Month: January 2015

The goals of standard work are simple and straightforward. They are to: Provide everyone who performs a task with a well-documented, visual system that guides them through the proper execution of that task. Ensure that everyone performing a task follows a consistent reproducible process that minimizes opportunities for variation and error. Ensure that work flows […]

The startling fact is that most continuous improvement programs – whether they use Six Sigma, Lean, total quality management or some other methodology – fail to survive in the long term (Edward Pound, 2014). This stands in stark contrast with programs like the Toyota Production System that has been successful for over 60 years and […]

Have you been paying attention to your iSixSigma User Profile rankings? We’ve had a couple of community members jump levels in the past month. We offer our thanks and congratulations to them for being a part of the iSixSigma community! Chris Seider: Gold Trish G: Silver Michael Carver: Copper Forgotten what the rankings are? Want […]

Every statistician knows that basing a decision on limited data is certain to generate problems. Non-statisticians, however, may find making a decision without any data a bad habit to break. “Point mentality” – responding immediately to data that seems to indicate a change but may just be a reflection of natural variation – is even […]

LinkedIn, the largest and most popular business-oriented social networking service, announced over the weekend their top 25 “hottest skills” of 2014. What is a “hot skill” you’re likely wondering, as I did. Basically, LinkedIn looked across all 330 million member profiles, determined who was hired, which jobs were posted that recruiters were searching for talented […]