The conference consisted of three (3) webinars covering the following topics in Six Sigma and Design for Six Sigma in R&D:

• Fundamentals of Quality (including Metrics Design for Measurement)
• TRIZ
• Lean in R&D

Webinar Recordings available for sale soon - for Lean in R&D and TRIZ webinars

Lean in R&D

September 22, 2009    2:00 – 3:30 pm EDT

Lean methods are normally associated with manufacturing and service industries, however; the application of lean thinking will identify and eliminate waste resulting in increased R&D project value creation.   This seminar will focus on how lean can improve the new product development process (NPD) and provide an overview of implementation methods.  A roadmap for applying lean to R&D and NPD efforts will be presented along with project examples and industry references.  

Presenters:

John Spero, R&D Lead Black Belt and Six Sigma Specialist, Praxair Inc.

Ronald Frank, Global Research Lean Leader, MBB, GE Global Research Center

 

Recent Trends and Deployment Case Studies in TRIZ (Theory of Inventive Problem Solving)

September 23, 2009     10:00 am – 1:00 pm EDT

Presenters:

Martha Gardner, PhD, Global Quality Leader, GE Global Research

William Y. Fowlkes, Director, IP Portfolio Lifecycle Teams, Eastman Kodak Company

Amir Roggel, Systematic Innovation/TRIZ Leader, Intel Electronics Ltd

John S. Borza, TRW Automotive

Presenter Abstracts received:

Innovation Successes: Growth of TRIZ in One Company -- John S. Borza

This session will outline one tier-one automotive supplier's experiences over a period of 3 years, developing and implementing TRIZ within their organization. It traces the growth of TRIZ -- starting from two engineers looking for a better cost reduction tool to use during the design phase of product development -- to today, having over 200 engineers and professionals, worldwide, trained to various levels of proficiency, and having conducted over 40 workshops to solve a wide range of problems.  The session will also  review how the training materials and methods evolved over time to adapt to the realities of the corporate environment, customer and competitive pressures, and management's drive for results. It also provides a sampling of the successes -- and failures -- in application of the TRIZ tool to various problems from technical, product focused problems to business process improvements.

 

Fundamentals of Quality

September 24, 2009     2:00 – 4:00 pm EDT

A review of where we have been -- quality fundamentals, where we are -- some of the current challenges in measuring critical to quality items, where we are going -- integrating learning into increasingly difficult schedules and a specific example of how to reduce some of the pain in building robust designs.

Presenters:

Sean Curran, R&D Fellow, DFSS Leader, Boston Scientific Corporation

Al Dickinson, Sr. Staff – Innovation and Continuous Improvement Methodologies, Delphi Steering

Ray Baron, Engineer/Scientist, IDS St. Louis Advanced Manufacturing R&D, Boeing

Carl Tarum, P.E., Sr. Statistical Engineer, DfSS Master Black Belt, Delphi Steering

Presenter Abstracts:

Some Things Never Change --Sean Curran, R&D Fellow, DFSS Leader Boston Scientific Endosurgery

The implementation of Six Sigma, Design for Six Sigma and the more recent drive to Lean organizations has brought welcome improvements to quality and performance across many industries.  Pre-dating these efforts was the development of the “Total Quality”   philosophy.  This succession of programs can give rise to the perception that each of these is simply the “flavor of the month” and if we ignore them they will go away.  While they may indeed fade away, there are fundamental principles that all of these programs embody.  Those principles will never fade away.  Any successful organization must focus on customer needs, constant improvement and effective leadership.  This presentation will focus on those fundamentals and how the programs mentioned above addresses them.

Who’s Your Data?  -- Ray Baron, Engineer/Scientist, IDS St. Louis Advanced Manufacturing Research and Development, Boeing

This presentation discusses the advantages of having automated capture of Critical to Quality measures in new equipment and processes.  Six Sigma projects are often a struggle because data is not present or incomplete.  The struggle continues with difficulties in gaining the needed data from equipment and processes not designed with measurement in mind not to mention the time and cost of the data acquisition. This presentation will highlight stories illustrating these frustrations as well as the advantages of planned automated measurement. 

