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Complex processes increase the likelihood of error states occurring. Scrap, defects, unnecessary work in progress, and warranty are all expensive. We’ll show you the benefits of adopting the process failure mode and effects analysis approach for your business.

A paired t-test is a form of a two-sample t-test used in hypothesis testing. It is useful for answering questions about any significant differences for before and after comparisons. 

The supply of components into high-value manufacturing industries is fiercely competitive, and there is no place for poor quality. Unexpected defects mean lost business and reputational damage. By following the Production Part Approval Process, you can lock in quality and hit those customer requirements every time.

An outlier in the context of statistics means a value in your data set is significantly different from the other values. This might be a good or bad thing depending on the situation.

Widely recognized as one of the most prestigious certifications in the industry, PMP validates your knowledge and experience in project management, opening up new opportunities for career advancement and higher salaries. Overview: What is Project Management Professional (PMP) Project Management Professional (PMP) is a globally recognized professional certification that is granted by the Project Management […]

The time it takes to deliver on your deals makes or breaks your business. You need to do everything you can to speed up this process without sacrificing quality or safety.

A master schedule is the plan that all your other production plans are based on, which is why it’s so important to get this one right.

Management by knowledge is imperative to the success of your process improvement initiatives. Discover how to harness this tactic in your Six Sigma processes to enhance performance, promote collaboration, and maximize staff potential. What is Management by Knowledge in Six Sigma? Six Sigma serves as a powerful tool to drive efficiency and customer satisfaction. With […]

Understanding mean time between failures (MTBF) is a way of expecting the unexpected. Every kind of physical tool, machine or device will eventually fail. Friction of physical parts rubbing against each other, degradation of certain materials or misalignment between different components can all contribute to system failures. That’s why every active car needs tune-ups and […]

Sometimes your data isn’t a normal distribution. Sometimes, the curve is taller or shorter than the normal distribution. Is that a problem? We can answer that question by learning a little bit more about kurtosis and the leptokurtic distribution.

Linearity is usually discussed in the context of Measurement System Analysis. It is a measure of the consistency of the bias of your measurement system.

Having a metricationist on your team opens up your organization to a wide range of possibilities. The use of metrics can mean the difference between an average company and a great one. A metricationist can help take your company to an optimal level of quality. Overview: What is a metricationist? A metricationist is a person […]

MTTR can refer to Mean Time to Repair as well as Mean Time to Resolution, Mean Time to Resolve, and Mean Time to Recovery. These all mean the same general thing, but on this definition page, whenever we reference MTTR, it is in regard to Mean Time to Repair. Overview: What is Mean Time to […]

Lean manufacturing seeks to get rid of the extra fat and waste in your process while seeking to build muscle in your production processes. Let’s see how.

When a product is purchased by an end-user, it is generally sold individually. However, when the product is initially delivered to a distributor by a supplier or sold wholesale, it is usually grouped into a large quantity and sold as a lot. When your business expands, it is almost guaranteed that you will be dealing […]

Waste is one of the biggest setbacks that prevents companies from reaching their maximum potential. One of the categories of waste, as described by Talichi Ohno, is known as muri. Talichi Ohno developed a system for Toyota that focused on the continuous improvement of quality and the elimination of waste. The types of waste as […]

Having a reliable method to account for your inventory is vital for reporting your financials to stakeholders as well as having the appropriate information for your business taxes. There are three popular methods for this, and they are the FIFO, LIFO, and average cost methods. If you are running a business, you are looking for […]

The Toyota Production System, was developed around the elimination of the three types of deviations that represent the inefficient allocation of resources. The three types of deviations are muda, mura, and muri. Muda deals with waste and is often defined by the 7 wastes of lean. Mura is concerned with inconsistency and variation and may […]

Management plays a critical role in the successful implementation of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) methodologies within organizations. It provides the foundation for driving process improvement, achieving operational excellence, and delivering superior customer value. In today’s competitive business landscape, organizations strive for efficiency, quality, and continuous improvement to stay ahead. In pursuit of these goals, Lean […]

Almost every product requires physical materials, even services or solutions that don’t include a final physical deliverable. Any type of resource, component or supply needed to produce a particular product is considered a material. Material requirements planning (MRP) is a method for gaining greater control over internal logistics and turning it to the company’s advantage. […]

If you are trying to predict the outcome of a dependent variable by analyzing the relationship with several independent variables, then multiple regression may be your statistical tool of choice. Let’s examine multiple regression in more detail. Multiple regression is a statistical technique that allows you to analyze the relationship between a dependent variable and […]

Six Sigma is a method for process improvement that aims to minimize variation. Organizations with multiple departments such as finance, manufacturing, and sales with different definitions of a defect can use these universal metrics to identify processes that are not operating at a Six Sigma level. Overview: What is an L1 Spreadsheet? An L1 spreadsheet is […]

In-control is not referring to the behavior of your children. It’s about whether your process is exhibiting common or special cause variation. Let’s explore how this works.

