Month: October 2008

  The Best Places to Work Competition has wrapped up and the top ten finalists have emerged. Now we’re not going to tell you where the No. 1 place for Six Sigma professionals to work is yet… or what the order of the top ten is…. We’re saving that for the awards ceremony in January. […]

Winning isn’t everything; in fact, many times a “win” is in finishing the race or improving the score, whether that means fewer defects, decreased cycle time and/or improved customer satisfaction. But there are times when a win is a win and calls for more attention than is usually given to the everyday job well done. […]

When I started in continuous improvement (CI) four years ago it was via the traditional Six Sigma DMAIC route. I was indoctrinated into the Six Sigma world and have earned my ASQ CSSBB and can do impressive stuff with statistics. Lean was not even on the radar for me, it was just another approach that […]

Lincoln Electric, a world leader in the design, development and manufacture of welding equipment, improves operational efficiency through Six Sigma AND fosters innovation at the same time. Looks like we’ve got some benchmarking to do. “In the last three years, Chairman, President and CEO John M. Stropki has led his team through eight acquisitions and […]

It’s time again for iSixSigma to gather salary data for the6th annual Global Six Sigma Salary Survey. This survey is a little different that our traditional kind. To gather data we go to the iSixSigma Job Shop database where thousands of Six Sigma professionals have uploaded their resumes. Along with uploading a resume, we ask […]

Good enough is just not good enough anymore and has not been for a long time.

Six Sigma is an amazingly persistent program. I was left off the list for the official birth announcement, but someone should probably be planning ahead for a thirtieth birthday party in the next few years. That’s remarkable longevity for trumped up flavor-of-the-month program. I think Six Sigma is utterly absurd in many respects. Even if […]

Erie County’s Six Sigma initiative is set to save 1.5 million dollars by year end. Almost a half million more than the initial goal. Below is the news reporting the story. Interviews with Al Hammonds, Deputy County Executive and former Six Sigma Director as well as the new Six Sigma Director Bill Carey. http://www.wgrz.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=61254&provider=gnews Yet […]

Barq’s isn’t the only thing with bite. At Dominion, it’s Six Sigma that gives data teeth. Director of travel and corporate services, Donna Kelliher, said in a recent Travel Procurement cover story article: “You can do those quick analyses, but when you put Six Sigma behind it, you’re using statistical tools and people will buy […]

I recently bought some registry cleaning software on the internet using PayPal. My mistake, it was a scam. I made contact with the PayPal Dispute Resolution team to see if I could get my money back. Followed the highly efficient process (no human interaction) and made repeated attempts to contact the supplier before escalating to […]

I can’t help but wonder if banking and finance has an administrative concept equal or similar to lean process strategic planning. As accounting goes I suspect that efficiency, correct mathematical computation and balanced accounts all are considered important and of value to the banking customer. But what is the value added to high or irresponsible […]