The failed anchoring systems of mobile offshore drilling units from hurricanes occurring in 2004 and 2005 established a need to better understand the ultimate pullout capacity and trajectory of scaled model anchors under typical and out-of-plane loading conditions. The six degrees of freedom of small scale drag embedment anchors were studied in a laboratory testing environment with the intent that reasonable trends in anchor behavior will be found. Investigations within this experimental research program demonstrated the in-plane and out-of-plane loading behavior of conventional and prototype scaled model anchors embedded to predetermined depths in two different test beds of kaolinite clay with undrained shear strength profiles constant and increasing with depth. The anchors were loaded to failure in concentric, normal, concentric, shear, eccentric, normal, eccentric, shear, inclined, and drag embedment loading configurations. This series of pullout and drag embedment tests provided a suite of test results indicating behavioral trends of the varying holding capacities and anchor trajectories. Results were compared with similar research presented in the literature and an analytical model predicting out-of-plane loading behavior of similar anchors. It was concluded that increasing eccentricities from both concentric, normal and concentric, shear loading configurations resulted in decreasing bearing capacity factors, confirming the predicted trend from the analytical model for these loading configurations. Trajectories observed for the concentric, normal, concentric, shear, and eccentric, shear loading configurations showed that the anchors tracked straight out of the soil without deviation, but eccentric, normal loading found the anchor tending to track away from the initial loading location. For inclined loads, both anchors to track to whichever direction the anchor faced upon loading. Drag embedment trajectory was found to vary depending on the anchor, as the conventional anchor dove with an applied load and the prototype anchor rose towards the surface. / text

This thesis concerns the question, "Why is the performance of Six Sigma within The Ford Motor Company below that experienced in other companies, and what can be done to improve it?" The aim of the thesis was to make recommendations that would improve the performance of Six Sigma within the Ford Motor Company. Results from the literature were categorised according to headings found in the European Foundation for Quality Model (EFQM): strategy, people, process and leadership. The key factors identified from the literature review as being significant for a successful Six Sigma deployment were that projects were aligned to the strategy of the organisation, individuals were clear on their role and had appropriate skills, processes were well defined and understood and leadership team was committed to Six Sigma. The research started with a review of the results from two employee surveys. The first was given to Black Belts and asked questions concerning Six Sigma. The second was given to all the employees in the organisation. The survey data failed to identify the cause of lower than expected results, and so the investigation followed with a series of twelve interviews. When these also failed to identify the factor or factors responsible for deployment performance, the project database was reviewed. The Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve and Control steps (DMAIC) were then analysed using Gardner’s Model of Process Maturity. The thesis concluded that the main influence driving Six Sigma performance was the low process maturity of the project selection and scoping processes and this gave rise to variable project performance. The thesis then presents material to improve project performance including a process map, a process Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) of the project selection and scoping process, a control plan that ensures that the projects are on track and a macro using Excel and Minitab that works within the Ford Motor Company system to provide automatic evaluation of projects.

M.Tech. Business Administration. Business School. / In their attempt to continuously improve their operations, Sasol Mining has since 1998 embarked on several different improvement initiatives including Operation Excellence with the improvement Lean Six Sigma in 2008. The main reason for choosing Lean Six Sigma was that the latter is a general, standard, well-documented improvement methodology, which is not dependent on any specific consultancy group to ensure successful and sustainable implementation. For sustainable Lean Six Sigma programme implementation, Sasol Mining has to ensure that human resources skills development and motivation enabling systems such as training and reward systems are in place. This research focuses on the assessment of the extent to which Operation Excellence employees perceive that there are benefits associated with their participation in the Lean Six Sigma programme during 2010 at Sasol Mining. In particular, how these perceptions could be effectively used by management as a basis for creating the environment where people are content and motivated to perform their best. The research investigates employee perceptions of various levels of Lean Six Sigma training within the context of categories of rewards most frequently associated with Lean Six Sigma; extrinsic, intrinsic, organisational and social rewards.

