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From good to great
At 3M Wausau’s Greystone Quarry in Wisconsin, the team there used Lean Six Sigma methodologies to greatly improve operations. 3M Wausau is the oldest continuously operating plant in 3M, worldwide. It was purchased from Wausau Abrasives in 1929, which means decades of experience in mining, crushing, screening and coloring technology. It also means years of doing things a certain way. “We started asking ourselves, ‘What will it take to be a world-class quarry?’ and the answer was to implement new technologies and change some of our work practices,” says Jay Lukkarila, 3M mining process engineer. 3M (Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing) has the word mining in its name because its origins are in mining corundum in northern Minnesota and using it to make sandpaper and other abrasives. The company deployed Lean Six Sigma in 2001, so it made sense to start the Wausau improvement process by chartering a team to analyze current practices and set a course for implementing change. Making improvements The DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) methodology used… Keep Reading
