Category: Concepts

The word factor, in the context of Design of Experiments (DOE), has several other names. Let’s learn more about what a factor is and how it is used in DOE. One of the most common formulas in statistics is Y = f(X) which states that Y is a function of X. If you define Y […]

STOP THE PRESSES! Jidoka will immediately stop equipment upon discovering an abnormality in the process. Let’s explore this a little deeper.

Is your Lean Six Sigma training accomplishing what you want it to do? How do you know? Those questions can be answered by using the Kirkpatrick Model of Evaluation. Let’s see how.

Error that concludes that someone is not guilty, when in fact, they really are. (Ha true, but I concluded Ho). BETA Accept an hypothesis or statement as true when it is false: Ho is false, but I conclude Ho is true. Error that concludes that someone is not guilty, when in fact, he or she […]

The landscape of how business is done is ever-evolving. The way that businesses interact with customers and how those customers purchase goods and services is unrecognizable from how things were done just a couple of decades ago. A big component of these changes is the rise of information communication technology. Any time you make a […]

Error that concludes that someone is guilty, when in fact, they really are not. (Ho true, but I rejected it–concluded Ha). Also known as ALPHA error. Also known as Producer’s risk.

Instant pudding may make a great snack, but it’s a terrible approach to managing quality and productivity in business. Unlike the average domestic kitchen, there are very few things that you can simply whip together in the business world. Overview: What is instant pudding? In the context of business and process management, the term “instant […]

Quality is one of those words and concepts that have many meanings. Let’s review the concept and discuss the different definitions of quality. Quality refers to the degree of excellence or superiority of something, often in relation to its intended purpose or function. It is a measure of how well something meets its specifications or […]

Hard savings are benefits that have a direct impact on the organization’s bottom line. They not only improve business operations, but also reinforce the value of Six Sigma methodology.

Financial metrics are the language of business. Every manager or analyst needs to understand how to evaluate a company’s performance using ratio analysis in order to make objective, fact-based decisions and to communicate those insights to other decision-makers.

The concept of “erroneous” in Six Sigma emphasizes the importance of accuracy and reliability in data collection and analysis. Erroneous data can lead to incorrect conclusions, poor decision-making, and negative business outcomes. To address erroneous data, organizations can implement best practices such as defining what constitutes erroneous data, implementing robust data validation processes, using statistical […]

You have probably heard of the acronym PDCA (Deming Cycle) but have you heard of FOCUS PDCA? Read this article and you will understand what it is.

If you are working with supplies that come from a myriad of international sources, it is important to know that you are getting materials that you can trust and that there are safeguards in place. The Global Commerce Initiative is meant to address this concern among businesses as well as consumers. The Global Commerce Initiative […]

The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) are the practical realization of US Government policy regarding the manufacturing of motor vehicles within the nation’s borders. These regulations involve every significant area of automobile performance, so they cover everything from airbag deployment assemblies to structural integrity of the entire frame. Overview: What are Federal Motor Vehicle […]

You claim your process yield is 98%. Are you sure? Have you considered your hidden factory? Let’s find out why you should.

Utilization of project management tools helps ensure the success of a project. One such tool is the Gantt chart. At the beginning of the 20th century, Henry Gantt created a chart for recording the progress of workers when assigned to a task. His work revolutionized the field of project management, and his innovations are still […]

Frequently committed errors (FCE) are anomalies in a particular process that have a negative impact on the outcome. Essentially, anything that falls outside of the established, value-added activities within each process is an error. Identifying, recognizing and addressing frequently committed errors is essential to good business management. Overview: What are frequently committed errors? Every process […]

Exit criteria exists to keep your development and process improvement teams honest about your true current state. This article discusses exit criteria and its place within any tollgate system. It covers the benefits of using them as well as the risks of ignoring them.

In business, there are times when you may be transferring sensitive data. Working with software that provides encryption services can help keep your data secure. Many now associate encryption with modern technology, but the practice likely dates as far back as 1900 B.C. During this time, one scribe used unorthodox hieroglyphic characters instead of the […]

Manually changing parts in and out of a machine can be time-consuming and present a safety issue. Hanedashi solves that problem by automatically doing almost everything that the operator would do in a manual operation.

It is generally easier to understand what your data is telling you if you can visualize it rather than view it in rows and columns of numbers. A frequency plot is a great tool for doing that. A frequency plot is a graphical representation of the distribution of continuous data based on how often a […]

When you hear the word efficient, you probably think of the words waste, productivity, inputs, and outputs. An efficient process will allow you to provide your customers more and better products for less effort. 

In 1979, Philip B. Crosby wrote what came to be seen as a landmark in quality management theory. The book, “Quality With” focuses on a managerial style that focuses on delivering quality in business, often in ways that are of little to no cost. One of the 14 steps listed on the way to quality […]

The empirical rule is a simple way to understand the distribution of your data values if they come from a normal distribution.