Charles H

Mike,
Looking forward to it.  Maybe we can have a discussion around the finer points of control charting and special versus common causes of variation ;-)
Charles H.

In VSM it means load leveling – check out “Learning to See” by Rother and Shook for more info. 

I agree with this and other posts stating this is the great black hole of CI initiatives.  As others have said, the “soft” skills are the truly hard ones, and they are the most frequent causes for failures in CI. 
At the TQM Seminar for Aerospace and Defense in 1992 (San Diego) Drucker said that he disagreed that people are naturally resistant t…[Read more]

Try looking up the subject area of TPM (Total Productive Maintenenace).  Productivity Inc. has several books on the subject.

No worries, I know what you mean. 
Speaking of Deming being “amused,”  I wonder, can anyone find a picture of him with a smile on his face?  I do think he had a sense of humor, but he kept it to himself.  ;-)  He was a great man and it is sad how he has been forgotten.  Yeah, we all refer to him and such, but no one seems interested in study…[Read more]

Ummm – it is not the operator that is out of control – it is the process!  Be very careful with this kind of “analysis.” 

Good post.  Just one thing – Deming never used plan, do, check, act – he used plan, do, study, act – and he was very emphatic about it, even saying “It was always study – I don’t know who changed it, but it is study, not check!”  To Deming, words had meaning and he was the consumate thinker, always developing theories, studying them and changing t…[Read more]

My dear friends,
I believe that a Six Sigma professional requires many diverse skill sets.  Obviously, knowledge and ability to apply different tools and methods are a basic requirement.  Also required, in my humble opinion, is the ability to present one’s thoughts and knowledge in a coherent manner, with decorum and respecting the dignity of…[Read more]

Ejaz,
I think you need to take a look at your own organization’s culture as well.  When I hear things like “we can not change the supplier because they offer a very low price comparing to others” it tells me that your own organization needs to learn an appreciation for quality.  It’s the total life cycle costs that matter, as others have s…[Read more]

Sorry, the link I posted in the previous message didn’t work when pasted into the search engine.  To find the article, go to the LEI website, log in, click on “Library” and then run a search for “Nave” and it should come up in the website search results
Best of luck,
Charles H.

The referenced article comparing Six Sigma, Lean and TOC  was written by my good friend and colleague, Mr. Dave Nave, a graduate of the Deming Scholars’ MBA Program at Fordham.  Womack received permission from the ASQ to post it on his LEI website and it can be found at the following li…[Read more]

Some basic questions to help in understanding the situation:  what are the VPs trying to achieve?  What has moved the VPs to make this decision?  What is their aim in wanting to make the split?  What positive outcomes are they trying to achieve? 
Best of luck,
Charles H.

The core issue in this discussion, as I see it, is that the VSM tool has not been applied at the right place, by the right people – the management team.  Take a look at “Learning to See” and  “Value Stream Management” and they will make it very clear – VSM was not intended as a floor level tool.  Rather, it is a tool for the management team to u…[Read more]

Sea:
You may as well go ahead and stop your charting and data gathering – sounds like the analysis is all after the fact anyway.  You have no control over your incoming materials, your process is out of control, and your measurement system is broken, all per your input to this thread.  You are not interested in using control charting for i…[Read more]

Dave,
Then, it would appear they have gotten what they have asked for.  I tend to think that with experience, you get someone who knows what to do and when to do it, how to gather and analyze the data, and turn it into information one can use to determine the bottlenecks and constraints.  I also find it curious that your lack of experience is the…[Read more]

try http://www.deming.org – the Deming Institute

Sergio:No worries – glad to be of help.  Contact me at [email protected] and we can try some other ideas I have on getting you permission to use it.Take care,Charles H

Sergio:
Dyncorp recently commissioned a survey through BenchNet (http://www.benchnet.com) on the use of Six Sigma.  Just go to their site and on the right hand side is a “Survey in Progress” menu.  At the bottom of that menu is a “GO” button to see the full list of surveys.  Click it and scroll down the list until you reach the survey on Six Sig…[Read more]

Nads:
http://www.isixsigma.com/library/content/c020131a.asp
This link will take you to an article that explains it all.  Hope this helps.
Have a good day!
Charles H

Mike:
We are in “violent” agreement!  You hit it on the head.  I’m not creating a “Kumbaya” singing songs environment.  And behind closed doors is where the “in your face” belongs.  Responsibility and accountability still must be maintained. Like I said previously, in your face should not be a default style, but it does have it’s place.  Going…[Read more]