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by Beth Stackpole, Contributing Editor   More than a decade ago, Honeywell International Inc.'s aerospace division was on top of its game. Considered to be an industry leader, the division was riding high on its successes, leveraging lean principles to drive efficiencies throughout its manufacturing operations. What a difference a few years can make. By the mid-90s, that same Honeywell division found itself desperately searching for a rebound. Competition was up, market share was down, and customers were complaining that, while product quality was good, Honeywell's pricing was at a premium and it took far too long for the company's new designs to make their way to market. "That was when the light bulb went on and we realized we had to do something to change our development paradigm," explains Cliff Fiore, a certified black belt Six Sigma and lean expert in Honeywell's Aerospace division (Phoenix). "The question was, could we apply the benefits and gains we had enjoyed from our Six Sigma-based manufacturing world to how we produce products? That set the stage for us to go down the path." [Click to continue] |