Enterprise Technical University – A Model for Learning in a Highly Resource-Constrained Work Environment -- Al Dickinson, Sr. Staff – Innovation and Continuous Improvement Methodologies, Delphi Steering

How often have we all heard “I don’t have time for this training”?  How often do we, as agents of change, respond with some version of “You can’t afford not to get this skill set – it’s an enabler to our competitiveness?”  Many of us are working in a manufacturing environment that is continuously adjusting to regional and global cost realities.  And at the same time our product design environment is highly time-constrained with globally distributed responsibilities.  This is the environment we strive to increase our company’s competiveness through development of strong technical competencies, including but not limited to Six Sigma and Design for Six Sigma (DFSS).  This presentation outlines a new model for organizational technical learning.  The model was developed using DFSS principles and has successfully completed a pilot and begun initial implementation.  The presentation will cover the design and initial results of Steering’s Enterprise Technical University. 

Optimizing a Math Model in Minitab using Taguchi Methods -- Carl Tarum, P.E., Sr. Statistical Engineer, DfSS Master Black Belt, Delphi Steering

Taguchi methods are used to optimize designs to make them less sensitive to variation.  When the design can be expressed as a math model, the traditional technique has been to use one software to generate data, and then use Minitab or other software to analyze a designed experiment.  This presentation will demonstrate how to use constants and user generated formulas in Minitab to generate the analysis and optimize the designs without having to translate the results back and forth with another software package.

The “IRI Six Sigma Workshop was one of the most useful meetings/conferences I have been to in my 30 year” career.   - Harvey S. Gold, CR&D Six Sigma and Design for Six Sigma Master Black Belt,  E. I. DuPont De Nemours And Company

Change the way you think about your R&D challenges.

Experience the premier workshop exclusively for R&D practitioners using Six Sigma or Design for Six Sigma tools and techniques. Beginner and advanced tutorials available.

This Workshop is opened to all R&D professionals actively employed in an organization meeting IRI Membership eligibility requirements. Attendees need not be affiliated with an IRI Member organization.

2007 Six Sigma and DFSS Workshop attendees tell us what they liked best:

….the relaxed atmosphere and ability to interact with a wide range of colleagues. The timing allows for easy one-on-one discussions.   Technical Leader, DFSS Corporate R&D,  Boston Scientific

The opportunity to hear first hand the experience of other companies with DFSS. I was amazed by the openness of the discussions (both in session and at breaks) and willingness to share failures and learnings.   Manager, Ingersoll-Rand Corporation

The breadth of speakers. I was able to get a feel for many different ways to implement DFSS. This was my first exposure to the topic and I walked away wanting to know more.   Manager of Strategic Business Processes, Sunoco Chemicals

I really appreciated the open sharing of thoughts and ideas. I've attended for several years now and believe that I always leave knowing more than before. Harvey Gold's workshop was excellent, one of the best I've seen over the years.     Senior Engineer, Corning Incorporated

Workshop Overview:
Six Sigma and Design for Six Sigma in R&D Workshop is an interactive webinar series crafted to give attendees practical Six Sigma and DFSS tools to apply immediately to their R&D departments. Hands-on techniques are examined to address critical R&D issues and boost business results.

• Explore critical Six Sigma thinking exclusively with your innovative peers – no vendors, consultants or academics participate
• Hear about what works and what doesn't from R&D practitioners from different industries
• Learn what tools to use and when for the most favorable results
• Use Voice of Customer to revamp product development processes
• Learn tips to build a “culture of quality” in your own organization
• Examine new ideas based on the evolutionary TRIZ framework
• Weigh the advantages of incorporating DFSS into work functions on a daily basis
• Explore the metrics, tools and best practices Six Sigma experts are using in product decision processes
• Establish new connections and share your challenges with colleagues