Salaries Steady, Bonuses Dip for European Six Sigma Pros
According to the latest figures from iSixSigma’s 8th Annual Global Salary Survey, certified Black Belts in Europe earned an average of $71,500 in 2010, down from the $75,000 figure from 2009. Bonuses...
View ArticleEverBank Appoints MBB Brantl as Operations, Process Leader
EverBank Commercial Finance, an equipment financing subsidiary of Islandia, N.Y., USA-based EverBank, has named Curtis C. Brantl, a certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt, as the company’s new...
View ArticleDeloitte Study Predicts Revenue Growth, Cost Cuts in Next Two Years
For the next two years, many Forutne 1000 companies say they expect to see revenue growth as the economy recovers from the Great Recession, yet a significant fraction of these firms also say they plan...
View ArticleComputacenter Returns to Best Places to Work List
Computacenter AG & Co. oHG, an information technology (IT) services firm that first began its Six Sigma deployment 14 years ago, has made its second consecutive appearance on iSixSigma’s Best...
View ArticleThree Lean Expert Authors Win Shingo Prize
Writers Steven E. Hoeft, Steven C. Bell and Michael Orzen have all been named winners of the Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence, Research, and Professional Publication, which is bestowed on...
View ArticleLogistics Firm Transplace Promotes Norton to VP, Lean Six Sigma
Transplace, a transportation management and logistics firm based in Dallas, has promoted its director of operations, Fadra Norton, to vice president of the company’s Lean Six Sigma group. In this new...
View ArticleHarte-Hanks Hires Lean Six Sigma Expert Paul to Run Direct Marketing Group
Direct marketing firm Harte-Hanks Inc. has named Lean Six Sigma expert Tony Paul as its new group managing director for mail and logistics in its direct marketing business. Paul, who has 10 years of...
View ArticleFormer GE Energy Exec Wells Named COO of UpWind Solutions
UpWind Solutions Inc., a wind-power asset management firm based in Medford, Ore., USA, has promoted Peter Wells from vice president and general manager of parts services to the title of chief operating...
View ArticleLean Aviation Firm LMI Kitting Wins Georgia’s Manufacturer of the Year Award
Aviation parts supplier LMI Kitting LLC, has been named the Georgia Small Manufacturer of the Year at the Governor’s Awards, held in Atlanta. LMI provides fuselage skin kit assemblies and other parts...
View ArticleEnergy Forum Preview: Smart Solutions to Smart Meter Challenges
One of the “holy grails” of continuous process improvement is the reliable collection and analysis of real-time data. At Southern California Edison (SCE), one of the largest utilities in the United...
View ArticleSix Sigma Reduces Labor Costs of Navy’s T-AKE Program by 60 Percent
Following the keel-laying ceremony of the 14th and final ship in the T-AKE dry cargo-ammunition shipbuilding program in San Diego, contractor General Dynamics NASSCO said that Six Sigma-based...
View ArticleLion Vallen Wins Progressive Manufacturer Award for Supply Chain Project
Lion Vallen Industries, a maker of protective equipment for military and emergency-services personnel, was named the Progressive Manufacturer of the Year for the small and mid-sized company category at...
View ArticleRoofing Company W.P. Hickman Expands to New Lean Facility
After making a $3 million investment and securing funding from the Economic Development Coalition for Asheville-Buncombe County, N.C., roofing firm W.P. Hickman Co. is poised to open its newly expanded...
View ArticleYuma's Gingras Named Employee of the Year for Six Sigma Ammunition Project
Anthony Gingras, ammunition planner for the Ammunition Management Division at the Yuma Proving Ground (YPG), was recently named the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command’s (ATEC) Employee of the Year...
View ArticleLean Boeing 737 Assembly Facility to Expand, Add 1,200 Jobs
With orders soaring for its workhorse 737 passenger jet, Boeing Commercial Airplanes has announced that it is expanding its Lean production facility in Renton, Wash., and increase its workforce at the...
View ArticleFinch Paper Names Black Belt Chartier Quality, CI Director
Finch Paper, based in Glen Falls, N.Y., USA, has named Black Belt Ken Chartier as its new director, quality and continuous improvement. In his new role, Chartier will be responsible for ensuring that...
