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The Dorian Awards

Calling all Problem Solvers & Leaders

The Dorian Awards

Throughout the year we guide you and your teams in developing your problem solving skills so you can solve any problem faster and more efficiently. Now it’s time to recognize your successes.

About the Awards

Every year, teams across the world complete problem solving projects worthy of recognition. The 2025 Dorian Awards will honor problem solving teams, leaders, and companies who exemplified outstanding application of Shainin methods or leadership during the 2024 year.

These projects are of critical importance to our customers. They help resolve long-standing issues, improve bottom lines, and enhance operations around the globe.

You can honor superior performance by nominating excellent teams, leaders, and organizations for a Dorian Award.

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Deadlines & Timeline

NOMINATIONS OPEN:

NOVEMBER 4, 2024

NOMINATIONS CLOSE:

DECEMBER 16, 2024

REVIEW OF NOMINATIONS:

DECEMBER 2024

ANNOUNCEMENT OF FINALISTS:

JANUARY 2025

ANNOUNCEMENT OF WINNERS:

FEBRUARY 2025

How it Works

Submit a Nomination

To nominate a project for consideration, follow these steps:

Step 1: Complete a project using Shainin methods

  • Complete the project between December 2023 and November 2024
  • Fully document the project using the appropriate templates
  • PDF the Project Report

Step 2: Submit a nomination

  • Submit a nomination at the link below no later than 11:59pm EST on December 16, 2024
  • Complete all requested fields
  • Include the project report

Step 3: Connect with tech

  • To get real-time updates about nominations, finalist announcements and winners, follow us on LinkedIn
  • Watch your email for notifications regarding your nomination status
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Ready to Nominate?

Award Nomination Categories & Criteria

Do you know a problem-solving team who dedicated themselves to solving your facility’s most critical issues? Is there a leader who should be recognized for effectively selecting and sponsoring impactful projects? Be sure to nominate them in November! 

Don’t have their project files? Send them this link to complete a nomination submission.

Company Awards

This category of awards is for companies who have succesfully developed a Red X Program within a facility, division, region, or company and can demonstrate impactful improvements based on that development.

Bottom Line Improvement Award

Did your program have incredible financial results or impactful savings? Have your projects reduced warranty claims, prevented field failures or created other measureable improvements? You might be eligible for this award.

View Award Criteria

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Project of the year Awards

This category of awards is for project teams who have demonstrated outstanding application of Shainin methodologies in solving complex problems within their company.

Plant Manufacturing Savings Project of the Year

Did your project have impactful savings for your plant or facility? Has your project contributed to major savings for your company? Did your project require creative application of Shainin methods? You might be eligible for this award.

View Award Criteria

Field reliability project of the year

Did your project improve field reliability for your products? Has your project shown a decrease in reliability issues while requiring a creative application of Shainin methods? What about demonstrated a control method for reliability failures? You might be eligible for this award.

View Award Criteria

Product Development project of the year

Has your project focused on controlling or eliminating product development failures? Did your project allow your company to achieve a trouble-free product launch? You might be eligible for this award.

View Award Criteria

Resilient engineering problem prevention project of the year

Did your project reveal potential issues early in the development process? Have your project findings helped you uncover potential critical issues that would have gone otherwise unnoticed allowing you to avoid costly changes later? You might be eligible for this award.

View Award Criteria

Transaxional business project of the year

Did your project resolve an impactful process problem? Have your projects reduced downtime, miscommunication, or process complexity? You might be eligible for this award.

View Award Criteria

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Leadership Awards

This category of awards is for leaders who have increased the impact of problem solving using Shainin technologies within their organization.

Rolling Top 5 Leadership excellence

Has problem solving program inspired growing trust with your customers? Have your efforts to implement the RT5 structure increased your problem solving performance? Do you have a structured program that identifies & guides teams to solving impactful projects? You might be eligible for this award.

View Award Criteria

Red X Master of the Year

Did your coaching projects make a significant impact at your organization? Have your skills expanded the impact of Shainin technology within your company? Have you coached multiple people through projects and ceritification? You might be eligible for this award.

View Award Criteria

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Need More Info?

Inquiries & Questions

Thank you for your interest and support of the Dorian Awards Program.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us via our website. 

Curious about past awards?

Past Recipients

The commitment, dedication, and innovation within problem solving is demonstrated by past recipients serving as models for others in the problem solving world.

View Past Recipients
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Problem Solved. 

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Dorian Awards Criteria

Team Project Awards

TRANSAXIONAL® BUSINESS
PROJECT OF THE YEAR

Business processes deliver critical functions. But sometimes processes break, and the root cause is not clear. TransaXional® Business Projects focus on what must go right in a process for it to deliver the desired result every time.  The  TransaXional® Business Project of the Year Award recognizes projects that focus on process-based problems. Projects that win this award will demonstrate:

  • The impact of the problem on the company and the team. 
  • The use of the DETAIL™ project format.
  • Creative & effective use of the Shainin TransaXional® tools.
  • The timeline of resolution from initial discovery through project closure.
  • Explanation of how to leverage and implement project results.

Dorian Awards Criteria

Team Project Awards

RESILIENT ENGINEERING®
PROJECT OF THE YEAR

The goal in a new product or process development is a trouble-free launch. Resilient Engineering® focuses on the critical factors that must go right in the product design and manufacturing process. The Resilient Engineering® Project of the Year Award recognizes projects that focus on what must go right to ensure a successful launch. Projects that win this award will demonstrate:  

  • Critical factor identification in the design phase.
  • Prioritization of the high-risk functions to focus on.
  • Development of function models linking the high-risk functions to critical input features, properties, and parameters.
  • Potential or perceived impact for the customer, the company, and the production line.
  • Effective use of the Shainin Resilient Engineering® tools to identify, prioritize, design, test, and control the critical factors.

