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Olaleye is his name – he is much an entrepreneur as he is a mechanic. In 6 Sigma speak; I would definitely call him a positively skewed outlier. He has rejected employment offers from Total, Mobil and Schlumberger. He defies the average 27-year old youths’ paradigm in Nigeria with the following academic accolades –Diploma, Bachelors to Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering. After passing his IASSC Lean Six Sigma Black Belt exam under our coaching, with 80th percentile, we chatted and I am glad he gave me access to his thoughts below:

1. May we know your name?

Olaleye Akinyemi

2. What is your present occupation?

I run a mechanic garage in Yaba called eGarage and target only cars manufactured less than 6years.

3. Where did you do your formal education schooling?

I went to three tertiary institutions:

Lagos State Polytechnic – OND Mechanical Engineering

University of Ilorin – BSc. Mechanical Engineering

Coventry University, UK – MSc. Mechanical Engineering and Management

4. Talking about focus, you seem to know what you want in life earlier than most people. Why mechanics?

I have always loved anything to do with mechanics hence my studying Mechanical Engineering. This is one of the reasons I opted for Polytechnic first to get the practical knowledge before going to the university. I also realized so many graduates are not into nitty-gritty mechanics hence low competition and high volume revenue. However, the idea to start my own workshop had to do with improving the present process and quality of service of mechanic garage in Nigeria

5. Is this what motivated you towards six sigma?

Definitely, I have always known there needed to be improvement in the way we carried out our service delivery but I was not aware there was a methodology behind it. I later discovered Six Sigma during a course in MSc. Class called Total Quality Management and I knew I must get certified in it.

6. Then why were you interested in Lean Six Sigma as opposed to just Six Sigma?

Six Sigma deals with reducing variation in process hence increase customer loyalty and satisfaction but I need Lean to reduce cost by recognizing non-value added process and optimizing the value added. The combination is TOYOTA – affordable quality!

7. I am still wondering why you opted the entrepreneurial opposed to employee route?

The university was about theoretical knowledge like calculus and did not have much of practical knowledge hence I was not serious and came out with a second-class upper division. I have tried myself in the job market and got offers from Total, Mobil and Schlumberger but I rejected them.

For example, after my Lean Six Sigma classroom training with PMtutor before going for the certification, I applied for Maintenance Engineering with Total. I was shocked that all the interview questions I was asked had to do with Lean Six Sigma. I was so glad to have done the training because I aced all the questions and subsequently given an offer, which I rejected.

Entrepreneurship is all I have wanted to do because I do not want to lose the practical aspect of life.

8. How many staffs do you have?

eGarage has 21 staffs in all – 18 technical staffs and 3 others like 2 security guys and 1 car wash personnel.

9. Lets get back to the IASSC Black Belt exams, which books did you buy to make you pass at the 80^th percentile?

I used 95% of the resources on PMtutor eLearning platform though I consulted some books I bought on amazon.

10. What do you think about your coach Dipo?

Wow! The quality is very high. I am thoroughly impressed. It’s not about the name of institution but the quality of the trainer. Dipo is it! I am glad I met you…

11. What is your future plan and what do you intend to with your certification?

First, I would take up an internship with General Electric to intensify on the practical training. I am definitely not doing this to get a job but to improve my mechanical garage especially when I want to scale it to other parts of the country. 

12. What is your advice to youths that want to follow your path?

Everyone is blessed with his or her gift. Know what you want to do – follow suit. Most of all, avoid distractions.

End…………