Six Sigma Not the Be-all and End-all at 3M
Posted by: meikah | 19 November 2007 | 12:31 am
A few months back, there was some controversy over innovation and Six Sigma, and that some say never the twain shall meet. Some quarters say, Six Sigma stifle creativity or innovation, others say Six Sigma improves innovation.
Perhaps the company that is most associated with innovation and creativity is 3M. For years, too, we know that 3M has been an advocate of Six Sigma, until a new leadership says otherwise.
In my previoous post, I even hinted that 3M should not abandon Six Sigma at all in favor of innovation. Now, an article on Design News says that 3M will not be using Six Sigma on its R&D efforts, and probably for good measure.
The new chief at 3M, George Buckley is not an anti-Six Sigma guy. In fact, he’s a strong proponent of lean Six Sigma in manufacturing and supply chain. However, for 3M, he believes that Six Sigma will find better use for transactional activities rather than for research and development.
Further, 3M will still be using Six Sigma DOE routinely in basic research and 3M researchers still use elements of DMAIC toolset. In fact, 58,000 projects at 3M have used some element of DMAIC and more than 55,000 3M employees have achieved the minimum level “Green Belt” training since the year 2000.
Source:
Design News, a Six Sigma Zone featured link
*Photo from Stock.Xchng
Filed under: Manufacturing, Lean Six Sigma, Six Sigma Organizations, 3M, R&D, DMAIC, Innovation
2 Comments |
Innovation of the Week: Robotic Limbs Myomo e100
Posted by: meikah | 13 July 2007 | 12:22 am
We take a lot of things for granted. Perhaps one of those that we take for granted is our ability to move our body or flex our limbs. Some people are deprived of these though either by birth or some other stroke of mishap.
Mary O’Regan is one of them. She suffered a stroke after falling off a dirt bike, recovered from it, but never regained use of her left arm. Well, thanks to the latest in robotics, handicapped now has chances of being able to use their limbs.
New York Times Online - Health Section reports:
The Myomo e100 is designed to help stroke patients regain motion in their arms. The device, worn as an arm brace, works by sensing weak electrical activity in patients’ arm muscles and providing just enough assistance that they can complete simple exercises, like lifting boxes or flipping on light switches. By practicing such tasks, patients may begin to relearn how to extend and flex the arm, rebuilding and strengthening neurological pathways in the process.
Filed under: Innovation Update, R&D, Technology, Innovation
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Xcitec’s Supplier Development Solution is Based on Six Sigma
Posted by: meikah | 20 June 2007 | 6:50 pm
Xcitec, German-based supplier relationship management (SRM) specialist, is offering a supplier development solution based on Six Sigma and DMAIC.
Its supplier development offering is based on a Six Sigma process carried out in five steps, or define, measure, analyze, improve and control (DMAIC). Development projects are defined, measures established, causes documented and corresponding solutions and goals are set. Process progress is routinely measured and monitored in order to secure supplier development and to sustainably optimize cooperation with suppliers. Supplier and purchasers receive regular updates regarding development progress and the degree of implementation for the optimization measures.
Source:
Supply & Demand Executive, Supplier Optimization with Xcitec Based on Six Sigma, a featured link of Six Sigma Zone
Filed under: Tools/Toolkits, Deployment, Six Sigma References, R&D, DMAIC, Xcitec
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A Six Sigma Winery?
Posted by: meikah | 19 June 2007 | 7:17 pm
Yes, indeed, there is a Six Sigma Winery. And true to its name, the company promises only the best quality wine. According to them, a great bottle of wine does not just happen!
Six Sigma Vineyards and Winery combines the old-world art of making wine with the science of data-driven Six Sigma principles. To accomplish this, Six Sigma has gathered a team of experts working towards a common goal: Making wine of an extraordinary quality at an affordable price.
I find the company really interesting, because they have named their businesses as Six Sigma ranch, Six Sigma vineyard, and Six Sigma winery. It appears that Six Sigma is powering every aspect of their business.
As I read through their profile, I found out that Kaj Ahlmann, the owner, named the business after the management process he had successfully implemented during his professional career. Together with his wife, Else Ahlmann who had worked for consultants to large breweries, bought the 4,300-acre ranch in 2000, and put up their Six Sigma company.
When you check out their site, you will see that the company is active and seems to be a lot of fun.
Let’s check out their winery and wines and wine shop and get a taste of Six Sigma. 
Filed under: Services, Six Sigma Organizations, Team Dynamics, Sales, Sustainable Business, Retail, Processes, R&D, Six Sigma Vineyards and Winery
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Nine Sigma, anyone?
Posted by: meikah | 12 June 2007 | 7:01 pm
I’m sure that got your attention, as it did mine.
If Five Sigma means 233 defects per million opportunities (DPMOs) with 99.9767% success rate, and Six Sigma is 3.4 DPMOs with 99.99966% success rate, what is Nine Sigma? Zero defect?
Maybe. But the Nine Sigma in BusinessWeek Online refers to NineSigma, a company that helps companies take advantage of “open innovation.” Open innovation is the practice of companies that go beyond their R&D departments and tap thousands of independent inventors, university researchers for solutions.
