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During the month of August – while many are taking time off to enjoy summer – we will be offering a resource page on a different topic each week. The resource page features an overview of the week’s topic and links to the best related content across iSixSigma. This week’s topic is the Pugh matrix. […]

In Hamlet, Act 1, scene 3, Polonius advises his son Laertes, “To thine own self be true.” This advice is just as true today as it was when Shakespeare wrote it around 1600. Or perhaps you prefer the Latin, caveat emptor, which means buyer beware. In both cases, the message seems to be to look […]

During the month of August – while many are taking time off to enjoy summer – we will be offering a resource page on a different topic each week. The resource page features an overview of the week’s topic and links to the best related content across iSixSigma. This week’s topic is 5S. 5S is […]

During the month of August – while many are taking time off to enjoy summer – we will be offering a resource page on a different topic each week. The resource page features an overview of the week’s topic and links to the best related content  across iSixSigma. This week’s topic is takt time. What […]

During the month of August – while many are taking time off to enjoy summer – we will be offering a resource page on a different topic each week. The resource page features an overview of the week’s topic and links to the best related content across iSixSigma (articles, blogs, discussions, Marketplace products and dictionary […]

The following are selected highlights of the 11th Annual iSixSigma Global Salary Survey. The complete report, with more analysis and extended findings is available for purchase on the iSixSigma Marketplace. It includes discussion of: The disappearance of bonuses, How many years of experience you need to see your compensation levels jump and How certification and […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Rehoboth, Massachusetts (July 20, 2014)  – Six Sigma Integration, Inc. (www.sixsigmaintegration.com) announces the release of Lean Six Sigma for Supply Chain Management, Second Edition. Sales of the book have already begun. Orders are being accepted at: http://www.mhprofessional.com/product.php?isbn=0071793054 Lean Six Sigma for Supply Chain Management, Second Edition is fully revised to cover recent dramatic […]

The precision of a measurement system is commonly assessed using a gage repeatability and reproducibility (GR&R) study.  Part 1 of this article discussed metrics used in measurement system analysis. Here, Part 2 compares commonly used GR&R metrics with probabilities of misclassification. Comparison of GR&R Metrics with Probability of Misclassification Using Numeric Simulation A simulation study […]

The precision of a measurement system is commonly assessed using a gage repeatability and reproducibility (GR&R) study. In Part 1, this article describes available GR&R metrics. Part 2 covers their applicability to two broad cases of comparative study.   Measurement system analysis has been a major part of process characterizations and improvements, with key guidance […]

The following are selected highlights of a 2013 research study. The complete report, with more analysis and extended findings, is available for purchase on the iSixSigma Marketplace. When it comes to Six Sigma certification, companies take varied approaches – some leave the responsibility for certification completely on the Six Sigma professional, while others make the […]

Statistical process control (SPC) is the application of statistical methods to identify and control the special cause of variation in a process. Control charts, in theory, are used in product and process development to analyze processes. When a process is shown to be in control in both an average and range chart the process can […]

Too often manufacturing operations are quick to look at a technological solution or other capital investment to solve a problem, when leaders already have all they need right in front of them. An investment in human capital can make quick gains for less money. Sticky Business Consider the following example. In the Midwest a manufacturing […]

Tri-State Industries was founded by Don Keller in 1980 as a manufacturer of industrial pipe guides and slides. In the 1990s, the company adopted the principles and practices of Lean manufacturing. Since its founding, Tri-State has grown to three product lines with a fourth in process. Along with pipe guides, Tri-State is a manufacturer of […]

What do emails, popcorn and tsunamis have in common? As heat increases, corn kernel popping peaks and the scrambling activity accelerates like a tsunami. If not carefully watched, the popcorn kernels may burn, create that awful smell, and start smoking and trigger a fire alarm (waste). This popcorn-tsunami analogy is similar to email strings. The […]

The City of Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, Canada, was formed in 2001 by a Provincial Order to amalgamate 16 lower-tier municipalities and one upper-tier county into one corporation. Although called a City, the municipality is mostly rural. The City is approximately 3,059 km2. Due to its large rural area, the City has 21 fire stations, comprised […]

In this case study, a team strives to improve the recruiting process in a large, fast-moving consumer goods company. Part 1 focused on reducing the recruiting cycle time. Part 2 focuses on decreasing the effort required to fill a job opening. The case described here uses total quality management (TQM) to address the problem of […]

