JTATM - North Carolina State University

Six Sigma Internship Experience = Full-Time Employment

Molly Koontz, B.S. Textile and Apparel Management, 2003

Looking for a textile related experience and preparing for graduation in December 2003, I accepted an internship with Unifi, Inc. during the summer of 2003. Unifi, based in Greensboro, North Carolina, is one of the world’s largest producers and processors of textured polyester and nylon yarn. As a Six Sigma/Process Improvement intern, based in Unifi’s Yadkinville, North Carolina facilities, I gained my first real-world textile experience.

When I started at the end of May 2003, I did not have a clear understanding of Six Sigma. I quickly learned that the Six Sigma philosophy and tools would be a beneficial resource to have. Since completing my internship, I have received Six Sigma Black Belt training through the College of Textiles, Fall 2003 and accepted a full-time position in Unifi’s Six Sigma Department.

As an intern, I was exposed to many aspects of textile manufacturing operations. I participated in small process improvement projects on a daily basis. These projects ranged from individual projects that took no longer than a couple of hours to complete to larger, more complex projects, involving a team, that could take weeks to complete. As I went to work each day this summer, I felt a sense of responsibility associated with the tasks that I was given. Contrary to the “busy work” that many interns are given to complete during their short stay with a company, I feel my everyday functions were more significant. The responsibility that I was given as an intern was so much more than I expected. From day one, I worked on projects that were important. In many cases, especially with the smaller individual projects, the completion and success of the project greatly depended on my performance.

From May to August 2003, I focused much of my time on one large Six Sigma project, Plant Monitor Redesign. Plant Monitor is a system that tracks almost every aspect of production in the plants. Computers and sensors work together to allow a user to view problems, machine/product specifics, productivity, employee performance and much more from a computer at the end of each machine or from a remote location. Additionally, Plant Monitor tracks information from each machine and allows it to be viewed and analyzed. The Plant Monitor system is very important in that it monitors production and helps to ensure product quality. However, the current Plant Monitor system, used in two of Unifi’s production facilities, had reached the end of its software lifecycle. Along with the software concern, the servers used to run the program were no longer efficient, the computers on each machine needed updating, the handheld scanner equipment that each operator used was faulty and expensive, and the requirements of the program were no longer what they originally were when the system was first designed in 1996. The fact that the Plant Monitor system was no longer functioning effectively or efficiently and costing Unifi a large amount of money annually provided justification for handling the situation with a Six Sigma project.

Coordinating meetings and collecting data concerning Plant Monitor was one of my primary responsibilities each day. My first experience with a Six Sigma project was very successful as the team was able to complete phase one of the project before the end of my internship in August. Phase one of the project included evaluating the current system and providing the required specifications for the Plant Monitor system redesign. With phase one complete, phase two began as the information technology department worked to rewrite the program making it more effective and efficient based on the specifications determined in phase one. The completion of the Plant Monitor Redesign (phase one), left me with a feeling of accomplishment as I went back to NC State for my last semester in August, 2003. When I returned to school, I was already excited about the opportunities that lay ahead!

During the short 3 months that I was an intern at Unifi, I was exposed to a wide range of experiences, opportunities and people that convinced me that I was ready to pursue a textile-related career and further Six Sigma training. Even more, not only did I gain invaluable experience by completing an internship but I also became acquainted with the company that I would be working for in a matter of months.

However, my internship experience did not end there. I decided to pursue Six Sigma Black Belt training during my last semester at the College of Textiles. With the encouragement from others and with an interest in pursuing what I had only flirted with this summer. I found eight other Unifi employees in training black belt certification. This required two teams of two to complete a project and an individual written examination. Although challenging, Six Sigma has been an exciting adventure!

Six Sigma training through the College of Textiles was great! Dean Godfrey and Dr. Clapp, along with the other instructors, were terrific!. Their knowledge of the subject was impressive and is renowned throughout the Six Sigma community. They made learning exciting by using real life examples and group projects to convey the material to the students. Their excitement surrounding the subject was very encouraging and continued to further reinforce my decision to pursue future education in Six Sigma and a textile related career.

Full-time Position: Unifi

On January 19, 2004, I started my textile career as a Six Sigma Project Analyst at Unifi. Although I have only been on the job for several weeks, I know that my decision to pursue Six Sigma was the right thing to do. The work is exciting, and I look forward to the opportunity to continue to explore the world of Six Sigma and apply the tools and knowledge I have gained to real-life business situations in order to contribute to Unifi's success.

As I have said time and time again since last summer, I could not have asked for a better opportunity, experience or guidance that the wonderful folks at Unifi gave me during my short stay this summer. The responsibility that they allowed me to hold this summer really prepared me for the “real-world.” Not only did I have more accurate expectations of what my job would be like, but I feel like they laid the foundation for my transition from college to career. I am very happy to be back with the company and look forward to what the future holds for me!