L&D
We last spoke to Apeksha Patel, a dedicated professional in the engineering field, after completing our Six Sigma Yellow Belt course. Apeksha managed to save her company £60k, and she has now been promoted to Head of Design Improvement.
Reflecting on her learning from Six Sigma training by IMechE, Apeksha found it incredibly useful in her day-to-day tasks. Consequently, she highly recommends that junior engineers enrol in this training.
"When I completed my Six Sigma training, I was managing the Verification and Validation (V&V) team within the Inspiration Healthcare group. Using the DMAIC process, I introduced numerous improvements in the V&V process, such as selecting the correct sample sizes for design V&V, conducting user acceptance testing to ensure we met both design requirements and user expectations, addressing intermittent design issues, and formulating effective problem statements when identifying the design issues."
Recently promoted to the Head of Design Improvement, Apeksha now oversees the R&D department in collaboration with her fellow colleague, Head of Research & Innovation (Richard Greenslade). She credits her career development to the Six Sigma training, which has enabled her to achieve remarkable improvements in:
- Process optimization for design and development
- Implementing design improvements
- Understanding customer needs and expectations
- Conducting meticulous data analysis
- Supporting customer complaint investigations and root cause analysis
- Tracking and monitoring departmental budgets
- Effective prioritization using the Ease/Impact matrix
- Providing regulatory support for global registrations
- Contributing to notified body reviews and audits
In her new role, Apeksha has collaborated with her R&D colleagues using process mapping to create a visual representation of the complex product creation process in a "one-pager" format, making it very easy to follow.
"With the help of Six Sigma and Lean principles, we have ensured that our design and development process is thorough and meets safety and performance requirements, making it a very complex process."
Apeksha's continuous commitment to improvement is evident as she recently obtained a Lead Auditor certification from BSI. This certification will help her conduct internal audits more effectively and prepare her to manage expectations during notified body audits.
We are proud of Apeksha’s achievements and are excited to see her continue to excel in her career.
If you are also interested in advancing your career and making a significant impact in your organisation, book yourself onto our Six Sigma Yellow Belt course.