US Aggregates® is excited to expand our Lean Six Sigma program this winter, offering greater opportunities for employee involvement as the program evolves. Currently, operation and manager based roles are the main audience for our Lean Six Sigma Training. Lean methodology aims to eliminate wasteful activities at a macro level within processes, while Six Sigma focuses on pinpointing specific process deficiencies at a micro level. These combined methods create a comprehensive system of problem-solving practices, enabling US Aggregates employees to streamline efficiency and consistency in achieving their goals.
The additional programming next year will enhance our team’s capabilities and ensure that our miners are investing in the most effective problem-solving methodologies. Director of Operations and Engineering, Kristin Sweeney and SM+A Business Excellence, Jim Massoels will be leading miners through a series of on-site training and interactive workshops.
Kristin shares she really likes the program and feels as a leader it’s imperative to give her team the tools, resources and training needed for success. She highlights, “The Lean Six Sigma toolset offers our teams a great foundation to further build upon their current success.”
By expanding our Lean Six Sigma implementations, miners will work to improve a section of their shop or plant with their own hands-on project. Once completed, miners will present their projects to discuss new iterations and highlight where projects can be further revamped. It is essential our miners are equipped with these valuable toolsets. By shifting mindsets to analyze systems and processes, our miners will consistently eliminate waste, while prioritizing their overall efficiency and safety.
A live example of this took place at a recent plant inspection with our Springville team. While looking over the cone crusher, discussion took place around an issue with the crusher bridging over. Kristin led the team in an impromptu root cause analysis, asking our crew why this was happening (5 Why’s approach) to get to the true root cause of the problem. The crew concluded the jaw needed a shim adjustment so that the team could stop spending time unjamming the cone crusher, and then the group discussed creating a maintenance system that included routine measurements and shim adjustments.
Stay tuned for more updates on our Lean Six Sigma program coming spring 2025!
Written by: Anthony Treadaway and Kristin Sweeney
