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Institute Unveils New EarlyAccess Option for Version 4 Field Trials (April 19, 2010) - The Humaneering Institute announces a new option in its EarlyAccess "private beta" field trial program that gives "host" companies extended opportunity to capitalize now on the "power, robustness and simplicity" that operations executives say describe Version 4. Building on the advice of the Institute's Single-Application Trials partners, plus other requests from industry executives, the new Operations-Innovation Trials program provides companies much more access to the latest humaneering technology over a longer period of time.

While full details are not yet released, it is clear that this new EarlyAccess option will give companies several advantages that have not been available with the single-application trial option. First, companies will have virtually unlimited opportunities to apply humaneering technology across their operations, much like a continuous stream of Single-Application Trials. Second, this new option creates an on-site work-system design center to support operations managers. Staffed with an as-needed virtual team of humaneering professionals, this design center will function much like an internal incubator to centralize the facilitation of humaneering-based innovation, improvement and problem solving across the company's people-dependent operations.

Third, because of the increased Institute R&D resources needed to support this option, combined with the required sampling methodology, the number of Operation-Innovation Trials host companies must be limited, such that only one company per industry sector will be selected. According to one enthusiastic COO who provided input into the trial design, "What the Institute thinks of as an unfortunate restriction should create significant value for host companies. In effect, each host company will have three plus years of exclusive access with professional support to apply humaneering technology to innovate and improve its operations . . . all before its direct competitors get a look. That's a huge opportunity."

As has been customary, the nonprofit and non-commercial Humaneering Institute will continue to provide humaneering technology royalty-free, which limits the expense incurred by host companies to reimbursement of the Institute's direct expenses for supporting humaneering's application. In addition, it is anticipated that, similar to the Single-Application Trials option, interested companies will be asked to propose a performance-based formula for value-sharing. The proceeds of such value sharing has become a major source of Institute funding for humaneering technology's continuing development. To assure a fair and efficient (i.e., highest valuation) allocation of the limited available opportunities for companies to host the new Operations-Innovation Trials, a sealed-bid auction is being planned for July-August 2010.

Humaneering technology enhances the effectiveness of the human side of operations, which has received very little attention by operations scholars and managers throughout the industrial era. Shifting to today's post-industrial operations requires greater precision in the design of people-dependent work systems. This change challenges many operations managers, and the firshand experience managers gain through the Institute's EarlyAccess field trials has proven to be an effective teacher.