Month: July 2010

It is a common scenario: A practitioner has sales data for the past several months and wants to forecast next month’s sales volume. This type of forecasting can help manufacturers and distributors ensure they have enough product to meet customer demands. But how is this forecasting done? Statistical analysis software offers two ways to plot […]

When the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) was ratified in 2002, requiring strict financial reporting standards for publicly owned companies, the law was regarded by many in the business community as an administrative burden. In the eight years since SOX has been in place, however, the reporting rules have helped some companies drive continuous improvement efforts, according […]

The University of Oklahoma Lean Institute will officially launch its new Lean and Green training program for Oklahoma businesses in Fall 2010. Lean and Green teaches organizations how to identify and eliminate environmental waste from their own operations through three intensive days of training spread over 10 to 12 weeks.

Singapore’s Minister of Manpower Gan Kim Yong said that the Government will increase its investment in continuing education and training (CET) to about $2.5 billion over the next five years to help more workers across industries.

Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence wrote, “The range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to notice. And because we fail to notice that we fail to notice there is little we can do to change until we notice how failing to notice shapes our thoughts and deeds.” After […]

Craig Shular has been the chief executive officer of Parma-based GrafTech International since 2003 and has built a team credited with taking the company from the brink of bankruptcy to profitability and growth.

Undertaking NVQ business improvement training has helped staff at St. Ives (Cambridgeshire, U.K.) based contract electronics manufacturing services provider Prism Electronics Limited become better problem solvers.

Whether you wear stripes, bars, or stars on your shirt, the environment needed for open communication begins with you. Unfortunately, it is easy to become over-directive in our management styles when burdened with deadlines and our other “important” issues. With so much going on, who has time for idle chat, right? Well, it should be […]

Everyone has experienced waiting in line, whether at a fast-food restaurant, on the phone for technical help, at the doctor’s office or in the drive-through lane of a bank. Sometimes, it is a pleasant experience, but many times it can be extremely frustrating for both the customer and the store manager. Given the intensity of […]

You may not have noticed but when you fly into Auckland International Airport your bags now reach the luggage carousel a few minutes faster.

Software and IT experts discuss the best ways that methods such as business process managment and Agile can be applied to a Lean software development program.

Airbus SAS’s head of operations, Gerald Weber, is taking lessons from his former employers in the car industry to cut production time on the A350 model and avoid the years of delay the plane maker suffered on the A380 program.

A recent ExecutiveBrief Software Development Trends Survey of more than 500 senior-level business leaders and software development professionals indicates a more optimistic outlook for business in 2010 as compared to 2009, with significant budget increases and a return to hiring.

DEK has appointed Lean Six-Sigma Black Belt, Liang Zong, as its new Business Improvement Engineer.

In statistical process control, diligent technicians and auditors conduct detailed work to gather data for quality engineers, who then crunch the data into capability studies. Typically, the repeatability and reproducibility (R&R) rates for the data are first determined for the gauges used in the capability studies. The R&R studies are completed first to establish the […]

Successful quality initiatives rely on understanding what quality actually means. The meaning of quality resides in the minds of those who judge it and use it to make their purchase decisions – in other words, the market. Divorced from the market, value or quality has no real meaning. Uninformed definitions of value or quality become […]

Manufacturers across Asia are scrambling to ramp up production of key components for electronics, as shortages have frustrated consumers and disrupted business for companies from Apple Inc. to Nissan Motor Co.

Segue Manufacturing Services, of Lowell, Mass., USA, is proud to announce Brian Desmarais as the new Vice President of Engineering and Quality. Brian comes to Segue with a wealth of knowledge and experience in the field, centering on and around quality management, product development, program management, systems engineering, and customer relationship management. With Brian’s experience […]

Phillips Industries has announced it is expanding its Saltillo, Mexico facility to over 70,000 sq ft to accommodate growth in sales. The extra space will allow the company to expand its trailer harness assembly line, improve process flow and offers more finished product storage area, the company said. “Significant focus has been in quality and […]

Let’s face it – without meaningful data there cannot be meaningful data analysis. Data is typically collected as a basis for measuring success and, ultimately, taking action. However, unless data is viewed realistically – separating opportune signals from probable noise – the actions taken may be inconsistent with the data collected in the first place. […]

Business software vendor i-nexus will host a webinar on Hoshin Planning on Thursday, July 15, from 10-11 a.m. EDT.

Time is running out for you to take part in the 2010 iSixSigma’s Best Places to Work™ for Six Sigma Professionals.The deadline for submitting your nomination is Monday, July 26, 2010. There are just two weeks left to send us your nomination, so please visit our Best Places to Work page today and fill out […]

Hy-Capacity Inc., a remanufacturer of tractor components headquartered in Humboldt, Iowa, USA, recently broke ground on the expansion of its manufacturing facility. Hy-Capacity’s new, larger facility will streamline operations and improve traffic flow, following the company’s Lean manufacturing philosophy to maximize efficiency and reduce waste. Steve Olson, Hy-Capacity president, credits the company’s success to his […]