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Two Red X Paths – Which is right for your team?

/ Newsletter, Shainin Training & Courses
by John Abrahamian

Better courses. more targeted information.

Part of getting the most return for your investment is making sure that the course your team attends has the right material for their needs. Our new dual path Red X Program allows you to choose the most effective route for your team. 

An increasing need for Product Development & Field Performance

For years we have provided guidance for manufacturing and quality engineers focused on problems with end of line product performance, manufacturing scrap, rework, and productivity in mind.

After all that’s where we began. Most projects resulted in tighter control of a critical process parameter. Contained within the manufacturing environment. For years we’ve used those examples in our courses.

It just made sense. 

Tow engineers making adjustments to a production machine

But in recent years, there has been a shift in course attendance. We’re now seeing more engineers from technical centers and design groups looking for tools and strategies to produce better, more reliable products. Engineers and their leaders are in search of a method to enhance their skills, addressing issues with new product development failures, product performance at the consumer level, or field reliability. While the concepts and many of the tools are the same, the strategies are often different. The source of the problem is traced to some component shape or material property within the product.

Following feedback from product engineers, the manufacturing focused training contained some strategies and tools they would rarely use. So we developed a new training path to better focus on their needs.

Which Path to Choose

Prior to this change, there was a single Apprentice class which led to the traditional Red X Journeyman course. From there you could progress to Master or take an additional Red X Reliability course. There was no full focus on product development, performance and reliability.

Similar to what you can see in the image here.

Our new structure provides two complete paths: the Quality & Manufacturing Engineering Path or the Product & Reliability Engineering Path.

The Quality & Manufacturing Engineering path remains the same and is best for engineers and their teams who deal directly with production and manufacturing of products.

The Product & Reliability Engineering path is best for teams based in Engineering Technical Centers and engineers that work with warranty projects.

Product & Reliability Path Content

Our Product Performance class introduces concepts, strategies and tools focused on problems encountered during new product development and performance problems occurring in the field. Your product engineers learn advanced strategies for both malfunction and destructive events. Following the successful completion of a project, students will be certified as Red X Apprentices.

Our Reliability Engineer course provides strategies for: recognizing failure patterns; addressing no trouble found; accelerated testing; and understanding fatigue failures. Following the successful completion of a reliability project, your engineers will be certified as Red X Reliability Engineers.

Curriculum Structure to Support Your Team

With this new class structure your engineersacquire the skills to solve a wide range of complex technical problems from early product development, through manufacturing over the life of your products in the field. To learn more about our courses, contact us here. 

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Problem Solved. 

Results Delivered.

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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.
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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

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