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In the 4th century, the Roman emperor Constantine built the Hippodrome in what is now Istanbul, Turkey. The Hippodrome was the Daytona Super Speedway of chariot racing. An amazing example of architectural genius, the Hippodrome had 1/4 mile straight-aways andheld over 100 thousand spectators. Believe it or not, the facility even had luxury boxes and […]

This month, Surface Mount Technology (SMT) published an article written by Evelyn Baldwin, a sales manager for 3M Electronics. 3M has been taking Six Sigma to their customers for years and Evelyn’s knowledge of the subject shines through in this article, which reads like a perfect blog entry. She offers some solid advice for helping […]

Here is a very unique application of Six Sigma from Bank of America. Ray Bednar, BofA’s new sports sponsorship executive, will use the methodology to improve the banks sports sponsorship process: “Now Bednar says his job is to make sure the bank is getting the most out of its sports deals using ’Six Sigma’ techniques […]

Since my staff in my department is entirely composed of students I have many advantages and disadvantages when creating teams and working on projects.The advantages of a student staff include the high turnover rates and those who see their time with us as just another job to kill time and get a paycheck. Some of […]

Sometimes operational people from my organisation approach me with “the” 1000-Euro-question: “Six Sigma guy, can you please help me analyze this set of data.” Asking me to help, they usually have an issue they really can’t resolve themselves. Perceiving Lean Six Sigma too far away from daily operations they turn in despair to the Six […]

In a business process improvement project, a critical factor is documenting the standard work or the “least waste way.” One of the issues I have been dealing with recently is ensuring that documentation is in place and up to date. Unfortunately as the saying goes, “the only constant is change…” and as outside factors change […]

The Cox-Box is Copyright © 2000-2005 iSixSigma LLC and Gary P. Cox – All Rights ReservedReproduction Without Permission Is Prohibited – Request Permission

After spinning our wheels for the last two months, myself and the other two Continuous Improvement Specialists went out to lunch with the Plant Manager and the Engineering Director, both of whom are very experienced in manufacturing management, and both very well versed in lean manufacturing and continuous improvement methods. What they told us really […]

Benchmarking results consistently identify examples of Six Sigma success. Even so, getting “naysayers” on board is a continuous challenge. What do you tell them? Nayism 22: In lieu of an enterprise-wide Six Sigma deployment, let’s start with a couple of departments and see how it works. On the surface, this may seem like a reasonable […]

Lex Vehicle Leasing, one of the UK’s premier company car suppliers, published a press release today touting their fifth successive year of growth. Lex has been using the Six Sigma methodology for the past four years. They call it Q6 internally and it has produced substantial results: “Contributing to this outstanding year were £4 million […]

So here I am in the iSixSigma blogosphere. Let me tell you, it’s big in here! Thanks for dropping in, by the way. Much appreciated. An important note before we get going – If you’re looking for lengthy articles on the merits of DoE or my hypothesis on topics such as Lean Vs Six Sigma […]

For a sneak peak into the third annual iSixSigma Global Six Sigma Salary Survey, published in the March/April 2006 issue of iSixSigma Magazine, read today’s press release: No Change in Six Sigma Salaries Worldwide, Survey Shows; Certification Apparently Not a Factor.

A couple of MeadWestvaco’s Six Sigma Safety Projects are featured in Compliance Magazine’s 2006 Safety Industry Forecast. James E. Roughton, a Safety Health and Environmental Manager and Six Sigma Black Belt at MeadWestVaco shares several project examples in “Closing the Safety ‘Gap’ Through Six Sigma.” “Six Sigma projects at MeadWestVaco have already provided valuable learning. […]

The thing that sets apart “Great Leaders” from “Good Leaders” is the ability to care about others. Great Leaders do not have the luxury of acting on their fight or flight response mechanism. They must constantly be ready to fight at a moments notice, and how they choose to fight can mean the difference in […]

Six Sigma started in our department slowly.There were many factors that played into this, but mostly staffing issues: 1. I only have a staff of student employees (from 8-16 per year).2. This staff is in a constant state of change.3. Students come with various skills, many with no math or business or technical background.4. Knowledge […]

As a sophomore and junior in college I heard about Six Sigma in my statistical analysis class. I despised the class, but was intrigued by applying its principles to business practice. Outside of class I read a few articles online and even picked up Peter Pande’s “What Is Six Sigma?” I breezed through the easy […]

I was recently reading a book on John Locke (1632-1704), a British philosopher considered by many to be the primary intellectual inspiration of Thomas Jefferson. I thought I’d share what he had to say about new ideas and achieving agreement because the parallels to modern change management are uncanny considering this was written over 300 […]

