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In the heart of downtown, Apex Bank was known for its strong community ties and financial stability, but not necessarily for its swift decision-making. The executive team meetings were notorious for being long, unproductive, and often marked by clashes between personalities. The CEO, Maria, saw that the inability to make decisions efficiently was affecting the […]

Background MegaPharma (fictitious name), a global pharmaceutical company, sought to optimize its promotional strategies to increase access to healthcare providers for one blockbuster drug. Sales representatives used several approaches to gain appointments and engagement with physicians, including free lunches, educational materials, promotional items like branded pens, and remote communication tools such as Zoom. While all […]

FMEA is one of the most powerful approaches to safeguarding your projects from failures and defects. It isn’t a cakewalk to implement, but in the right hands, it can make projects run without a hitch. As you’re already used to utilizing data in making decisions, it only makes sense to start using this […]

How do you use fishbone diagrams to get to the root of a problem? Fishbone diagrams are one of the 7 QC tools afforded to us by Lean Six Sigma and one of the most effective at determining issues. These are simple tools to use, meaning anyone in your team can leverage their […]

In today’s fast-paced and competitive world, achieving sustainable growth and high performance requires more than just setting goals. It requires a systematic approach that not only clarifies objectives but also refines skills, improves processes, and fosters continuous improvement. The Harada Method is an effective personal development system that emphasizes self-reliance, skill-building, and disciplined […]

In the fields of sports and business, achieving peak performance requires more than just technical skills and hard work. It involves cultivating the right mindset, creating structured goals, and following a path of continuous improvement. Takashi Harada, a former Japanese track and field coach, developed a unique method to help individuals achieve excellence […]

What are some real-life SIPOC applications in the field of manufacturing? While Lean Six Sigma tools and methodologies can be applied to any industry, they truly excel when pointed toward something like manufacturing. When you get right down to it, manufacturing is one of the most complex undertakings a business can undergo. What […]

Is SIPOC still worth using? Lean and Six Sigma have many tools for improving or designing new processes. You’ll see SIPOC diagrams often touted, but there are other tools where you might find they are better suited for your needs. Today, we’re looking at a few alternatives that might just fit the bill […]

The DMAIC methodology (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) is a structured, data-driven approach central to Six Sigma practices and quality improvement efforts across various industries. By clearly outlining steps to understand, address, and control quality issues, DMAIC drives process efficiency, product quality, and customer satisfaction. With artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, DMAIC’s potential is […]

A productivity target is an established, quantifiable result from a given process. It represents the minimum acceptable value yield from a given quantity of time and resources invested into it.

Lean Six Sigma is a powerful methodology used to improve processes, reduce waste, and enhance quality. It incorporates data-driven decision-making and focuses on optimizing workflows using structured frameworks like DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) and DMADV (Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, Verify). With the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the potential of Lean […]

Design of experiments (DOE) is a systematic method to determine the relationship between factors affecting a process and the output of that process. In other words, it is used to find cause-and-effect relationships. This information is needed to manage process inputs in order to optimize the output. An understanding of DOE first requires […]

At the beginning of a deployment, many companies set a goal of 3.4 defects per million opportunities (DPMO) using Six Sigma quality concepts in production and later extend this concept to other operational areas. Fewer companies, however, have extended Six Sigma from a manufacturing application to manage customer satisfaction or customer complaints. However, […]

It is important to regularly check if your processes are operating as optimally as they could be. If not, actions should be taken for improvement. For this to be appropriately determined, you can create a QPR.

When utilizing a team approach to problem-solving, there are often many opinions as to the problem’s root cause. One way to capture these different ideas and stimulate the team’s brainstorming on root causes is the cause and effect diagram, commonly called a fishbone. The fishbone will help to visually display the many potential […]

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

Sometimes it is easy to get into a rut when it comes to doing analysis. It can be hard to stray from those same time-tested analytical tools used in the Six Sigma methodology. The process map, failure modes and effects analysis, cause-and-effect matrix, and fishbone diagram are like well-used tools that feel comfortable […]

Random sampling is a statistical method of selecting a sample of data from a larger set in such a way that each data point has an equal chance of being selected so that the sample represents the population from which it was drawn. What Is Random Sampling? Random sampling is a method of […]

When calculating the business case for a Six Sigma project, the cost of poor quality (COPQ), which is the cost caused by producing defects, is a commonly used concept. Within the total amount of quality cost, however, COPQ represents only a certain proportion. Costs do not result from only producing and fixing failures; […]

One must necessarily understand that the short-term standard deviation reports on the “instantaneous reproducibility” of a process whereas the long-term standard deviation reflects the “sustainable reproducibility.”  To this end, the short-term standard deviation is comprised of the “within group” sums of squares (SSW).  The long-term standard deviation incorporates the “total” sums-of-squares (SST).  Of […]

Span is a descriptor of the spread or variation of your data. It is a simple calculation that eliminates the impact of any outliers or unusually high or low values in your data set.

Background At Apex Tools (fictional name), a mid-sized supplier of specialized mechanical components, inventory management and safety concerns had long been interwoven issues. As demand surged, materials flowed continuously into the warehouse, often in excessive amounts, cluttering aisles and creating unsafe conditions. This surplus inventory led to various issues: obsolescence, shrinkage, and frequent safety hazards […]

You can learn a lot about your process by monitoring its change over time. There are different trend charts which will allow you to do that. Let’s look at a few. 