Leaders, managers, and practitioners love tangible (hard and soft) benefits because they can be measured and quantified; however, intangible benefits create goodwill and buy in among employees. 

If your organization is too impatient to use a formal DMAIC approach to continuous improvement then Kaizen may be the tool for you. 

Or Key Process OUTPUT Variable

You may remember seeing or having a Jack in the Box toy when you were a child. It looked much like a box and would have a crank on its side that you could turn. It would play a little song, and suddenly the top would fly open and the head of a clown (or […]

Have you ever had to shut down your manufacturing line because major components haven’t arrived from your supplier? Have you ever had to rent extra warehouses for your finished goods? Just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing would prevent that from happening. Let’s see how that works.

In a box plot, it is easy to see the range of where 50% of your data lies. Let’s examine this a little further by describing the interquartile range. Quartiles can be defined as dividing your data into 4 parts or quarters of approximately equal size. You can define the 4 parts in terms of […]

Japanese quality professional widely known for the Ishikawa diagram also known as the fishbone or cause and effect diagram. He is also known as Ishikawa, Kaoru.

When it comes to process capability, the more tools you have, the better. An L2 spreadsheet can help to make working with your capabilities a simpler endeavor. L2 Spreadsheet An L2 spreadsheet is just one of many spreadsheets that can help you be more knowledgeable about the ins and outs of your business. Overview: What […]

What do your customers really want? You are taking a risk by blindly fulfilling your customers’ needs without understanding how they classify them. Kano analysis will allow you to properly classify those customer needs and lower your risk.

Hypothesis testing is a branch of statistics in which, using data from a sample, an inference is made about a population parameter or a population probability distribution.

Does your organization just focus on today’s operational and tactical issues, or is there a process for developing a strategic plan for the future? Hoshin Kanri is a method for ensuring an organization’s strategic goals drive progress and action at every level within that organization. 

Now that you have brainstormed and gathered a list of random ideas, how do you make sense of them? KJ is a tool for helping you establish the themes and relationships between your ideas. 

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 […]

Will having a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt help you break boards? No. But a trained and experienced Green Belt will help improve what your organization does so you can defeat waste, process defects, and much more. Let’s see how.

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.

Marketing is crucial for most organizations in their efforts to acquire new customers and maintain their relationships with their existing ones. There are many factors involved in developing proper marketing strategies. One of them is the collection and proper analysis of interactional data. Interactional data is not used to its full potential by many organizations […]

Goals are pretty simple. In sports, reaching the goal adds points to the scoreboard. In business, reaching the goal means doing what you set out to do. In your personal life, it’s finding a sense of purpose, belonging and completion. Overview: What is a goal? Even though the concept is easy to define and understand, […]

Virtually every business decision is a matter of investment and success is based on how companies deploy resources like employee time, capital and brand image. The authority to make independent decisions is also a type of resource that can and should be invested by delegating it to team members. Overview: What is empowerment? Employee empowerment […]

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

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 […]

Sometimes we need the input of others in order to make a process easier. We also often could use someone who can bring a group together when working toward a goal. When this is done, that person is someone who facilitates. In a meeting, it can be easy for a group to lose direction. Having […]

The pursuit of knowledge is not relegated solely to the individual. Businesses regularly gather staff and other stakeholders with the intent of working together to gain knowledge that can assist in the goals of the organization. When an organization puts together a knowledge-based community, it shows that it is not only invested in the advancement […]

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.

Fitted values are, in short, predictions. In Six Sigma terms, they are the expected value of Y for a specific combination of Xes and allow the practitioner to estimate what to expect even when those predictor values have never been observed.

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 […]

Are all your organization’s problems and issues of equal importance? Probably not. How should you handle those that are the most critical and important? Let’s find out. A Key Business Issue (KBI) refers to a critical problem or challenge that your organization faces, which can significantly impact your performance, growth, or competitiveness. KBIs are specific […]

Key business requirements are everything. They are the measure by which your product, process or company lives or dies, so ignorance is not an option.