Have you ever wondered why so many organizations have improvement approaches like Lean, Six Sigma, Agile, or PDCA underway, but never seem to make significant changes in operating performance and outcomes for customers? Or why they are always reacting to problems? Most of the time it’s because they’re trying to improve a process or system… Read more »
How can project teams better ensure they get the support needed for process improvement initiatives? By support, we’re talking about resources-funding, people, and time. When the performance indicator and its gap aren’t enough, consider including the Cost of Poor Quality. The Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ) represents costs and lost opportunities that would disappear if… Read more »
A new ets client’s Chief Training Officer stated that their previous provider’s program for Lean Six Sigma training received very high satisfaction scores, but after almost four years, the Senior Leadership team questioned the value for the time and money spent to train a large percentage of the organization. This is a common and valid… Read more »
Part 2 of 2: Improve and Control DMAIC and Throughput Efficiency In Part 1, we shared common shortfalls in achieving Throughput Efficiency by Green and Black Belt project teams in the Define, Measure and Analyze steps of the DMAIC methodology. Here, we conclude our discussion with the Improve and Control steps. Improve: Selecting effective and… Read more »
Part 1 of 2: Define, Measure and Analyze DMAIC and Throughput Efficiency After one facilitates and reviews hundreds of Lean Six Sigma projects, certain commonalities become evident. Just like the surgeon that specializes in the same procedure, repetition and inherent variability afford opportunities to see things not apparent to the infrequent operator. This rule applies… Read more »
At a time when business marketplaces are plunging or, at the very least, in a state of severe flux, company leaders are continuously examining the Return on Investment (ROI) of every expense. The accurate calculation of ROI involves numerous factors, including investment or costs, the return over time, all of which are adjusted by various… Read more »
That’s an easy question that has a controversial answer. There is really only one “Six Sigma” with the differences being attributed to the scope of its deployment. Whether your organization is involved in Lean, Transactional, Six Sigma for Service, or Agile, these terms like the name Six Sigma itself, were coined to refresh the concept… Read more »
Data comes in many forms. And because there can be so much of it, it’s crucial to be able to separate the signal from the noise quickly. Efficient problem solvers consider the types of data at each step of the process improvement journey. Whether defining, stratifying, or verifying, the kind of data you are dealing… Read more »
Organizations in all sectors are implementing Lean and Six Sigma to improve performance. By reducing forms of waste, wait time, and inventories, the goals are to improve service while reducing the costs of doing business. But many of these efforts are failing or, at least, underachieving. In most cases, it’s not because of the quality… Read more »
Henry Ford once said, “Most people would rather work around problems than try to solve them.” Perhaps that’s why we often find ourselves addressing the same complaints, obstacles, and challenges hoping to never deal with them again. Well, hoping isn’t enough. Today, we must continuously improve and innovate not only to succeed, but to survive.… Read more »