DMAIC
“Toolbox? We Don’t Need No Stinking Toolbox!” Is Six Sigma a New Set of Tools or a New Way to Employ Existing Tools?
While Six Sigma relies upon the use of specific tools to execute the problem-solving process, the basic tendency towards critical, scientific is at the heart of its success.
1.5 Sigma Process Shift Explanation
Why is 6 sigma 3.4 ppm, not 2 ppb? The calculation of process sigma after a process improvement project should be reported as short-term sigma.
A Six Sigma Case Study – Tutorial for IT Call Center – Part 1 of 6
A combination “case study and tutorial,” which illustrates Six Sigma’s use in IT support, tracks a DMAIC project from inception through its five phases.
Achieving and Sustaining Improvement in Cardiac Medication
A Six Sigma cardiac medication project was successful in coordinating high-quality care, incorporating advanced technologies, and adopting best practice standards.
Aligning Call Center Agent Goals with Customer Desires
Within online banking call centers, there may be no bigger improvement opportunity than the agent call handling process.
Applying Six Sigma to Improve Diagnostic Imaging
Despite advances in imaging technologies, the benefits may not be fully realized if process problems, patient backlogs or other concerns disrupt imaging operations.
Attention Six Sigma, You’re Wanted in Surgery
With the demand for surgical services growing rapidly, especially with ambulatory and cosmetic procedures, hospitals are finding that Six Sigma is a useful tool.
Bank Deposits: A Black Belt Case Study
How a Black Belt used Six Sigma tools to define, measure, analyze and improve a transactional bank deposit process, resulting in yearly savings of $4MM.
Building a Business Case for Software Defect Reduction
For a software company to make a case for process improvement, reliable measurement data is needed. Unfortunately that data normally comes from an improvement project.
Combining the Power of DMAIC with Testing Processes
If companies want to ensure they can meet customer expectations, it is sensible to bring the testing processes under the DMAIC method of Six Sigma.
Common Success Factors, Uncommon Success in Europe
Whether implementing Six Sigma in Munich or Manhattan, Paris or Prague, there are certain common factors that are critical for success.
Comparing and Contrasting IDEAL and DMAIC
The IDEAL model and the Six Sigma DMAIC roadmap are examined for ways they are similar and ways that they might challenge and inform one another.
Continuous Improvement Should Apply to DMAIC Itself
Six Sigma's DMAIC roadmap is a process unto itself that should be improved in each organization that uses Six Sigma as a component of continuous improvement initiatives.
Coronary Artery Bypass Grafts: Six Sigma Breakthrough
Multi-million dollar savings are generated by 'beating heart' or 'off-pump' coronary artery bypass outcomes.
DMAIC Helps Agency Craft Green Electronics Plan
In an effort to reduce its environmental footprint, P&R IM implemented an electronics stewardship plan with Lean Six Sigma's DMAIC methodology.
Helping the Help Desk Satisfy Customers More Quickly: An iSixSigma Case Study
Implementing Lean Six Sigma to achieve dramatic improvements in the help desk operations of a company in India is step 2 after training.
Improving a Health System’s Cash Flow Management
As hospitals consolidate resources regionally, a big challenge takes shape: handling the information necessary to manage cash flow efficiently.
Improving ED Wait Times at North Shore University Hospital
North Shore University Hospital initiated a Six Sigma project aimed at improving the patient experience by reducing wait times in its Emergency Department.
Increasing Cath Lab Capacity Through Six Sigma
One focal area increasingly targeted for performance improvement in healthcare organizations has been the cardiac cath lab.
Leveraging Six Sigma to Improve Hospital Bed Availability
This article documents a Six Sigma project to reduce the time between when a discharge order is written for a patient and when that hospital bed becomes available again.
Measure the Immeasurable: The World of Smell and Taste
The lack of easy to get and reliable data is especially true when the CTQs of the project are "soft attributes" such as taste, smell or texture.
Medical Transcription Six Sigma Case Study
This case study is an example of a Six Sigma breakthrough improvement in a Medical Transcription company in India.
Minimize the Risk of the Unknown in Six Sigma Projects
No single technique exists to ensure decision-making integrity; there are, however, several tools and disciplines that exist as checks-and-balances.
Moms Know . . . All About Clear Operational Definitions
An operational definition can be defined as a clear and understandable description of what is to be observed and measured, such that different people collecting, using and interpreting data will do so consistently.
Outpatient Imaging Reports TAT Cut from 64 to 9 Hours
The outpatient imaging center decided to use the Six Sigma toolkit to determine the root causes for current turnaround times.
Process Redesign to Reduce Cycle Time: A Case Study
A power distribution company in India, serving domestic, commercial, industrial and agricultural users, was not meeting the country’s performance standard regulations for metering and billing. A Six Sigma project was initiated to reduce cycle time.
Read-Rite Low FPY Manufacturing Case Study
This real-world Six Sigma manufacturing case study highlights how a low first pass yield (FPY) was defined, measured, analyzed, improved and controlled.
Reducing Admitting Delays by Improving Bed Management
Causes of admitting delays are addressed to meet a hospital's goal to be where employees want to work, patients want to receive care and physicians want to practice.
