ASQ Announces 2012 International Team Excellence Award Finalists
For Immediate Release
Organizations Recognized for Best-in-Quality Processes
Milwaukee, Wis., Feb. 29, 2012 — ASQ, the world’s largest network of quality resources and experts, has announced that 32 global teams from nine countries have been named finalists in the 27th annualInternational Team Excellence Awards process.
The teams will be part of the quality impact sessions and live case study presentations May 21-23 at ASQ’s annual World Conference on Quality and Improvement at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif.
Teams representing a broad spectrum of industries including manufacturing, service, education, health care, and government will vie for the coveted ASQ gold, silver and bronze awards. Winners will be announced during an awards ceremony Wednesday, May 23, and will serve as benchmarks of organizational excellence in all industries for years to come.
The finalists’ projects showcase creative and innovative solutions and organizational cost-savings. Conference attendees can observe team project presentations that demonstrate the real-life application of quality tools to achieve valuable business results.
The following finalists have been invited to participate in the 2012 International Team Excellence Award process. Project summaries can be found at wcqi.asq.org.
Education
- Ramaiah Institute of Management Studies — Bangalore, Karnataka, India
- Tropic Isles Elementary — Fort Myers, Fla.
Government
- CGI Federal — Fort Campbell, Ky.
- Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) — Singapore, Singapore
- NAVFAC-Navy Medicine-HDR-Clark/McCarthy — Camp Pendleton, Calif.
- National Reconnaissance Office — Chantilly, Va.
- URS Federal Services — Stockton, Utah
Healthcare
- BJC Healthcare — St. Louis
Manufacturing
- Alcoa Inc. — Morristown, Tenn.
- Altos Hornos de México S.A.B.de C.V. — Coahuila, Mexico
- Anheuser-Busch InBev — St. Louis
- Boeing — Long Beach, Calif.
- Continental Automotive System Co. Ltd. — Tianjin, TJ, China
- Continental Automotive Systems Corporation — Icheon-city, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
- CSX Transportation/General Electric — Jacksonville, Fla.
- Ford Motor Company — Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Ford Motor Company — Saarlouis, Saarland, Germany
- Ford Motor Company — Dearborn, Mich.
- General Motors — Milford, Mich.
- Hewlett Packard — Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
- Reliance Industries Ltd. Dahej — Dahej, Gujarat, India
- Reliance Industries Ltd. Hazira — Surat, Gujarat, India
- Suzlon Energy Limited — Pune, Maharashtra, India
Service
- Firstsource Solutions Ltd. — Amherst, N.Y.
- HCL Technologies — Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
- Housing and Development Board — Singapore, Singapore
- Pruksa Real Estate Public Company Ltd. — Phayathai, Bangkok, Thailand
- Telecom Personal SA — Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Capital Federal, Argentina
- Telefonica Argentina — Capital Federal, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Tgestiona — Capital Federal, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans — Coconut Grove, Fla.
- Wyndham Consumer Finance — Las Vegas
Since 1985, more than 1,000 teams from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Colombia, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and the United States have participated in this team recognition process — the only one of its kind in the United States. Organizations such as 3M; Alcoa; Bayer; Boeing; Humana; Reliance Industries Ltd., the largest business enterprise in India; and Telefonica, a major cell phone operator in Argentina, have all showcased proven results with long-term implications, resulting in cost-savings of millions of dollars.
Conference Speakers
Speakers at this year’s WQCI, where the Team Excellence Awards takes place, include:
- James Albaugh — Executive Vice President of The Boeing Co., and President and Chief Executive Officer of Boeing Commercial Airplanes
James Albaugh is responsible for Boeing’s commercial airplanes programs and services, is a member of the Boeing Executive Council and serves as Boeing’s senior executive in the Pacific Northwest.
- Carletta Ooton — Vice President and Chief Quality, Safety and Sustainable Operations Officer for The Coca Cola Co.
Carletta Ooton, who has more than 20 years of quality and operational experience, has overarching accountability for the policies and standards, audits, analytical services, food safety, customer quality, performance measures and operations support delivered by the global quality organization.
