Automotive

Mark Sebby has more than 30 years of experience in leading Quality and Lean improvement initiatives and implementing quality management systems within manufacturing organizations, including 22 years in automotive industry focusing on quality and continuous improvement in both engineering and management roles. His most recent 13 years of experience has been consulting in both quality management systems and lean manufacturing in many different industries.

Before joining UT CIS, Mark worked as a consultant defining and leading numerous process improvement projects and performing Lean training. Utilizing tools such as DOE, VSM, TOC, and advanced statistical analysis, Mark developed effective action plans and implemented to improve yield, reduce material usage and reduced waste that included inspection and rework activities.

Mark is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt and expert in Quality Improvement who utilizes Lean, Six Sigma, and other Continuous Improvement methodologies. With these skills, Mark continues to successfully lead, teach, and mentor project teams for multiple companies to achieve desired quality improvement, productivity improvement, and cost-savings goals, and Lean initiatives including Kaizen events, Quick Changeovers, Cellular Manufacturing, Standard Work, and Downtime Reduction.

Mark is also experienced in successfully guiding companies in creating and implementing quality management systems, including certifications to ISO 9001, IATF 16949, ISO 13485, AS9100 and ISO 14001.

His prior career experience includes positions in Quality Management and Quality Engineering (Supplier, Process and/or Customer), and as a Six Sigma Black Belt, in Tier 1 and Tier 2 companies in the automotive industry.

While in the automotive industry, Mark has performed key roles in the start-up of multiple facilities, validating new processes and products, negotiating customer agreements, and obtaining customer approvals prior to product launch.

Additional Qualifications

• ISO 13485:2016 – BSI 
• ISO 14001:2015 Lead Auditor – BSI 
• AS9100D Lead Auditor – BSI 
• IATF 16949:2016 & ISO 9001:2015 Lead Auditor – BSI
• AIAG VDA PFMEA – AIAG
• Six Sigma Black Belt since 2001
• Post-graduate studies completed in Natural Resource Economics – The University of Tennessee
• MBA – The University of Tennessee
• B.S. in Business – Lincoln Memorial University
• A.S. in Electrical Engineering – Roane State Community College
• A.S. in Computer Science – Roane State Community College

Misty DePriest is a Manufacturing Program Manager for the Tennessee Manufacturing Extension Partnership housed in the University of Tennessee Center for Industrial Services. DePriest started at UT CIS in 2003 as a Manufacturing Consultant and has over twenty years of experience managing manufacturing operations and continuous improvement projects across a broad range of industries. Ms. DePriest currently leads the TMEP resource consultant team, helps write and manage several Federal grants, and coordinates marketing outreach and new program development.  

DePriest holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and Master of Science in Engineering Management from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. She is a Tennessee Certified Economic Developer, certified National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) lean trainer, and a SME Bronze level lean certified sensei.