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Controlling Causes for Effective Problem-Solving

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Early on in our educational development, most of us received a simple worksheet that explained cause and effect. The importance of what causes are and the effects that come from them did not end in childhood but is important as an adult too, especially in the business world. Knowing what the causes are for the […]

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Understanding Central Tendency: Measures and Considerations

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Organizations love to talk in terms of averages. They talk about average sales, average units produced, or the average time to complete an invoice. But, is that adequate? Let’s explore other measures of central tendency and answer that question.

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CONC

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See Cost of Non-Conformance.

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What is a Certificate of Conformity (COC)? A Complete Guide

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The term COC can mean two different things in lean six sigma management. It can either refer to “cost of conformance” or a certificate of conformity. Since “cost of conformance” has already been defined on isixsigma.com at the link listed above, this article will discuss certificates of conformity. What Is a Certificate of Conformity? A […]

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Center Points

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The use of center points in your designed experiments can be valuable in determining the actual relationship between your input factors and your response variable. Let’s explain this in a little more detail. 

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What Product Characteristics Are and Why They Matter

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There are some set characteristics that make something what it is. We look for common characteristics that make a door a door. We look for certain characteristics in order to be able to call a type of vehicle a car. There are set characteristics for most common things that, when looked at together as a […]

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Understanding Central Tendency: Measures and Considerations

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Finding the center point of your data set can be deceptively simple. There are a few different methods that you should be aware of when determining the central tendency, which come into play depending on the nature of your data. Determining the center point of your data set can be helpful in a variety of […]

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Cause and Effect Diagrams: A Visual Tool for Root Cause Analysis

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Getting to grips with the many different causes of defects and quality issues is key to ensuring business success and avoiding customer dissatisfaction. The cause and effect diagram is a clear, visual representation of all possible causes and keeps the team focused upon quality improvement.

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Balanced Experiment

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Balanced experiments are a common class of designed experiment where the factors that are manipulated are set at levels that occur equally within each level of the other factors. This setup provides several advantages, including the need for few experimental runs, lack of correlation between factors, and simplicity.

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Bias

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In the context of Lean Six Sigma, we can talk about bias in the context of measurement and statistics. Minimizing or eliminating bias in your measurement data and statistical analysis should be a goal. Let’s explore the many types, sources, and impact of bias. 

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Blocking

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Blocking doesn’t always refer to football. It can also apply to Design of Experiments. Let’s explore how that works.

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Exploring Box Plots: The Key to Comparing and Analyzing Data Sets

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It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Such is the case with a box plot. This simple graph can be used to describe many things about your data. Let’s see how.

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Exploring the Requirements for Black Belt Certification

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Will being a Black Belt help you beat up your competition? In a way, yes. A skilled and experienced Lean Six Sigma Black Belt will help your organization improve all you do. Let’s see how.

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Coefficient of Variation

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You know variation in your process is not a good thing. It negatively impacts predictability and planning. Let’s learn about an easy way to measure variation so you can better understand your process.

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Concept Engineering

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Concept engineering is how you measure twice and cut once. It’s how you learn from mistakes before you make them. This practice is a way to consider problems and possibilities that may emerge from initial design to final production.

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Capacity

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Capacity refers to how much work a company can take on and how fast it can grow. To improve efficiency and reduce waste, learn how to pay attention to your maximum output and how to manipulate it.

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How CAP Can Revolutionize Your Organization’s Change Management

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Do you feel that implementing change in your organization is going too slowly? So did Jack Welch of GE, which is why GE developed the Change Acceleration Process (CAP). Let’s explore how the concepts of CAP might help your organization.

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Finding Your Competitive Advantage

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With any business, it is important to be able to separate yourself from the competition to gain an advantage. This can be anything from running your operations with greater efficiency to being able to differentiate the attributes of your product from those of your rivals. Having a competitive advantage and being able to maintain it […]

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Chaku Chaku

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Is Chaku Chaku a real word or the sound of machines loading and unloading parts? It turns out that Chaku Chaku is Japanese for load load and a system of loading and unloading parts from a machine. Let’s explore this a little deeper.

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Bugs: Guide to Detection and Prevention

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Finding bugs during the testing phase of software is paramount to making sure customers receive a product that works as it is intended to.Having bugs in software is not uncommon. It is, however, extremely important to do rigorous testing to find them ahead of the release of the software or product to the public. Overview: […]

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Business as Usual (BAU)

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There is only one way for businesses to stay relevant in today’s world, and that is to constantly seek for opportunities for change. This concept can get and keep you in that mindset.

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What Every Manager Should Know About Back-Dating

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Back-dating is like starting at the center of a maze and working your way outwards instead of starting at the normal exterior point. This term describes a type of scheduling process entirely oriented around established dates for final deliverables. Back-dating may seem like doing things backwards, but it’s actually the logical and often necessary perspective […]

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Best Practice

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When determining how to apply Six Sigma methodology to your business, you do not need to reinvent the wheel. A lot of research, testing, and work has already been put in to sort out some common best practices that are proven to work for most organizations. In any industry, there are others that have come […]

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Keep It Simple, Get It Right: How Check Sheets Improve Decision-making

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Data collection doesn’t always have to be a complex process. A simple check sheet can allow you to capture relevant data in a graphical format for initial interpretation of your process or for in-depth analysis later.

