Using Six Sigma DMAIC for Creating Business Strategy

Case Study: Using Six Sigma in a Non-Six Sigma Culture

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Anyone who has worked in manufacturing has probably experienced some level of finger-pointing when shipments fall short of expectations. Though there could be multiple reasons for a missed customer delivery, somehow it is always the other department’s fault. In extreme circumstances, several months of missing targets without effectively defining the root causes and addressing them […]

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B2 Bomber

U.S.A.F. Uses Continuous Process Improvement on the B-2 Bomber: Part 2

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In this case study, the 509th Maintenance Group of the U.S. Air Force used an eight-step continuous improvement approach to balance its resources and meet both flying hour program requirements and aircraft availability. Part 1 focused on steps 1 through 4. Part 2 looks at continuing to make improvements with steps 5 through 8. Step […]

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B2 Bomber

U.S.A.F. Uses Continuous Process Improvement on the B-2 Bomber: Part 1

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In this case study, the 509th Maintenance Group of the U.S. Air Force used an eight-step continuous process improvement approach to balance its resources and meet both flying hour program requirements and aircraft availability needs. This week looks at steps 1 through 4. Part 2 looks at steps 5 through 8. Introduction The B-2 bomber […]

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Figure 1: LSS with Optimization Modeling

Project Examples from an LSS Deployment for Cultural Transformation

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My company benchmarked against other manufacturing businesses before starting its cultural transformation change. They formed a team and visited companies including Toyota, GM, Milliken, Caterpillar, John Deere, Chrysler, Du Pont and Johnson Controls. After talking to each company about their cultures and continuous improvement processes, my company started to put together a roadmap for transformation. […]

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Case Study: Increase Revenue by Decreasing Prices

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A division of a diversified organization develops and manufactures samples of new drugs for clinical trials. This work entails different typical manufacturing problems for the following reasons: Quantity requirements can vary from a few grams to several tons from order to order. The effort of research and development (R&D) is central; new processes have to […]

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handshake agreement

The Cost of Customer Misalignment (& How to Fix It)

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This consumer products company has a large portfolio of products. Working with key customers, the company develops and promotes brand marketing programs to help the customer improve their sales which increases the company’s revenue as well. The CEO of the company realized the percentage of successful promotions was less than he expected. At the same […]

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data analysis

Data Transformations Helped One Company Better Analyze Their Process Data

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Normality of the data is an underlying assumption for the use of many statistical tools. When normality doesn’t exist, transforming the data may be necessary. Let’s see how one company did that.

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pharmaceutical company DOE success

How Design of Experiments (DOE) Helped a Pharma Company Extend Product Shelf Life

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Through the use of Design of Experiments (DOE), a pharmaceutical company was able to extend the shelf life for one of its life saving liquid oncology medicines. Let’s see how this saved the company money, lowered the price of the drug and helped save lives. 

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Chi-Square Analysis Helped This Company Increase Sales by 8.9%

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Chi-square analysis is a powerful tool for examining the relationship between variables formatted in a table. One consumer products company used it to look at its consumers in a different way, resulting in a significant increase in sales and profitability of its product portfolio.  Traditionally, an organization’s sales and marketing department makes advertising decisions based […]

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Using Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) Reduced Adverse Medical Events at This Hospital

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After experiencing multiple adverse medical events, one large hospital system moved from the sole use of a reactive root cause analysis approach to include a proactive Failure Modes and Effects Analysis strategy, which significantly reduced adverse medical events.  As was the strategy at the time, a large tax supported public health system relied on root […]

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Conjoint Analysis Helped This Company Develop a Blockbuster New Packaging Design and Sell More Product

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Stop guessing what your customers value in your product or service. Use conjoint analysis to determine what features are most important to them and have the data to support your decisions. Conjoint analysis is often described as a design of experiments (DOE) for marketing. It is a structured way to help you identify and evaluate […]

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Basic Six Sigma Tools Helped This Company Reduce Waste and Product Rejections