- Majora Carter — President of MCG Consulting
Named one of the 100 most creative people in business by Fast Company magazine, Majora Carter is known for her sustainability leadership in pioneering the nation’s first urban green-collar job training and placement system.
- Simon Sinek — Leadership expert and author of “Start With Why”
Simon Sinek teaches leaders and companies to inspire people, and his unique approach has earned him invitations to meet with high-profile leaders around the country, including Microsoft, U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
- Joseph A. DeFeo — President and CEO of Juran Institute
Joseph A. DeFeo is recognized as one of the world’s leading authorities on transformational change systems and breakthrough management principles. DeFeo is co-author of several books, including the go to resource for deployment leaders, “Juran’s Quality Handbook Sixth Edition, The Complete Guide to Performance Excellence.”
About ASQ
ASQ is a global community of people dedicated to quality who share the ideas and tools that make our world work better. With millions of individual and organizational members of the community in 150 countries, ASQ has the reputation and reach to bring together the diverse quality champions who are transforming the world’s corporations, organizations, and communities to meet tomorrow’s critical challenges. ASQ is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., with national service centers in China, India, and Mexico. Learn more about ASQ’s members, mission, technologies, and training at www.asq.org.
Ramli have been a Full Member of ASQ for many years already.Contact Ramli for Training & Consulting needs mobile:+6019-2537165 or email: ramlipromoter@yahoo.com
Here are the Teams Project Summaries as provided by ASQ.
Project Summaries for Quality Impact Sessions/Live Team Case Studies
Finalist teams will be invited from the 2011-12 ITEA participant list below and will present their case study/quality impact session at the
World Conference. Visit wcqi.asq.org for live presentation schedule and updates.
Alcat el-Lucent Shanghai Bell
Team Name: Zero Defect Delivery Project Team
Type of Team: Improvement
Shanghai, China
After identifying a huge opportunity and deciding the project was
best acheived through external partnership, the Zero Defect Delivery
Project Team used various quality tools over three years to achieve
zero-defects and zero-delay in product delivery to its strategic
business partner. Its product has been validated by its partner as a top
marketing opportunity in the coming years.
Alcat el-Lucent Shanghai Bell
Team Name: Defects Ratio of CNC Bending Process Reduction
Team
Type of Team: Six Sigma
Shanghai, China
Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell used many quality tools, including
Six Sigma, DOE, and lean, to reduce defects from 2 percent to .
76 percent on its CNC bending process.
Alcoa Inc.
Team Name: Ceramic Core Excellence Team
Type of Team: Lean
Morristown, TN, USA
The Ceramic Core Excellence Team drove significant culture
change. Using A3 thinking to define its target, the team used process
management, workflow designs, and DMAIC to achieve target
conditions. The project team improved delivery time by 63 percent,
reduced the OSHA recordable rate by 23 percent, and reduced cost
by 26 percent annually. In addition, the PPM defect rate went down
52 percent, and employee absenteeism was reduced by 30 percent.
Alt os Hornos de Mexico, S.A.B. de C.V.
Team Name: No Planos
Type of Team: Six Sigma (DMADV)
Monclova, Coahuila, Mexico
Offering its steel products to the construction, food, and automotive
manufacturing industries, this project’s goal was to reduce
manufacturing costs. There were savings of 9 MMUSD per year
since 2009. The team also reduced energy and resource consumption,
reduced emissions, and helped improve the company’s image.
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Quality Impact Sessions
Anheuser-Busch InBev
Team Name: Liner Continuous Improvement Team
Type of Team: Improvement
St. Louis, MO, USA
The Liner Continuous Improvement Team was formed to optimize
placement of the liner compound used to create an airtight seal on
cans. Following a standardized improvement team process, several
designed experiments determined how to successfully optimize the
compound placement. These innovations reduced the possibility of
potential quality issues and reduced cost while maintaining efficiency.
