Our senior staff consists of three seasoned consultants. These are William (Bill) McNeese, Loa Olafsson McNeese and Donald A. Sanders. Detailed information on each consultant is given below.

William McNeese - Partner

Dr. William McNeese has been a business process improvement consultant and trainer since 1989. He holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, holds several patents, has published articles regularly, and is the co-author of the book Statistical Methods for the Process Industries. McNeese has in-depth knowledge of process management, performance management, strategic planning, social styles, continuous process improvement, statistical process control, experimental design, six sigma, motivation, creativity, and teamwork.

Experience

• Partner, BPI Consulting (Cypress, TX), 1998 - Present
  • McNeese was a founder and partner in BPI Consulting, a consulting firm formed in mid-1998. The cornerstone of BPI's methodology is Process Management. This methodology is a five-step process aimed at continual improvement. The five steps are identify, document, measure, manage, and improve. McNeese developed a Statistical Process Control program to run as an add-in in Microsoft Excel. This program is now licensed for distribution through BPI Consulting.
• Senior Consultant, Sanders + Associates (Houston, TX), 1993 - 1998
  • Prior to starting BPI, McNeese was a senior consultant with Sanders + Associates. McNeese worked with various clients in all aspects of implementing continual improvement initiatives. These clients included manufacturers, distributors, and petrochemical companies. He also taught and assisted in the development of many seminars including Quality Now, Quality Awareness, Process Management, and the Quality Leadership Process.
• Owner, McNeese Consulting (Clearwater Beach, FL), 1990 - 1993
  • McNeese worked with a variety of organizations including petrochemical companies, refineries, steel mills, compressor/valve manufacturers, engineering firms, and distributors in implementing quality improvement processes. He took and passed the ISO 9000 Lead Auditor Course.
• Senior Consultant, Wright-Killen & Co. (Houston , TX), 1989 - 1990
  • Wright Killen & Co. is a management consulting firm specializing in the process industries. McNeese was part of the Total Quality Management practice area and worked with various clients in implementing TQM. McNeese developed and taught a five-day seminar entitled Statistical Methods for the Process Industries.
• Manager of Quality Development, Vista Chemical Company (Houston, TX), 1985 - 1990
  • McNeese helped develop and implement a company wide quality management process for this $800 million per year chemical company with over twelve manufacturing plants. This process included statistical process control, organized problem solving, experimental design, team meetings and leadership skills, and performance management. He developed and taught seminars in all these areas.
• Plant Chief Chemist, Vista Chemical Company (Aberdeen, MS), 1984 - 1985
  • McNeese developed and implemented Vista's pilot SPC program at this plant. This included SPC, experimental design, and the Deming philosophy.
• Research Group Leader, Conoco Chemicals (Ponca City, OK), 1980 - 1984
  • McNeese held various positions in Research & Development including Research Group Leader. In these capacities, He had responsibility for product development, the design, construction, and operation of pilot plants, and plant technical service work. He also was issued two patents for his work during this time.

Education

• B.A. Chemistry and Mathematics, Westminster College, 1974
• M.S. Chemical Engineering, Purdue University, 1976
• Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, Purdue University, 1980

Patents

• U. S. Patent 4,617,183; "Production and Recovery of Alumina from Vapor Phase Hydrolysis of Aluminum Trialkoxide," Inventors: Lewis, D. J. and McNeese, W. H., issued to Vista Chemical Company, October 14, 1986.
• U. S. Patent 4,744,974; "Process for Production of Alumina," Inventors: Lewis, D. J. and McNeese, W. H., issued to Vista Chemical Company, May 17, 1988.

