A Novel Review: Suburban Days by Aaron U. Bolin

A Novel Review: Suburban Days by Aaron U. Bolin: Reviewed by Charlotte Lynn Taken from Goodreads: Trapped in obscurity, Eric Sage must establish his own identity. He battles a ho...

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Society of Professional Hispanic Engineers Lean Six Sigma Workshop

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We took a different approach to Lean Six Sigma training for the Society of Hispanic Engineers Eastern Leadership Technical Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico on February 24, 2012. We did three things that were just a little bit different from our normal approach: 1. We adapted the Navy's Lean Six Sigma curriculum to offer it in a workshop format. The hands-on nature of the workshop format aligned well with the typical curriculum already, but we had to make some adjustments for the space and time constraints of a conference workshop. 2. We simplified the process simulation just a little bit to minimize the materials requirements. We put together a meaningful simulation experience using only a single piece of paper. It made it a lot easier to travel with the materials. 3. We increased the enrollment cap from 20 seats to 60. The 20 seat limit was originally set to make the instruction highly interactive. To maintain the interactivity, we incorporated more co-facilitators for th...
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Lean Six Sigma Milestone: 1,000 Students

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At the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) annual conference, professionals crowded in to the room to hear the Navy presentation on Lean Six Sigma. A total of 82 students packed a room designed for 50; somewhere in the room is my 1,000th student! The good news is that the demand for Lean Six Sigma content remains strong; young professionals clearly see the link between process improvement skills and career advancement. If there is bad news, then it lies in the Navy's drifting away from the tools and techniques of Lean Six Sigma toward other process improvement systems. This may in fact be the end of a chapter --- we are now looking ahead to DESIGN THINKING as a way to improve Navy processes. DESIGN THINKING captures the basic essence of Lean Six Sigma, but it focuses more deliberately on design from an end-user's perspective. Okay, so now it is time to find my first DESIGN THINKING student!
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