Dr. Jim Watson, Associate Director of TexED and TexLabs, joined TexED in 1993. He has worked in the textiles industry for over 40 years. He uses his vast experience to develop textiles-based professional development courses and to develop tailored training programs to meet each client's unique needs. In addition to his education and training work, Jim oversees TexLabs, the applied research arm of the College of Textiles. Jim received his Bachelor of Science degree in Textiles from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1963 and his Doctor of Business Administration from California Coast University in 2006.

Marissa Langford, Business Development Specialist for TexED, began her career in process engineering in the textiles industry. While Marissa's early training and experience was in manufacturing, she has worked almost exclusively with service based organizations during the last ten years, giving her a broad understanding of a variety of organizations and industries. Her varied experience enables her to help customers identify the appropriate training and service programs for them. As the Business Development Specialist for TexED, she routinely meets with customers and assesses industry trends to insure the programs offered meet customer needs. Marissa also trains and coaches Green Belts, Black Belts, executives and Champions. Marissa received her Bachelor of Science degree in Textile Engineering from NC State University in 1989 and her Master of Science in Textile Engineering with a minor in statistics in 1999.

Q:   The Master Black Belt at my organization provided me with a list of key deliverables for each phase of my Lean Six Sigma project. Based on this list, my team should conduct a stakeholders analysis during the Define phase of the project. Is this really necessary?

A:    In a word, YES! In my experience, one of the crucial mistakes made by many Lean Six Sigma teams is forgetting the how important importance of effectively managing change is to the success of all Lean Six Sigma projects. Many teams leap right into their project without identifying the project’s stakeholders or gaining a thorough understanding of their needs and expectations. This oversight immediately sets the project up for failure because the team doesn’t have the knowledge needed to effectively manage the organizational change that flows from a lean Lean six Six sigma Sigma project. The stakeholders analysis is often the first step in the change management process because it requires the team to reach out to the stakeholders to tell them about the project, their role in the project and the potential for change in the near future.

A thorough stakeholders analysis consists of two parts. The first part, and one that should be held confidential within the team, is the identification of each stakeholder, an assessment of their openness to change and a plan of action on how to manage those stakeholders who may be less willing to change. One Master Black Belt friend introduced me to the template she uses for this phase of the stakeholders analysis. She sketches a simple bell curve and divides it into four quadrants. The four quadrants, moving from left to right on the bell curve are: Innovators, Early Adopters, Late Adopters and Resistors. As the team names each stakeholder, the stakeholder is placed in the appropriate quadrant of the bell curve. The team then decides how to best approach and manage those stakeholders in the Late Adopter and Resistor quadrants. During this analysis, the facilitator must make certain the assessments are honest while not being perceived as personal attacks on individuals.

Textiles Technology Certificate Program
-TexED awards 3 certificates

The Textile Technology Certificate Program has three new graduates. On October 14, 2010, certificates were awarded to the following recipients -

Amy Bicica, U.S. Army, Natick Soldier RD&E Center
Libby Richardson, U.S. Army, Aberdeen Test Center
Wade Simpkins, U.S. Army, Natick Soldier RD&E Center

The Textile Technology Certificate Program requires that perticipants take 5 textile professional development courses in a 3-year period. These courses are selected from a list of core and elective courses, allowing participants to tailor the program to fit their needs. To date, TexED has awarded certificates to eleven recipients.

Master Black Belt Recognition

Congratulations to two new Master Black Belts! Aaron Guillory of FiberVisions and James Sidden, II of Moses Cone Health Care System were awarded Master Black Belt Certification at the 8th Annual Lean Six Sigma Forum.

Master Black Belt Certification requires candidates to attend five weeks of training and to compile a comprehensive portfolio showcasing their teaching, mentoring and project work. Recently, the Master Black Belt Program at NC State University underwent major restructing, resulting in the development of a 2-week core training course. This new course, paired with 3 electives, provides Master Black Belt candidates a solid skill set with the flexibility to tailor their training.

To date, NC State University has trained more than 300 Master Black Belts and certified 43 individuals as Master Black Belts.