BJC Healthcar e
Team Name: Pressure Ulcer Prevention Team
Type of Team: Lean Improvement
St. Louis, MO, USA
In April 2010, three unit teams participated in an event to develop
standard criteria for hospital-acquired pressure ulcer prevention. Each
team participated in a local rapid improvement event to integrate the
criteria within patient care and workflow processes. It resulted in a
combined decrease of 58 percent (p value = <.02) of ulcer occurrence.
the Boeing company
Team Name: C-17 Nose to Fuse Project Team
Type of Team: Improvement
Long Beach, CA, USA
The C-17 fuselage has benefitted from multiple, successful
improvement projects. A new project was initiated to determine the
root cause and resolve the team’s latest joint alignment issue. Root
cause identification and correction requires womb-to-tomb process
knowledge and a structured reasoning approach. Utilization of
the ASQ ITEA process criteria as a foundational project template,
lean methodology, advanced quality metrology methods for large
structures, and simulations facilitated the team’s success.
CGI Federal
Team Name: DOL Automotive Inspection Program Improvement
Type of Team: Lean Six Sigma
Fort Campbell, KY, USA
This project focused on improving the automotive inspection program.
Utilizing the DMAIC methodology, the team employed gage R&R, Pareto
chart, cause-and-effect diagram, 5 whys, multi-voting, and a number of
other valuable tools for root cause identification and final improvement
recommendations. The improvement provided the potential for a
$1.6 million USD cost reduction by creating an easily reproducible
inspection program that guarantees uniformity across all operations.
Continental Automotive System
(Tianjin) Co. Ltd.
Team Name: The Great Wall
Type of Team: Six Sigma
Tianjin, TJ, China
The Great Wall team focused on reducing customer returns. The team
implemented Six Sigma and DMAIC. Customer complaints were
high at 1,200 PPM defects. The new process had less than one defect
from a shipment of 10,000, and the total saving was higher than
$13,000 USD per year.
Continental Automotive Systems
Corporati on
Team Name: Cornerfill Team
Type of Team: Six Sigma
Icheon-city, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
The Cornerfill Team’s objective was to enhance solder strength on
an assembly process. The team launched a new process through
benchmarking and developed new epoxy material to maintain good
adhesion level under SMD process. The project achieved increased
solder strength and cost savings of about $771,000 USD.
Continental Guadalajara
Team Name: Scrap in Daimler
Type of Team: Six Sigma
Tlajomulco de Zúñiga, Jalisco, Mexico
The Scrap in Daimler team’s goal was to reduce scrap. So far the
project shows savings of more than $81,000 USD, and waste has been
reduced. The improvement in quality contributed to Daimler giving
the next ECU airbag platform to Continental GDL.
CSX Transportati on
Team Name: CSX–GE Fuel Conservation Team
Type of Team: Six Sigma
Jacksonville, FL, USA
CSX Transportation and General Electric partnered in a fuel and
emissions conservation project that documented an astounding 6.9
percent fuel savings for their pilot trains and a potential 390,000-ton
reduction in greenhouse gases annually. Using the DMADV project
discipline, the team executed multiple pilots to validate the results.
This project improves the air we breathe and reduces our dependency
on an increasingly scarce natural resource.
Embrac o
Team Name: QCC CT 28
Type of Team: Improvement
Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brazil
This project aimed to eliminate waste and improve the welding
process of refrigerator equipment. It was a breakthrough project
since the solution wasn’t covered by welding technical literature. It
produced savings on internal indicators, such as OEE, customer line
rejection, production rate, quality, raw material (process), safety,
OTIF, and people satisfaction.
Firstsource Solutions Limited
Team Name: Firstsource Solutions Limited
Type of Team: Six Sigma
Amherst, NY, USA
The webpay improvement project, developed by the Firstsource
Advantage Six Sigma team, improved the total customer experience
and the number of payments taken on the virtual collections website.
This resulted in an increase of $880,000 USD in client revenue and
$380,000 USD to Firstsource revenue over a 12-month period.
Intangible benefits included building key collaborations, encouraging
a process excellence focus and data-driven culture to sustain results,
and driving further successful Six Sigma programs.
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Quality Impact Sessions
Ford Motor Company
Team Name: Electrical Variability Reduction Team
Type of Team: Six Sigma
Ricardo Rojas (ex Gral Pacheco), Buenos Aires, Argentina
The challenge was customer dissatisfaction due to dead batteries, and
the goal was to increase battery voltage capability by 70 percent and
reduce 70 percent of discharged batteries. Six Sigma methodology and
tools were used to identify the root cause and solve it.