Dorian Awards Criteria

RT5® Leadership Award

The Rolling Top 5® Leadership Award is for leaders who have increased the impact of problem solving using Shainin technologies within their organization.

To be considered for this award, the submission must meet the following criteria:

  • Demonstrates leadership guidance, structural framework, and effective mentoring of a dynamic problem-solving culture.
  • Conducts regular reviews to ensure project roadblocks are removed and that key projects are solved quickly and efficiently.
  • Encourages major suppliers and customers to jointly solve problems by using Shainin methods and leveraging the results.
  • Actively recognizes and rewards outstanding performance in problem-solving.
  • The number of sponsored projects completed and approved certifications.

Dorian Awards Criteria

Bottomline Improvement Company Award

This category of awards is for companies who have successfully applied Shainin tools within a facility, division, region, or company and can demonstrate impactful improvements based on that development.

To be considered for this award, the submission must meet the following criteria:

  • Demonstrates impact of Shainin technology greatly improving key business metrics.
  • Examples include scrap reduction, yield improvement, throughput, warranty reductions, field failure avoidance, labor efficiency, customer satisfaction, and other technical solutions resulting in savings.
  • Demonstrates use of project selection tools to identify the “vital few” among the “trivial many” to make a significant impact within the organization.

Dorian Awards Criteria

Team Project Awards

Product Development
PROJECT OF THE YEAR

This category recognizes technical problems solved during product development and launch. These projects typically have small sample sizes to work with. Product development begins the lifecycle of a product. Projects that win this award will demonstrate:

  • Potential impact of the problem.
  • Effective use of the Shainin Red X® tools to uncover the root cause.
  • The timeline of resolution from initial discovery to solution implemented. 
  • Explanation of lessons learned and how to use this knowledge in the future.

Dorian Awards Criteria

Team Project Awards

Field Reliability
PROJECT OF THE YEAR

Field failures impact more than just your bottom line. This category is dedicated to projects that focus on field issues such as ‘No Trouble Found’, fatigue failures, and other destructive or malfunction events. Projects that win this award will demonstrate:

  • Initial impact of the problem.
  • Creative and effective use of the Shainin Red X® tools to uncover the root cause.
  • Speed and efficiency in resolving the issue.  
  • Impact of resolving the problem.

Dorian Awards Criteria

Team Project Awards

PLANT MANUFACTURING
PROJECT OF THE YEAR

Manufacturing is a world all its own. With the fast-moving pace, the speed of solving problems matters. The Plant Manufacturing Project of the Year Award recognizes projects that resolve complex problems in ongoing production which impact the end user, company bottom line, production quality rates, and the like. Projects that win this award will demonstrate:

  • Technical difficulty or complexity in resolving the issue.
  • Creative and effective use of the Shainin Red X® tools to uncover the root cause.
  • How the solution or information discovered was leveraged.
  • Timeline for resolving the issue.
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John Abrahamian

Executive VP - Problem Solving

John Abrahamian is a highly respected problem solver as well as an expert in the field of Lean manufacturing, with a career spanning over three decades. Throughout his career, John has become renowned for his innovative approach to problem-solving and his unwavering dedication to customer satisfaction. 
  
After receiving his BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Connecticut in 1985, John began his career as a design and development engineer at Pratt & Whitney. It was during this time that his interest in problem-solving first emerged. By 1994, John had become a Continuous Improvement Manager at the company. During his tenure, John led Pratt & Whitney’s efforts in Lean manufacturing and Value Engineering. 
  
In 1990, John began pursuing his MBA in Operations Management, where he was first introduced to the concept of Lean manufacturing, and this influenced the direction of his career. In 1996, he was encouraged by his Pratt & Whitney team to take Shainin Red X training, building on his Lean manufacturing efforts. This training proved to be a turning point in John’s career, igniting his passion for problem-solving and setting him on a path to becoming one of the industry’s most respected experts. 
  
In 1998, John joined Shainin, where he has spent the last 25 years pursuing his passion for problem-solving. During his time here, John has developed innovative approaches to problem-solving, having received a US Patent for a problem-solving method. He also integrated function analysis into Shainin methods, seeding what would ultimately become Resilient Engineering.  
  
Despite his busy schedule, John still finds time to pursue his hobbies, which include golfing, stand-up paddleboarding, and skeet shooting. He especially enjoys traveling with his wife and spending time with family, including his three grandsons. 
  
Having the opportunity to work in a wide variety of industries, experiencing different cultures and meeting new and interesting people gives John the kind of job satisfaction that makes him grateful to be in this field of work. He truly enjoys creating meaningful relationships with his customers and inspiring ordinary engineers to become extraordinary problem solvers. 

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Dorian Awards Criteria

Red X® Master of the Year Award

The Red X® Master of the Year Award is for leaders with a Red X® Master Certification who have increased the impact of problem solving using Shainin technologies within their organization.

To be considered for this award, the submission must meet the following criteria:

  • Applies leadership skills to expand the impact of Shainin technologies within the organization.
  • Results include projects that made a significant impact improving business performance.
  • The number of individuals coached to certification.

Dorian Awards Criteria

Team Project Awards

This category of awards is for project teams who have demonstrated outstanding application of Shainin methodologies in solving complex problems within their company.

To be considered for this award, the submission must meet the following criteria:

  • Speed and efficiency of the problem solved
  • Technical difficulty and complexity of the problem solved
  • Project impact and leverage across the organization
  • Creative use of Shainin technologies
  • Clarity of the project documentation