Liam Frady

Unmanaged variation can have steep costs, especially when left to run amok in your organization. Over time, these costs become far more substantial. You’ll find processes simply cost more, despite being designed in a specific manner. You might even notice your business’s reputation and customer satisfaction dipping over time. Noticing unmanaged variation takes […]

Kanban finds its origins in Toyota, developed as a means to achieve equal production and productivity that the 1940s American automotive industry was achieving. While Toyota didn’t become a force to be reckoned with overnight, the use of the first Kanban cards set the stage for a manufacturing revolution. Beyond manufacturing, Kanban is […]

Artificial intelligence has been steadily making headway into businesses around the world over the last few years. While some are using it for the likes of ideation, product design, and analysis, it has other applications. When considering something like Lean, you want to target waste, boost efficiency, and overall make for a more […]

Are you making use of digital Kanban boards? Remote work is on the rise, and as such, there is a definite need to adapt and change workflows to better suit working conditions. You can’t readily pull out a physical Kanban board in a Zoom call, so what do you do? Thankfully, there is […]

While it might seem rather unusual at first glance, the principles behind Six Sigma make for an ideal solution in most network operations. When you consider some of the core tenets running behind Six Sigma, these are quite similar to some of the best practices in networking. That said, you can take things […]

Keeping Lean Six Sigma rolling while merging with another organization is vital to maintain synergy and successfully integrate processes into your current workflow. Rapidly identifying waste, cutting away non-value-added activities, and improving processes is key for any newly combined entity. Developing key strategies for this can seem somewhat daunting, especially as you’re considering […]

Quantifying Lean Six Sigma impact across any project can be a challenging prospect. You need to prove to stakeholders and management that the investment has been worth the time and effort expended. When taking on any sort of initiative, it helps to have support for future projects. The immediate effects of this might […]

Technology is one of the most useful things at your disposal when it comes to your Hoshin Kanri processes. While pen and paper certainly have their place, even in the modern world, the advent of modern software suites has given a shot in the arm to how people are conducting Hoshin Kanri lifecycles. […]

What is Business Process Reengineering? There are quite a few ways to approach the design of a process. We can pursue continual improvement, hoping that little by little it is hammered into the right sort of shape. This has its benefits, as it doesn’t severely upset the current workflow, and teams stay on […]

The Theory of Constraints can lead to some great breakthroughs in your product design, but you have to understand the concept. Theory of Constraints is a management philosophy that supposes any workflow is going to have at least one pain point present. By addressing the pain point, you’re increasing the chances of overall […]

Predictive analytics is one of the most powerful tools at your disposal when it comes to decision-making in Six Sigma. Data drives quite a bit of any business’s operations under Six Sigma, so it stands to reason that leveraging historical data to try and gain a future advantage would be a boon for […]

How do you build a business case for Lean Six Sigma as a non-profit? You’re not building towards record profits, so the usual business case for pursuing an implementation is out the window. As we’ve outlined in the past, however, Lean Six Sigma is a solid fit for any non-profit organization. While financial […]

How are leading organizations leveraging TQM? Total Quality Management is a philosophy and approach that emphasizes the likes of continuous improvement, customer satisfaction, and employee engagement. The methodology itself reached the peak of its popularity in the 1980s, before the rise in popularity of methodologies like Six Sigma and Lean. TQM is still […]

Any sort of public sector project is going to have constraints seldom seen in a typical business. That doesn’t mean you have to forego the implementation and use of methodologies like Lean Six Sigma. It takes a deft hand, careful planning, and adaptation to make the approach work regardless of intent or industry. […]

BPR projects can be daunting at first glance, as you’re fundamentally changing the way you work. However, it might not be tenable to continue with work as it sits; processes might be inefficient, wasteful, and prone to costly errors. BPR isn’t something that happens in a vacuum, and understanding how it affects any […]

Six Sigma in healthcare seems like an unlikely pairing at first glance. After all, Six Sigma is oriented towards less strict industries like manufacturing, compared to the slew of regulatory bodies any healthcare provider needs to pay attention to. That said, it isn’t impossible. Some providers leverage the teachings and principles of Six […]

The Scrum framework’s history is relatively short, in the grand scheme of things. However, its introduction to businesses had a transformative effect seemingly overnight. At its core, Scrum seeks to address the rigidity and linearity of older methodologies to better suit the rapidly changing needs of customers. So, with that in mind, we’re […]

What can you do to engage employees in your BPR initiatives? Any sort of BPR effort can be a vast undertaking. When we consider the wider scope of what needs to be done to achieve any sort of success, the odds are stacked heavily against us at first glance. Overhauling a process from […]

What are the best data visualization tools for Lean Six Sigma? There is no shortage of options when it comes to how you approach visualizing the data your organization gathers in Lean Six Sigma. Some tools have become something of a de facto industry standard, with plenty of documentation and dedicated learning resources […]

When you have an undertaking as massive and diverse as a BPR effort, you need a little help to get things rolling. While getting your workforce on board with your efforts is instrumental to the initiative’s success, that isn’t the only consideration you’ll need to keep in mind when planning your BPR effort. […]

Six Sigma in healthcare is a fine fit, but there are always going to be things you don’t plan for in the mix of it. There are few industries better suited for Six Sigma than healthcare, and we’ve certainly seen more organizations pivoting towards it in recent years. However, it can be tough […]

Scope creep is the bane of any project’s existence, and one thing that can seriously hinder your BPR efforts. Avoiding scope creep is going to be paramount to the success of any efforts you’re undertaking to revamp your processes. Thankfully, it isn’t quite as difficult as you might think to stay focused and […]

What does design thinking in practice look like? There has been much talk about its power and efficacy. However, when you peruse the many online resources available, the picture is incomplete. We know it’s a human-centered take on product design, but what does that look like in motion? Design thinking in practice isn’t quite what […]

What data visualization tools are you leveraging for Lean Six Sigma? Lean Six Sigma relies heavily on the interpretation and use of data to make the most of your decision-making process. Looking at hard numbers on a computer screen can be a bit daunting, however. Ultimately, you’re looking to present the data in […]