Six Sigma @ U.S. Postal Service
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Adam L Bowden.
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November 4, 2002 at 9:00 pm #30682
I am curious to know if anyone is aware of a Six Sigma program at the U.S. Postal Service?
0November 4, 2002 at 9:12 pm #80301
billybobParticipant@billybobInclude @billybob in your post and this person will
be notified via email.Hello Folks,
I think they skipped the 6S and went strainght to the 37 cent stamp.
Later,
Billybob0November 4, 2002 at 9:36 pm #80302
Trent MyerParticipant@TrentInclude @Trent in your post and this person will
be notified via email.I heard that one of the two companies that merged into what is today Six Sigma Qualtec had a contract with USPS years ago. I don’t think it was Six Sigma, per se, but more like a process improvement or TQM type program. To my knowledge, they don’t have SS there (I have a few consulting friends whom I asked).
0November 4, 2002 at 10:27 pm #80303
Thom WilliamsMember@Thom-WilliamsInclude @Thom-Williams in your post and this person will
be notified via email.Neil,
I have also heard that the USPS was looking into Six Sigma, but I have no confirmable source. I just tried calling them and received no confirmation either way.
You may be interested in a US Today article published on 10/31 (in the Money section). The title is “Feds may unleash Six Sigma on terrorism.”0November 5, 2002 at 7:46 am #80311
Mike CarnellParticipant@Mike-CarnellInclude @Mike-Carnell in your post and this person will
be notified via email.Neil,
I was one of the owners of Six Sigma International. We did merge with Marshal Qualtec in 1998 and it did become Six Sigma Qualtec. Marshal Qualtec held a pretty sizable contract at the time of the merger (July 1998) but it was more of a policy/process deployment type contract not six sigma.
We had several meetings around SS but to my knowledge USPS had not done a contract, I didn’t stay that close to it. The daily rate was relatively low so it makes it difficult to completely staff with experienced MBB’s. You have to manage it as a portfolio type deployment (mix of new people and a few experienced MBB’s) and that wasn’t the model we delivered at Six Sigma International.0March 4, 2009 at 2:58 am #181936
Ryan HessMember@Ryan-HessInclude @Ryan-Hess in your post and this person will
be notified via email.Do you guys know how six sigma could help the United Postal Service have a better financial bottom line or increase delivery speed or accuracy?
0March 4, 2009 at 3:05 am #181937
Gary ConeParticipant@garyaconeInclude @garyacone in your post and this person will
be notified via email.I do.
0March 4, 2009 at 4:31 am #181938I heard a guy named John Biedry was running six sigma at USPS about 2 years ago. Then he became a consultant with BMGI so I would assume that they stopped their program, or it faded into the background. Does anyone know John Biedry?
0March 4, 2009 at 12:17 pm #181941Looks like a guy who can’t hold a job. 5 in the last ten years and with
the shape BMG is in, he might want to ask for the government job
back.0March 4, 2009 at 1:32 pm #181943
Ken FeldmanParticipant@DarthInclude @Darth in your post and this person will
be notified via email.Yes, USPS is currently dabbling in lean six sigma with Giganto Consulting.
0March 4, 2009 at 3:37 pm #181947Dabbled is a good word. They “dabbled” with SS lite in ’97-’00 with SSQ. In essense, however, they were just looking for contract labor through our personnel…our people really simply filled supervisory positions. SS got no traction at all.
0March 4, 2009 at 4:29 pm #181953job hopping isn’t necessarily indicative of not being able to hold a job. I don’t know this guy from Adam, but many jump in order to gain differing experience, or to get order of magnitude salary jumps.
I see generational trends. My Boomer Dad spent 30+ with a certain “Giganto War Machine Company” and 15 at another, switching companies was not an option, unless he was laid off. One of my GenX friends jump every 2-3 years for the $, avging 10-15% per jump…well more than a typical 3-4% raise.
I know a guy that jumps every 2 yrs like clockwork between “Giganto War Machine Company A” and “Giganto War Machine Company B”. He’s open to his mgmt about it and does good work, so they are down with it. The guy went from mid 5 figs in the early 90’s to mid six figs in 4 jumps (8 yrs).
0March 4, 2009 at 5:46 pm #181961Really, mid-six figures?! The guy now makes $500,000 +/- a year?
0March 4, 2009 at 6:21 pm #181964Yep. Does good work. Proved himself over and over. Now runs a sizeable chunk of the business. Probably won’t be jumping so much, as he is loving his work (and pay)
0March 5, 2009 at 1:14 pm #182026
Ed BarkleyParticipant@Ed-BarkleyInclude @Ed-Barkley in your post and this person will
be notified via email.Wow! This email trail took a wierd turn talking about consultant’s salaries. Reminds me of some of the misuse of email at several of my past engagements. So this is a help to get this conversation back on track.
