Category: Basics

Six Sigma, Total Quality Management (TQM) and its variants are now widespread in American business. Yet many executives raise serious questions about the their value. Fortune magazine, The Wall Street Journal and Business Week have all presented examples of serious failures. Several recognized Six Sigma companies have experienced financial troubles. On a more personal level, […]

Breakthrough. It sounds good. It even sounds like something everyone should support. The problem, however, comes when people are asked to define breakthrough. There is almost always a slight pause, or in some cases a long one, that says they are not certain what it means. To understand what breakthrough means and why it is […]

One of the most confusing issues associated with someone saying “I’m using Six Sigma” has to do with what methodology they are actually using. A majority of the time they are using the DMAIC methodology, because they have existing processes that are wasting resources (hence the big savings you’ve heard about at GE, Honeywell and […]

Joe De Feo, President and Executive Coach at Juran Institute, offers his views on deploying Six Sigma in large and small companies alike.

Learning the Six Sigma methodology can be confusing. Even if you know the Six Sigma methodology, questions arise from co-workers or in daily activities and answers may not be readily available. To help with this problem, iSixSigma has compiled a list of questions that have been posed on the discussion forum. Below are the five […]

Some consultants are earning seven figure salaries, CEOs of large companies are claiming billions of dollars saved, conferences, books, and seminars are popping up everywhere, and yet one can argue that there isn’t much new about Six Sigma that we didn’t have with TQM. Is Six Sigma just the latest management buzzword or is Six […]

Create Six Sigma project charters that are compelling to business leaders by capturing all quantifiable benefits of eradicating a business problem. This checklist will help you do so.

This is a familiar question that is often addressed by organizations. In fact, it is the wrong question. These concepts are nothing more than tools in your management toolbox. You don’t fix a watch with a hammer, and you get the same results when you deploy Six Sigma, Lean and Kaizen incorrectly. The fact is, […]

In order for any process capability to accurately be calculated, one must properly define and quantify the process defect, unit and opportunity of a customer CTQ. This article defines the three terms, as well as provides examples.

What is the usual way most people go about solving problems? Most people and organizations consciously or unconsciously use this method, as illustrated in Table 1 below. Table 1: Normal Method of Problem Solving Step Example 1. Understand what is to be improved and set a goal I am too fat. I want to reduce […]

Some companies approach strategic planning in a way that lends ammunition to those who would question its purpose. Typically, during strategic planning time, executives sequester themselves in a retreat-like setting armed with sales and market projections and some semblance of customer input. The output of this event is a nice, bound presentation that sits on […]

In a conversation with iSixSigma, Nick Brownrigg, the chief executive officer of Masterlease Group, offers his views on managing for results through Lean Six Sigma and Line-of-Sight™ strategy deployment. iSixSigma: Tell us about your business and the competitive challenges you face? Mr. Brownrigg: We provide full vehicle leasing services to businesses and public sector organizations […]

5W1H (who, what, where, when, why, how) is a method of asking questions about a process or a problem taken up for improvement. Four of the W’s (who, what, where, when) and the one H is used to comprehend for details, analyze inferences and judgment to get to the fundamental facts and guide statements to […]

There are many stories written about successful top-down change, but few about successful middle-out change – probably because the latter is much more difficult to achieve than the former. Sometimes, however, middle-out change is the only option – and with the right leader, success is possible. The following story, which took place at a North […]

In a well-managed business that has implemented Six Sigma, the organization’s objectives and strategies and continuous improvement are all closely aligned. Organizational objectives enhance the efficacy and importance of Six Sigma initiatives. And Six Sigma specialists can play an integral role in ensuring the execution of strategy. In many organizations, however, there seems to be […]

The business world keeps revisiting the concept of a high-performance organization, often coining some new phrase or slogan to describe it. Regardless of its newest label or the guru touting its latest incarnation, high performance has virtually always meant achieving a hard-to-sustain combination of six critical elements: High profitability World-class service Accountability Simple workflow Customer-centered […]

Initially Six Sigma process improvement projects followed four phases: Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control. Today, some companies still omit the Define phase because a project’s definition is seen as mainly management work. Following this logic, the same might be true for Control: ensuring that the process improvements are implemented and monitored is only a business […]

From the inception of iSixSigma Magazine, a regular feature of the publication has been exclusive research on aspects of deploying Six Sigma. The topics benchmarked have ranged from “Black Belt Return on Investment” in the inaugural issue, January/February 2005, to “The Lean Six Sigma Toolset” in November/December 2009. In addition, the magazine reports each year […]

Successful corporate initiatives such as Lean Six Sigma require proper planning, prioritization, resource allocation, budgeting, training, and proper review and reward mechanics. These initiatives also must consider the stability, accuracy and maturity of the core processes, measurement systems and the people they will affect. In most organizations there is a wide range of both experience […]

Many Six Sigma experts have expressed doubt that Six Sigma can be used effectively in small, or even in some medium-sized, organizations. However, while the approach to deployment must be modified, it is possible for small businesses to successfully implement Six Sigma. Here is how. At the outset, several givens must be in place: The […]

No data? No problem! The Lean Six Sigma process provides an excellent framework for all types of projects, even when there is little or no data.

The need to deploy a continuous improvement (CI) program is greater than ever. In the global financial meltdown, companies must find ways to produce goods and services cheaper, faster and better, while continuously delighting customers. In an effort to catch up, companies may be tempted to launch extensive training programs or start multiple improvement projects […]

Demonstrating clear alignment between Six Sigma projects and a healthcare organization’s strategic imperatives, vision or mission has been an elusive exercise for many organizations. Judging from a random sampling of web sites and hospital lobbies, most mission statements represent variations on a theme and relate to common issues such as clinical quality, cost management, service […]

It takes more than quick fixes, outsourcing and downsizing to consistently achieve growth and profit objectives. For companies to grow, they need to master eight basics of Lean Six Sigma.