Corriveau named a number of Fortune 100 companies that attribute their success to Six Sigma. General Electric, Motorola, Sony, Honda, Raytheon and Texas Instruments all utilize the Six Sigma process to reduce defects in their products. In its Annual Report, GE noted that Six Sigma saved them hundreds of millions of dollars.

Corriveau outlined the theory behind the process. Since the Greek letter Sigma is one standard deviation in statistics, six standard deviations is the equivalent of 3.4 defects per million. Producing products with less than four defects per million saves money in personnel costs and inventory waste. This method of production leads to increased profitability. For example, a 99% defect-free package delivery service translates into 3,000 missed deliveries out of 1,000,000. Deliveries to the level of Six Sigma would be three!

Corriveau emphasized that the Six Sigma process is a modern management tool to document processes that increase profits and customer satisfaction. She added, "Customers love using products that are virtually defect free!"

The steps of the Six Sigma process are: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control.

Some of the benefits of using the Six Sigma process are the following: fewer service problems, lower freight costs, quicker response, reduction of order mistakes, less overtime, smaller scrap percentage, less rework, higher profits and stronger partnerships with customers.

Corriveau, a systems analyst, has a B.S. degree in Management Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and her WPI Major Qualifying Project employed the use of Six Sigma at Avery Dennison in Holliston, MA. There, she studied and enhanced Avery's Continuous Improvement process before she graduated.

NEIT student Dan Gravel, an Avery Dennison employee, worked with Corriveau on her WPI Major Qualifying Project and has attended numerous Six Sigma training classes.

NEIT instructor Tom Gentz credits Gravel for bringing Corriveau's spirited presentation and experience to the class. He called her discussion "an insightful view into one of management's best tools for maximizing customer satisfaction and improving profitability in today's competitive marketplace."

Reza Shakoori

New Media Academy Grads Welcome at NEIT

NEIT's Multimedia Department, and the Newport Area Career and Technical Center (NACTC) at Rogers High School, have entered into a joint agreement granting students in NACTC's "New Media Academy" college transfer credit upon enrolling at New England Tech.

This joint agreement has come about after extensive consultation and curriculum design for the "New Media Academy" between a consortium of professional and academic advisors under the guidance of the Rhode Island Technology Council (RITech). New England Tech Multimedia Chair, Rick Mitchell, has been instrumental in working with the Academy's lead teacher, David Connell; NCTC Director, Joseph Martins; and NEIT's Coordinator of High School Program, Mary Branco, to formulate the college credit agreement for "New Media Academy" graduates.

The recently developed New Media Academy focuses on preparing high school students for future careers in design, multimedia, and Internet technology. It is an outgrowth of NACTC's pilot Academy of Information Technology, formulated in partnership with the National Academy Foundation.