Category: Concepts

The term standard order refers to the sequence of the runs you will do in your Design of Experiments. The question we will answer is whether to use the standard order or a random order.

If you have a question about how your process or organization is performing, statistics will be the methodology for answering those questions. Statistics is the discipline and science used for the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of your data. Statistics usually fall into one of two categories: Descriptive statistics: methods used to summarize or […]

The variance inflation factor measures the degree of multicollinearity of multiple predictor variables in a multiple linear regression. Holy smokes, that’s a lot of big words. Let’s find out what it all means.

An SS product report is a critical document that summarizes the results of the product development process, including quality, reliability, and performance. Understanding SS Product Reports The Six Sigma methodology is a highly effective process improvement approach that has been widely adopted across various industries. It provides a data-driven and customer-focused approach to reduce defects […]

The Toyota Production System (TPS) serves as the foundation for Lean Manufacturing. Let’s explore this powerful method for improving your processes.  The Toyota Production System (TPS) is a manufacturing philosophy and a set of management practices developed by the Toyota Motor Corporation. It emphasizes continuous improvement, just-in-time production, and efficient use of resources, with the […]

Your customers often ask, “When will I get my widget delivered?” You respond with, “It depends.” If you know your turn-around time, you might be able to provide a better answer. Let’s learn more about turn-around time.

In the spirit of continuous improvement, re-engineering is the process by which you can identify, analyze, and re-design your organization’s core business processes for the purpose of achieving improvements in critical performance measures. Reengineering, also known as business process reengineering (BPR), is a methodology that focuses on the fundamental redesign of business processes to achieve […]

In today’s fast-paced business environment, organizations are constantly looking for ways to improve efficiency, cut costs, and optimize their operations. Lean Six Sigma is a methodology that has been widely adopted by companies in various industries to achieve these goals. One of the key concepts in Lean Six Sigma is sufficiency. Overview: what is sufficiency, […]

Learn the benefits of standard work, including how it is used to reduce variability within processes, assists faster training timeframes, and provides a starting point for process improvement projects.

The customer just placed a new order requesting 100 widgets by the end of the week. If we keep producing at our current rate, will our cycle time be able to provide the parts in time? What is the rate we must produce the widgets to meet their deadline? Well, that rate has a name, […]

The shortest distance between two places is a straight line. Unfortunately, you can’t alway do that in your work environment. Let’s see how a spaghetti diagram might help visualize how things move through your workplace. 

In 1903, famed writer H.G. Wells first described the importance of mathematical analysis. Samuel Wilks, in 1951, paraphrased Wells and developed this famous quote: “Statistical thinking will one day be as necessary for efficient citizenship as the ability to read and write.” Let’s see why he said that.

Standard operating sheets help keep operations running smoothly. They outline the process steps, timing, and other elements of a given operation and allow employee engagement in the process.

So much to learn, and so little time to do it. The Six Sigma Body of Knowledge (SSBOK) is a collection of the tools and methodology of Six Sigma and serves as the base for most Six Sigma training and certifications.

More often than not, it’s the variation in a process rather than the central tendency that results in defective products, causes us to not meet customer expectations, or costs real dollars. While there are others, standard deviation is the most common metric for quantifying the variation in a dataset.

Once in a lifetime, someone comes along who has a profound and transformational impact on society. Dr. W. Edwards Deming was such a person and his System of Profound Knowledge has had a significant impact on the business world.

You need to be SMART when writing the goals for your project charter: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Here’s how the SMART framework can help you write better goal statements.

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. You can also say a picture of your data is worth a thousand words. The stem and leaf plot is one such picture. 

As competitive and market pressure increases, business strategic planning becomes ever more crucial. Using SWOT analysis, we investigate the factors that allow us to plot a path to continued growth and profitability.

Strategic planning is a formal, organized, proactive and structured process used by an organization to define its vision, goals, and objectives. The process of strategic planning also includes planning for, and the allocation of the resources needed to reach the stated goals and objectives of the organization. It is the roadmap for achieving your organization’s […]

Six Sigma has been defined in three ways: as a metric, a methodology, and a philosophy. Sigma can be defined as the standard deviation of a set of continuous data, so Six Sigma would then be six standard deviations.

Over one-third of projects will fail, and two-thirds will only achieve some of their goals. It is estimated that a lack of proper systems engineering is responsible for half of all total project failures. In order to help ensure that your projects do not wind up falling short, it is important to include systems engineering. […]

So, you’ve decided to tackle a key process improvement project. You have your problem statement and scope set up, and now you need to determine who will be assigned to the core project team. Who needs to be on the team to maximize your probability of success? There’s a term for those individuals: subject matter […]

Learn the benefits of tracking sigma level, including how it is used to understand how the current quality capabilities match with customer expectations, where future process improvement opportunities lie, and how to verify results.