six Sigma Black Belt certification in 2000.
Dalton had served since 1997 as strategic sourcing manager for Eaton Aerospace Corporation in Jackson. He began his professional career as an industrial engineer with General Motors and held various positions in manufacturing operations and quality assurance in private industry during the course of his career. He also has worked as a consultant, implementing Statistical Process Control standards.
Brown said 20 students across several engineering disciplines already have been working toward black-belt Six
Sigma certification, and may complete the required 15 hours of coursework for Black Belt status next spring with a required practical-projects class.
“They have completed the other required courses except for that one,” he said.
The MSU engineering college received more than $500,000 from 3M earlier this year to establish a Six Sigma program, designed to provide students with industry’s latest customer satisfaction training through quality control. 3M introduced the business process methodology more than three years ago to help the company achieve excellence in all of its business processes.
“The Six Sigma initiative has brought a systematic, root-cause analysis to problem-solving with a common language our people use on a global basis,” said an official spokesperson of 3M.
The coursework includes engineering statistics, quality control and process improvement. Students are introduced to the Six Sigma philosophy and complete a project under the guidance of professors and Black Belts from industrial partners.
“Six Sigma is known throughout business and industry as a process for executing and sustaining ideal business performance and effectiveness,” said Brown. “This process improvement methodology requires a deep understanding of the consumer’s needs, and the use of data and statistical analysis.”