Reducing Avoidable Cancellations on the Day of Surgery
To accommodate growth in surgical service without adding resources, a Six Sigma team at Deaconess Hospital takes aim at reducing the number of same day surgical cancellations.
Reducing Delayed Starts in Specials Lab with Six Sigma
A hospital's Specials Department project improved start times, increased throughput, implemented control mechanisms for continuous improvement and more.
Reducing Delays in the Cardiac Cath Lab with Six Sigma: An iSixSigma Case Study
New York-Presbyterian Hospital embarked on an initiative to improve throughput in its three cardiac cath labs.
Reducing Door-to-inflation Time for the AMI Patient
At Deaconess Health System a Six Sigma team undertakes a door-to-inflation project to improve the throughput process for AMI patients.
Renew the Commitment to Data-Based Decision Making
Continuous improvement program success depends on a renewed emphasis on data-based decision making within the Six Sigma methodology.
Rush to Enact Solutions Sabotages a DMAIC Project
A small and relatively young technology company attempting to implement the Sarbanes-Oxley Act finds that rushing to solutions before finishing its DMAIC project can cost time and money.
Salvaging a Call Center’s Big Software Investment
The call center handled technical problems and policy issues for a financial institution's branches, but complaints and cost overruns indicated problems.
Scientific Problem-Solving: DMAIC in Terms of Y = f(x)
Breakthroughs really begin when Six Sigma training drives home a change in the thought process from trial and error to Y=f(x).
Six Sigma Basics: DMAIC Like Normal Problem Solving
Six Sigma problem solving is similar to day-to-day problem solving, except in Six Sigma, nobody knows what is really causing the problem at the beginning of the project.
Six Sigma Catapults Hospitals to Next Level of Quality
Many hospitals are embarking on a cultural change using Six Sigma concepts and principles to catapult themselves into a higher dimension of quality.
Six Sigma DMAIC Quick Reference
A reference guide to each tollgate in a DMAIC project.
Six Sigma DMAIC Roadmap
The Six Sigma methodology follows the Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control (DMAIC) roadmap for process improvement.
Six Sigma Improves Workflow in N-Medicine Department
The well-regarded nuclear medicine department located in the Ospedale Santa Croce e Carle profits from a Six Sigma continuous improvement project.
Six Sigma Software Development Case Study
This article illustrates the Six Sigma DMAIC process using an organization that develops software packages as an example.
Six Sigma Software Development Case Study – Part 2
The Six Sigma DMAIC approach to process improvement provides a powerful mechanism for improving the software process.
Six Sigma Trims Turnover Time for Orthopedic Surgeries
A Six Sigma project was assembled when surgeons at a Houston hospital expressed dissatisfaction with the length of time required to prepare the OR between cases.
Software Vendor Partnership Cost Reduction With Six Sigma
A multibillion-dollar software manufacturer used Six Sigma, and a 5 day project saved more than $12 million.
Starting the First Surgical Case on Time to Cut Delays
In this Six Sigma case study, a medical center tackles delays in its surgical schedule by focusing on the first case of the day.
Storyboards Lend Structure and Discipline to Six Sigma
One broadly implemented element of Six Sigma project management that is often underestimated is the project storyboard.
Strategies for Improving Patient Safety in the Hospital
The healthcare industry is behind other high-risk industries in ensuring basic safety and valuable lessons can be learned from those who are achieving industry excellence.
Streamlining Diagnostic Testing at Northwestern Memorial
Results were dramatic when Northwestern Memorial Hospital applied Six Sigma to long wait times in its diagnostic testing center.
Surmounting Staff Scheduling at Valley Baptist Health System
Six Sigma at Valley Baptist Health System has begun to foster a culture that embraces the voice of the customer, breaks down barriers to change and raises performance expectations.
Using a DMAIC-Style Approach to Win Service Contracts
Service providers can use Six Sigma in critical selling situations by using a DMAIC-structured sales tool.
Using Six Sigma DMAIC for Creating Business Strategy
The Six Sigma DMAIC roadmap can provide a disciplined process for creating and executing successful business strategies.
Using Six Sigma to Improve Clinical Quality and Outcomes
These are four examples where Six Sigma can impact in clinical areas such as infection control and medication delivery.
Using Six Sigma to Reduce Pressure Ulcers at a Hospital
A medical center used Six Sigma to reduce nosocomial pressure ulcers by 60 percent, improving the patient care and resulting in an annual cost avoidance of $300,000.
Why a Team Cannot Afford to Overlook the C in DMAIC: An iSixSigma Case Study
The initial results of a new quality improvement effort at a Midwest lockbox operation were disappointing. When the SixSigma team got to the Control phase it found the problem.
With Flexibility, DMAIC Has Long Future Ahead
DMAIC thinking and tools have a great future in the areas of monitoring and control, and in improving and redesigning projects.
Y = f(x) Roadmap: Telling the DMAIC Story Using Xs and Ys
Keep the concept of Y = f(x) in mind when applying tools along DMAIC phases to avoid not achieving a significantly improved process.
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