Ford Motor Company
Team Name: Park Brake Assembly Dash Pass-through Seals
Type of Team: Design for Six Sigma
Dearborn, MI, USA
This project is a case study on how to rapidly solve noise transmission
problems through the numerous holes in a vehicle body. Development
and deployment of design rules for controlling noise that can pass
through the various holes in the vehicle institutionalized the knowledge.
As a result, new products have delivered quieter interior cabins, which
in turn contributed to higher levels of customer satisfaction.
Ford Motor Company
Team Name: Six Sigma Team Body Construction Saarlouis VO
Type of Team: Six Sigma
Saarlouis, Saarland, Germany
A complex body construction production process challenged this team,
which chose DMAIC as the appropriate discipline. The team achieved a
savings of $700,000 USD per year and reduced defects by 15 percent at
the beginning (based on 3,000 opportunities) to zero defects (actually based
on 1,500,000 opportunities), documenting the power of a cross-functional
team using DMAIC, working together with the suppliers, breaking down
barriers, and demonstrating the power of Six Sigma by results.
Ford Motor Company
Team Name: Team Ford–Body Engineering
Type of Team: Six Sigma
Dearborn, MI, USA
Six Sigma DMAIC discipline was used to solve a paint quality defect
on hood panels of the Ford Explorer. Through use of the y=f(x)
cascade, measurement systems analysis, hypothesis testing for attribute
and continuous data, and graphic analysis, employees tackled the
issue. Results from the project included an increase in the paint shop’s
first-time-through metric to 98.6 percent, a reduction of $400,000
USD in nonvalue-added labor, and the assembly plant meeting fullvehicle
production targets.
General Motors
Team Name: General Motors Technical Problem Solving
Type of Team: General Motors Red X
Milford, MI, USA
This project shows how seemingly different tools can be
complementary. The team was able to leverage the power of lean while
protecting critical creative and adaptive strategic needs. The resulting
improvements include a 368 percent and 169 percent improvement
in two critical processes. These improvements resulted in the
ability to increase by two and one half times the number of quality
improvements the team was able to deliver to General Motors vehicles
and to its customers.
HCL Technologies
Team Name: Operational Excellence Through Intuition
Type of Team: Lean and Six Sigma
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
This project applies artificial intelligence and mass communication.
Average handling time was reduced by 20 percent, while
simultaneously eliminating defects completely. These also led to
diverse improvements giving identifiable bottom-line benefits of
$6 million USD per year by reducing costs, wastes, and defects.
HCL Technologies
Team Name: Operational Excellence With a Human Face
Type of Team: Lean and Six Sigma
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
This project applies production and psychological theories to BPO,
focusing on reducing order turnaround time from 24 hours to four
hours while simultaneously improving from a 95 percent quality
score to a 99.5 percent score in an outsourced complex global order
management process. These led to improvements in the visibility,
velocity, and reliability of the client’s global supply chain, giving
identifiable bottom-line benefits of $10 million USD per year.
Hewlett-Pac kard
Team Name: HP Way
Type of Team: Six Sigma
Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
This project team comprised of team members from India, Mexico,
the United States, Poland, and England focused on the HR shared
services organization that, among other things, provides the human
talent to the whole company. Using DMAIC and innovation tools,
this project aimed at improving the performance of the “on-time
hirings” for the United States, which went from 65 percent to more
than 98 percent, completely eliminating complaints from clients and
legal risks. Additionally, the project yielded $108,000 USD in annual
savings and created a paperless process.
Housing and Development Board
Team Name: RQUEST 4
Type of Team: Innovation and Quality Circle
Singapore
The sand ban by Indonesia has affected Singapore’s construction
industry severely, including housing and development since its
construction of public housing required reinforced concrete, which is
made from sand and granite. Using reengineering techniques the team
achieved significant reduction in building concrete usage, thereby
minimizing disruption to the building program and overcoming sand
shortage issues in the long term.
