3D printer fits the bill for an injured toucan
A Brazilian toucan who lost half her upper beak while being illegally trafficked has been given a bill created on a 3D printer! Tieta was rescued from an animal fair in Rio de Janeiro by a wildlife protection agency and taken to the Free Flight Institute, where vets worked with technicians to create a beak to allow her to eat properly.
One of the ‘features’ for our upcoming anniversary event will be a display of new technology items that will include a 3D Printer courtesy of our client Ricoh Europe. I’m not sure what we might be printing on the day, but it won’t be a toucan beak! Nevertheless, if you haven’t spotted this story in the press, I thought it made a pretty interesting item and it also reminded me of the old Guinness advert from probably around the time we founded Catalyst Consulting!
The new beak, which was modelled on one from a bird that had died, had to be light enough for the toucan to move freely, but resilient enough to allow her to eat fruit and insects.
20th Anniversary Event
We’re also getting excited about our forthcoming 20th anniversary event at The Dorchester Hotel, where both customers and suppliers will not only be able network with one another, but can also tune in to some excellent presentations, and debate new ways of working as we look to the future.
Among our speakers will be North Ayrshire Council, winners of the Quality Scotland Lean Six Sigma Award. Their winning project focused on the provision of Occupational Therapy Equipment. This important service was simply taking too long with average delivery over a month.
A DMAIC project sought ways to improve delivery times and enhance communication. Working through the DMAIC phases, and supported by their Chief Executive, they developed their Improvement Charter with clearly defined goals and success criteria. Mapping the existing process and collecting accurate data enabled them to see there were too many process steps resulting in the delays that slowed down delivery.
Working with operational staff, the improvement team identified and agreed a simpler and smoother process flow with outstanding results:
We’re also delighted to have presentations from three of this year’s shortlisted organisations for the BQF Lean Six Sigma Award, CooperVision, Ricoh and Forensic Science Northern Ireland. The UK Excellence Awards evening is on the 15th October and we’ll provide updates on the outcome, as well as some detail about our clients’ projects in the next newsletter.
Incidentally, we’re delighted that we’ve been shortlisted for the Customer Satisfaction Award, though we won’t be holding our breath!