Ryan, it appears you threw the net wide and encompassed three (sometimes opposing) objectives – saving $, speeding delivery and increasing “accuracy” (however that may be defined). Were your questions academic or are you part of a team with these challenges? The short answer is “yes, I know how SS could help the USPS” but I need to know what the objectives are before offering them. It’s kinda like Point, Shoot and Aim at this stage, if you see what I mean. So, which one do you want to address first, since improving one may adversley affecting the other two.0March 5, 2009 at 2:02 pm #182037Say what?”So, which one do you want to address first, since improving one may adversely affecting the other two.”Dude, you need to learn to think in more than one dimension, you know like walk and chew gum.
0March 5, 2009 at 2:42 pm #182043
MrMHeadParticipant@MrMHeadInclude @MrMHead in your post and this person will
be notified via email.Isn’t he refering to the “triangle” of Cost, Quality and Speed?
I’ve heard some discuss it as you can sit on any one of the three sides meeting the requirements of the two endpoints, but not all three.
I prefer to think of it as you get to pick a point within the bounded triangle. The closer you get to your perfect Cost, for instance, the farther you get from Quality and Speed.
The three vertices may have different tags, but they are essentially the same concept.0March 5, 2009 at 3:31 pm #182045Let’s see -Quality done right is quicker and costs less.Speed done right, demands that quality is done right, and costs
less.Costs increase as quality gets worse.Costs increase as response time increase.I honestly don’t see your point or the point of the alleged “Business
Process Architect”.Sounds like crap they teach in MBA programs.0March 6, 2009 at 2:44 pm #182083
Ed BarkleyParticipant@Ed-BarkleyInclude @Ed-Barkley in your post and this person will
be notified via email.You are correct. This was an attempt to see if the person who originally started this thread was aware of these trade-offs and, if these were important for him to consider, I could help him.
0March 6, 2009 at 2:51 pm #182084
Ed BarkleyParticipant@Ed-BarkleyInclude @Ed-Barkley in your post and this person will
be notified via email.BTW, my reply above was to MrMHead’s comments.
0March 6, 2009 at 2:57 pm #182085Let’s see -Quality done right is quicker and costs less.Speed done right, demands that quality is done right, and costs
less.Costs increase as quality gets worse.Costs increase as response time increase.I honestly don’t see your point, I don’t think you know what you
are talking about.Sounds like crap they teach in MBA programs.0March 6, 2009 at 3:11 pm #182087
Ed BarkleyParticipant@Ed-BarkleyInclude @Ed-Barkley in your post and this person will
be notified via email.Stan, please. My reply wasn’t to you. It was to MrMHead and to the person who posed one of the original questions. It was also to help get the conversation back on these questions and off the discussions of consultants and what they’re paid.
0March 6, 2009 at 3:20 pm #182089Ed, please. My response was to you. Your advice is nonsense and not
in line with the experience of many of us on here.0March 6, 2009 at 3:53 pm #182090
Ed BarkleyParticipant@Ed-BarkleyInclude @Ed-Barkley in your post and this person will
be notified via email.Stay on topic. Replies should be answers to the original question. Try not to create sub-conversations in a thread as it complicates reading and really doesn’t belong in the thread. If you have a discussion topic that was suggested from reading a thread, just start a new thread.
Be considerate to others. It should go without saying that you should treat others as you would like to be treated. iSixSigma community moderators are authorized to edit or delete swearing, name calling or other inappropriate language including anything deemed rude, obnoxious or abusive. Moderators also have the ability in extreme or repetitive cases to ban users from posting to the discussion forum entirely.
Do not abuse the forum. Do not post under many screen names in order to support your position. Do not try to deceive. Do no harm. We track information associated with each post and abuse will not be tolerated.0March 6, 2009 at 4:08 pm #182093Ed,This is a discussion forum and my response to you was to the
topic.To sell the idea you are trying to sell in your original post is
antiquated thinking. You choose to pretend that I didn’t try to engage you, so I got your
attention.You want to discuss your assertions or try and hide by posting
forum rules?There is no rule about engaging someone that asserts something
outside the known experience of Six Sigma professionals. Come on Ed, you answered a question about the use of Six Sigma
and gave a input contrary to Six Sigma experience. Defend it.0March 6, 2009 at 5:57 pm #182098
Ed BarkleyParticipant@Ed-BarkleyInclude @Ed-Barkley in your post and this person will
be notified via email.Can we just stay on track and address the questions? It’s not about us; it’s about the topic. I’m not here to “defend” my suggestions.
