Getting Started
5 Six Sigma Deployment Mistakes – And How To Avoid Them
Six Sigma deployments have created a wealth of both success stories and lessons about process challenges - learn to steer clear of others' mistakes.
Are You Ready? How to Conduct a Maturity Assessment
Before starting a process improvement journey, organizations should take the time to review their performance and determine strengths and weaknesses.
Ask the Expert: The Topic – Starting a Six Sigma Initiative
Smarter Solutions Inc. CEO, President and Founder Forrest Breyfogle shares his advice on starting a Six Sigma deployment.
Before Deployment: ‘Minding Your Ps to Get Your Q’
What cannot always be agreed upon in a company is an assessment of an its maturity in continuous improvement process and its readiness for culture change.
How to Become a Lean Six Sigma Organization
One of the best ways to roll out a Lean Six Sigma program is to treat the process as a Six Sigma process in and of itself. Some basic guidelines, arranged in the classic five-stage DMAIC process, can help organizations that are interested in adopting Lean Six Sigma.
How To Implement Quality
How to successfully implement Quality within your organization or business.
Insider Views on Selecting a Six Sigma Consultant
You decide to hire a consulting company to help you implement the Six Sigma methodology. But whom do you hire? Representatives of two consulting companies and two client companies offer views on how to choose.
Insights on Establishing Operational Excellence Program
In a conservation with iSixSigma, Gerald (Jerry) P. Belle, the executive chairman of Merial, and Dr. Silke Birlenbach, vice president of Operational Excellence for Merial, offer their insights on establishing a program of organizational excellence.
Is Six Sigma Just For Large Companies? What About Small Companies?
Is Six Sigma for small companies as well? Yes and no – read the requirements and decide for yourself.
Is Your Company’s Leadership Ready for Six Sigma?
Is every company ready for Six Sigma? A quick 11-question test may help provide an answer.
Is Your Organization Ready to Implement Six Sigma?
A successful Six Sigma implementation depends on a company's culture, and the commitment and conviction of its leadership. Identifying a few simple factors can help determine whether an organization is ready for a successful deployment.
Leveraging: Stealing with Pride from Your Own Company
Leveraging improvements encourages employees to "steal with pride" from their own company by 1) recognizing that their improvement needs are common and 2) discovering that proven solutions already exist.
Making the Best Use of Process Improvement Consulting
The model of internal business consulting for quality improvements that works best is one that judiciously combines internal and external resources. The overall strategy is outlined by the internal consulting group, whatever that initiative is titled.
Making the Business Case for a Six Sigma Deployment
There is a series of tried and true steps which can be taken to sell management on the benefits of Six Sigma.
Mobilizing a Business for Turning Strategy into Action
Given the complexities of the European market, there is a special need to allow local business unit leaders to adjust the tactics to local needs.
Six Sigma Deployment Planning and Readiness Assessment
To address the common stumbling blocks to Six Sigma deployment, practitioners should consider using two key requirements of a good deployment planning process – the Six Sigma success equation and a readiness assessment for Six Sigma.
Six Sigma Q&A
Get answers to all your Six Sigma questions with this list of frequently asked questions.
Six Sigma Trends: Management of Six Sigma Deployments
The arguments presented in this article lead to one conclusion: there is little or no chance to succeed with a Six Sigma deployment by doing it from the bottom-up, or by perceiving it as just another total quality management initiative. The quickest and most effective way to success is through business case management and project-based top-down training.
Three Deadly Sins In Strategic Planning
When clients are not getting the results they expect from their strategic plans, there are usually three overlooked causes – incomplete planning, inadequate links between strategy and action, and poor communications. Are you getting enough from your Six Sigma strategic plan?
Top 10 Questions for Lean Six Sigma Integration Partner
Choosing the right Lean Six Sigma partner is critical to success in implementing any program. Thus, it seemed only reasonable to consider a top 10 list of questions to ask when evaluating potential partners. Here is just such a list.
What Is Lean Six Sigma [VIDEO] – With Rick Murrow
The most common Lean Six Sigma questions are asked and answered, including: How do you describe Lean Six Sigma from a 50,000-foot level, what results can be expected from implementing Lean Six Sigma, and how is Lean Six Sigma different from TQM or other process improvement methodologies?
What Is Six Sigma?
Six Sigma at many organizations simply means a measure of quality that strives for near perfection. Six Sigma is a disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects (driving toward six standard deviations between the mean and the nearest specification limit) in any process -- from manufacturing to transactional and from product to service.
What Small Business CEOs Must Know to Start Six Sigma
Six Sigma can help grow any company by giving it the all-important competitive edge. For the majority of small business CEOs, the only thing that holds them back from seriously exploring Six Sigma is not knowing how to get started.
What’s in a Name? Systematic Approach to an Initiative
When a company deploys a strategic initiative, whether the approach is called Six Sigma or not, it must focus on the primary objective - improving and then sustaining its gains. And most importantly, the initiative must be a systematic approach.
What’s in a Name? It’s the Approach, Not the Name
Companies need an integrated approach that works within the organization’s culture and the right tools to drive business-wide improvement. This is where the Six Sigma approach comes in. But it is not the name that is important. It is the approach.
Why Hire A Six Sigma Consultant?
When it comes to implementing quality within your business, many feel they have or should have the power to effect change themselves. Sometimes, however, a Six Sigma consultant might be best to help lead the change.
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