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How hard can it be to make orange juice? As one large global company found out, no single Six Sigma tool will solve all the problems in an organization. However, the integration of a number of tools such as correlation, Measurement System Analysis (MSA), control charts, and process capability will help solve many of them.  […]

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Using Binary Logistic Regression Helped a Global Financial Company Win More Business 

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Let’s look at the financial division of a global conglomerate. One of its businesses was providing loans to corporate clients. Although a dominant player in the market, the company still had to compete with other organizations to provide financing and lending to myriad businesses. By using binary logistic regression to help refine its lending offers, […]

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Control Charts and Employee Engagement Helped This Company Save Over $150,000 in One Year 

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Providing the proper organizational environment for engaging people in your continuous improvement effort will provide large benefits for your organization. In this study, we look at how the combination of using control charts and providing an environment for people engagement helped one company achieve significant financial benefits. Control charts are a powerful tool for understanding […]

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Verifying Their Data With Measurement System Analysis (MSA) Saved This Company $1M

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Most businesses today brag about how they make data driven decisions on important company issues. But, what if the data is not accurate or reflective of what is really going on in the company? You might be making the wrong business decisions and inadvertently costing your company lots of money. Let’s see how one company […]

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How Root Cause Analysis (and Employee Engagement) Can Save Lives and Prevent Injuries

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A company producing commercial ink products noticed that injury rates during one step in their manufacturing process were rising after the introduction of a new product. A Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt (MBB) consultant was hired to help the company try to resolve this serious problem. Was there a simple solution, or would it […]

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Using SIPOC-(R) to Assess Team Culture Leads to Meaningful Dialogue About Communication

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Culture is the “white whale” of leadership: in Moby Dick, Captain Ahab was obsessed with capturing the white whale, and modern leaders have a similar obsession with developing organizational culture.  Lean Six Sigma organizations task themselves with fostering a culture of continuous improvement (or kaizen) that draws from customer requirements, objective data and metrics, and […]

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PPE

Case Study: Using RACI and Swimlane in the Pandemic

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The problem: Healthcare providers needed to safely care for patients over the course of the pandemic. But how could they keep everyone safe without adequate supply of N95 masks?

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Improved Rescue Time from a Bolling Mill Machine

Improved Rescue Time from a Bolling Mill Machine

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While a Bolling mill machine creates uniform sheets of rubber with ease, it also poses a danger to an operator’s hands. Reducing rescue time and improving safety measures made for a successful Yellow Belt project in one lab.

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Quick Wins Can Successfully Launch Operational Excellence in Healthcare

Quick Wins Can Successfully Launch Operational Excellence in Healthcare

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If the Mayo Clinic can do it, so can you! Let this case study at the medical organization’s Phoenix Transplant Center be your guide to operational excellence in healthcare settings.

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Streamlining a Hiring Process with Lean Six Sigma

Case Study: Streamlining a Hiring Process

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How do you elevate a recruiting free-for-all into a standardized, efficient and well-respected process that gets new hires in the door faster? Hello, Lean Six Sigma!

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Robotic Process Automation

Case Study: Edward Jones Adds Robotic Process Automation with Lean Six Sigma

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In only three years, Edward Jones has realized more than a million dollars in cost avoidance through the use of bots combined with LSS.

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Healthcare Paperwork

Case Study: DMAIC Project Improves Hospital’s On-time Completion of Administrative Tasks

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Healthcare is a heavily regulated industry and requires substantial amounts of paperwork. Paperwork may not be as pressing as patient care, but it must be done in a timely fashion. A Lean Six Sigma project reduced the task delinquency rate in its residency program.

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Image of the top of a purchase order with a blue pen lying across it

Case Study: Reducing Purchase Order Cycle Time, Part 2

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A Green Belt project aimed at reducing the cycle time for purchase orders finds the bottleneck and dramatically improves the process, exceeding the project’s original goals, and even realizes bonus benefits.

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