In this case study, a team strives to improve the recruiting process in a large, fast-moving consumer goods company. Part 1 focuses on reducing the recruiting cycle time. Part 2 focuses on decreasing the effort required to fill a job opening. Rising attrition is a common problem across industries. Tight monthly, quarterly and annual objectives […]

Multivariate analysis techniques may be useful in statistical process control (SPC) whenever there is more than one process variable. Multivariate control charting is usually helpful when the effect of multiple parameters is not independent or when some parameters are correlated. This article focuses on parameters that correlate when the Pearson correlation coefficient is greater than […]

The Corporation of the City of Kawartha Lakes (the City), Ontario, Canada, is a single-tier municipality that covers a land area of 3,067 square kilometers and includes more than 250 lakes. In addition to approximately 73,000 permanent residents there is a large seasonal population of approximately 31,000 residents each summer. More than 77 percent of […]

If you work at an organization with 10 or more employees, you are probably a member of one work team or another. And it’s safe to say that most work teams sincerely want to be productive. But when faced with lots of stuff to get done, teams can get bogged down trying to distinguish “stuff […]

This is the second of two excerpts iSixSigma.com is publishing from Creating a Kaizen Culture. This week’s excerpt looks at ways to engage middle management in a culture of change at Bosch. Last week a team in a Fabrication Department at Hill-Rom Industries learned about continuous process improvement from Shigeo Shingo. We have seen that […]

iSixSigma.com published two excerpts from Creating a Kaizen Culture. Here a team in a Fabrication Department at Hill-Rom Industries learns about continuous process improvement from Shigeo Shingo. A second excerpt looks at engaging middle management in a culture of change at Bosch. In July 1985, Mike Wroblewski was still a junior industrial engineers in the […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Frankfurt, Germany (April 22, 2014) – procise gmbh, the leading process improvement consultancy and developer of various Lean Six Sigma titles for iOS and android, announces today the release of its “Lean Six Sigma Coach 4.0” as a free download for the iPad for 24 hours, starting on Friday the 25th of […]

I have been a Lean and Six Sigma Black Belt for two and a half years and have come to a heartbreaking realization: I’ll never be good at everything. This is not what my teachers expected from me. My Yellow, Green and Black Belt education included a diverse curriculum including a week on statistics and […]

The accounts payable shared services center (SSC) of a large Ohio-based healthcare system completed a Six Sigma operational enhancement and reporting project. This case study reviews the course of the project which endeavored to establish standard invoice processing times and develop an ongoing system for monitoring how well those standards are met. Over the last […]

Many organizations look to Lean Six Sigma (LSS) in order to meet bottom-line expectations or even just to survive in a competitive business climate. After being enticed by the potential of a LSS program to dramatically improve business performance, leaders often dive head-first into a deployment. Unfortunately, they may not understand that as an organization […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Frankfurt, Germany (April 7, 2014) – procise has been a leader in the Lean Six Sigma area for years. They have been a leader in this market, because process implementation and process improvement is their singular focus. Nevertheless procise has recognized they need to continue innovating if they want to maintain their lead […]

Three years into the Lean Six Sigma deployment at Ball Corporation (the company known for its glass canning jars), the process improvement team began a visual factory initiative. This initiative was intended to develop visual signs on plant floors that not only instruct employees about where to focus their energies, but also depict the health […]

Within the world of risk management – a common aspect of improvement projects – there is a distinction between response and mitigation. A response is taken in reaction to risk, while mitigation is undertaken proactively. Thus, responses are implemented once risk materializes, and mitigation actions must be planned and implemented before a risk presents itself. […]

Lean can sound “mean” to the people who hear it’s coming to their workplaces. We all know that healthcare enterprises are under unprecedented pressure to cut costs. We understand that much of our work is stupid and repetitive. We can’t find the documents and supplies we need, we don’t have the tools we need and […]

Outbound telesales is a process full of waste, poor design and variation that is ripe for the application of improvement tools. Not only can process quality be improved, but also revenue can be increased. Part One of this two-part article addresses the types of waste that may exist in an outbound telesales operation and how […]

Outbound telesales is a process full of waste, poor design and variation that is ripe for the application of improvement tools. Not only can process quality be improved, but also revenue can be increased. Part One of this two-part article addresses the types of waste that may exist in an outbound telesales operation and how to […]

First, let’s define single minute exchange of dies (SMED), also referred to as quick changeover. This method was developed by Shigeo Shingo in Japan, and arose from automotive machine setups and changeovers that were taking up to 24 hours. This was downtime that was robbing production capacity. The SMED methodology focuses on the waste in the […]

