Category: DMAIC

Efficiency, Elegance, and Empowerment: Avon and Lean Six Sigma Unite In the bustling world of cosmetics, where beauty meets business, one name has stood the test of time, captivating hearts and empowering women for over a century: Avon. From its humble beginnings as a perfume company in the late 19th century to its global presence […]

By employing Lean and Six Sigma techniques, Dr Pepper was able to embark on a journey that prioritized Rapid Continuous Improvement, a strategy that led to a number of savings for the organization that totaled over 100 million dollars. Dr Pepper Had a Problem Dr Pepper’s history traces all the way back to 1885 and […]

In 2016, Kenya Airways embarked on a project to increase its baggage handling efficiency. The way that it applied tools from both Lean and Six Sigma methodologies showcases how adaptable these concepts can be and that they are applicable well beyond the industries that they are most commonly associated with. Kenya Airways was able to […]

What is Six Sigma? Six Sigma is a disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology used by organizations to improve their processes and reduce defects or errors. It was originally developed by Motorola in the 1980s and has since been adopted by numerous companies across various industries. The term “Six Sigma” refers to a statistical concept that […]

Kienle + Spiess is a German mechanical engineering company that was looking to strengthen its welding division by reducing its rework and improving its quality. To accomplish this, the organization utilized a dual approach where Six Sigma and Lean methods work in tandem. Kienle + Spiess was able to practically eliminate shoddy splatter from the […]

What is Six Sigma? Six Sigma is a quality control methodology that is utilized to improve processes through the elimination of defects. In practice, the methodology incorporates project management, analysis, and statistics to improve the functionality of a business by addressing defects in a process. The cornerstone of the Six Sigma method is the DMAIC […]

We all need payment for the work that we do. It is really that simple. If contracted out to do a job by somebody, you need to be able to count on compensation for the work done on that job within a reasonable amount of time. Contractors that worked on street maintenance projects for the […]

In the early 1990s, US West was an organization that was leading the charge in telecommunications. At the time, their buildings were being plagued by disruptive false fire alarms. How it was dealt with is a great example of how to apply the Six Sigma quality improvement process, a method applicable to nearly any quality […]

Utilizing Six Sigma tools like DMAIC saved RFR $928,000 in retained sales as well as $10,000 in cost savings and $9,000 in workplace training. RFR Metal Fabrication Was Having Growing Pains RFR Metal Fabrication began as Advanced Fabrication Technology in 1987, switching names to RFR in 1999. Throughout its history, the organization has focused on […]

Littelfuse is a manufacturing company that produces electronic products for various industries. The company was facing a problem with its production process, as it was experiencing a high defect rate that was causing delays and increasing costs. Products were experiencing defects and failures, which resulted in customer complaints, rework, and repairs. These quality issues were […]

B & B Ice and Water in Port Arthur, Texas, had been a successful company for many years. Despite their success, the organization was finding a number of problems that they could not seem to solve. By embracing Six Sigma techniques, the organization was able to address these issues, make its company stronger than before, […]

In the early 2000s, Motorola was struggling with defects in its products and a decline in customer satisfaction. In an effort to improve their business processes and regain their competitive edge, they turned to Six Sigma, a data-driven methodology for process improvement. The Impact of Six Sigma on Motorola’s Semiconductor Production Process Motorola is a […]

In 2018, the Miami-Dade Public Library System utilized Six Sigma methodology to improve upon the time needed for the transporting of library materials. The utilization of Six Sigma to meet the needs of this type of organization is an exciting example of just how versatile these tools can be. When we go to the library, […]

With strategic implementation, Six Sigma can do wonders for an organization. The methodology can drastically improve processes, cut down on waste, and even help provide better results in the design and R&D of new products. Samsung found that it was having issues with all of the above and, in 1999, conducted a complete overhaul of […]

With the formation of a joint venture between the original healthcare organization laboratory, Sonora Lab, and the larger Quest Diagnostics, a partnership existed in name only. Both labs went about operating in separate locations while continuing with their individual instrumentation and systems. Over time, this led to issues across both teams, and it became clear […]

When faced with the news that drug manufacturers of cancer medication were responsible for causing a massive amount of financial waste, the oncology department at UCSD utilized Six Sigma and Lean tools like a cause-and-effect diagram, a Kaizen Event, the 5 Whys, and others in order to improve scanning processes that could help in recovering […]

The web development team at The Nature Conservancy in Arlington, VA, was able to utilize Lean and Six Sigma tools to close the gap in downtime due to a coding freeze every 45 days. The Nature Conservancy used such Six Sigma tools as process maps, The 5 Whys, and cause-and-effect diagrams to dramatically bring the […]

In the emergency department of a hospital, the amount of wait time is of huge importance to the patient as well as the staff. Using Six Sigma methodology, the nurse director of Providence Hospital in Michigan was able to dramatically cut down on wait times for patients. Before Providence Hospital in Southfield, MI, embarked on […]

By employing Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma methodologies, the U.S. Army’s Aberdeen Test Center was able to improve the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of its vehicle maintenance operations. Six Sigma’s DMAIC method gave the Aberdeen Test Center the necessary tool for improving its cycle time, significantly decreasing the wait for its clients between when a […]

In the 1980s, Wipro made the leap from being primarily known as a vegetable oil company in India into the world of IT. In order to be a competitor in this industry on a global scale, Wipro would need to continually improve its performance as well as work smarter towards meeting the needs of its […]

Lean and Six Sigma practices are ultimately about helping businesses use efficiency to provide the ultimate customer experience. But what about state and county government entities? Can the same practices apply, and do they even have “customers”? The residents in the counties these government offices serve would likely say “yes”. Kern County spans the southern […]

In 1985, Coca-Cola embarked on what has since been viewed as one of the worst marketing blunders in history. The customer response as well as how Coca-Cola decided to reformat how it dealt with customers, informed how the beverage company would modify its processes for decades to come. When Coca-Cola discontinued its original formula and […]

On the Success Stories podcast with Marshall Atkinson, Ali Banholzer of Wear Your Spirit Warehouse discussed how Lean Six Sigma was utilized to increase profit margins for her company as she worked towards achieving a Six Sigma Black Belt. When a small business goes through a period of growth, it can become painfully clear that […]

Arrow Electronics had already been utilizing Six Sigma practices when it introduced its drone project in 2016 at its two main distribution centers in Malaysia and Asia. The drone project gained them further recognition for their use of Six Sigma methodology and helped usher in a new era of using drones in warehouses in the […]