Page 297 - Design for Six Sigma for Service (Six SIGMA Operational Methods)

Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ) 265

• The Peter pyramid (Peter 1986).
• Corporate unlearning—acquiring the ability to forget about the past
where appropriate.
• “Ours is the age that is proud of machines that think and suspicious of
men who try to”—H. Mumford Jones.
• Russian government pays inventors for patent applications; the West
makes the inventor pay to apply.
• Chairperson of company spends time in the complaints department
answering customer complaints.
• “When you reach the top, that’s when the climb begins”—Michael
Caine.

Principle 14. Curvature

A. Instead of Using Rectilinear Parts, Surfaces, or Forms, Use Curvilinear
Ones; Move from Flat Surfaces to Spherical Ones; from Parts Shaped
as a Cube (Parallelepiped) to Ball-Shaped Structures
• Ergonomic desk and workstation designs.
• Take the shortest path to the customer—around the organization rather
than point-to-point through the bureaucracy.
• “Form the wagons into a circle”—John Wayne.

B. Use Rollers, Balls, Spirals, Domes

• Mobile factory
• Mobile car service—mechanic comes to you rather than you going to
garage
• Mobile library
• “Meals on wheels” and home-delivery pizza

C. Go from Linear to Rotary Motion; Use Centrifugal Forces
• Rotate leadership of a team.
• Establish a sphere of influence, and then market to that sphere.
• Quality circles.
• Circular work cells.
• Levi Strauss’ Information Service (IS) department’s organizational
chart resembles a solar system, with the names of 20 managers
appearing once on a large circle and, in many cases, also on one of four
smaller circles intersecting the large one. The small circles represent
action groups focusing on specific tasks, including customer service
and business systems.