Page 310 - Design for Six Sigma for Service (Six SIGMA Operational Methods)

278 Chapter Nine

B. Conversely, Restore Consumable Parts of an Object Directly in Operation
• Need to periodically reenergize continuous improvement initiatives
(“enthusiasm injections”)
• Lifelong learning (where individuals are given responsibility for
managing their own personal continuing education and ensuring skills
remain up-to-date)

Principle 35. Parameter Changes
A. Change an Object’s Physical State (e.g., to a Gas, Liquid, or Solid)

• Virtual prototyping
• Numerical simulation
• Virtual shopping, e.g., Amazon.com
• Telephone banking
• Electronic voting in elections
B. Change the Concentration or Consistency
• Change the team structure (e.g., football teams use substitutes).
• Stores introduce special offers and other promotions.

C. Change the Degree of Flexibility
• Introduce intelligence into on-line catalogs (e.g., first-generation catalogs
were replicas of previous paper versions, but the latest generation incor-
porates search engines, expert systems, etc.)
• Software with options for beginner through expert usage.
• Moves away from fixed clothing size partitions, e.g., Levi’s Personal
Pairs—a customer at a participating store chooses which fabric he or
she wants and then is measured. Those measurements are transmitted
instantly to a Levi’s plant in Tennessee where the data controls a laser
cutter. The bar-coded pieces are stitched on the regular assembly line
and mailed directly to the customer. (The custom Levi’s, which
customers love, run about $15 more than off-the-rack ones.)

D. Change Emotional and Other Parameters
• Get customers excited (“hot”) about the product by giving them
ownership of the change.
• Get employees excited about the future of the company by using full
involvement strategic planning, stock options, etc.
• “A fired-up team wins games even if it’s not the best team. A fired-up
company can achieve the same result” (Martin 1993).