From OW to WOW

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Maintaining a positive interaction while fixing a problem or concern can sometimes turn a customer OW to WOW.

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Good Evening, Would You Like Some Nimawashi With That?

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Well, let me start by saying – its GREAT to be back! After two years, a LOT can change from both a professional and personal standpoint, and I am really happy to contribute again! To kick the conversation off, I’d like to talk a little bit about a concept called Nimawashi, which in the Toyota […]

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Lean at Work, Lean at Home???

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I was asked a very interesting question last week, after I gave a lecture on 5S. “Do you find that people who are very organized and who apply Lean or Six Sigma principles at work, also apply these same principles at home? Is this linked to a personality trait?” Now I will confess right off […]

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Flu Shot

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Why Can’t an Energy Company Win a Shingo Prize?

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That’s the question that will be answered at one of the anticipated presentations at the Energy Forum for Process Excellence in May. Presenting will be Steve Wells, Internal Continuous Improvement Consultant at Luminant. The power generation company received the Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence last year.

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The C Word

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That would be… Consultants. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to speak about lean for clinical laboratories at the recent Leadership Exchange conference, hosted by the American Society for Clinical Pathology. In discussions during the conference, I was asked many questions about the use of consultants to get started with lean. In many cases, […]

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Tours de Force at the Energy Forum

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We have two great tours planned for the Energy Forum for Process Excellence. On Friday, May 22, in Houston, attendees will have the chance to see: A. Halliburton Drill Bit Manufacturing Plants Woodlands Facility B. Cameron Gas Compressor Manufacturing Plant Picking which one to go to will be a tough decision. And there are a […]

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Spring

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Halliburton Suppliers Get Lean

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There is a great story this morning about Halliburton’s efforts to lead suppliers to Lean and Six Sigma. Having just completed a research feature (to be published in May) on this very subject I can attest the article is a living example of what to do when encouraging suppliers to become more efficient: Len Cooper, […]

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Is Healthcare the Next Big Thing?

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I’ve had a lot pf people asking me about healthcare lately. As in, “Now that big corporations and the automotive companiesare reeling, with the stimulus coming and promises of healthcare reform, isn’t it a great time to move out of the manufacturing sector andinto process improvement in healthcare?” Well, it’s true that thereare vast opportunities […]

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Johnny the Bagger

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This was sent to me by a friend and I thought about how important it is that we view Continuous Improvement as so much more than measurement. http://www.stservicemovie.com/ ON Ward!  

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Farewell to iSixSigma from Founder Michael Cyger

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Dear iSixSigma Readers, Advertisers, Sponsors and Partners, I have notified the board of Schofield Media Group that I will be transitioning out of my role with iSixSigma during the next several months. Despite current economic conditions, iSixSigma is now a stronger company in many ways than it was just 14 months ago when Schofield Media […]

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Lean Federal Contract Process

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Saw an article this week in the Federal Computer Week emagazine about our new President making federal contracting more efficient. This is great news and about time. http://fcw.com/articles/2009/03/04/obama-reforms-contracting.aspx?s=fcwdaily_050309 This looks very promising for the Lean Government Champions. Sounds like a job for a Continuous Improvement Practitioner. Are there any CI-Ps in the federal government yet?

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Edgar Allan Poe was a Black Belt

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Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary, O’er Breyfogle, George, and other volumes of forgotten lore, While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of someone gently rapping, rapping at my office door. ‘’Tis some Green Belt,’ soft I muttered, ‘working late on his R4 – Only this, […]

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Managing the unmanageable

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As I was getting into the cab outside Sheraton Saigon, the concierge guy handed me a small squarepiece of paper. “What’s this for?”, I asked, without really looking at what was handed to me. “In case you havetrouble with the driver sir.”, the concierge guy answered. It was a small feedback form allowing hotel guests […]

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Sampling Poser

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I thought I would share my views on a question frequently posed by newly trained belts. I imagine you to may have encountered this situation. I do not have a clear answer but have come-up with a theory. Could be right, could be wrong. We talk about the discrete sampling equation used to calculate minimum […]

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Winter Defects

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