View ArticleEuropean Program to Fund Six Sigma Training at 16 U.K. Businesses
Sixteen manufacturing firms located in the West Midlands region of the United Kingdom are poised to receive Six Sigma business management training as part of a European Union initiative to spur...
View ArticleMotorcycle Builder Promotes Lean Expert Matson-McCoy to VP, Operations
Lehman Trikes, a manufacturer of three-wheeled motorcycles, has promoted its quality and safety manager, Terree Matson-McCoy, to the position of vice president of operations. Since joining Lehman in...
View ArticleSix Sigma Helps Merillat Cabinet Facility Win Environmental Award
A manufacturing plant that makes Merillat kitchen cabinets in Mt. Jackson, Va., USA, has received the 2011 Virginia Governor’s Environmental Excellence Silver Award in recognition for its years of...
View ArticleBlack Belt Milstead Joins HealthAmerica as VP, Health Services
Health insurance provider HealthAmerica has hired certified Black Belt Dawn Milstead as its new vice president of health services. She will work out of the company’s office in Harrisburg, Pa., USA. In...
View ArticleU.K. Medical Device Firm Kimal to Adopt Six Sigma Methods
British medical device Kimal has announced that it will begin implementing Six Sigma process improvements to enhance the quality of its services. In its first phase of implementation, Kimal will focus...
View ArticleLABSCO Hires Former GE Exec Ording as VP, Operations
Laboratory Supply Company (LABSCO), a medical laboratory products supplier, has named Black Belt Thomas Ording vice president of operations and logistics for the Louisville, Ky., USA-based firm. Ording...
View ArticleIndiana Considers Six Sigma Reviews of Public Teacher Performance
State education officials in Indiana are considering the implementation of Six Sigma standards in performance reviews for public school teachers in order to comply with a new law requiring an...
View ArticleE-learning Firm CommLab India to Implement Six Sigma Program
Hyderabad-based e-learning firm CommLab India has announced plans to implement an enterprise-wide Six Sigma program to improve customer satisfaction. The 11-year-old company, with more than 75...
View ArticleAll Flex Completes Second Phase of Lean Plant Expansion
Electronics firm All Flex Flexible Circuits, LLC, has recently completed capital equipment and infrastructure improvements, including a Lean redesign, at its production facility in Bloomington, Minn.,...
View ArticleMBB Volunteers to Help Streamline U.S. Army’s Troop Withdrawal from Iraq
A process improvement specialist with the U.S. Army Forces Command at Fort McPherson, Ga., has recently completed a voluntary six-month tour in Iraq to help streamline the process of troop withdrawal,...
View ArticleErie County Executive Collins to Cut 300 Redundant Jobs by 2012
Chris Collins, the County Executive for Erie County, N.Y., USA, and a longtime proponent of Lean Six Sigma, has released his budget plans for 2012, which include the elimination of about 300 county...
View ArticleGOP Candidate Pawlenty: Six Sigma Can Cut Government Costs by 20 Percent
In a speech on economic policy at the University of Chicago today, Former Minnesota governor and Republican presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty promoted Lean Six Sigma as a tool to reduce the costs of...
View ArticleGingrich Signs Pledge to Adopt Lean Six Sigma in Government if Elected
The concept of applying continuous process improvement to government operations got a large boost today when Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich became the first person to sign a pledge to...
View ArticleSix Sigma 2012: Political Ambitions?
Soon after announcing that he was forming an exploratory committee for a potential bid for the presidency in 2012, former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty was heard touting the virtues of Six Sigma...
View ArticleiSixSigma Live! Accepting Nominations for 2011 Awards
The annual iSixSigma Live! Awards program, which recognizes the individuals, projects and programs that have demonstrated breakthrough results in the implementation of Lean Six Sigma, is open for...
View ArticleScotland’s Six Sigma Efforts Pay Off with Manufacturing Savings
A recent report by the Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service (SMAS), a business advisory group sponsored by the government of Scotland, found that continuous improvement efforts, including Six Sigma,...
View ArticleAmtrak Hires MBB Geary as VP, Operations
Jeffrey E. Geary, a 30-year railroad industry veteran and Master Black Belt, has been named vice president of operations for Amtrak, with oversight of the railway’s transportation, engineering and...