Partial List of Publications and Presentations

• Analyzing Financial Data Using Time Series Charts presented at the 2002 American Society for Quality Annual Congress.
• The Power of Process Management presented at the 2001 American Society for Quality Annual Congress, May 2001
• Financial Data and Control Charts presented at the 2001 Alabama State Quality Awards Congress.
• SPC: Your Ticket to Customer Satisfaction, Just-in-Time, Independent Distribution Association, December 1995.
• Statistical Methods for the Process Industries, Quality Press, 1991.
• Measurement Systems, Sampling and Process Capability, Quality Engineering, 4(1), 1991.
• A Total Quality Approach to Performance Management presented at the 14th Annual Rocky Mountain Quality Conference, June 1990
• Split Plot Experimental Designs presented at the 13th Annual Rocky Mountain Quality Conference and printed in the Conference Proceedings, Denver, CO, June 1989.
• Vista Chemical Experience presented at the Total Quality Management Seminar, American Productivity & Quality Center, March and May 1989.
• Effective Use of Experimental Design Techniques presented at the 12th Annual Rocky Mountain Quality Conference, June 1988
• Management Involvement in Quality presented to the Lake Charles, LA Chapter of the American Society of Quality Control, May 1988.
• Quality Improvement in the Chemical Industry presented at the Southeastern Regional ASQC Conference, Atlanta, GA, October 1987.
• Application of SPC Techniques to Laboratory Analysis presented at ANTEC, Los Angeles, CA, May 1987, published in the Conference Proceedings and reprinted in Journal of Vinyl Technology, September 1987.

Loa Olafsson McNeese, Partner

Loa Olafsson McNeese has been a process improvement consultant for over 10 years. She holds dual MBAs in Sales & Marketing and Accounting & Financial management. She is an expert facilitator and has worked with many process teams in a wide variety of industries. She is a repeat speaker at the Annual Quality Conference for the American Society for Quality.

Experience

• Partner, BPI Consulting (Cypress , TX), 1998 - Present
  • Loa was a founder and is a partner in BPI Consulting, a consulting firm formed in mid-1998. The cornerstone of BPI's methodology is Process Management. She has worked with clients in establishing continuous improvement processes from the initial prioritization of projects to mapping, measurement, and implementation of significant improvements. She has developed supplier certification programs as well as work on marketing issues, such as image brochures. Loa also has presented three times at the Annual Quality Conference (AQC) for the American Society for Quality.
• Consultant & Director of Business Development, Sanders + Associates (Houston, TX), 1996 - 1998
  • Loa was in charge of developing new business as well as marketing for this quality consulting firm. She also consulted with clients on process improvement activities. Loa worked with manufacturing and service organizations to develop and implement a wide variety of continuous process improvement efforts. Loa taught seminars in Process Improvement and Quality.
• Vice President, Quality Management, and Organizational Development, ISS (New York), 1993 - 1996
  • International Service Systems, Inc. is a $2.5 billion company with 135,000 employees worldwide. Facilities maintenance is a main service of ISS. Loa developed a new organizational structure for ISS (United States) which dramatically im­proved communication and effectiveness throughout the organization. She managed the successful merger of acquired companies. She also developed and implemented quality programs in most major divisions including quality training. In addition, she also developed training on the planning process.
• Marketing Manager, ISS Securitas (Copenhagen, Denmark), 1990 - 1992
  • Loa developed marketing plans and reorganized the marketing department to focus directly on customer needs. She also developed and managed one of the most successful marketing campaigns in the company's history. This campaign was honored by The Danish Marketing Foundation.
• President/CE0, DaneStyle A/S (Copenhagen, Denmark), 1987 - 1990
  • DaneStyle is a production /trading company. As CEO, Loa increased sales by 40% over a two year period and made the company profitable by re-engineering the organization. She also developed a new proactive sales and pricing strategy.
• International Manager, ISS Securitas A/S (Copenhagen, Denmark), 1984 - 1987
  • Loa developed and implemented franchising concepts for expanding business on an international basis. She initiated the startup of eight new businesses in Europe and Brazil. This included identification, documentation, and training in best practices.
• Controller, ISS Securitas A/S (Copenhagen, Denmark), 1981 - 1984
  • Loa analyzed and reported financial results as well as participated in the planning process and budget development.