Many companies around the world have implemented Six Sigma as a problem solving methodology especially useful for dealing with recurring problems in business processes. Since the 1980s when it was developed at Motorola, many companies have tried to implement Six Sigma to fit their own company’s culture and goals. This thesis presents a longitudinal case study describing the evolution of ‘Six Sigma Management’ at Siemens in Sweden. The success of the programme was to a large degree built on previous failures, confirming Juran’s old saying ‘Failure is a gold mine’. From the case study, success factors for implementing Six Sigma at Siemens are identified and compared to those given in the literature. Some of the most critical success factors identified at Siemens had not been mentioned as such in the literature before. The main conclusion of the study is that, in order to succeed and get sustainable results from a Six Sigma programme, Six Sigma should be integrated with Process Management, instead of just running Six Sigma as a separate initiative in an organisation. Furthermore, the thesis includes papers presenting methods and tools to be used in a Six Sigma programme or in Six Sigma projects. They deal with: how to identify suitable Six Sigma projects, how to select which Six Sigma methodology to use, how to find hidden misunderstandings between people from different knowledge domains, and how to simulate the impact of improvements to iterative processes. All these methods and tools have been developed and tested at Siemens. This has been an action research project, where the author has been employed by the company under investigation for eleven years and has actively influenced the changes in the company based on knowledge gained at the company as well as on research studies conducted at universities. In action research the change initiative under investigation is conducted and analysed in a single context. The readers are invited to draw their own conclusions on the applicability of the results to their own specific cases. In addition to this, some conclusions derived using analytical generalisation, applicable to a more general case, are presented in the thesis. / <p>Defended att Chalmers University of Technolgy in 2007.</p>

Šio baigiamojo darbo objektas yra „Vaikystės kaleidoskopas“. Paveikslai tapyti 2011m. Šiaulių Universitete menų fakultete. Tai šešių abstrakčių paveikslų ciklas - „Vaikystės kaleidoskopas“, 140x160 cm, drobė/aliejus. Tapybos darbų kolekcija atlikta tradicine tapybos technika, tačiau turi abstraktų charakterį. Tapybos kolekcija išsiskiria drąsiais tapybiniais spręndimais. Tapydama šiuos darbus, tarsi įprasminau savo vaikystės prisiminimų būseną: vaizdai kinta, mirga arba visai išnyksta kaip ir kaleidoskope. / The object of this graduation work is “Childhood kaleidoscope” – the pictures painted in 2011 at Šiauliai University’s Department of Arts. It is a cycle of six abstract paintings entitled “Childhood kaleidoscope”, 140x160 cm, canvas/oil. The collection of pictorial works has been rendered in traditional painting technique; however, it has abstract character. The painting collection is distinguished by brave pictorial solutions. While painting these works I tried to give a sense to the state of my childhood memories: the images vary, flicker or completely disappear like in a kaleidoscope.

<p>It has been over a century since African people were forcibly removed by official decree in 1901, from the Cape Town dockland barracks and District Six, to Uitvlugt, a farm where a location of corrugated iron &lsquo / huts&rsquo / had just been constructed. This occurrence followed an outbreak of a bubonic plague in Cape Town in 1901, which became predominant among the Africans who worked at the docks, and who were in direct and constant contact with the main carriers of the disease, i.e., the rats coming out of ships from Europe. The outbreak resulted in African being stigmatised as diseased, and being banished to the outskirts of the city. Since then, knowledge about this historical occurrence has been continuously produced, presented and communicated in many ways. It has featured in many representations through memory, heritage and history.In 1902, the new residents of Uitvlugt gave the location the name kwa-Ndabeni. Ndabeni was a nickname that the residents had given to Walter Stanford who had chaired the commission that recommended for the establishment of the location in 1901. The prefix kwa- was added to the name so that it meant in Xhosa language, the place of Ndabeni. In that way, the residents, who at that time did not consider the location as a potential place of their permanent abode, named it in a way that disassociated them from the place.</p>

