Category: Europe

Whether implementing Six Sigma in Munich or Manhattan, Paris or Prague, certain common factors are critical for success. Nonetheless, how one successfully applies these factors is culturally dependent. Universal Critical Success Factors Accepting the General Electric definition of Six Sigma as “completely satisfying customers’ needs profitably” means that Six Sigma requires a company-wide initiative to […]

The nuclear medicine department located in the Ospedale Santa Croce e Carle in Cuneo, Italy, has always been recognized as a national and international reference site for its clinical compentencies and innovative facility design. When originally opened, the nuclear medicine department was structured to provide the best possible service to patients. This included a focus […]

CEOs want to know the return on investment of Lean Six Sigma projects, and CFOs want to compare the real financial results to “PowerPoint dollars.” A rigorous approach to calculating an improvement project’s impact is important to every organization.

Information technology (IT) services are highly valued in today’s enterprise particularly those aligned with business needs. As IT departments transition from technology to service based management, more organizations are following the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) framework. ITIL is a set of best practices intended to facilitate the delivery of high quality IT services. ITIL […]

  “Invention is 2 percent inspiration, and 98 percent perspiration.” – Thomas Edison How much productive and creative potential of its personnel does a business utilize today? An informal poll across a wide range of industries suggests it is less than 20 percent. Why? How people are led, managed and supervised is part of the […]

To initiate a continuous improvement program, small- and medium-sized businesses must refine the deployment model to meet their needs. This is particularly important in Europe, with the typical European company being smaller than its U.S. equivalent. By Thomas Bertels Large multinational firms such as General Electric, Honeywell and Motorola proved the value of Six Sigma […]

Six Sigma practitioners in multinational companies need to know the differences in perspectives between European business leaders and their American counterparts. With some insight, they can improve their understanding and avoid potential conflicts. By Thomas Bertels While the United States and Europe share a common cultural heritage, there also are vital differences in the way […]

Imagine that an organization has chartered four Six Sigma improvement teams – one each in France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. Each has been given the charter to reduce manufacturing cycle times. The four facilities are virtually identical, producing comparable products and packaging, with the same technology. However, even with an equal degree […]

By understanding the differences and the commonalities between local processes, European businesses can start to assemble a pan-European process to satisfy the needs of each country, opening the door for process standardization and resource pooling. Processes which deliver value to customers across a wide geographic area in the United States are considerably less complex than […]

The experience of a European life insurance provider highlights the lessons learned from transferring Lean from the shop floor to the office as well as providing a deployment model that integrates Lean, Six Sigma and process management.

“Why bother about process improvement? Let’s do it right the first time. We don’t need process improvement. We have to implement DFSS!” This is a common theme from engineering people in Six Sigma deployments. A common response from practitioners is that DMAIC should be implemented first; experience with the methodology should come before the introduction […]