Month: August 2005

Notes from the deployment frontline 31 Aug 05 Having been raised 20 miles from salt water in Tampa, I am in love with warm and salty water and mesmerized by hurricanes. That said, I think we should all pause this week and think about what is really important. Those of us that think our companies, […]

Lockheed Martin has been using Six Sigma and Lean since the late 90s. Like many other companies the early use of the methodologies took place in small pockets around the company without a centralized effort. Then in 1999 Lockheed Martin started the LM21 initiative. LM21 stands for Lockheed Martin in the 21st Century and is […]

Union Pacific (UP) has been using the Six Sigma methodology for a number of years to increase customer satisfaction, reduce failures, and conserve energy. Last year Thomas A. Myers, Michael Carver, and Dr. Michael Echols wrote a case study describing how UP reduced the cost of training Six Sigma Black Belts by partnering with Bellevue […]

Have you taken an eLearning course in the past? Do you offer eLearning training through your consulting company? Have you researched eLearning options in the past? We want to hear from you. iSixSigma is preparing to research eLearning options available within the Six Sigma industry. For this study, we’re defining eLearning as: “Any learning that […]

Patricia Collins wrote an article in the September/October 2005 issue of iSixSigma Magazine titled, “Better Business Leaders.” Patricia is the senior deployment champion for Merrill Lynch’s enterprise-wide Six Sigma program. The article details Merrill Lynch’s unique approach to leadership development through Six Sigma. “The goal is not only to give the company’s future business leaders […]

When I accepted this invitation from Mike Cyger, he suggested that I post once a week and so I have set aside Tuesday mornings from 5:00 to 7:00 to put down something I think is worthwhile. This week I got a call at 4 am from my beautiful wife, Aimee, telling me to catch the […]

Recently EMC began an initiative called Total Customer Experience (TCE) and Six Sigma is at the heart of it. Six Sigma at EMC is driven from the top as an enterprise-wide initiative. EMC President, CEO, and Green Belt candidate, Joe Tucci, recently spoke about TCE and Six Sigma at the EMC Technology Summit in New […]

The Cox-Box is Copyright © 2000-2005 iSixSigma LLC and Gary P. Cox – All Rights ReservedReproduction Without Permission Is Prohibited – Request Permission

Notes from the deployment frontline Why does this stuff work? For those of you who don’t know me, I work in the land of Laverne and Shirley for a fine 100 year old company that is trying to change without losing what makes people want to spend a career here. I am five months into […]

Xerox has a successful history applying Lean Manufacturing techniques in their operations since the early 90s. In 1998 Six Sigma was introduced in various manufacturing and supply chain operations. Although these operations achieved efficiencies, the scope of the deployment was limited. In 2002, Six Sigma and Lean were integrated and driven as a corporate-wide strategy. […]

Autoliv makes the world a safer place. Simply put, their products save lives. They are a leading manufacturer of auto safety products, and supply all the leading auto makersthroughout the world. Quality is vital when it comes to life and Autoliv is living up to their name. Modeled after the Toyota Production System (TPS), Autoliv […]

It does not matter how small the business, Six Sigma can help improve any process. Even a niche bed and breakfast business can profit from Six Sigma principles. Case in point: Al O’Donnell, who runs a Six Sigma program for Southern Clay Products in Gonzales, Texas, USA, wrote us this note. “My wife owns the […]

Avery Dennison began using Six Sigma in the Fasson Roll operation in 1998. It didn’t take long for the initiative to stick, and it soon spread throughout the company. Today, Six Sigma and Lean manufacturing are the foundation for driving productivity improvements across the company. The annual reports and press releases continually highlight the impact […]

The Consumer Products industry sector containsa wide array of industries: Apparel, Home Equipment and Furnishings, Household and Personal Products, Textiles, Tobacco, Toys and Sporting Goods. Listed below are Fortune 1000 companies in these industries (broadly labeled “Consumer Products”) that are using Six Sigma. 3M Alberto-Culver Clorox Colgate-Palmolive Estée Lauder Kimberly-Clark Masco Newell Rubbermaid Procter & […]

The Cox-Box is Copyright © 2000-2005 iSixSigma LLC and Gary P. Cox – All Rights ReservedReproduction Without Permission Is Prohibited – Request Permission

I had the pleasure of being invited to the Northwest Quality Forum on Wednesday (3 Aug 2005). It’s an informal group of like-minded peers (deployment champions and regional leaders) in the Seattle area that get together every other month to discuss Six Sigma, Lean, management, leadership, change management and related issues faced by their organizations. […]

Barclays is just starting out on their Six Sigma journey. They began their initiative just over a year ago and were recently recognized with a Six Sigma Excellence award in the category “Best Defect Elimination in a Service & Transaction Project.” Chris Lorimer, Head of Supplier and Service Improvement at Barclays International and Private Bank, […]

LG Electronics (LGE), part of South Korea’s LG Group, was the first LG company to embrace Six Sigma back in 1996 (about the same time as GE). As shown in the timeline below (2000 Annual Report), LGE has a solid history of innovation activities and quality improvement activities dating back to 1989. Since 2000, LGE […]

McKesson is the largest pharmaceuticals distributor in the United States. While they do not manufacture drugs or supply healthcare services, they are the leading provider of supply, information, and care management products to the entire healthcare industry. In the words of McKesson’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, John Hammergren, “McKesson is helping transform healthcare into […]

The Healthcare Sector includes the following Fortune 1000 industries: Medical Products & Equipment, Pharmacy and Other Services, Healthcare-Medical Facilities, and Wholesalers-Healthcare. The Healthcare-Insurance industry is included in the Insurance Industry List. Fortune 1000 Healthcare Companies practicing Six Sigma: Bausch & Lomb Baxter International Becton Dickinson Boston Scientific Cardinal Health McKesson Medtronic Quest Diagnostics St. Jude […]