The process improvement tool 5S (sort, straighten, shine, standardize, sustain) sounds like a simple concept to implement – and it is. But its simplicity is sometimes the cause of its early demise – it is easy to “do” 5S without much effort or strategic coordination, and thus without as much effect as possible. A 5S […]

UPDATED! FINAL DATE OF PARTICIPATION EXTENDED TO APRIL 6, 2014!! It is time for iSixSigma’s 11th annual Global Six Sigma Salary Survey! Every year iSixSigma analyzes information in its Job Shop database to produce a Six Sigma-specific salary report. Please note: All responses will be kept confidential and data only will be used in the […]

Fifteen years ago, a student of mine introduced me to the Toyota Way. As a participant in a project management program and then in a Six Sigma course, this young man (who happened to be across the world from me in Japan) began posting assignments using methodologies from his employer, Toyota. Later, that student became […]

I often think about the losses corporations and government entities take on with initiatives that result in decorative shelfware (the unused products that sit on a buyer’s shelf). There must be millions of great ideas and intelligent business plans just sitting on shelves because of the lack of execution. For all we know the solutions […]

The effectiveness of any process improvement tool depends on the process improvement practitioners’ assessment of the situation, choice of the simplest tool and the creative use of the tool. This article provides an example of how a simple tool, the 5 Whys, was used to unearth an assumption embedded in a business process. Once the […]

We’re so grateful to everyone who participated in the 2014 iSixSigma Reader Survey! Not only did you participate in droves, but you gave detailed, thoughtful replies about what keeps you up at night and how we can meet your Lean Six Sigma content needs. We look forward to providing you with more articles on real-world […]

The life sciences industry, which includes the production of pharmaceuticals and medical devices, faces unique challenges that have made it a late adopter of continuous improvement techniques such as Lean Six Sigma (LSS). Most critical are severe government regulation, product approval phases that can span multiple years, and the imperative responsibility to ensure patient safety […]

When we leave the shop floor and enter the back office, we might think that people’s desks are where they work. We’d be wrong. Their workbench, their tooling, their line … is in their heads. This means that most knowledge work (information technology [IT], legal, management, product design, finance) is invisible. My colleague Tonianne tells […]

Heijunka (pronounced hi-JUNE-kuh) is a Japanese word that means “leveling.” When implemented correctly, heijunka elegantly – and without haste – helps organizations meet demand while reducing while reducing wastes in production and interpersonal processes. According to many Lean experts, heijunka is better achieved as a later-stage implementation in a Lean organization, long after value streams have […]

A 250-bed hospital had implemented total quality management (TQM) to improve customer delight in its diagnostic clinics. After that success, the management team of the hospital was ready to proceed with further process improvement. After completing a brainstorming and prioritization exercise, the team determined to next address the problem: delay in receiving test reports for patients […]

In the movement known as Lean start-up, a new enterprise starts with an idea about what customers want, not an idea for a product. Quick iterations that incorporate learnings from customer conversations with each iteration, rather than elaborate up-front product planning, lead a business to success.

Communication can make or break a relationship, an organization or even a company. The next time you are writing a mission statement for your new project remember to think about how you plan to communicate.

A leading environmental services company applied the DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) methodology to improve the availability of an internal software system. The goal was to reduce system downtime (the time that the software application is not available for users) and reduce defect resolution time (the time it takes to fix a software defect […]

The DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) project lifecycle, the predominant methodology in Six Sigma for improving existing processes, is intended to bring about significant change in the behavior of the process under study. In order to know if such goals have been met, the process being worked on needs to be one in which […]

I propose that we replace the concept and word of “resistance” with the concept and word of “objection” in the change management industry. To date, we have cavalierly used “resistance” to characterize the people who don’t choose to go along with our change management plans. These people “resist” us for reasons that have been well […]

What will be the hot topics and areas of interest for operational excellence in 2014? We asked Lean Six Sigma (LSS) leaders for their predictions. Thank you for big picture predictions, personal proclamations and strategies to consider in the year ahead. Kaj Ahlmann, Owner Six Sigma Ranch & Winery When in 2006 we bottled our […]

The best of iSixSigma 2013 features the highlights of this year’s content – as determined by our readers. Most Popular Five Simple Steps to Project Certification Success For many organizations, Lean Six Sigma certification requires a Green Belt or Black Belt to present and defend their project to a panel of experts. Whether you are […]