Education

• B.S. in Business and Administration, Copenhagen Business School, 1980
• MBA in Accounting & Financial Management, Copenhagen Business School, 1982
• MBA in Sales & Marketing, Copenhagen Business School, 1984

Presentations

• Social Styles: Delivering Results Through People, presented at the Annual Quality Conference in Toronto, Canada, May 2004
• Quality Skills Training: A Roadmap for Learning, presented at the Annual Quality Conference in Kansas City, May 2003
• A Simple Way to Digest SPC, presented at the Annual Quality Conference in Denver, May 2002

Awards/Honors

• Women's world record-holder in distance running (1500M, 5K and 10K), 1973 - 1979

Dr. Donald A. Sanders, Consultant

Dr. Don Sanders has been consulting in Continuous Quality Improvement, ISO 9000 and Systems Improvement/Cost Reduction Strategies since 1986 when he left his position at the University of Houston and formed his own consulting firm. 

By 1992 this firm, Sanders and Associates, had grown to twenty-six employees and included clients such as General Dynamics (Missile Systems and F-16 Data Centers), Quanex Corporation (Michigan and Gulf States Tube groups) Vista Chemical, Chevron Chemical, Tenneco, Hollywood Marine and several smaller companies.

In 1993, Dr. Sanders sold this company to his partner and formed Total Quality Solutions (now Sagent Consulting), a company focused primarily on helping clients improve systems and reduce costs while maintaining key staff and improving customer satisfaction. In 1990, Don was the primary consultant to a Houston based company that won the national quality award (the Baldrige National Quality Award).

Don was featured in the Tom Peter's video, "In Search of Quality" and has published several books on the technical and "people side" of quality, including:

• How to Achieve ISO Registration, (American Management Association, 1994)
• Achieving Registration to IS0/QS 9000: A Practical Guide, (St. Lucie Press, 1997)
• Go for the Green - Leadership Secrets from the Golf Course, (DC Press, 2001)
• ER-Employee Retention: How to Keep the Good Ones from Leaving, (DC Press, 2002)

His experience in helping companies increase bottom line results is wide-ranging including chemical plants (Westlake Styrene), marine transportation (Kirby Corporation), aerospace (BF Goodrich Wheels and Brakes and BF Goodrich Landing Gear Systems), local government (Information Technology Department, Riverside County, California), distribution companies (HISCO, Warren Electric), purchasing organizations (PDVSA USA and Holland) and information technologies services providers (Ajilon, Computer Associates, Metro).

Experience

• Owner, Total Quality Solutions/Sagent Consulting (Houston, TX), 1993 - Present
  • Sagent Consulting, and, before that, Total Quality Management, have been providing continuous improvement, leadership development and cost reduction strategies to local, regional and national companies since 1993. Focusing on a unique combination of people skills/involvement and technical skills (the tools of Statistical Process Control), Sanders has been able to help companies improve processes and reduce costs - without targeting staff reductions to achieve these savings. Sanders has helped save client companies over $46.3 million since implementing targeted cost savings processed in 1999.
• Owner Sanders + Associates (Houston, TX), 1986-1993
  • In the role of owner, Sanders managed a staff of 26 employees including support staff and consultants. As a senior consultant, he worked with all levels of employees at client companies, from CEO''s to first line workers. In this role he developed and taught classes in Quality Awareness, Process Management, Basic Statistical Tools, and the People Side of Quality. Dr. Sanders has extensive experience in helping organizations use the tools of continuous systemic improvement to achieve measurable, bottom line results. He has pioneered the use of measurement tools, improvement strategies/accountability, team development, and management dashboards at client companies and has in-depth knowledge of process management, continuous process improvement, statistical process control, ISO 9000, and teamwork.

Education

• B.A. University of California at Los Angeles
• M.S. University of Oregon
• Ph.D. University of Oregon