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Quality Impact Sessions
Jubilant Lifesciences Limited
Team Name: Renaissance
Type of Team: Lean Six Sigma Improvement
Noida, UP, India
This pharmaceutical industry team faced a serious backorder situation.
The service level was less than 60 percent, demand was on the
rise, and capacities were not sufficient. The team used appropriate
improvement methodologies like lean, Six Sigma, modeling, and
supply chain operations reference to accomplish improvements.
Following were the benefits to customers: improved service levels
to >95 percent in six months, reduced backorder to almost nil, and
increased plant capacities by 12.3 percent with no capital investment.
Media Servic es Center
Team Name: Media Services Center–Project Team
Type of Team: Six Sigma DMAIC
Chantilly, VA, USA
Using Six Sigma DMAIC methodology, this project was implemented
to facilitate critical communications, reduce production defects, and
implement sustainable improvements to the process of gathering,
creating, and managing customer requirements. Accuracy rose from a
baseline sigma of 1.5 to 3.3, which is a 96.96 percent improvement
score. Project creation average cycle-time decreased by seven minutes,
generating significant cost savings, and customer satisfaction scores
rose from 97.8 percent to 98.7 percent.
Ministry of Defence (MINDEF)
Team Name: Blue Sapphire
Type of Team: Work Improvement
Singapore
The Triple Ejector Rack-9A is equipment that multiplies the number
of bombs carried on the F-16. Testing of each TER-9A requires
30 minutes. The team designed a portable field tester that
accomplishes the test in less than 10 minutes. With the new field
tester, 100 percent confidence on the serviceability of all TER-9As
is ensured before they are installed on to the aircraft.
Ministry of Defence (MINDEF)
Team Name: Five Stars
Type of Team: Work Improvement
Singapore
This project aimed to improve the process of removing a part from
an engine to send it for repair/service by the OEM. After finding the
root cause using the PDCA methodology and QC tools, a solution
was found that led to substantial cost and time savings and delighted
partners from Fleet.
Ministry of Defence (MINDEF)
Team Name: Planning Ahead
Type of Team: Improvement
Singapore
Learn how this team improved protective gear for safeguarding
soldiers. Considering factors like mobility, body temperature, and ease
of getting in and out of gear, the team designed an integrated body
armour (iBA) to function as both a load-bearing and bullet-proof
vest. This allowed the soldiers to configure three different levels of
protection based on their requirements.
Motilal Oswal Securities Ltd.
Team Name: Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.
Type of Team: Business Process Excellence
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
This project was aimed at improving the productivity of direct sales
teams of one of the leading financial service providers in India.
The project was executed using DMAIC with the objective of
improving the number of customers acquired per day. The sustainable
processes put in place resulted in a 28 percent improvement in sales
productivity, besides breaking down existing paradigms and making
stakeholders more receptive to new process improvement initiatives.
Pruksa Real Estat e Public
Company Limited
Team Name: Pruksa Excellence Team
Type of Team: Continuous Improvement
Phayathai, Bangkok, Thailand
To increase home construction capacity and improve quality, the
Pruksa Excellence Team used Six Sigma methodology and lean.
Initial data shows a big improvement—67 percent in capacity and an
increase of more than 70 percent in quality. These numbers help the
team to easily convince all stakeholders to implement these solutions.
This project saved the company more than $1.13 million per year
and contributed to improved working relationships and a new way of
managing real estate in Thailand.
Ramaiah Institute of Manag ement
Studies
Team Name: Employability
Type of Team: Radical Improvement
Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Ninety-eight percent of students in a business graduate program
cite employability as the primary criterion, but studies show only
25 percent of students graduating are employable. In response, the
Employability team undertook a comprehensive project to improve
placement quality, attract star recruiters, ensure students receive offers
quickly, enhance salary levels, retain employers, attract new recruiters,
and earn revenue from placement. A variety of tools yielded results,
including an unprecedented $90,000 USD revenue from placements.
