Energy

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.

2011 Energy Forum Got Attendees Pumped Up and Energized

Paul Arnold

Nearly 150 change management professionals representing more than 60 companies in the oil & gas and utilities sectors attended the 2011 iSixSigma Live! Energy Forum for Process Excellence on May 16-19 in Houston. Those attendees came from 19 states and eight countries (United States, plus Canada, Germany, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Thailand and the United…

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

Energy 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 States, this fine level of data is being given not only to the process improvement teams, but to their customers, as well, in the…

Former 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 officer.

Up Close with William B. Wark

Wark will be presenting on the role of the CSB and the lessons learned from its investigations during a keynote address at iSixSigma’s Energy Forum for Process Excellence on May 17 in Houston. In an interview with iSixSigma Senior Editor Kirsten Terry, Wark offered a preview of some of the topics he will cover during…

Free Workshop on Change Management for Houston Professionals

A free workshop for executives detailing the critical role of change management in a Lean Six Sigma deployment is scheduled for May 16 at the third annual Energy Forum for Process Excellence.

SG Biofuels Expands to India, Hires Black Belt Pattnaik

San Diego-based SG Biofuels, an energy company that is developing biodiesel fuels based on the jatropha plant, is expanding operations into India and has named Black Belt Subhas Pattnaik as its new director of operations for the Indian market.

ADA Carbon Hires Wong to Run Technology, Innovation Efforts

ADA Carbon Solutions LLC, which produces activated carbon from coal-fueled power plants, announced that Dr. Joe Wong has been hired as the company’s new vice president of technology.

Wind Turbine Firm Vestas Adds Gels to Quality Team

Vestas, the Danish wind-turbine manufacturer, has hired David Gels as its new vice president of quality and process excellence. The company also hired two other executives to its North American operations: Ramon Mendoza as warranty management chief specialist and David Sword as government relations director for Canada.

European Wind Project Embraces Lean

With assistance from Spanish wind-turbine manufacturer Gamesa, nonprofit foundation Tekniker and several other European technology firms, COSMOS seeks increases in turbine quality, as well as lower costs and faster manufacturing times, according to a release from Ibermática. According to the COSMOS consortium, many European turbine assembly operations involve both manual labor and work done by…

Green Grid IT Consortium Adds Monroe as Executive Director

The Green Grid, a global consortium that promotes energy efficiency in business computing systems, has named Six Sigma Black Belt Mark Monroe as its new executive director.

IC-TAG Solutions Launches Phase One of Lean Program

IC-TAG Solutions, a manufacturer of radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags, has begun the first phase of its Lean program, which includes a program to reuse and recycle materials and save energy during the manufacturing process.

Call for Speakers: Energy Forum for Process Excellence, Houston, USA

iSixSigma, the leading provider of content for the Lean Six Sigma community, is searching for engaging speakers for its third annual Energy Forum for Process Excellence, May 16-19 in Houston, USA.

COSMOS to Improve Europe's Wind Turbine Manufacturing Productivity Via Lean

Spanish software engineering firm Ibermática is leading a European project called COSMOS, which aims to apply Lean techniques to the aeronautics and wind-power industries, and boost manufacturing productivity by 20 percent.

808 Renewable Energy Corp. Names Black Belt Lorthioir CEO

808 Renewable Energy Corp. has named Pascal Lorthioir as it s new Chief Executive Officer and Board of Directors Member. Lorthioir brings to the firm – which started in 2006 as 808 Investments, LLC – more than 20 years of professional, hands-on corporate experience in operations, management, research and development, mergers and acquisitions and international…

Chevron Wins Supply Chain Award for Lean Six Sigma Program

Boston Strategies International announced that Chevron, Shell and Baker Hughes have won BSI’s 2010 Oil and Gas Supply Chain Excellence Awards.

Belgian Wind Turbine Firm Hansen Transmissions Hires VP, Six Sigma

Hansen Transmissions International NV is pleased to announce the appointment of Leszek Biskup-Koestner as Vice President, Six Sigma.

Six Sigma Used to Create Lightweight Material for Electric Car

Electric car manufacturer Aptera said it used the Six Sigma process to develop lighter, stronger composite material for its latest electric vehicle, called the 2e.

Energy Forum Makes Lasting Contributions

Jessica Harper

Top process improvement professionals in the energy sector met recently at the 2010 iSixSigma Live! Energy Forum for Process Excellence, May 24-27, in Houston. Presentations covered a broad range of topics – from innovation to leadership and getting started to giving back. Each of the topics was tailored to the specific needs of professionals in…

Energy Industry Process Excellence Workshops and Site Tours May 24 and May 27

The Energy Forum for Process Excellence (May 24-27, St. Regis, Houston, TX), produced by iSixSigma Live! and presented by SSA & Company, will feature hands-on opportunities for attendees to strengthen their process excellence knowledge.