View ArticleDriving Government Improvements at the 2011 Performance Symposium
Continuous improvement (CI) practitioners know that Lean Six Sigma can be applied to almost any business process to achieve positive results. But perhaps no other sector better represents the...
View ArticleNordic Windpower Promotes MBB Brown to CEO, Director
Renewable energy firm Nordic Windpower has promoted Jeff Brown, a certified Six Sigma Quality Leader and Master Black Belt, from chief operating officer to the title of CEO and director. A renewable...
View ArticleLean Operations Help Choctaw Defense Land U.S. Army Contract
The U.S. Army has recently awarded Choctaw Defense, owned by the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, a three-year, $20 million performance standard contract to design and manufacture the Camel II potable water...
View ArticleThree More GOP Presidential Hopefuls Sign Lean Six Sigma Pledge
During a political and economic event sponsored by the nonprofit group Strong America Now in Des Moines, Iowa, USA, three more Republican presidential candidates pledged to use Lean Six Sigma, if...
View ArticleCummins Talks with Indiana Town About Improving Processes
Diesel engine manufacturer Cummins Inc. is discussing a possible collaboration with the municipality of Franklin Township, Ind., USA, about improving the town’s financial performance via Lean Six Sigma...
View ArticleU.S. Rep. Inslee Touts Six Sigma in Wash. Governor's Race Announcement
In his announcement to run for governor of Washington state in 2012, U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee cited his plans to enact continuous process improvement (CPI) methodologies in the state government to reduce...
View ArticleHospitals, Joint Commission Apply Six Sigma to Reduce Wrong Site Surgeries
A recent project conducted by eight hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers in the United States, along with the Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare, has implemented methods such as...
View ArticleToyota Program Offers TPS Expertise to Schools, Hospitals, Non-profits
At the recent Clinton Global Initiative meeting in Chicago, Toyota Motor Corp. announced the launch of a program that will teach its Lean-based Toyota Production System (TPS) guidelines to schools,...
View ArticleBoeing Plans Lean Renovation of Chinook Helicopter Plant
Boeing has announced plans to overhaul its CH-47 Chinook helicopter production facility in Ridley Park, Pa., USA, and incorporate Lean renovations that will allow the plant to increase production by 50...
View ArticleXora Hires Black Belt Latham as VP, Customer Service
Mobile applications firm Xora Inc., based in Egan, Minn., USA, has hired Black Belt Howard Latham to fill the newly created position of vice president of customers. Latham, an 18-year veteran of...
View ArticleQuebec to Reduce Healthcare Cost Increases Via Lean Six Sigma
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) recently reported that the Canadian province of Quebec is on track to lower the rate of increase in costs for its universal healthcare system due to the...
View ArticleStarwood Appoints Harnischfeger GM of Aloft London Hotel
Starwood Hotels and Resorts has announced the appointment of Julia Harnischfeger as general manager of the company’s new 252-room Aloft London ExCeL hotel, which is scheduled to open in October 2011....
View ArticleUgandan Laboratory Plans to Adopt Lean to Improve Productivity
A clinical laboratory in the African nation of Uganda is preparing to adopt Lean standards to improve efficiency, according to a statement from Ali Elbireer, laboratory administrative director for the...
View ArticleBlack Belt Curry to Lead Customer Service at Nebraska Utility
Beginning Aug. 1, Black Belt Ken Curry will become the next vice president of the customer services division of the Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD). Curry, who is currently serving as project...
View ArticleCanadians Look to U.S. Hospitals for Lean Six Sigma Guidance
A group of healthcare leaders from Saskatchewan, Canada, recently visited the United States to tour hospitals in Washington state and learn about the successful deployment of the Lean Six Sigma...
View ArticleDeadline Approaches for iSixSigma’s Best Places to Work Nominations!
One week to go. That’s about all the time you have left to take part in the 2011 iSixSigma’s Best Places to Work™ for Six Sigma Professionals event. A week may seem like a lot of time, but we all know...
View ArticleSix Sigma Deployed to Streamline Military Payment System Overseas
The deployment of Lean Six Sigma techniques at the in the U.S. Army’s Adjutant General Corps in Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, has resulted in the streamlined delivery of payments through the official mail...
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