Category: Concepts

Is the variation in your process data to be expected, or has something special occurred? A control chart will give you the answer. The X-bar and R chart will give you the details.

Work cells are a key lean six sigma strategy designed to improve quality, eliminate waste, and enhance the end-user experience.

Can your organization really achieve zero defects in everything it does? Probably not, but it is a worthy goal to shoot for. Let’s learn more about the concept and how it might help your organization do better.

You may have heard of “white noise” when it comes to signal processing, but this is not the only application for the term. It is also a way to describe data in modeling. When we reference “white noise” in modeling, the “noise” is in reference to there being no set pattern and all variations being […]

The probability of a defect when defects are correlated. For example, when linewidths are printed too wide the process can cause thousands of ‘bridging’ defects, so although the number of defects is extremely high, there is only one opportunity. Unless of course there are say four sensitive areas on the circuit so that a slight […]

Some say that Z is the sign of Zorro (Spanish for fox), the fictional sword wielding masked vigilante who defended and helped the poor. In statistics, it is something different. In statistics, z usually refers to the standardized score or z-score of a data point in a normal distribution. The z-score measures the number of […]

Y=f(x) is a concept regarding the setup of a formula used to perform analysis during problem-solving efforts. Let’s look at how Y=F(x) works within the problem-solving process, the benefits of Y=F(x), as well as some frequently asked questions.

In business, it is necessary to have a solid understanding of what, exactly, is going into your processes. After all, if you do not know your inputs, how can you expect to be able to keep your output outcome desirable, repeatable, and consistent? Your X’s play a massive role in the outcomes you achieve. In […]

Is there a simple graphical tool for looking at a series of linked hierarchical activities? Yes, a tree diagram would be a good one to use. Let’s see how it would work. If you have a series of hierarchical tasks and subtasks to complete before you reach some objective, then a tree diagram would allow […]

Defects in quality put a severe dent in the potential profits of companies all over the world year after year. Having an understanding of the total probability of defect puts the power in an organization’s hands to make improvements and reduce the chance of its customers receiving faulty products.Knowing the total probability of defect for […]

It’s not practical to measure every value in a population, whether it be people or all the jars of peanut butter you produced. Taking samples helps. But if your samples are biased and don’t represent the population, then you have a biased statistic or estimator. Let’s learn how you can calculate an unbiased statistic.

Proper WIP management creates both quick wins and long term improvements. Here’s what you need to know.

Gain a better understanding of value stream mapping and how you can use it in your business. We’ll cover the flow, department interactions, bottleneck identification, and key metrics — as well as a few best practices.

Understanding and determining the upper and lower statistical limits are the key to determining tolerance range (TR). Find out more about this LSS concept.

Visual Quality Document

Do your processes deliver value for your customer? How do you know if what you do is valued by your customer? Let’s find out.

Lean business operations don’t happen without defining expectations, collecting data and monitoring results. Statistical limits serve your streamlining goals through efficiency quality control and loss prevention.

Are you ready to dust off your calculus differential equations and Laplace transformations? No? Then we will have to provide a simpler discussion of what a transfer function, or Y=f(X), is all about. 

The upper specification limit represents the highest limit that a measurement or reading can reach and still be acceptable to the customer. There are several benefits of monitoring USL and determining if a process can satisfy customer requirements.

While an organization may hear many voices (Customer, Business, Employee and Process), it is the voice of the customer (VOC) that is the driving voice as to what should be important to the organization and what the organization should focus on. The satisfaction of the VOC needs to be balanced against the Voice of the […]

Sometimes you really need to look at problems in a creative and innovative manner. TRIZ is a problem-solving approach that fosters invention for project teams who have become stuck while trying to solve a business challenge.  TRIZ (Teoriya Resheniya Izobretatelskikh Zadach) is a problem-solving methodology that was developed in the former Soviet Union by Genrich […]

Data is just data, right? Hardly! We hear about discrete data, attribute data, continuous data, and variable data. Let’s unravel some of the confusion.

Being busy and working hard don’t necessarily mean what you are doing will have value to your customer. Let’s see why not.

In an organization, it is important that there are members of a team to look to when leadership is required. These members may rise to this higher level of responsibility naturally through their skills or personalities, or they may be put in such a position by management.Being a team leader requires more from you than […]