Reliance Industries Limited
Team Name: Reliance Dahej
Type of Team: Improvement
Surat, Gujarat, India
The Reliance Dahej team addressed the application of simulation
tools to optimize the cooling water flow to the plant process while
increasing plant production and improving energy efficiency at the
400 KTA Gas Cracker Plant (GCU) plant.
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Quality Impact Sessions
Reliance Industries Limited
Team Name: Reliance Industries Limited–Vadodara
Manufacturing Division
Type of Team: Six Sigma
Vadodara, Gujarat, India
This project was undertaken to confirm the effect of different reactor
parameters on ACN conversion. An exhaustive list of 36 parameters
were considered for the study. Based on two test sample p-values,
10 variables were selected for further study. Based on the statistical
analysis using Minitab and partitioning using JMP, six variables were
defined for improved ACN conversion. This resulted in conversion
improvements to 80.92 with a reduction in standard deviation to
1.265 from an earlier value of 2.045. IP21 software has helped to
increase conversion up to 80.2 percent with a reduction in standard
deviation of 0.718.
Reliance Industries Limited
Team Name: Reliance Productivity Improvement Team
Type of Team: Improvement
Dahej, Gujarat, India
Reliance is the largest polyester POY producer in the world. The
challenge was to increase POY production without incurring any
capital expenditure, and to earn higher revenue by utilizing available
polymer capacity. Different tools such as mind mapping, causeand-
effect matrix, theory of constraints, simulation model, FMEA,
SCRAMPER, and DOE were used. The team achieved annual savings
of $3.1 million and increased productivity. This modification was also
incorporated in other sites of reliance and future projects.
The Ritz-Carlt on Hotel Company
Team Name: The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans–Housekeeping Project
Type of Team: Six-step Defect Reduction–Room Supply Missing
Coconut Grove, FL, USA
The project team used The Ritz-Carlton’s six-step problem-solving
process over five weeks to diagnose the cause of defects in the
housekeeping department, specifically missing room supplies. By
applying the principles of 5S and improving training and inspections
processes, the team reduced defects by 50 percent in the first year and
additional reductions in the second year. The project also reduced the
cost of guest supplies by 25 percent through better inventory controls
and management. The approach and results for this project have been
shared throughout Ritz-Carlton.
ROICC Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton
Team Name: Replacement Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton
Type of Team: Construction Project Team
Camp Pendleton, CA, USA
Drawing on the best practices and improvement initiatives within the
construction industry and government, a composite team consisting
of hand selected members of Naval Facilities Engineering Command
(NAVFAC) Southwest, Navy Medicine West, HDR Architects Inc.,
and Clark/McCarthy Joint Venture set out to program, design,
construct, and commission a new, state-of-the-art, $500 million,
1-million-square-foot Naval Hospital campus at Camp Pendleton,
CA. The team created and implemented a groundbreaking strategy
to reconstruct the entire project delivery timeline and adapt internal
business practices and organizational structure to not only meet but
exceed the unprecedented performance objectives, as well as setting
a new course for the execution of large, complex projects within
NAVFAC and Navy Medicine, as well as a new standard of care for
Our Nation’s Warriors.
Shanghai Guanghua Printing
Machin ery Co. Ltd.
Team Name: “New Concept” QCC
Type of Team: Improvement
Shanghai, China
Quality of a printing process improved through various quality tools, and
saved about $63,000 USD in manufacturing costs. Sale orders improved
greatly and enhanced the ability of members to analyze problems.
Shanghai Shentong Metro Group
Co. Ltd.
Team Name: Iron Army Team With Outstanding Performance
Type of Team: Improvement
Shanghai, China
The team’s goal was to have safe, efficient, punctual, and convenient
services. Using a 65-mile long transit line, the team brainstormed;
used systematic, radar, and permutation graphs; investigation tables;
and more. By means of retrofitting the overhead contact system
equipment as well as optimizing inspection and maintenance, the
hard points arising from the section insulator decreased from 100
occurrences to zero. As a result, the metro operation safety and
stability improved, $315,000 USD worth of equipment costs was
saved, and the work-time utilization rate increased.
Shanghai Yaming Lighting Co. Ltd.
Team Name: Newborn Calves Team
Type of Team: Improvement
Shanghai, China
The team’s goal was to reduce the reject rate of an assembly process.
