Innovation of the Week: Jim McNerney’s Thoughts on Innovation and Invention
Posted by: meikah | 7 August 2008 | 9:42 pm
To invent is to discover and to innovate is to renew.
Jim McNerney, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Boeing Company, shares his thoughts as the inaugural speaker of the James R. Mellor Lecture Series.
McNerney speaks:
Dean Munson, thank you very much for a very generous introduction.
Long before the Wright brothers invented it, people dreamed of human, powered flight. We know that from the many myths and fables about flight.
In ancient Greek mythology, Daedalus built the famous Labyrinth in Crete — and was later imprisoned in his own invention. (We’ll come back to that in a minute.) Ever resourceful, Daedalus made wings out of feathers tied together with linen threads and fastened with wax. Rising on their wings, Daedalus and his son Icarus escaped the Labyrinth.
Filed under: Innovation Update, Innovation, Aviation, Boeing
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Six Sigma Helps Cessna Make Good of Its Promise
Posted by: meikah | 14 July 2008 | 8:41 pm
Despite the fuel crisis and other problems faced by airlines, it’s business as usual for Cessna Aircraft Company.
According to an article on Jobwerx, Cessna is set to deliver 150 Model 350 and 400 aircraft this year. The company is right on schedule because of Textron Six Sigma initiative.
By transitioning its Cessna 350 and 400 composite aircraft facilities to the Textron Production System, Cessna Aircraft has experienced improved workplace safety, rising productivity and higher customer satisfaction.
“By implementing Textron Six Sigma and using lean operating tools, our team in Bend is making great progress on streamlining production while maintaining the high quality and reliability of the aircraft,” Mark Withrow, general manager of the Bend facility. “We’ve seen a significant reduction in labor hours per aircraft, and Bend is on track to cut the number of factory related safety incidents in half this year. And, most importantly, I’m happy to report that along with a flawless on-time delivery record this year, our employees’ work has received the top score for quality on all post-delivery customer surveys,” he added.
Related story:
Textron’s Six Sigma Way
Filed under: Benefits and Savings, Manufacturing, Six Sigma Organizations, Aviation, Six Sigma
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Airworthy Aerospace Goes Lean Six Sigma - Good News for Thanksgiving Day
Posted by: meikah | 22 November 2007 | 9:38 pm
First up, Happy Thanksgiving Day to all my American friends! 
I know at this time, everyone flies to where home is, and gets reacquainted with family and friends. You can just imagine the air and land traffic at this time; not to mention the gas emissions.
If we were to apply the Six Sigma rating for all these activities, we should expect that 99.9997% of the planes fly on time, 99.9997% of the trains move as scheduled, and 99.9997% of the population reach their destination in time for Thanksgiving reunions. Gianna Clark of iSixSigma blogs has some interesting Six Sigma Thanksgiving figures, too. Check it out here!
Flying is probably the most convenient way to travel, and so everyone wishes for air travel to be smooth and hassle free. And if we were to take Airworthy’s word for it, air travellers might just have that.
Airworthy Aerospace is going Lean Six Sigma to improve efficiency, reduce cost and improve customer relations. The company is engaged in providing products and services for the aviation/aerospace industry. Airworthy Aerospace serves its customers through two operating segments: Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul and Aviation Supply Chain.
The company claims to understand the importance of keeping the aircraft in the air. It aims to provide world class support and solutions for the aviation industry, excelling in quality aircraft part sales and service, exceeding customer expectations.
With its Lean Six Sigma efforts, I don’t see why they can’t achieve their mission.
Click here for an update on Thanksgiving Day travel.
Filed under: Lean Six Sigma, Travel, Aviation, Airworthy Aerospace
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Innovation of the Week: Solar-powered Airplanes
Posted by: meikah | 9 November 2007 | 1:59 am
Having solar-powered planes flying over us is a big step toward cleaning up our Mother Earth. The sooner we get to fly these planes, the better.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Corporate Communications website reports:
The prototype of a solar energy-powered plane has been designed and should make its first piloted flight late next year, the Swiss project leaders say.
The reduced-size model, which has a 61m wingspan, is now being built in northern Switzerland to test the technology involved in the full-size Solar Impulse aircraft.
If the first flight is successful, the 1.5-tonne plane will make a 36-hour flight through the night in 2009, piloted by round-the-world ballooning pioneer Bertrand Piccard.
Filed under: Travel, Innovation Update, Aviation
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Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority Champions Six Sigma
Posted by: meikah | 6 November 2007 | 11:17 pm
In my last post, I shared some figures that may be needing Six Sigma. Well, I’m happy to know that an airport authority is actually into Six Sigma.
Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority adopts Six Sigma to improve operations and better serve customers that take the Nashville International Airport BNA. According to its website:
MNNA has incorporated the Six Sigma process improvement methodology as the cornerstone of its continuous improvement activities. Rapid Action and Breakthrough Teams of employees are created during Waves of improvement activity. A typical improvement wave for the MNAA will last 3-4 months and involve 30-40 employees. Each team will address a core process for the MNAA aimed at improving the overall value delivered to the stakeholder community.
The implementation of Six Sigma is focused on MNAA employees driving improvements with support from Six Sigma experts (black and green belts). This focus will help make continuous improvement an opportunity and reality for all employees of MNAA; building a culture of continuous improvement and business excellence. Examples of process improvements initiated to date include: maintenance work order flow, valet parking, tenant implementations, and contract compliance.
This information is already an added point to decrease further any airport or airline accidents.
*Photo credit: shanaberger.com
Filed under: Six Sigma Organizations, Travel, Aviation
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Alarming Figures that will Need Six Sigma
Posted by: meikah | 6 November 2007 | 10:13 pm
An article on New York Times about a month ago boasted of a 65% decrease in fatal airplane crashes. It’s deemed as the golden age of safety, the safest period, in the safest mode, in the history of the world.
Should we be happy about this? Look at the following figures:
- In 1996, two (2) infamous crashes that together killed 375 people.
- The rate dropped by about 65% to 1 fatal accident in about 4.5M departures, from 1 in nearly 2M in 1997.
- Around the world, there have been 7 crashes this year that killed more than 20 people each.
- The Flight Safety Foundation recently calculated that if the 1996 accident rate had remained the same in 2006, there would have been 30 major accidents last year. Instead, there were 11.
There are however sustained efforts to address the problem.
- improving equipment, like cockpit instruments that help planes steer clear of mountains when visibility is poor, and reliable jet engines
- conducting unstabilized approaches, meaning pilots had to fiddle with flaps, throttle and other controls just before landing
- developing better guidance for pilots to follow flight paths precisely and stay farther away from mountains in the area
- better signs on taxiways to prevent planes from moving into the path of other aircraft
Policy initiatives:
- acquire new planes
- more “safety summits”
- a national commission on aviation safety and security led by VP Al Gore in 1997
The trend to watch out for: air and runway traffic will double by 2025
Source:
Fatal Airplane Crashes Drop 65%
*Photo from Stock.Xchng