What if you were asked to rate this article on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being you didn’t like it and 5 being you loved it. That’s an example of a Likert Scale.

In 1920, Sir Ronald A. Fisher invented a statistical way to compare data sets. Fisher called his method the analysis of variance, which was later dubbed an ANOVA. This method eventually evolved into Six Sigma data set comparisons. The F ratio is the probability information produced by an ANOVA. It was named for […]

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.

Incremental and continuous improvements are great. When appropriate, breakthrough improvement is even better. IDOV (identify, design, optimize, validate) is one tool for accomplishing this. Let’s see how. 

The role of a process owner in Lean Six Sigma goes beyond being a mere title or designation. By assigning dedicated process owners, organizations can unlock the true potential of their processes, driving efficiency, quality, and customer satisfaction In today’s dynamic business landscape, organizations constantly strive for efficiency, quality, and continuous improvement, all […]

Excess and obsolete inventory write-offs are chronic supply chain problems costing businesses billions of dollars each year. Unfortunately, improvement projects that are deployed to eliminate these problems often have a short-term focus. In other words, the current levels of excess and obsolete inventory are usually addressed, but not the root causes of the […]

The phrase “it depends” sums up the concept of interaction in the context of Design of Experiments. Interaction is when the effect of one factor on a response variable depends on the level or setting of another factor. 

Your Six Sigma project will usually focus on a process with customers who directly receive the output of your process. But there are also others who will be impacted and have a stake in the outcome of your project. They are called stakeholders, and you need to understand them.

5C is the formal activity of organizing the workplace, and it serves as the foundation of any continuous improvement effort. Explore the 5C framework, and learn how to implement it in your organization.

When you think of the world’s most efficient and successful performance and supply chains, what comes to mind? For many, large corporate giants like Dell, Wal-Mart, and Coca-Cola instantly pop into our heads. But few, if any, would think a cultural structure and meal delivery system in Mumbai, India, would be among the […]

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 […]

How do you create a SIPOC diagram? Now, I imagine this is a moot point for many LSS practitioners with any degree of experience. However, this might seem somewhat daunting at first glance for newcomers to the methodology. As such, it certainly helps to take a step back and learn some of the […]

Complex math is often the best way to make sense of a confusing maze of quantifiable variables and conditional relationships.

An in-depth look at how IGI can help businesses become more efficient, profitable, and less wasteful by helping managers keep track of incoming good compliance issues while ensuring incoming goods meet quality standards set by the company.

To optimize the benefit of your forecasting, you would like your time series values to be independent. Unfortunately, sometimes your values are correlated. This autocorrelation will have an impact on your ability to interpret what the data is telling you. Autocorrelation refers to the correlation between a time series variable and its lagged […]

Want to compare your company’s process, products or services to best-in-class practices? Follow these 10 practical benchmarking steps, complete with review questions, to provide insight into the actions the company can take to improve its performance.

What does it mean to be “Six Sigma”? Six Sigma at many organizations simply means a measure of quality that strives for near perfection. However, the statistical implications of a Six Sigma program go well beyond the qualitative eradication of customer-perceptible defects. It’s a methodology that is well-rooted in mathematics and statistics. What […]

Why should you start a SIPOC diagram at the start of your Lean Six Sigma Projects? Many facets go into planning and executing a project. The last few years have seen the rise of software-centric methodologies like Agile and DevOps, which have become prominent outside of the tech industry. However, SIPOC diagrams remain […]

When someone says your data is skewed, do you get upset? Skewness can be a natural state of your data. Let’s find out more about skewness and what it means.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing industries worldwide, reshaping everything from customer service to manufacturing, and sparking questions about its potential to replace skilled professionals. Within quality management, particularly Lean Six Sigma (LSS), many wonder if AI could ultimately replace the role of a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt (MBB). As the highest […]

Key Concepts Six Sigma is a well-established, data-driven methodology designed to improve processes by identifying and eliminating defects in manufacturing and business processes. One of the key components of Six Sigma is statistical analysis, which helps organizations identify problems and implement solutions. To perform this analysis, Six Sigma practitioners traditionally rely on specialized statistical software, […]

This article will introduce you to common cause variation, one of the foundational concepts in quality improvement. We’ll explore guidance for the successful use of common cause variation in process improvement.

Entitlement is defined as the best performance you can reasonably achieve with the existing process.

Central tendency and mean are two of the more significant statistics that are used in Lean Six Sigma. These two concepts have a large place in the developed world of LSS and are important when it comes to implementing new technologies or measuring processes for improvement.

A competitive and successful business needs to critically evaluate all the opportunities for improvement and deploy valuable resources strategically. By identifying low-hanging fruit, high-impact, low-effort activities can be addressed creating a solid foundation for continuous improvement.

What does your process look like from 30,000 feet? Your extended process view can be described using COPIS, or customer, output, process, input, and supplier. Let’s get in our balloon and go up. 

Subjective ratings and rankings can be used in a variety of applications, such as assessing job performance, gauging customer satisfaction, and monitoring the morale of your workforce. Find out more about this Six Sigma term.