0March 6, 2009 at 6:39 pm #182099Okay, you suggest something that is completely counter to what Lean
and Six Sigma professionals know.Gee Ed thanks for the wonderful contribution.Maybe we can all pretend it was in line with what the poster asked.0March 6, 2009 at 7:07 pm #182100
MrMHeadParticipant@MrMHeadInclude @MrMHead in your post and this person will
be notified via email.Stan, re: “The Triangle”
Your point: “Quality done right is quicker and costs less” is the end product of applying the SS methodologies and tools. And I don’t disagree with that.
But back it up – How did you get there? What was “Done”?
Do you work for free and make improvements overnight, and implement the perfect solution perfectly?0March 6, 2009 at 8:04 pm #182102Of course not.I was only objecting to Ed’s suggestion that one had to be picked
to the detriment of the others.Go look at the ideas and methods behind Hoshin – Quality, Time,
and Cost as well as Safety are always part of the vision and you
would only exclude any of them only if Safety (1st priority) or
Quality (2nd priority) were so bad as they would permanent erode
the companies position immediately. Otherwise all would have improvement actions this year.It is the same kind of idea behind secondary metrics. What might
you damage if you approach a project with just a single metric?
The classic is asking purchasing to maximize cost reduction – you
ask them to improve delivery and at a minimum demand they
cannot degrade quality at the same time. I have seen hundreds of
projects where all three were improved.Back to the question of USPS, they are automated to the extreme,
just like the US Automakers. Their opportunity lies with all the
other process surrounding the actual mass distribution of mail.
Their people have to be engaged and valued – you know kind of
like every other organization in the world. The last thing you would
want to do is approach them with a message that we are going
after only one dimension and we know all the rest will get worse.They teach that kind of crap in lots of MBA programs and it’s just
not true. No wonder we have so many opportunities.0March 6, 2009 at 8:45 pm #182103
TaylorParticipant@Chad-VaderInclude @Chad-Vader in your post and this person will
be notified via email.Absolutely Correct Brother……………Had one of the most tireless arguments of my life with one of my MBA peers on the same subject. He was an Aggie so I knew I was in for a long one.
0March 6, 2009 at 9:38 pm #182104
TaylorParticipant@Chad-VaderInclude @Chad-Vader in your post and this person will
be notified via email.Hey Stan, Guess the Moderator is an Aggie too, I read your comment before it got deleted, it wasn’t that bad so not sure why it was yanked so fast………………
0March 6, 2009 at 9:39 pm #182105You argued with an Aggie? Have you have heard about teaching pigs to sing?
0March 6, 2009 at 9:45 pm #182107“Do you work for free and make improvements overnight, and implement the perfect solution perfectly?”
What a ridiculous question. Do you work for free while you suboptimize the process focusing on optimizing just one. Selecting an intelligent strategy doesn’t cost you more.
Why is it that people can understand the problem with OFAT and the advantage of ANOVA but when it comes to running a business the concept of an interaction eludes them.0March 6, 2009 at 9:46 pm #182108
TaylorParticipant@Chad-VaderInclude @Chad-Vader in your post and this person will
be notified via email.Something about Salt, Lime and Worm made me do it.
0March 6, 2009 at 9:58 pm #182110There are eternal truths in the world the sun if it is coming up will rise in the east and then there is the Juxtaposition of logic and Aggies.
0March 6, 2009 at 10:12 pm #182111Ed Barkley,
You are correct, it is not about us, you or whomever. It is about the topic and you have added your triangle to the topic. You cannot defend the suggestion because the logic of your suggestion was old thinking easily one to two decades ago regardless which business school teaches it. As odd as Crosby is even he figured it out when he wrote that dribble Quality Is Free, but it was breakthrough thinking at the time. Even the graph, the cost and quality trade off, that used to be in Juran’s Handbook is gone which is amazing considering Blanton Godfrey’s involvement.
This nonsense is perpetuated in schools that have brought us wonderful events such as Enron, AIG, Madoff, etc. There will be a time when people will use the term MBA and then rinse their mouths out with soap.
Integrity. You need to either defend your advice or apologize for such an abomination.0March 6, 2009 at 10:55 pm #182112So SS solves all the world’s problem yet an MBA makes you greedy. Can’t follow that logic at all.
Just my opinion.0March 6, 2009 at 11:05 pm #182114You are probably having trouble with the logic basically because I did not say that. Will you point out specifically where that was stated please.