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Circumstance Matters: Understanding the Importance of Context in Probability

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Probability is defined as how likely a particular event or outcome is. When there is an impactful workplace event, you will likely want to examine the probability of it occurring again, whether that event is positive or negative. In order to reasonably determine future probability, one must look at the circumstances surrounding the event. Almost […]

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Discover the Power of the Capability Maturity Model in Software Development

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The capability maturity model (CMM) was conceived during the 1980s as a way to improve the way US government departments interfaced with technical contractors. The rapid onset and development of computer technology forced many agencies, including the Department of Defense, to develop a new model to adapt to the more demanding and fast-paced nature of […]

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What Every SS Practitioner Should Know About Business Requirements

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Every business is unique and has its own requirements for meeting its definition of success. Being able to list the requirements of your specific organization provides a clear picture of the needs for your company’s success and can aid in the planning stages of the projects required to meet goals. There are needs and then […]

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How to Use Bar Charts Effectively

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Bar charts are one of the most common ways to display information in a visual format, so it’s a popular choice in all kinds of media. Most business presentations have at least one of them in the mix and they are scattered throughout most high school textbooks. That’s why the ability to comprehend and use […]

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Beta Risk

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All decisions carry some risk of being wrong. The management of that risk will reduce your downsides. Beta risk is one of the risks associated with hypothesis testing. Let’s learn a little more about it.

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Baldrige, Malcolm

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See Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

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Understanding Brainstorming: A Structured Approach to Idea Generation

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During the Six Sigma Improvement Stage of DMAIC, you will need to develop strategies and ideas for improving your process. There are three steps to coming up with viable improvement solutions. These steps are idea generation, organization, and assessment.  Brainstorming can be defined as a structured method of generating unconstrained ideas/ solutions and gaining engagement/involvement […]

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The Path to Becoming a Certified Six Sigma Black Belt

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Similar to the way a Black Belt denotes a certain competency in martial arts, the Certified Six Sigma Black Belt indicates someone who has demonstrated competence in techniques and principles of Six Sigma.

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Average Outgoing Quality

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We have all heard the phrase “garbage in, garbage out.” AOQ is defined as the expected average quality level of an outgoing product for a given the value of incoming product quality. 

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Authority

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In any business arrangement, it is necessary to know who exactly has the power to make decisions. This is true for everything from approving a sale to granting the request for a change in a process be implemented. Just being in a position of power does not make you a great leader. A lot of […]

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B10 Life

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As competitive and market pressures increase, having a clear understanding of product reliability, service life, and expected failure rate is crucial. We explore how by utilising B10 life, we can optimise our product development and satisfy our customer requirements.

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Acceptable Quality Level (AQL)

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The only acceptable quality level should be zero defects. But that’s not always the case. Let’s learn what an acceptable quality level or limit is all about.

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Attribute Data

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You will often see attribute data and discrete data being used interchangeably. At some level, they are similar. But, if we dive a little deeper, you’ll see that there’s a bit more distinction than meets the eye.

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Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP)

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The design and manufacture of highly complex products and systems requires close co-operation between multiple suppliers and customers. Without well-defined quality plans and methodologies, products will neither get to market on time, or on budget, nor be defect free. 

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Average Incoming Quality

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Average incoming quality is a simple, effective and accessible metric that indicates input quality within a process. Accurate assessment of average quality depends on several other factors, including an established framework for evaluation and consistent screening techniques. Overview: What is average incoming quality? In the context of lean manufacturing and business management practices, average incoming […]

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The Role of the Anderson-Darling Test in Assumption Testing

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Is your data normal? If not, will that be a problem? It might be, since data normality can be important when using certain statistical tools to make your business decisions. 

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Understanding the 6Ms: A Powerful Tool for Root Cause Analysis

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Are you confused yet? Is it the 6 Ms? Is it 5 Ms and a P? How about 4 Ms, 5 Ms or 8 Ms? Let’s explore some of these and figure it out.

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8D Process

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The bad news is that you have problems to solve. The good news is that there are a number of simple, yet powerful tools that can help you. The 8D process is one of them.

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Accessory Planning: Maximizing Resource Efficiency for Profitability

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Even a little bit of leftovers each day can add up to something big. That’s the basic principle and motivation behind accessory planning. The whole purpose of this activity is to find ways to use what would otherwise be wasted to generate further value. Overview: What is accessory planning? Most companies engage in accessory planning […]

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Accuracy

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At the gun range, your goal is to hit the target. Accuracy will be measured by how close you come to that target. The same is true of your process.  

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The Simple Yet Powerful 5 Whys Method for Effective Problem-Solving

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Asking the 5 Whys is a quick way to get to the root cause of a problem your organization may be dealing with.

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Formulating the Alternate Hypothesis: Guidelines and Examples

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The Alternate Hypothesis, written as Ha, is a subset of the larger topic of hypothesis testing. The Alternate Hypothesis is the default statement about a specific condition of your data and allows you to draw important conclusions about the population from which the sample data came.

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The Power of Alpha Risk: Minimizing Errors in Statistical Analysis

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Don’t you hate it when you make a mistake? Well, an alpha risk is just that. Let’s learn what that mistake is and how to keep from making it.

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7 Common Sources of Waste in Your Organization and How to Eliminate Them

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Waste is all around your organization. Using the acronym TIMWOOD, you will learn how to identify the 7 wastes of lean and eliminate them to improve your organization.

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Understanding Alias: A Key Concept in Design of Experiments

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When talking about an alias, alias structure or aliasing, you are talking about Design of Experiments (DOE). More specifically, you are referring to the confounding of effects in a fractional factorial experiment. Aliasing occurs when the estimate of a factor effect  is difficult to distinguish because of the impact of other factors in your experiment. […]

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Acceptance Number

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In random sampling, this number is the fine line that separates an accepted lot and a rejected one.

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