The Cox-Box is Copyright © 2000-2005 iSixSigma LLC and Gary P. Cox – All Rights ReservedReproduction Without Permission Is Prohibited – Request Permission

Benchmarking results consistently identify examples of Six Sigma success. Even so, getting “naysayers” on board is a continuous challenge. What do you tell them? Nayism 21: If a Black Belt likes what he or she does, why rotate them back into the organization? Why not let Black Belt positions be permanent positions instead of just […]

SixSigmaCompanies.com celebrates its first birthday today. I made my first poston this day last year. To celebrate I’d like to pay tribute to the short list of Six Sigma blogs and podcasts out there. There are only a handful of good Six Sigma blogs outside the iSixSigma Blogosphere. My definition of “good” is, written by […]

We’re at it again. Our latest podcast is ready to download. This podcast features an interview with Steve Walter,Global Talent Director for Ingersoll Rand, andmight I dare say the Seinfeld of Six Sigma. He emceed the Six Sigma Excellence Awards in Miami last month and brought some serious laughter to the Six Sigma crowd. I […]

This blog entry is brief. This week I met and communicated with a new Lean Practitioner, Jon Miller, at Gemba.com. He has a great blog site at: http://www.gembapantarei.com/lean_government/ that is tracking Lean government initiatives around the world. This week he tracked activity in Scotland. There is documentation of initiatives in Iowa, US Dept of Commerce […]

Here is a Valentine’s Day Design of Experiments that is sure to make lovely conversation over dinner with your loved one. Written by Ravindra Khare, Three Romeos And A Juliet, is a story about the quest of three young men in search of the meaning behind the wink and the smile of a beautiful woman… […]

Benchmarking results consistently identify examples of Six Sigma success. Even so, getting “naysayers” on board is a continuous challenge. What do you tell them? Nayism 20: Why are black belts getting monetary rewards? The rest of us are working just as hard. Why should they be treated “special?” The topic of monetary incentives and rewards […]

The article Six Sigma, the Baxter Way at PharmaManufacturing.com features an interview with Allen Harmon, the director of operations at Baxter’s Biologics facility in Hayward, California. The question/answer session reveals details on how this Baxter facility is using Six Sigma and Lean in their operational excellence program. Noted in the interview, Harmon states that Baxter […]

Lean and Six Sigma applications are different between service industries and manufacturing industries. Is that statement really true? There is no straightforward answer. The answer is ambiguous. It can be: no, there is no difference. But it can be: they are the same to certain extend. The answer can also be: yes, the application is […]

Applying the Principles of Lean and Public Value to Reshape a Government Agency In the fall of 2003, the Maine Department of Labor began a tailored change initiative to fundamentally alter the culture and work of the agency. Combining time-tested “lean” principles from the manufacturing sector with the emerging public sector strategy of “public value,”* […]

Lean Six Sigma’s application to healthcare has been slow at best. One reason for this is that healthcare professionals view manufacturing as an industry that deals with the simple process of making inanimate objects. Healthcare, on the other hand, deals with complex processes that improve and prolong the functionality of the human anatomy. Consequently, healthcare […]

Have you ever been sitting in a meeting listening to a discussion on a topic and wondered if you were in some sort of parallel universe where real issues are always subordinate to the trifling matters of the moment? Or maybe sat through a strategy session which ultimately added no value because of turf struggles […]

  The business of higher education today is just that—a business. It focuses more today on the bottom line and it is important to stay on the competitive edge for all of its customers—from the students and their parents to the faculty, staff, and donors, as well. The business of education also has a greater […]

The Cox-Box is Copyright © 2000-2005 iSixSigma LLC and Gary P. Cox – All Rights ReservedReproduction Without Permission Is Prohibited – Request Permission

It’s that time of the year again. The time of year when we all do a reality check on the job market — or more specifically — on the salaries ofSix Sigma Black Belts, Master Black Belts, Champions and Deployment Leaders. With now being the time of year when yearly bonus checks are being distributed […]

We just released the second iSixSigma Magazine podcast. This episode reveals a few of our findings from the “Knowing the Customer” research in the January/February issue. Visit http://www.isixsigma-magazine.com/podcast/to download or subscribe to the iTunes feed for automatic updates.

