Category: Press Releases

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 mechanical departments.

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, have resulted in more than £21 million worth of productivity benefits across the region over a 12-month period in 2010-11.

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 nominations.

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 reduce the national debt over the next five years via Lean Six Sigma cost-cutting principles.

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 government programs by as much as 20 percent.

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 jobs in order to reduce costs and keep property taxes from rising.

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, which the Army plans to complete by the end of 2011.

Recent news from Lean Six Sigma use in healthcare includes the release of a new book detailing UCLA Health System’s path to operational excellence and the appointment of a Black Belt to a leadership role within a health insurance organization.

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., USA.

Hyderabad-based e-learning firm CommLab India has announced plans to implement an enterprise-wide Six Sigma program to improve customer satisfaction.

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 evaluation of how school districts allocate their state funds.

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.

British medical device Kimal has announced that it will begin implementing Six Sigma process improvements to enhance the quality of its 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.

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 environmental stewardship, including the savings achieved via a recent Six Sigma project.

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.

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 competitiveness in the region.

Finch Paper, based in Glen Falls, N.Y., USA, has named Black Belt Ken Chartier as its new director, quality and continuous improvement.

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 plant by 1,200 workers by 2013.

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 for 2010 for a Lean Six Sigma project involving ammunition delivery.

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 Lean facility near Asheville, N.C., USA, on May 26.

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 the Manufacturing Leadership Summit in Palm Beach, Fla., USA.

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 improvements deployed over the last decade have reduced the labor costs of the $6 billion program by 60 percent.

Provider of Lean Six Sigma Online Training Continues Steady Growth in 2011