Andrew Kmiec

Andrew Kmiec

                                                                                                      Lecturer

Andrew Kmiec, CSSBB

Andy began his career in 1980 as a Quality Engineer with US Steel, where he quickly became known as a problem solver, using his mathematical background and computer skills to investigate and solve process and product issues.  This ability was not confined to just problem solving.  Using experimental design and regression analysis, Andy was able to develop the key process parameters required to optimize the mechanical properties of several key product lines.   Over the next 25 years, Andy was promoted to various Quality Assurance Management positions, which gave him the ability to mentor and train Engineers and Quality professionals in these techniques. 

In 2005, Andy was promoted to Continuous Improvement Manager for the Gary Works complex.  This gave him the opportunity to train over 100 managers in the CI process and oversee numerous projects covering the complete range of business drivers – safety, environmental, quality, productivity and cost.  His success in this position eventually resulted in his promotion to Director of Quality Systems – North American Flat Roll Operations, where he was responsible for the training of 160 Quality Engineers at seven plants.  He developed a Six Sigma based program and personally trained over 50 engineers. This training included Six Sigma philosophy and principles and also included a multitude of other successful analytical techniques Andy had learned over the years. 

Andy began his teaching career here at IUN in 2010, teaching Statistics in the MBA program.  His role has expanded here since his retirement from US Steel in 2015, and he now teaches Statistics, Operations Management and Total Quality Management.  He has also incorporated Lean Six Sigma training into the MBA program.  His goal is to not only teach the concepts to his students, but to share his lifetime of experiences in quality, continuous improvement, data analysis and problem solving.

Degrees
M.S. Applied Statistics; 2014; Rochester Institute of Technology; Rochester, NY 
M.S. Metallurgical Engineering; 1989; Illinois Institute of Technology; Chicago, IL
B.S. Mathematics; 1977; Purdue University; West Lafayette, IN

Year of Hire:  2016

Certifications
SAS 9.2 Base Programming Certification; 2011
Six Sigma Black Belt; 2010; University of Illinois BIS; Naperville, IL
Shainin Journeyman; 2002; Shainin; Detroit, MI
ASQ Certified Quality Engineer; 1986