Most healthcare organizations have experienced some type of quality improvement program in the past. Unfortunately, many of these programs are implemented with little thought, planning, or expectations for success. These programs have created cynicism among many organizational leaders, which have caused these leaders to dispute the value of other quality initiatives. However, it is not […]

Philosophy has been my passion since I completed an undergraduate degree in the subject 15 years ago. Thankfully I had other skills so I was able to avoid the “do you want to super-size that value meal” world many humanities majors nervously joke about as graduation approaches, but I didn’t have much of a plan […]

Rudolf Giuliani, former Mayor of New York City, spoke to a large audienceof Six Sigma professionals on Wednesday, January 25 at the IQPC 7th Annual Six Sigma Summit in Miami, Florida. He gave the groupsound advice for developing leadership skills through six principles, each explained through stories from his own experiences. I’ve summarized a few […]

Benchmarking results consistently identify examples of Six Sigma success. Even so, getting “naysayers” on board is a continuous challenge. What do you tell them? Nayism 19: Our department is getting overwhelmed by all the Six Sigma training. I’m afraid that if you don’t back down, it will spark a “mutiny.” Sounds like this “crew” has […]

iSixSigma invites you to listen to the first iSixSigma Magazine Podcast, downloadable at http://www.isixsigma-magazine.com/podcast/. The iSixSigma Magazine podcastsfeature notable results fromthe research study in each issue as well as interviews with Six Sigmapractitioners and commentary on Six Sigma. For those new to podcasting, a podcast is an audio file published to the internet andusuallyaccessed by […]

IQPC Six Sigma Summit 2006: Day 2 Gianna Clark, Managing Director Six Sigma, Dominion Gianna Clark is full of energy! Her presentation entitled “Maintaining Six Sigma Momentum, Recipe for Success” was indeed a recipe with real ingredients and instructions to baking up Six Sigma success. The staple ingredients are: Projects, Engagement, Metrics, and Sponsorship. With […]

In fact changing environments, Six Sigma projects with typical lead times are perceived as slow. It might lead to disbelief in the methodology in the organization. Typical well lead projects go through a toll gate review, facilitated by the black belt, and with participation of (at least) the project champion, project sponsor and project team […]

IQPC Six Sigma Summit 2006: Day 1 Milton Jones, Global Quality and Productivity Executive, Bank of America Mr. Jones speaks often at the Six Sigma conferences. Bank of America is one of the most vocal Six Sigma companies, updating their continuing story of Six Sigma every step of the way. He started off with their […]

I’m at the IQPC Six Sigma Summit and Awards Conference in Miami, Florida. The conference kicks off Tuesday morning withspeakers from Regal Beloit, Bank of America and Delphi Corporation, and the morning general session culminates with Roy Templin, who is the chief financial officer of Whirlpool, and Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of New York. I […]

The Cox-Box is Copyright © 2000-2005 iSixSigma LLC and Gary P. Cox – All Rights ReservedReproduction Without Permission Is Prohibited – Request Permission

This blog is not for the experienced six sigma practitioners, but rather for those government managers trying to get an overview of howa lean initiative might fit with their current strategic planning. I came up with a basic 6 step process that can be easily committed to memory and turned into a mantra of sorts. […]

Benchmarking results consistently identify examples of Six Sigma success. Even so, getting “naysayers” on board is a continuous challenge. What do you tell them? Nayism 18: I don’t see how Six Sigma will help the Communications Department. They need to know how to write, not how to do statistics! At first this might make sense […]

An iSixSigma reader submitted the following article for publication on iSixSigma.com. From time to time we receive excellent submissions such as this one, but they are just a bit too short for publishing to the website. The iSixSigma Blogosphere, however, is the perfect place for these “mini” articles. What is a Six Sigma Mindset? Interview […]

Have you experienced the following? Consider that after implementing an improvement the process capability has improved from 3.5 sigma to 4.2 sigma. Proudly you celebrate this very nice Six Sigma methodology success in your organisation. How many questions did you get after or during your presentation about how important this improvement really is? What does […]

Today I learned about a new program that’s being used in healthcare organizations. It gives me great hope that something significant is on the horizon. It’s called Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) and the many healthcare professionals that read this site probably know about it already — but I’ll share what I learned for the […]

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer ran an article last week called “Putting ’lean’ processes into all of Boeing“.The article summarizesthe four initiatives that James McNerney recently announced atan executive retreat in Orlando, Florida, and contains excerpts from a summary of the events posted on Boeing’s internal website. Of the four initiatives that will will help drive organic […]

Benchmarking results consistently identify examples of Six Sigma success. Even so, getting “naysayers” on board is a continuous challenge. What do you tell them? Nayism 17: “You can say that Six Sigma improved production but we were going to make those changes anyway.” If you hear this, then you’re probably dealing with a “Hard Core […]