Category: Concepts

The strategy of continuously improving your organizational processes by setting your goals, identifying deviations from those goals, and then taking appropriate actions to adjust your processes to close the gaps.

How do you take your customer’s requirements and drill down through the entire product or service development process? Quality function deployment is a great way to do that. Let’s see how it is done.

A quality attribute is a characteristic of a system that is used to evaluate the system’s performance from the perspective of the end user.

Also known as discrete data.

SCAMPER is an acronym for a simple approach to creative brainstorming. The technique uses a series of questions that prompt you to come up with creative ideas for improving products and processes.

Risk based maintenance (RBM) is the result of combining lean management philosophy with conventional risk management. You could also call it “smart maintenance” or “informed maintenance” since it relies heavily on data and planning. It has useful implications in both risk prevention and crisis management. Overview: What is risk based maintenance? Companies that employ a […]

Quality improvement takes dedication, time, and resources. With this being the case, many find myriad excuses to hold off on quality improvement efforts until the very end, usually to the detriment of their organization. Being able to offer quality products and services to your customers needs to be a primary focus of your business. When […]

What does it mean when you see the phrase Q1? Using the common phrase of consultants, it depends, the definition of Q1 is dependent upon the context of its use. Let’s examine the possible definitions. While the phrase Q1 seems simple enough to understand, the true meaning will be a function of the context in […]

Inspection of the structures and machinery in manufacturing plants was once done primarily through industry practices that were rooted in health and safety regulations along with prescriptive codes. Unfortunately, this type of inspection did not take into account the risk of failure, environmental conditions, and so forth. A more well-rounded approach to inspection was developed […]

A data point taken at random from the universe or population of your process.

You can’t be right all the time when making decisions about your process. But, you can manage that risk. Producer’s risk is one of those risks, so let’s learn a little bit more about it.

Keeping records is a necessary part of any business. This extends to everything from business transactions to a company’s quality management system.The proper formatting, cataloging, storage, and maintenance of quality records are all vital facets of an organization’s quality management system. Overview: What is a quality record? A quality record can be defined as the […]

You are convinced there is a correlation between your X and Y variables. But, you won’t know for sure until you can establish the strength of the correlation. That’s where R comes in. Let’s learn some more about R. R is the symbol used to represent the strength and direction of correlation between continuous variables. […]

Having the right processes is integral to the success of your business, but having the right type of practices in your organization helps make sure that the work being done to implement those processes is approached from the right perspective. Getting a task done is necessary, but it is also important to look at how […]

Have you ever heard someone ask the question, “What’s the odds of that happening?”. Well, that’s the concept of probability. Let’s learn a little more about probability and how it can be used in your organization.  When you start discussing probability with someone else in your organization, you may hear the words deterministic or stochastic. […]

Have you ever waited in a line at the grocery store or bank? The British term for a line is a queue. Queuing theory is the mathematical study of waiting in line. Let’s learn more about this. The British refer to a line as a queue. Queuing theory is the mathematical study of people, objects […]

Precision is how companies build systems that enable them to deliver the right solutions to their customers’ problems at the right times, repeatedly. Does your company do that?

In statistics and math there are two types of data: quantitative data and categorical data. A variable that represents quantitative data is called a quantitative variable while a variable representing categorical data is called a categorical variable.  Overview: What is a quantitative variable?  Quantitative data represents values and numbers which can be measured or counted […]

The term parts per million, or PPM, is used in a number of contexts in engineering, chemistry and process improvement. We will focus on the application in continuous or process improvement.

Effective scope management keeps your project on track by establishing clear goals, progressive milestones, performance standards, and specific restraints across every stage of the process.

The term “process measurables” is incredibly narrow and also incredibly broad. In the scope of overall business management, it can seem like a pretty narrow and technical concept. However, for process managers, it’s a concept that can describe hundreds of different things in one project alone. Overview: What are process measurables? A measurable is any […]

Preventing a problem is better than correcting one. Anticipating and avoiding potential issues before they arise is a hallmark of strong business management.

Process management, sometimes referred to as Business Process Management (BPM) is a systematic approach to ensure that your organization’s business processes are aligned in an efficient and effective manner, and aligned with your organization’s strategic goals.  Some of the benefits to having a process management system in place are: Overview: What is process management?  The […]

With statistical process charts (SPC), you have a statistical approach that is accessible and allows you to find solutions to system and process problems. One type of chart that falls under the SPC umbrella of tools is the rare event SPC. When rare events occur in your industry, it is necessary to monitor them to […]