Free Workshop on Process Improvement for Energy Company Professionals

A free workshop for energy executives detailing how to move process improvement closer to the CEO’s office is scheduled for May 24 at the second annual Energy Forum for Process Excellence.

SSA and Company Presents the Energy Forum for Process Excellence

iSixSigma Live! is pleased to announce that SSA & Company will present the second annual Energy Forum for Process Excellence (May 24-27, The St. Regis, Houston, Texas, USA).

IBM Applies Green Principles to Reduce Waste at Irish Facility

Larry Raymond

From environmentalleader.com Businesses today generally understand they need to do as much as possible to conserve energy and water, reduce waste and greenhouse gas emissions, and minimize their environmental impact overall. Societal pressures from customers, increasing regulation and economics all make this a fact of life for them. Most are taking steps to address these…

Highlights from the 2009 Energy Forum

Jessica Harper

At the iSixSigma Live! 2009 Energy Forum for Process Excellence, leaders from across the energy industry shared how they are implementing process improvement efforts at their organizations. Some common questions and lessons learned – about methodology, implementation and benefits – came up over the course of the three-day event. Here are a few highlights. Combining…

Culture Change at Cameron

Jessica Harper

Again and again, culture change comes up as one of the most important aspects of a successful Six Sigma deployment. Yet effecting culture change is one of the most difficult parts to master. Almost 50 percent of respondents to a 2007 iSixSigma survey said their company was far from achieving its desired culture change (“Organizational…

From the Bottom Up: Grassroots Effort Finds Footing at Chevron

Elaine Schmidt

“Train and hope for the best.” Acting on that tenuous proposition, a small group of Chevron Corp. employees initiated a business unit deployment of Six Sigma eight years ago. The odds that it would spread enterprise wide were not good. But fueled by proponents’ zeal and impressive results, the grassroots effort crossed national and business…

Case Study: Meeting Customers Welding Flux Demands

Nadir Minoo Patel

Submerged arc welding (SAW) flux has many applications in the fabrication of oil, gas and water pipelines; gas cylinders; ship building; and surfacing of worn-out mining and material handling equipment. The following case study tracks a project to meet customer demand by fine-tuning the upper and lower control limits used in manufacturing this welding consumable….

Process Maps and FMEA Help Prepare Utility for Disaster

David Marden

The Six Sigma methodology contains many tools that can be used successfully throughout an organization to improve processes and prevent failures, regardless of whether the full DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) roadmap is used. Demonstrating the efficacy of these tools for preventing or solving real business problems is a powerful way to market Six…

US Fuels Improves Invoicing Accuracy Using Work-out

Larry Pearlman

US Fuels is responsible for the wholesale fuels operations in the United States for its parent company, BP, one of the world’s largest energy companies. US Fuels supplies branded gasoline to company-owned gas stations and branded fuel jobbers, and diesel fuel to commercial accounts such as railroads, trucking companies, transit authorities and truck stops. The…

Halliburton Suppliers Get Lean

There is a great story this morning about Halliburton’s efforts to lead suppliers to Lean and Six Sigma. Having just completed a research feature (to be published in May) on this very subject I can attest the article is a living example of what to do when encouraging suppliers to become more efficient: Len Cooper,…

Six Sigma at Hess

Hess, the energy company formerly know as Amerada Hess, got its first taste of Six Sigma from GE back in the year 2000. GE came in and gave a presentation but Six Sigma didn’t stick. Four years later it was introduced in the Marketing & Refining division of the company as a CEO driven initiative….

IQPC Summit: Day One, Roger Cockroft, Constellation Energy

Roger Cockroft, Corporate VP, Business Performance Improvement, spoke brilliantly about the way Constellation Energy is using Six Sigma to manage change in their organization. Constellation Energy is the oldest utility company in the United States and also one of the largest. Cockroft said that post 911 there were a lot of changes in the organization…

Dominion Six Sigma

Dominion is now in its fifth year of an enterprise-wide Six Sigma initiative. Their unique approach encourages the entrepreneurial spirit and has led to $300 million in savings since 2001. Dominion is active in the Six Sigma community, speaking at conferences and sharing best practices on deployment issues. A quick stroll through Dominion’s history and…

Energy Sector – Six Sigma