Continuous Improvement Archive

Agnew Joins A. Schulman as Director of Continuous Improvement

Plastics firm A. Schulman Inc. has hired Greg Agnew as its new director of continuous improvement for the Americas. Agnew, a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, will start at Schulman on Jan. 1, 2011, focusing on Lean manufacturing operations, and stronger sales and operating planning processes.

Aligning Six Sigma with Objectives and Strategies

In a well-managed organization, objectives and strategies and continuous improvement are in alignment. Objectives enhance the efficacy of Six Sigma initiatives. And Six Sigma specialists can play an integral role in ensuring the execution of strategy.

Beware of Tools and 'The Next Big Thing'

Isn’t it amazing how there’s “the next big thing” everyday? Headlines from blogs, sales websites, newspapers, even Twitter and LinkedIn, carry this headline continuously. How many of these “things” really are new? Years ago when I started my continuous improvement…

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.

Delta Faucet Promotes Shadburn to Senior Continuous Improvement Engineer

Delta Faucet Co. has promoted its continuous improvement (CI) manager Todd Shadburn to the position of senior CI engineer.

Do Organizational Leaders Really Understand CI?

Many times in our industry, organizational leaders spout that they desire and believe in continuous improvement. They use the latest buzzwords and seem very serious when they communicate the new direction that they want to take. I don’t know if…

Dr. Joseph M. Juran, Architect Of Quality, Celebrates 100th Birthday

Dr. Joseph M. Juran, “Architect Of Quality,” Celebrates 100th Birthday

Eliminate the 8th Waste

In these difficult economic times it is vital now more than ever that organizational leadership understand and implement the best defense against all types of waste. Value added analysis and percentage increases to the overall value added activity must be…

Finch Paper Names Black Belt Chartier Quality, CI Director

Finch Paper, based in Glen Falls, N.Y., USA, has named Black Belt Ken Chartier as its new director, quality and continuous improvement.

Follow a Structured Approach to Continuous Improvement

Organizations can follow a simple framework – the Awareness-Motivation-Competency-Implementation (AMCI) approach – to deploy a continuous improvement program that will help maintain structure but also achieve strong results.

Former CI Manager Promoted to VP, Manufacturing at Lauren

Lauren Manufacturing, a supplier of extruded and molded sealing products, has announced the promotion of Halle A. Norris from plant manager to vice president of manufacturing.

Introduction and Implementation of Total Quality Management (TQM)

Total Quality Management, TQM, is a method by which management and employees can become involved in the continuous improvement of the production of goods and services. It is a combination of quality and management tools aimed at increasing business and reducing losses due to wasteful practices.

Kimberly-Clark Appoints SVP Spencer to Run Continuous Improvement Programs

Kimberly-Clark announced that it has named Jan Spencer, currently president of Kimberly-Clark Professional, as its new senior vice president, continuous improvement, sourcing and sustainability, according to a company press release.

Lean Manufacturing Vs. Continuous Improvement

Let’s start off by defining Lean manufacturing. Lean (as described on multiple on-line resources) is described as a production practice that focuses on the elimination of wasteful elements in all process to increase the value to the customer. Sounds great! What organization wouldn’t want to implement a program to eliminate waste? The problem is that some organizations misuse Lean Manufacturing to overwork and reduce headcount.

Managing for Continuous and Breakthrough Improvement

As a set of state-of-the-art tools for solving operations problems, Six Sigma can be used for both continuous and breakthrough improvement. What separates the two is the structure by which they are managed.

Missouri Guard Adopts CPI Program

The Missouri National Guard’s adjutant general is changing the way business is done in his home state.

Nordson Corp. Appoints DeVries as VP, Global Continuous Improvement

Nordson Corp., a manufacturer of adhesive and sealant dispensing equipment, has announced the appointment of James E. DeVries to the newly created enterprise-level position of vice president of global continuous improvement. DeVries will be tasked with driving profitable growth in all operating segments through the elevation of Nordson’s ongoing continuous improvement and margin enhancement efforts.

Process Improvement Benefits of Sarbanes-Oxley

Sarbanes-Oxley, financial reporting, process, continuous improvement

Remcon Hires Master Black Belt, Lean Sensei Wittich to Run CI

Remcon Plastics Inc. has hired Master Black Belt and Lean sensei Benjamin F. Wittich to run the rotational molding firm’s continuous improvement program.

RF Day 2: Macy's, Best Buy and Many Others Share Best Practices

Macy’s, CVS and Best Buy. Oh my! Those were just three of the companies that shared their stories of process improvement success during the afternoon session on Day 2 (Tuesday, March 29) of the iSixSigma Retail Forum for Process Excellence….

RS Precision Hires Brill as New Continuous Improvement Manager

RS Precision, a manufacturer of a wide rnge of machine-tooled parts, has hired Allan Brill, a certified Lean expert and Six Sigma Black Belt, to the newly created position of continuous improvement manager.

Stealth Components Hires New Quality Control Director Kiser

Stealth Components, a distributor of electronics equipment, has added Andrée Kiser to its team as director of operations and quality control.

Sustaining Results From Six Sigma

Organizations can increase employee engagement by engineering their improvement strategies around a few core principles.

U.K. Manufacturers Cite Staff Resistance as Common Barrier to CI Efforts

In a recent study of 100 senior manufacturing staff, British magazine Works Management (WM) found that the largest barrier to the adoption of continuous improvement (CI) programs is lack of cooperation from their staff.

Union Pacific Selects Kelley as VP for Continuous Improvement

Union Pacific has named D. Lynn Kelley, Ph.D., vice president in charge of continuous improvement, effective July 1. She succeeds Richard R. McClish, who is retiring, and will report to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jim Young.

Zenjidoka: Take Six Sigma to New Heights by Uplifting the Expertise of People

“Before cars, make people.” – Eiji Toyoda, former chairman of Toyota.

Jidoka is one of the core principles of the Toyota Production System, one that empowers production workers to stop the assembly line and solve problems at the moment they occur. Jidoka integrates the two guiding pillars of the Toyota Way, “Continuous Improvement” and “Respect for People.”

Posts Tagged ‘continuous Improvement’