Tag: Cycle Time

A Green Belt project aimed at reducing the cycle time for purchase orders finds the bottleneck and dramatically improves the process, exceeding the project’s original goals, and even realizes bonus benefits.

Using the DMAIC methodology, a Green Belt project aims to reduce the cycle time for purchase orders and straighten up a direction-less process.

The three critical aspects of a running a successful project include project costs, project scope and project schedule. Since projects contain many sources of variation, all three aspects are prone to not meeting targets. Project managers need to use appropriate tools to manage the variability (or risk) in the project. Critical Path Method Traditionally, project […]

Reading a generalized description of how waste was reduced or eliminated in a process is interesting but it is in the details that the true impact and challenges of process improvement are found. This article describes a DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) improvement project, including key deliverables, challenges and how the challenges were met. […]

Lean Six Sigma (LSS) teams focus on the statistical analysis of metrics when identifying opportunities for improvement. The strong focus on data-driven evaluation, however, can overshadow the human element that exists behind the data collection plan. Despite its importance, the impact of human interaction is not easily visible or quantified, buried under reams of data. […]

While Six Sigma continues to evolve, the most often cited complaint is long project cycle times. The obvious expense of eight to nine month (or longer) Black and Green Belt projects is opportunity lost. For example, a project that produces cost savings at a run rate of $30,000 per month leaves $150,000 on the table […]

Look around your workspace. Is your in-box stuffed to overflowing? Do you have a long list of new emails that will take you days to get through? Is your voice mail rejecting new messages? Are people waiting for your work output? All of those items represent “work in process,” also called “things in progress” (TIP). […]