If you read what I posted and will agree that your post is an interpretation of my post then we should be able to agree you a very good candidate for some reading comprehension classes.0March 6, 2009 at 11:49 pm #182115“This nonsense is perpetuated in schools that have brought us wonderful events such as Enron, AIG, Madoff, etc. There will be a time when people will use the term MBA and then rinse their mouths out with soap.”
Don’t have to interpret much. You’re saying, rather directly, MBA’s are being taught to conduct fraud.
What is it I misunderstood?0March 7, 2009 at 12:21 am #182116Stating something directly is exactly that. Rather directly doesn’t make any sense. That fraud comment would be an interpretation not stating something directly.
This gifted interpretation came from?
“So SS solves all the world’s problem …….”
The question should be what have you understood?0March 7, 2009 at 12:26 am #182117No, no more questions. You’re dodging. Get lost.
0March 7, 2009 at 1:00 am #182118Rath and Strong are the consultants that USPS are using to help implement LSS.
0March 7, 2009 at 2:08 am #182120Tough guy. I’m impressed.
0March 7, 2009 at 2:09 pm #182126
Mike CarnellParticipant@Mike-CarnellInclude @Mike-Carnell in your post and this person will
be notified via email.Ryan Hess,
“In fiscal year 1995, the Postal Service had the largest increase in operating profits of any company in the world and earned $1.8 billion. By 1998, some were complaining that the Postal Service was making too much money. In 2001, the USPS is predicting a $3 billion loss that may be the largest negative change in the bottom line of any company in the world. What happened and why?”
http://www.postcom.org/public/articles/2001articles/can%20the%20usps%20survive.htm
Even if we ignore the article above lets look at some other issues. My data is pretty old but at one time they were the largest consumer of optical recognition equipment in the world. Even if someone is larger that still own a lot of optical recognition equipment. What I saw there was that when something didn’t recognize and address enough times (whatever enough was) they slowed the machine down. Nobody figured out what was wrong and nobody understood optimization or DOE. I saw an experiment done by John Hathaway that showed them how to set the machine up. Speed went up and accuracy went up. Guess what happens when you slow a lot of machines down. You have capacity issues and the solution to that is you buy more machines. If you do that often enough the results are predictable. You become the largest consumer of optical recognition equipment in the world. Will six sigma help? Of course.
They used have the largest fleet of trucks in the US. I don’t know if they are the largest currently but just driving around I would say they still use a lot of trucks. I am sure there are efficiencies to be had there.
They used to have the largest fleet of planes in the US. Just a guess but I am sure they still have a lot of planes. Same thing. I am sure there are efficiencies.
They used to be the largest non-military employer in the US. I am sure with that many people you can get some problem solving skills in the hands of a fair number of those people and they will be more than happy to improve the processes they have to deal with daily.
With FedEx and UPS out there you can probably find a couple of people to go benchmark those companies and see if it runs as efficently but I think the question is academic.
Look at the old FedEx ad “when it absolutely has to be there over night” What do you think that was about? Why would FedEx use that advertisement? When it absolutely has to be there over night do you FedEx it, DHL it, UPS it or do you use the express mail service at USPS? If your answer isn’t USPS then there is an opportunity even if it is just a marketing opportunity. You would have to see their data on successful deliveries to decide if you fix the service or fix the marketing.
My exposure to USPS was 11 years ago and your question to my post is 7 years later. I am pretty sure the numbers haven’t changed much. The answer in 1998 was there are a ton of opportunities and I am sure those opportunities haven’t changed much.
If the article I cited in the beginning is true then someone at USPS needs to be asking what is wrong with their Six Sigma program.
Just my opinion.0March 7, 2009 at 7:13 pm #182130
So Not StanMember@So-Not-StanInclude @So-Not-Stan in your post and this person will
be notified via email.And yet another tirade by Stan.
Recommend you A) ignore posts by Stan and certainly do not reply to them as they only spawn more of the same from this guy and B) report Stan’s posts to the moderator under the ‘spam’ button.
Maybe someday he’ll get the message if others on this forum start to police it. Until then, Stan will just be a hinderance to useful dialogue.0March 8, 2009 at 3:08 am #182135
Adam L BowdenParticipant@Adam-L-BowdenInclude @Adam-L-Bowden in your post and this person will
be notified via email.The six Sigma Program at the USPO – the training / support is via
Accenture (George Group) – if you wish to get in contact with some
of the folks deploying there let me know and I’ll pass on the
connection request.I apologize if this has already been covered in the deluge of
comments – I’m just not going to read them all.Regards,Adam [email protected]0 -
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