The GE Brief: October 27, 2020

EFFICIENCY GENERATOR
 
Building on Michael Faraday’s discovery in the 19th century, early electrical generators consisted of an electromagnet spinning inside a steel tube, inlaid with copper wire, called a stator. The same principle still governs today’s generators, though Faraday would scarcely recognize them: The ones made by GE Gas Power in Schenectady, New York, for instance, weigh many tons and generate electricity for customers the world over. As generators have gotten more complex, of course, so has their manufacture — and not long ago in Schenectady, bottlenecks began to slow down plant production. Delays weren’t uncommon; neither were defects. It was clear something needed to change.
 
Drilling down: Plant operators turned to lean, a system of management that originated in Japan and now forms the heart of GE’s transformation. Lean emphasizes waste reduction and continuous improvement. In Schenectady, one of the first steps was mapping the plant to identify root causes of the slowdown. It quickly became apparent that one part of the plant’s manufacturing was responsible for more than its share.
 
The shop was making 300-pound stator bars that fold together like a 3D puzzle to form the inside wall of the stator. To get further clarity, the team created a 1:20 model of the plant to track the movement of a single stator bar through production. By focusing on eliminating unnecessary waste and retraining operators to understand holistically on the whole manufacturing process, the plant’s managers were able to make huge gains: 18 months later, they’ve halved lead time while also reducing inventory and freeing factory space.
 
That’s just scratching the surface, though. Click here for a deep dive into the Schenectady factory’s lean journey.

EARLY WARNING
 
In March, Helen Parry was thrilled when her hospital — Royal Perth Hospital in Perth, Western Australia — received its first Senographe Pristina 3D mammography system. Parry is the hospital’s chief medical imaging technologist, and the digital mammography system was designed by women at GE Healthcare in hopes of taking some of the discomfort and anxiety out of regular breast screenings. (Time magazine dubbed the Pristina with Dueta one of its Best Inventions 2019.) Parry wasn’t due for her biennial mammogram until the end of the year, but she volunteered anyways to be the first screening patient. After results returned a suspicious tiny spot, she realized she had to switch roles, at least temporarily: “I had to stop being the chief radiographer and become the patient.”
 
A positive outlook: A biopsy confirmed that Parry did indeed have breast cancer. But because her medical team had caught it at an early stage, the prognosis was positive. In May Parry’s doctors performed a lumpectomy and she underwent radiation therapy.  As Breast Cancer Awareness Month draws to a close, Parry is hoping that her example can be a reminder of the importance of those screenings — and wants to remind patients, too, that hospitals are doing all they can to ensure the well-being of everyone who walks through their doors. “We’ve got everything in place to keep you safe while you are here,” she said. “We are health professionals. This is our job, and this is what we are good at.”
 
Learn more here.
 
COOLEST THINGS ON EARTH ?
 
1. COVID Predictor
Irish researchers developed a score that can predict which patients will develop a severe form of COVID-19.
 
2. Bearly Mortal
Indian scientists discovered a new species of the microscopic creatures known as tardigrades — aka “water bears” — that can withstand intense ultraviolet light with a “protective fluorescent shield.”
 
3. A Feature Of The Bug
Researchers seeking to make more resilient materials could take cues from the diabolical ironclad beetle, which can be run over with a car — repeatedly! — and still live to crawl another day.
 
Learn more here about this week’s Coolest Things on Earth.

— QUOTE OF THE DAY —

“There are many different ways to get where you want to be. We are trying to make sure that we get there in the most efficient, most effective way. Then it is just a matter of execution.”
 
— Eric Anderson, value stream leader at GE Gas Power

Quote: GE Reports. Images: Andrew Robertson for GE Reports.