<p>Much has been researched in South Africa about the trauma of losing one&rsquo / s home, one&rsquo / s community and rebuilding one&rsquo / s life in a new environment. Several books have been published tracking the lives of the forcibly removed and their responses to leaving District Six. My research focuses on a different group namely those who had been forcibly removed from the centre of Stellenbosch, called &ldquo / Die Vlakte&rdquo / during that time. Living and working with and among people who have experienced this removal, I was keen to research whether the impact of the trauma is currently&nbsp / manifesting in this specific community and if so, what the symptoms would be. This qualitative inquiry focuses on one particular individual, Mr. Hilton Biscombe. I selected him because he, who experienced the removal as a teenager, spent most of his later life determinedly collecting stories and documents relating to this incident. Mr. Biscombe is also the only person of whom I am aware who responded personally through compiling a book, making a DVD, writing poetry as well as an autobiography relating to this event. My inquiry into the ways trauma manifests in a narrative, will be based on two interviews: one conducted by a white man from the University of Stellenbosch thirty years after the event / and another interview, six years later, conducted by myself.Our understanding of trauma is usually associated with a death or injury or the possibility thereof, but it could also include the victim&rsquo / s response to extreme fear, serious harm or threat to&nbsp / family members. According to van der Merwe and Vienings, people also become traumatized when witnessing harm, physical violence or death or the sudden loss or destruction of a victim&rsquo / s home (van der Merwe &amp / Vienings, 2001). So the issue of trauma is not in question, nor the fact that forced removals cause trauma. I am exploring testimony in the form of interviews for possible current manifestations of this trauma thirty-six years down the line.</p>

Thèse numérisée par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

This dissertation reports on the research work of a new business improvement methodology called the design for Six Sigma (DFSS) conducted within a global resources company with specific reference to Manganese Metal Company (MMC), a subsidiary of BHP Billiton (BHPB). The aim of this research was by means of a case study, through action research, to investigate, analyse and evaluate the "Define, Measure, Analyse, Design and Verify" (DMADV) model proposed by Picard (2004) with specific reference to a new product design. The study was concerned with identifying the BHPB strategic business reasons, effects and analysing the financial impact of implementing a DFSS project pertaining to a new product design at MMC. The literature review highlighted that DFSS enhances revenue growth, quality and reliability for a new product. The key findings were that DFSS does not exist within MMC and BHPB, the DFSS methodology could improve and enhance the revenue for a new product design at MMC and none of the BHPB customer sector groups are reporting any operating excellence (OE) annualised cost improvement benefits for DFSS projects. The main recommendation emerging from this research is that an integrated DFSS process will enable BHPB to identify critical leverage points for improving the overall financial performance in achieving the FY09 OE objective of $1 billion in annualised cost improvement benefits thus achieving the world class benchmark standard set by General Electric Corporation.

One of the major challenges for organisations operating in today's global business environment is to improve productivity, reduce costs and enhance customer service. Six Sigma methodology has become a popular approach in a number of organisations as a business improvement tool. This research presented Six Sigma as a business transformation methodology within Lonmin operations. The purpose of this research was to identify the primary factors in the Six Sigma framework, and to evaluate the relationship between these factors in the framework and their contribution towards transformation in terms of business improvement. This research critically evaluated the application of Six Sigma within Lonmin in the South African context. Quantitative data was obtained from questionnaires distributed to the different Six Sigma role players within Lonmin. A probability sample was used; sixty five (65) Six Sigma candidates were drawn from Lonmin with a Six Sigma population size of one hundred and twenty (120) employees listed in the Six Sigma database. Data was collected using an e-mail based questionnaire developed by the researcher. The main contributions of this study showed that communication and organisational culture were the most important factors to transform business performance when Six Sigma was integrated with business principles. The study revealed that project selection was a vital element in the process that determined the value towards business improvement. Six Sigma must be supplemented by other programmes (Theory of Constraints, Design For Six Sigma) in order to be more effective in attaining business performance. This research will benefit management to evaluate and structure an aligned methodology for transformation. Employees will be motivated to attain greater knowledge and skill. Research will prove beneficial to organisations that need to transform their organisation. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2010.