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Customer complaints, appropriately captured and analyzed, can provide useful insight about process defects.

This morning as I read Sue Kozlowski’s blog about her husband and the “common sense” factor of lean six-sigma process analysis, I decided to apply this thinking to a recent experience at work. Are there work environments where process analysis should not be applied? Where common sense is the standard? Here is my thought process. […]

When I first went to Six Sigma training, I was very enthusiastic about it and shared everything I learned over the dinner table with my family. I talked about my projects and the tools, my successes and failures. I always thought they listened politely and then forgot about it. You know, Mom talking about work […]

There are countless business books out there that present good reasons why it is not necessary to be 100% right all the time. Beyond being unnecessary, I think being completely right is highly over-rated in the context of business. Being 80% right and good at executing is probably more than sufficient in most cases. Not […]

iSixSigma Magazine’s latest research survey is live! This survey dives into the deep pool of Six Sigma project failure. What does “failure” mean? You tell us what project failure means at your company. Is it when a Six Sigma project fails to deliver the expected improvements? Fails to get completed, or fails to stay in […]

I love it when people in the office talk about what they can do to improve costs. Having said that, over the course of my career, I would say the majority ofSix Sigma office projects I’ve seen should’ve never been started in the first place. Is there variation in the office? You bet.Why is it […]

I have heard people say that once you have experienced the power of Lean Six Sigma that you will never be the same. I can vouch for that. Process thinking and waste elimination will begin to infiltrate every part of your life – including how you do laundry.

You already know that the iSixSigma community is strong — over 500,000. You may have heard that we’ve launched a conference division. What you may not have heard is that our upcoming January conference will be unlike any other you have attended. Outstanding content. Prestigious keynotes. Unrivaled networking and community. Register today to get your […]

A lot of my conversations recently have centered around certification for lean. Coming from colleagues who started in Six Sigma as a Green Belt or Black Belt, it seems “natural” that when you add lean facilitation to your skills, you could get certified in lean, too. But, as I understand it, the traditional path for […]

Al Hammonds has been appointed the new Deputy County Executive, which means Erie County is looking for a new Director of Six Sigma. “A new director for the Six Sigma program will be chosen within the next three to four weeks, Collins said. The hope is that the new hire will be easier to find […]

Breaking news…iSixSigma Live! Summit and Awards is now accepting award nominations. That’s right. You can nominate people, companies and projects for one of the many award categories: Six Sigma Hall of Fame Best Places to Work Most Successful Lean Six Sigma Start-up or Re-energized Lean Six Sigma Program Largest-Breakthrough Improvement Projects (in eight categories) Additionally […]

By popular demand, words to an old favorite tune that you can use while watching the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, at the Seventh-Inning Stretch: Take me out to the Gemba Take me out to the flow! Find me a Value Stream I can track I don’t want wasteto evercome back! For it’s root, root, […]

I have recently completed a ‘Five S’ (see isixsigma dictionary) on a materials procurement process, and have had the most buy in this year for process improvement. Why? Because especially ‘Sort’ is simple for all to understand, it’s basically an organised spring clean You leave your FIRST meeting with a plan of action that can […]

I often find real world examples of process “improvements” staring me blatantly in the face. For example, I stumbled upon queuing theory in action at the local movie theatre. Queuing theory is the study of how lines (or queues) are formed and dissipate over time. Examples of queues are everywhere: traffic at an intersection, restaurant […]

I can’t remember the first time I head the concept of a “Cargo Cult” used as a business analogy. But I can recall thinking that it was a powerful way to explain the dangers of throwing money and resources around trying to duplicate what another company had done without really taking the time to understand […]

Do you work for a great Six Sigma company? If you think your company is one of the best places for Six Sigma folks to work, nominate them to participate in iSixSigma’s Best Places to Work competition. In a nutshell, we’re looking for places (companies, government organizations, associations, nonprofits) that: * Foster a supportive culture […]

As you may know, if you’re a baseball fan, Major League Baseball is holding its All-Star Game on July 15 at Yankee Stadium. You may also know that you can create your own “fantasy” baseball team, on-line,by selecting players and assigning them to your team. Then, as the statistics build up week after week, the […]

In 1660 King Charles 2nd officially established the General Post Office by act of parliament. In 1840 the first adhesive stamp, the penny black, was introduced. There’s a fair degree more history I skipped because I want to talk about a recent innovation. Pricing in Proportion was launched on the poor unsuspecting customer in 2006. […]

I had the privilege recently of helping to teach lean to a group of university leaders. I had great fun assisting with the first day of class, when we introduced basic lean concepts. However, when my instructing partner and I looked at our plus-deltas from the day (comments about what the participants valued, and what […]

Last Week, Ben Worthen of The Wall Street Journal, interviewed Randall Spratt, chief information officer at McKesson Corp. McKesson was one of the pioneer healthcare companies to use Six Sigma, starting in 1999 and still going strong today. In the interview, Spratt talked about how the use of Six Sigma and technology are making operations […]

Last Thursday, 5th June, the Malaysian Government revamped its petrol subsidy system by increasing petrol prices by a steep 41%, from USD0.58 (RM1.92) a liter to USD0.83 (RM2.70). It is low if you guys look at it in US currency, but in Malaysian Ringgit terms it’s a spike in cost of living. Public expectation here […]

Tools are wonderful. Have you ever tried to unscrew a Phillips head screw with a wrench? Of course not. The right tool is critical to the job. Six Sigma tools are a wonderful technological advance that can transform an organization when used in the correct context. This is undisputable. Resistance is futile. But the ability […]

