TC

There are valid reasons for reducing part counts, such as improved reliability, but opportunities should not be arbitrarily reduced to improve DPMO score. 
I agree that you must create a set of ground rules and stick to them.  Changing opportunities should only be allowed when there is an ACTUAL change to the process, such as redesign to red…[Read more]

Emilio,
Your process is still out of control.  If either your Xbar OR range chart exceeds control limits, your are out of control.  Your range is telling you that you have excessive variation, although the mean is OK.  Here is one possibile way to get this result:
Sample 1 points:   3, 4, 5, 6, 7     Xbar 5, Range 4
Sample 2 points:  1, 3, 5,…[Read more]

Emilio,
If either your Xbar or range chart exceeds the control limits, your process is out of control.  Your range is an indicator of process spread (better one is standard deviation).  You can have Xbar in control and range out of control as follows:
Data points:  1, 3, 5, 7, 9

Joe,
The short answer is, ask your customers! 
This is a very generic question; the answer depends on many factors.  I have been in industries (e.g., medical devices) where product delivery schedule was driven by the relative positioning of the company to the competition and status of long term clinical trials.  In the oil & gas industry ri…[Read more]

You might want to check out the Nov/Dec 06 issue of iSixSigma magazine [http://www.isixsigma-magazine.com]. A Master Black Belt did a “Test Lab” of four project tracking solutions, including PowerSteering, EnterpriseTrak, i-Nexus and SixNet. There is a six-page article that describes the pluses and minuses of each.

I have been told:
1.  People TEND to repeat behaviors that result in pleasure (reward, recognition, etc)
2.  People TEND to avoid behaviors that result in pain.
I have been working for 16 years in five different companies and I must say that the above two statements have proven to be generally true for almost everyone.  However, since we are h…[Read more]

John,
I believe that is is common to many businesses that pursue SS.  In our organization, many individuals go through BB / GB training, yet very few even get through the certification process.  In our organization we have found several X’s that contribute to full utilization:
1. Lack of management support (in some areas).
2. Lack of time to a…[Read more]

Chris,
I tend to agree with BBxxs.  Being a Black Belt “certified” through my employer, in conjunction with a well respected group, I have a hard time believing that ASQ accrediation is any better that the education that I received.  I am certified as a CQA through ASQ and I have seen the exam given to applicants for the ASQ SSBB ce…[Read more]