Category: Blogs

Macy’s, CVS and Best Buy. Oh my! Those were just three of the companies that shared their stories of process improvement success during the afternoon session on Day 2 (Tuesday, March 29) of the iSixSigma Retail Forum for Process Excellence. The conference is being held through Thursday, March 31, at the Westin Edina Galleria in […]

Stories of innovation, growth and business transformation were shared during morning sessions on Day 2 (Tuesday, March 29) of the iSixSigma Retail Forum for Process Excellence, being held at the Westin Edina Galleria in suburban Minneapolis. The four-day conference runs through Thursday, March 31. Keynote sessions this morning were delivered by Tim Wilson, the vice […]

iSixSigma’s inaugural Retail Forum for Process Excellence opened on Monday, March 28, with six hours of educational workshops. The conference runs through Thursday, March 31 at the Westin Edina Galleria in suburban Minneapolis. Robert Hafey, the president of RBH Consulting and the author of the book “Lean Safety – Transforming Your Safety Culture Using Lean […]

With just a few days to go, excitement is building for the iSixSigma Live! inaugural Retail Forum for Process Excellence, March 28-31. For four days next week all eyes in the process improvement world will focus on the Twin Cities region, as business leaders and operational experts gather at The Westin Galleria, in Edina, Minn., […]

The time has come for me to bid you adieu. I have really enjoyed the opportunity to share my thoughts and get feedback from you, so I thank you for allowing me to discuss my opinions about lean, six sigma, change management, leadership, and healthcare. It’s been almost 5 years to the day since Michael […]

It’s been awhile since my last post. In October 2010 I secured a new role in our institutional asset management business in the City of London. Ever since I’ve been head-down learning the business and working furiously to pass my investment management exams so I can appear credible and add value. My role is front-office […]

The latest issue of iSixSigma Magazine reveals the top 10 Best Places to Work, analyzes the results of our 8th annual Salary Survey and discusses the latest training trends. In its March/April issue, iSixSigma Magazine focuses on Training and Certification, offering advice for Lean Six Sigma trainers, as well as an investigation into some of […]

Cummins operates three plants San Luis Potosi, Mexico, which produce and ship products daily to distribution centers in the United States. These plants produce systems such as reconditioned engines, alternators, and filtration and exhaust systems. Two of the three plants were looking for ways to reduce the high costs of trucking the products, so Rebecca […]

Over the past month, as I’ve been reading and researching articles in my new role as editor in chief of iSixSigma, I’ve come across the term VOC a bunch of times. VOC, or voice of the customer, is important and worthy of its numerous mentions. The “Dictionary of Lean Six Sigma Terminology” on iSixSigma.com lists […]

There are two schools of thought when it comes to engaging employees … either in training or for roles within a change initiative. One says that it is perfectly fine (even necessary) to infuse such efforts with elements of entertainment, creativity … (dare we say) fun. The other says that such frivolity should be avoided […]

Six Sigma projects differ from traditional projects in one important requirement – understanding of the Y=f(x) relationship with data before developing or implementing a solution. In the DMAIC framework, we identify, test and verify the causal relationship between a potential root cause (x) and the outcome (Big Y), and then develop a solution to change […]

I received a very nice comment today from a team member of a lean project. She said, “You know, I didn’t want to be on this team. My boss made me attend. I didn’t think anyone was going to care about my opinion, and I wasn’t sure what I could contribute. Also I was very […]

There has been plenty of buzz at the 2011 iSixSigma Live! Summit & Awards, being held this week at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Miami. iSixSigma’s team of reporters have been blogging and Tweeting throughout the event. Here are 20 of the most interesting things heard and noted on iSixSigma’s Twitter account (http://twitter.com/iSixSigma) […]

  Day 3 brings big news and big learning opportunities at the iSixSigma Live! Summit & Awards at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa in Miami. Featured activities for today (Wednesday, Feb. 9) include a high-energy general-session keynote, 11 program sessions and three panel discussions. But probably the most anticipated portion of the day is […]

Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone?… Well, almost gone. After 10 years of ups, downs and near cancellations, the Lean Six Sigma team at Starwood Hotels and Resorts, North America, knows what it’s like to see years of hard work nearly wiped out by mistakes […]

What is Scrum and how can it help you in your Lean Six Sigma efforts? That was the topic of a breakout session presented by Brad Zylstra of Volt Information Services on Tuesday, Feb. 8, at the iSixSigma Live! Summit & Awards in Miami. Zylstra, the Vice President of Strategic Business Services and Support at […]

Eric Michrowski of TELUS provided an excellent learning session at the iSixSigma Live! Summit & Awards on Tuesday, Feb. 8, at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa in Miami. Michrowski – the Director of the Process Improvement Center of Excellence and Lean Deployment Leader at this full-service, Canada-based telecommunications provider – shared with the audience […]

Continuing Monday’s e-learning workshops track, Master Class D, “Creating, Sustaining or Re-energizing a Blended E-learning Program,” focused on the various trends and new iterations of the “blended learning” model of internet-based and classroom training programs. John Best, vice president and managing director of The Quality Group, led an interactive discussion with attendees about how to […]

  Excitement and learning continues to build at the 2011 iSixSigma Live! Summit & Awards, behind held this week at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa in Miami. Featured activities for today (Feb. 8) include several general-session keynotes and addresses, 11 program sessions and two panel discussions. The day opens up with an opening address […]

To kick off the 3rd annual iSixSigma Live! Summit & Awards, our annual chance to gather as a community and share continuous improvement tips face to face, it felt a bit strange to spend much of the first day discussing ways to train future Belts by way of the internet. But after the three-hour Master […]

By Paul V. Arnold, Editor-in-chief, iSixSigma The 2011 iSixSigma Live! Summit & Awards kicks off today, Feb. 7, at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa in Miami. Today’s featured activities include the iSixSigma Project Bowl and four Master Class Workshops. The Project Bowl – sponsored by CS International, Minitab and MoreSteam.com – is a daylong […]

With assistance from Spanish wind-turbine manufacturer Gamesa, nonprofit foundation Tekniker and several other European technology firms, COSMOS seeks increases in turbine quality, as well as lower costs and faster manufacturing times, according to a release from Ibermática. According to the COSMOS consortium, many European turbine assembly operations involve both manual labor and work done by […]

Most organizations are emerging from largest recession and slow recovery since the Great Depression. Unfortunately, the reactionary and inconsistent leadership responses to the meltdown have become the new cultural norm in organizations, taking culture backwards and destroying their ability to improve anything. Organizations have placed a “freeze” on improvement when they need it the most. […]

Most organizations are emerging from largest recession and slow recovery since the Great Depression. Unfortunately, the reactionary and inconsistent leadership responses to the meltdown have become the new cultural norm in organizations, taking culture backwards and destroying their ability to improve anything. Organizations have placed a “freeze” on improvement when they need it the most. […]