Month: February 2011

According to George Wilbanks, managing director of Russell Reynolds’ Asset and Wealth Management practice, many investment firms are looking especially hard for technology executives who have some kind of training in continuous improvement. “In the last two years, with so much volatility we’ve had in the markets, they’ve been asking for Six Sigma qualifications,” he […]

After a contentious 10-year competition with European rival EADS, the Boeing Co. won a hard-fought $35 billion contract to supply the U.S. Air Force with new refueling tanker aircraft, due in part to the Lean methods the aerospace manufacturer recently adopted for its 767 line.

As a Six Sigma professional responsible for managing projects, have you ever been asked the following questions? When do you reasonably expect to complete your project? What’s the probability of completing the project on time or on a given date? Which activities on the critical path should you focus your attention on to meet the […]

Former Motorola Inc. executive James Melton has been appointed the new director of Lean Six Sigma programs and initiatives for Erie County, N.Y., USA.

The March 8 webinar, hosted by iSixSigma Live! and Instantis, will feature a hands-on project portfolio management (PPM) system demonstration of the business financial results validation and communication process at Xerox.

Tobyhanna Army Depot, Pennsylvania – One Tobyhanna organization sees the writing on the wall when it comes to cutting overhead costs and improving efficiency. Members of the Productivity Improvement and Innovation Directorate’s Process Improvement Division estimate an annual cost avoidance savings of more than $2,000 by transitioning select processes from the use of paper products […]

Latest Version of Lean Six Sigma Data Analysis Tool Features New Lean Templates

Former Dallas police chief David Kunkle has announced his intentions to run for Dallas mayor, saying he will favor the application of continuous improvement programs to address the city’s most pressing needs.

ADA Carbon Solutions LLC, which produces activated carbon from coal-fueled power plants, announced that Dr. Joe Wong has been hired as the company’s new vice president of technology.

Cummins operates three plants San Luis Potosi, Mexico, which produce and ship products daily to distribution centers in the United States. These plants produce systems such as reconditioned engines, alternators, and filtration and exhaust systems. Two of the three plants were looking for ways to reduce the high costs of trucking the products, so Rebecca […]

Printing Industries of America (PIA) has reported that Kenneth E. Rizzo, 61, the company’s director, technical and Lean services, passed away suddenly on Tuesday, Feb. 15, while on assignment in suburban Boston.

Over the past month, as I’ve been reading and researching articles in my new role as editor in chief of iSixSigma, I’ve come across the term VOC a bunch of times. VOC, or voice of the customer, is important and worthy of its numerous mentions. The “Dictionary of Lean Six Sigma Terminology” on iSixSigma.com lists […]

Vestas, the Danish wind-turbine manufacturer, has hired David Gels as its new vice president of quality and process excellence. The company also hired two other executives to its North American operations: Ramon Mendoza as warranty management chief specialist and David Sword as government relations director for Canada.

By using question-based workbook exercises in training, Belts will be better prepared to guide teams in solving problems.

There are two schools of thought when it comes to engaging employees … either in training or for roles within a change initiative. One says that it is perfectly fine (even necessary) to infuse such efforts with elements of entertainment, creativity … (dare we say) fun. The other says that such frivolity should be avoided […]

Six Sigma projects differ from traditional projects in one important requirement – understanding of the Y=f(x) relationship with data before developing or implementing a solution. In the DMAIC framework, we identify, test and verify the causal relationship between a potential root cause (x) and the outcome (Big Y), and then develop a solution to change […]

In response to what has been called a difficult 18 months for the estate agency sector in the United Kingdom, senior management at Frank Marshall & Co. have announced that the company is the first to adopt the Lean Six Sigma methodology in the estate indsutry.

Thoughts of fraud can cause call center leaders to sit bolt upright in bed at night. The damage to a company’s reputation from agents stealing credit card information is a serious threat. Further, companies are constantly trying to combat a low, but steady percentage of consumers’ attempts to not pay for goods they have received. […]

The “Great Indian Bazaar” – the rapidly growing and evolving Indian retail market – presents special and daunting distribution challenges for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) products. For a typical producer, about 100 stock keeping units (SKUs) flow through 40 to 50 depots to 2,000 to 3,000 distributors to more than 1 million outlets varying in […]

UL extends the reach of its knowledge and training arm to deliver a differentiated offering that addresses customer needs.

Benjamin Franklin once said that “time is money.” In the clinical world, time can be more valuable than money. When a patient is in need of attention, bedside clinical caregiver time is worth more than money. As Vice President of Support Services at Heartland Health, my job is to make sure support service departments – […]

Delta Faucet Co. has promoted its continuous improvement (CI) manager Todd Shadburn to the position of senior CI engineer.

The third annual iSixSigma Live! Summit & Awards conference wrapped up last week at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Miami.