Paul Stiros, Nine Sigma’s president and CEO, proudly recalls:
It was NineSigma that, by sending a request out to its network of 1.5 million experts (who are free to forward the request to still more experts), found the semiconductor expert who solved P&G’s cotton wrinkling problem, and the company tackles similarly tough problems for companies such as Unilever, General Mills, and Johnson Controls. Many companies come to us out of frustration.
Continue reading about Jessie Scanlon’s interview with Paul Stiros and learn how NineSigma can help you meet the challenges of innovation, especially open innovation, and how to make it work in your company.
I visited the company’s website in the hope of learning about why they chose to name their company NineSigma. I didn’t find the answer there.
Does anyone know?
Filed under: Benefits and Savings, R&D, Innovation
3 Comments |
Innovation of the Week: Take this Innovation Challenge
Posted by: meikah | 25 May 2007 | 1:34 am
In April last year, BusinessWeek Online came up with a list of The World’s Most Innovative Companies in the 21st century.
These companies are recognized for their being able to:
- reinvent business processes
- build entirely new markets that meet untapped customer needs
- consolidate, select, and execute the right ideas, and bring them to market in record time
Do you have what it takes to be like Apple, IBM, Procter & Gamble, BMW, GE, Nokia, 3M, to name only a few?
Take this Innovation Challenge and find out.
Filed under: Tips, Innovation Update, R&D
2 Comments |
Six Sigma Reference Feature: Integrated Training and Software Offering for Lean Six Sigma
Posted by: meikah | 7 May 2007 | 8:09 pm
SigmaFlow, a leading provider of Enterprise Performance Improvement Software, and Oriel, a major business productivity consulting and training organization, have joined forces to launch an innovative solution that integrates Oriel’s Lean training content with SigmaFlow’s Project Portfolio Management Solution for Lean Six Sigma. The offering will be available for purchase by end-customers and for leading training firms to integrate into their own engagements.
The two companies came up with the offering because they believe companies 
today face a major challenge in Lean and Six Sigma deployments. This is due in part to the lack of convergence between training and reference materials from the software tools used in day-to-day work. The current tools in the market just don’t seem to fit. The Oriel-SigmaFlow offering however links training and software tools, from idea generation through project completion, for the best productivity in Lean deployments.
Continue reading…
Source: ThomasNet Industrial NewsRoom, “Oriel and SigmaFlow Announce Integrated Training and Software Offering for Lean Six Sigma” with the link provided by Six Sigma Zone
Filed under: Software/Technology, Team Dynamics, Deployment, Six Sigma References, Innovation Update, R&D
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Innovation of the Week: GE’s Innovation Case Study
Posted by: meikah | 23 March 2007 | 4:07 am
In its bid to be continuously improving its processes, GE asked for ideas from students.
GE Healthcare turned to the undergraduate students of the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, one of the world’s top design schools, and bid for the development of a product that addresses both ergonomics and emotions.
BusinessWeek Online: Inside Innovation features a synopsis of the the study:
THE RESEARCH
Art Center fielded three teams of eight students. GE Healthcare asked them to address the challenge of expanding health care into rural Africa in 2016. The teams were composed of students majoring in design, transportation, and the environment. All spent the fall semester on the project, and on Dec. 7, Art Center’s “Super Thursday,” they joined other students sponsored by BMW, Honda (HMC ), and Nestlé (NSRGY ) to present their designs.THE PROTOTYPES
An ultrasound device would wrap like a blanket around a woman’s belly. The design would reduce the training required for technicians. Current machines depend on a skilled technician to guide a probe over the abdomen. The multiple imaging sensors woven into the blanket mean it would simply have to be correctly placed, a big advantage in countries where technicians are in short supply.A noninvasive malaria scanner would detect disease by looking through the skin of a patient’s hand. Malaria is currently diagnosed with a needle prick and a blood test. That scares some patients away and can delay treatment until results come back from labs. The scanner would be painted in earthy African colors.
Filed under: Healthcare, Innovation Update, R&D, GE
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Innovation of the Week: Nokia’s Design Research
Posted by: meikah | 16 March 2007 | 2:41 am
Keying in Nokia at Google tells me this about the company: the world’s leading mobile phone supplier and a leading supplier of mobile and fixed telecom networks including related customer services. I know Nokia is way ahead of its competitors. But do we know why?
An interview with Jan Chipchase of Nokia’s Research Center on BusinessWeek Online will tell us why. The company invests in R&D by engaging highly qualified people in behavioral research, and its design research involves everyone.
At Nokia, we have an internal market for ideas. There could be someone in Nokia who wants research, and they will come to us. You might have people in the company who want questions answered. A simple example would be: How are early adopters of mobile TV using mobile TV? That’s about current behaviors. We would go to the place where the technology is being rolled out, South Korea, and we would look at that. We would take the core lessons of that and think about the further, future place.
Then there are areas where growth is likely in five years because of demographics or price points but we don’t fundamentally know too much about this area beyond analyst reports and the research.
Source:
BusinessWeek Online, “Nokia’s Design Research for Everyone”
