Month: June 2010

As a Black Belt, I know it is easy to fall into the trap of working only on projects that cut costs. I also know that this type of “accounting” is a slippery slope that can cloud essential business goals by creating unfounded visions of savings. Don’t get me wrong – cutting expenses is important. […]

As rising industrial production drives the economic recovery, leading manufacturers detailed their successful rebound strategies at the 25th annual International Forum on Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DFMA) in Providence, R.I.

Hard as it is to believe, July 4th is almost here, which means that the deadline for submissions for iSixSigma’s Best Places to Work – Monday, July 26, 2010 – is drawing near. Therecognition is an excellent opportunity for companies and employees to celebrate the strength of their Six Sigma programs. The purpose of iSixSigma’s […]

The June 14 issue of Fortune magazine featured an interview with Vanguard CEO William McNabb as a part of their C-Suite series. McNabb became CEO on August 31, 2008, two weeks before Lehman Brothers failed. Many more companies lost employees, customers, and certainly, a lot of money during the crisis. In contrast, Vanguard emerged stronger, […]

Rucker and Associates Inc. today announced the addition of Bonnie Smith to the consulting firm. Smith is a sought-after, dynamic speaker and author of numerous articles on the integration of Lean and Six Sigma. She joins Rucker with more than 15 years of experience, having played a pivotal role in creating the synthesis of Lean […]

One of the most memorable quotes from the movie The Graduate (1967), staring Dustin Hoffman, is the brief exchange between young Benjamin and a family friend, who offers the following advice: Mr. McGuire: I want to say one word to you. Just one word. Benjamin: Yes, sir. Mr. McGuire: Are you listening? Benjamin: Yes, I […]

A company’s profitability is mostly affected by three factors: the ability to produce quality products consistently, the efficiency with which products are produced and the ability to sell the products. Total quality control has a vigorous impact on each of these factors, and, therefore, profitability. Through careful analysis of customer wants and needs, a company […]

Since 2004, Sheriff John Rutherford has being fostering a culture of continuous improvement throughout the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO). With over 3000 employees having received initial roll out training, a full fledged division that bears the continuous improvement title, a dedicated steering committee comprised of top level executives to help ensure every project’s success, and […]

What is the best way to gain buy-in at a manufacturer that is resistant to culture change? iSixSigma spoke with Zack Chehaitli, Master Black Belt and director of continuous improvement for Sea Ray Boat Group, about his experience with Lean Six Sigma and how he helped bring continuous improvement principles to the boat manufacturing industry […]

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.

During its graduation ceremony last week, UC Irvine Extension recognized Volkswagen de Mexico with its Partnership Award. This honor is bestowed on an organization that maintains a top-quality educational relationship with the institution.

The familiar maxim “A chain is only as strong as its weakest link” has particular import for businesses committed to process improvement. For some companies, forging stronger, more collaborative relationships with suppliers and customers has become a natural, even necessary, part of their improvement efforts. “Early on, we knew that to create successful value streams, […]

A well-run event can be cathartic, exciting, and extremely effective. A poorly run one wastes a lot of people’s time, money, and at worst, vaporizes everyone’s motivation to support any future quality activities. In either case, you can be sure that people will spread the word about how it went.   In no particular order, […]

An introduction to eight apps, designed to serve as resources for Lean Six Sigma practitioners, available on Apple’s iTunes App Store.

Like many of the tools available for law enforcement officers today, Lean Six Sigma (LSS) process improvement methodologies are only as good as the officer’’s skill level, trained in its use. Firearms, TASERs, pepper spray, batons, are all examples of what law enforcement officers, the world over, are required to achieve proficiency with before hitting […]

Grote Industries, a world leader in high-performance LED lighting technology for the transportation industry, today announced that it has appointed William Stone to lead its existing quality management team from his new vantage point as quality director. Stone has 27 years of experience in OEM and tier-one automotive manufacturing environments, including eight years in multi-site […]

Recognizing accomplishments is an important part of a Lean Six Sigma deployment, both for the honor that it brings to the practitioners and for the visibility it brings to the program. Covidien plc, a $10 billion global leader in healthcare products, has embraced that concept wholeheartedly in its annual Bring Home the Gold competition. The […]

When facing an imminent layoff, what path should Six Sigma professionals with a technical background take to get into the information technology (IT) arena? This topic was brought up in a recent online conversation on the iSixSigma Discussion Forums. The suggestions included getting familiar with the capability maturity model (CMM), joining an IT organization, becoming […]

I have facilitated and experienced the benefits of Lean Six Sigma in both military and law enforcement. My experience tells me this. Everyone looking at making improvements, whether in the corporate setting, or in the public service sector, have one, and only one, main overarching project…figuring out how to get its workforce engaged enough to […]

In a move that validated the effectiveness of the Air Force tool used for continuous process improvement, J.D. Sicilia, the director of the Department of Defense, Lean Six Sigma program office, presented two Airmen with an award for winning a Defense-wide process excellence skills challenge that took place at the Department of Defense Performance Symposium […]

Learning from past mistakes, a logistics company came up with three areas to focus on when training its future deployment Champions. The result? Lean Six Sigma infused into the company culture.

Last year, business process outsourcing firm Firstsource, based in Mumbai, India, was one of the participants in the iSixSigma Live! Summit & Awards program in the Most Successful Start-up category. Recently, iSixSigma caught up with Chandeep Singh, Executive Vice President, Process Excellence and Workforce Management, at Firstsource to discuss some of the recent accomplishments of […]

In an exchange on the iSixSigma Discussion Forums, a representative from a telecommunications firm was interested in learning about what methods are best to improve forecast accuracy at the company’s call center. After some discussion about defining the goals of the project, the responding Six Sigma experts then offered their views about using such tools […]