This multi-disciplinary team focused on company policy and
objectives driven by performance. It investigated root causes through
brainstorming and verified key factors. It successfully reduced the
reject rate of a specific part from 5.8 percent to 1.7 percent, and
saved more than $4,000 USD for the company every year. The QC
activities encouraged teamwork, improved the ability to analyze, and
enhanced the awareness of on-site improvement and sense of service.
Suzlon Energy Limited
Team Name: IBU-PRD-R-DM-003
Type of Team: Six Sigma
Pune, Maharashtra, India
Using proven DMAIC methodology, this project addressed the goal
of improving availability of turbine for power generation. The study
and implementation, completed on 46 machines, resulted in reduced
interventions. The project outcome is applicable to more than 5,000
installations in India with total potential of $700,000 USD per year.
The savings have proved to be a morale booster for the team.
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Quality Impact Sessions
Telecom Personal SA
Team Name: Activate Is Winning
Type of Team: Process Improvement
Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Capital Federal, Argentina
An increased volume of business customers led to longer activation
times, inefficiencies, and increased billing claims. To achieve the project
objective of reducing mean activation time to less than three days,
tools such as flowcharts, histograms, decision matrixes, control charts,
and hypothesis tests were used. Time reduction, increased customer
satisfaction, and cost savings of more than $200,000 USD resulted.
Telefonica Argentina S.A.
Team Name: Keeping the Pieces Connected
Type of Team: Six Sigma
Capital Federal, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Looking to solve reconnection problems, this team project encircled
more than 108,000 customers with these problems. Goals were
acheived using Six Sigma methodology and DMAIC discipline.
The project team achieved a savings of $1 million USD per year by
reducing the reconnection lead time from more than three days to less
than 14 hours, and reducing inbound calls by more than 23 percent,
to improve the image of the company, the service provided to its
customers, and the internal teamwork.
Tgestiona
Team Name: Delivering Quality
Type of Team: Six Sigma
Capital Federal, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Highly applicable to different service industries, this project encircled
more than 1,000 delivery points in Argentine territory to solve logistical
problems. Goals were achieved using Six Sigma methodology and
DMAIC. The project team achieved savings of $630,000 USD per year
by reducing unusual deliveries from 53 to one, and satisfying all the
service level agreement indicators at about 95 percent, helping to improve
the image of the company and the service provided to its customers.
Tropic Isles Elementary
Team Name: Tropic Isles Data Miners
Type of Team: Improvement
North Fort Myers, FL, USA
The Tropic Isles Data Miners team was developed to increase student
academic performance and improve customer satisfaction/employee
engagement. As a result, third grade improved in math from 81 percent
of students meeting or exceeding standards in 2007 to 94.9 percent in
2010. Reading and writing also improved. Student satisfaction increased
from 82.6 percent in 2008 to 95.7 percent in 2011. Workforce
satisfaction increased from 86 percent in 2008 to 96 percent in 2010,
which exceeds the results of a Florida Baldrige recipient.
URS Federal Servic es
Team Name: TOCDF VPP Leadership Team
Type of Team: Voluntary Protection Program Leadership
Stockton, UT, USA
This annual project known as the Element Owner Program is
focused on employee involvement through a team approach to selfassessment.
All levels of employees are involved. Results include a
safety recordable injury rate below .5 percent, and more than 12
million man hours worked without a lost-time accident. Workers
compensation claims have dramatically decreased and this program
has empowered personnel to commit to quality standards and
personal safety.
Wyndham Consumer Finance
Team Name: Red Pill
Type of Team: Lean Improvement
Las Vegas, NV, USA
This project focused on the telesales component of selling vacation
packages to customers. It was identified that 30.7 percent of vacation
packages sent to potential customers (by telesales) were not finalized,
resulting in $3 million USD in lost revenue annually. Utilizing the
DMAIC methodology, the team identified that 95 percent of the
problem was due to customers not signing and returning documents.
An e-signature solution shortened mailing time, reduced non-return
rate, and error-proofed the signature process. Control charts, box
plots, and hypothesis tests validated the success of the solution, and
$3,094,341 USD was added to revenue.
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