Duke Okes wins Northeast State Outstanding Alumni Award

BLOUNTVILLE – When Duke Okes enrolled at a technical institution known as Tri-Cities State Tech in 1976, the term “Knowledge Architect” may not have been around.

Today, this alumnus of Northeast State Community College may have invented the term translating his education and experience into a lifetime role as an entrepreneur, author, and now the College’s Outstanding Alumni for 2010.

“I think I am taking knowledge out there and manipulating it in a way that people can understand,” said Okes, founder and knowledge architect of the Blountville-based Aplomet consulting firm.

Okes received the Outstanding Alumni Award at the Northeast State Honors Convocation on April 22 recognizing his success in industry and community. He has consulted companies both large and small in Europe, Asia, the Caribbean, and the United Kingdom.

Okes first came to Northeast State as a displaced worker. He heard about the school, at the time called Tri-Cities State Tech, and its electrical technology program.

“I was laid off from a job as an inspector at a manufacturing company and had the G.I. Bill to use,” says Okes. “Northeast State had the electronics program and a mechanical program and I was able to transfer some credits in from another college.”

Okes pursued a dual program of study in electronics and mechanical engineering technology graduating with associate degrees in both programs. One of his favorite instructors was mathematics professor Mary Ella Poteat who he credits with piquing his interest in statistics.

“Anyone who can make statistics seem interesting is phenomenal,” says Okes with a laugh. “It was the perfect analysis to use when I moved into my first job – I got instant feedback and realized, wow this stuff works!”

He also speaks fondly of Northeast State mechanical technology instructor Clarence Hughes as a “superb professional” as well as electrical technology instructor Roy Powers.

After graduating, Okes joined automotive supply manufacturer TRW at the company’s Rogersville site. He credits his preparation at Northeast State and the professionalism of TRW as two elements that would pave the way to his future success.

“I’ve worked with more than 150 companies since, and it is difficult to find one comparable to TRW,” says Okes. “It was almost like being in a professional society of experts.

“They went out and hired good people and let them do what they did best.”

Okes’ work sent him around the world including an international project in Japan where he was exposed to that culture’s attention to detail and quality.

“They treated us like gurus,” recalls Okes. “We were there to help them learn and solve problems.”

After 9 years with TRW as a quality technician and later quality engineer, Okes opted to take his knowledge and apply it independently. He formed Aplomet in 1985.

An acronym for Applied Logical Methods, Aplomet has provided expertise in quality systems and organizational management to Fortune 500 companies, family-owned businesses, nonprofits, and start-up firms. A new national emphasis on manufacturing quality arose in the early 1980s putting Okes’ knowledge in high demand. Aplomet subsequently heard its market knocking on the door.

“I found that I am almost always able to take and simplify something to communicate it in a simple, clear way,” said Okes. “The quality demand was being pushed on companies by their customers, and I had the ability to communicate quality standards in a non-complex way.”

He first consulted on statistical process control and later moved on to helping manufacturers seeking ISO 9000 certification. Aplomet projects were busy over the next 10 years raising standards for companies, including many clients in the Tri-Cities region.

“The standard gave companies the notion if you are going to run your business effectively here are things you must do,” he says. “I got to learn about their products and processes and meet a lot of nice people and professional folks.”

When a Tri-Cities company visited Northeast State’s Institute for Business and Industry Services requesting a course to teach root cause analysis, the institute turned to Okes. He developed a three-day course on technical root cause analysis – synonymous with troubleshooting of any organizational management decision. The course clicked immediately with the company and the students.

Okes has since taught 12 courses over the past 10 years for Northeast State. After years of teaching a subject he knew and refining it for each class, Okes wrote the book “Root Cause Analysis: The core of Problem Solving and Corrective Action” that is now used in quality training courses throughout the country.

Okes earned a bachelor’s degree in business and a master’s degree in adult education. He also graduated from the University of Kentucky’s lean manufacturing certificate program. He has been elected Fellow of the American Society for Quality, and is certified by ASQ as a quality manager, quality engineer, and quality auditor.

Work keeps Okes traveling. These trips are more pleasant now since he’s usually accompanied by his wife Nancy, herself a Northeast State alumna who recently retired from Eastman Chemical Company.

Okes’ contributions to Northeast State began in the classroom where he taught training seminars in quality management, auditing, quality improvement associate certifications, and he also served as a subject matter expert for ASQ’s Certified Quality Manager section refresher course materials and self-directed learning materials. A consistent friend and donor to the Northeast State Foundation, his work with local companies has kept them viable in turbulent economic times past and present.

“Every company needs to focus on organizational quality and how that impacts their overall performance,” he says. “It is organizational quality that is often how you measure how good a company really is.”