Lean and Six Sigma Meeting: Industrial Excellence in Focus
For its first edition, this event dedicated to the Lean and Six Sigma community brought together 30 participants from all the Group’s regions in Youngstown, US, marking a significant milestone in advancing our industrial excellence practices.
Under the leadership of Nicolas Ego and Constant Torres, the industrial excellence managers from various regions, Senior VPAs*, and leading Master Black Belts (high-level experts in Lean and Six Sigma methodologies) actively participated, bringing their perspectives and expertise to this unique gathering.
A Genuine Platform for Exchange
Numerous workshops punctuated the week, providing a true platform for knowledge sharing:
- Field Observations: Identifying best practices and areas for improvement.
- TPM (Total Productive Maintenance): Optimizing processes.
- VPA Standards: Studying standards to adopt for performance improvement.
- Training Programs: Developing training programs to facilitate the deployment of Vallourec Management Services (VMS) and encourage buy-in.
- IEMA (Industrial Excellence Maturity Assessment): Making adjustments and planning future improvements.
- Fabriq: Utilizing this solution to enhance productivity.
- Digitalization Matrix: Strategies for integrating digitalization into Lean, Six Sigma, and TPM initiatives.
Three Prizes and Two ‘Green Belt’ Special Mentions
On this event, two VPAs received their Green Belt certificate, issued by Vallourec University and signed by Philippe Carlier.
Chengcheng Sheng (VPA VCHA) for the project “Reduce the spiral pits of inner surface”.
Cynthia Perkins (VPA Miller Road) for the project “Visibility and KPI for Pipes on Hold, Digital Inspection Disposition Form”.
Also on the agenda were numerous best practices shared throughout the week. The three best were awarded prizes.
- Bathrinarayanan Ganapathy (VSA) received the “Gold” award for his innovative approach to involving all employees in generating ideas for improvement.
- Thais Lima (VSB) was awarded the “Silver” label for the successful implementation of the 5S program in Brazil.
- Edson Viveiros (NA Services) was awarded the “Bronze” label for his innovative use of the Fabriq application to solve complex problems using the 8D method (“Enhancing Problem Solving with Fabriq’s 8D”).
This first edition was a real success, reinforcing our commitment to industrial excellence and continuous improvement. We are eager to build on this momentum and look forward to seeing the benefits these initiatives will bring to the entire Group.
*VPA : Vallourec Management System (VMS) Performance Analyst