Deploy – Integrate – Sustain – Institutionalize. Although each phase has distinct qualities, the lines between them are blurred or almost seamless – as it should be. I’m often asked what I think “institutionalization” looks like. My response: “Unconscious application.” By that, I don’t mean asleep at the wheel. When addressing an audience I typically use the following […]

Our Lean Manufacturing program is stepping-up a gear and as part of this we are looking to present the approach to a large audience of about 200 people. And I am looking for some inspiration. If anyone has a good ice-breaker, simulation, case study or other activity that would take about 30 minutes and engage […]

Lean government is making public sector inroads through out the US. It is exciting to see this. But I am worried. Some managers seem to see it as a weapon, rather than a tool. The legislature is making us more accountable so we have to do something or else? Do more with less? Cut staff so we can […]

You don’t have to read much of the daily paper, in the US at least, to see datapresented in very interesting ways. “Gas price SKYROCKETS to $4 a gallon!” “The Dow Jones Industrial Average PLUMMETS to 12,500!” “Pistons [Basketball Team] Have the EDGE Now!” “Kid Obesity Rate STEADY” Now, part of the reason for this […]

The Adam Smith Institute has set June 2nd as UK Tax Freedom Day. This means we spend more than 5 months each year working for the government. How do we spend what’s left? Our gasoline is currently £1.23 per litre (that’s $9.15 a US gallon). If you avoid the car then our train prices are […]

I was recently perusing Time magazines “Top 100” list for 2008, and came across this entry for Peter Pronovost. I had never heard of Pronovost. Here’s part of what profiler Kathleen Kingsbury had to say about him: “A critical-care researcher at Johns Hopkins University, Pronovost may have saved more lives than any laboratory scientist in […]

Any seasoned Lean Six Sigma professional can tell you about the fruit tree of quality. At the bottom of the tree there is fruit festering on the ground which represents “just do it” kaizen and bare bones problem solving. As you move up the tree, you can begin to pick the low hanging fruit by […]

2008 ISSSP Leadership Conference, Day One A few quotes and thoughts from Michael Harry’s presentation, The Great Discovery. What is your life dream? Have we lost the dream in Six Sigma? The power of dreams is unbelievable. Belief in a dream united Motorola. That dream was Six Sigma. Six Sigma Timeline: 1980s: Quality Improvement 1990s: […]

2008 ISSSP Leadership Conference, Day One “Best practices need to continue to improve.” David’s presentation coveredthe Seagate Business Excellence Journey over the past 10 years highlighting some of the things they’ve learned. One of the best practices David is particularly proud of is the training curriculum. They have gone from traditional classroom training over a […]

Wake up to Life Hike, ISSSP Leadership Conference 5:00 AM 5:15 AM -the lively passengers The Rowdy Back Row! The “fast” group Pinnacle Peak The whole gang

I was privileged recently to attend the American Society for Quality’s World Conference in Houston, TX. What an energetic gathering of quality-minded people! One topic thatI heard a lot of conversation about was concern for leadership of Lean and Six Sigma. There were many stories shared of new deployments, attempted deployments, and failed deployments. One […]

I’ve received a few requests from people interested in presenting at our upcoming premiere iSixSigma Live Summit. Who doesn’t want to get to warm Miami during January 2009, stick their toes in the sand, enjoy the luxury of Trump International’s five-star hotel and resort, learn more than you have in two days since you started […]

For defining the ’VOC’ (Voice of the Customer), I typically use a QFD (Quality Factor Diagram) — Of recent, I have found that QFD’s can be hard to understand for some, while even more painful for belts to explain to others. If you find this to be the case, there are 3 tools used sequentially […]

There has been a lot of ink spilled lately dithering about Six Sigma and Innovation. Most of it by naysayers who feel that Six Sigma is antithetical to Innovation, or zealots who feel some version of the opposite sentiment. For the life of me, I can’t wrap my mind around either position. To illustrate my […]

I recently got a text message from my son.”Mom . . . Pick me up ATEOTD.” Unable to decipher the text message abbreviation I’m forced to do what any mom what do . . text back . . . What?”At The End Of The Day” comes the reply with a big UGH! It’s like a […]

Last Thursday, May 1st, was iSixSigma’s very first live event from our new division, iSixSigma Live! It was a Social & Networking Party held in Seattle, Washington – and it was phenomenal! Over 130 Seattle Six Sigma and quality professionals converged on Rock Bottom Brewery in Bellevue. We rented out the entire top floor of […]

The state of the US economy notwithstanding, retention of talent is a major issue across many organizations these days. Operational Excellence, Six Sigma, and related disciplines are no exception, with a lot of the mobility fueled by the same high standards for training and certification that are intended to attract folks in the first place. […]

My Lean Thinking colleagues in the Maine State Government have also been looking for quotes in Henry Ford’s writing that would speak to our movement toward more efficient and productive work as individuals, companies, and communities.  The one that was chosen for their monthly newsletter speaks to the people side of Lean. It speaks of […]

For those of you that joined us for the Six Sigma Salary Webcast in March you saw the software we used to analyze the data. The application was made available for free download so you could test-drive running analysis on your own. I’m happy to announce that the sample iSixSigma salary data is now available […]

Yesterday, I attended a Minitab Webinar showcasing the top 8 reasons Six Sigma projects fail. Presented by Lou Johnson & Cate Twohill. Lou took care of the project failure segment (which was the vast majority) and Cate talked a bit about Minitab’s Quality Companion. First off they did a fantastic job. Lou’s history and experience […]