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The Importance of Knowing Your Indirect Costs

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Having a clear comprehension of all the costs you incur when creating a product is integral to running a successful business. This includes both your direct and indirect costs. When making a product or providing a service, it may be obvious what your direct costs are since you are paying for parts, labor, and so […]

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The Impact of Key Business Issues: Understanding and Addressing Critical Challenges

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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 […]

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critical to quality

Interactional Data

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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 […]

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KJ

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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. 

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The Evolution and Impact of Jidoka

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

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The Competitive Advantage of Being a Certified Green Belt

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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.

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tqm

Building a Knowledge-Based Community: An Overview

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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 […]

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Essential Strategies for Identifying Key Business Requirements

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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.

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Kirkpatrick Model of Evaluation

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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.

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Information Communication Technology: The Tools for Building a Stronger Business

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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 […]

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Hoshin Kanri

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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. 

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How to Ensure Robust Data Security with Extract Load Transfer (ELT) Systems

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Since lean six sigma management requires firms to measure, track, and analyze data about their products, processes, and customers, effective data management is integral to limiting waste and meeting the goal of continuous improvement. Overview of ELT The ELT process is a three-stage data pipeline that consists of the following stages: 1. Extract The first […]

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From Problem to Solution: The Power of Gap Analysis

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Keeping one step ahead of the competition whilst consistently meeting customer requirements makes a lot of business sense. Using gap analysis, we have a methodology that helps to understand and achieve full business potential whilst driving continuous improvement.

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Improving Quality and Employee Relations with Error Cause Removal

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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 […]

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Securing Your Business: The Importance of Encryption for Data Protection

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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 […]

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How to Find and Fix Frequently Committed Errors in Your Processes

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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 […]

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Enhancing Skills and Morale: A Guide to the Gwilliam Motivational Model

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Motivation is a critical factor that drives human behavior, and it plays a vital role in the success of individuals and businesses. The Gwilliam Motivational Model is a psychological theory that explains the factors that motivate individuals to perform at their best. Overview: What is the Gwilliam Motivational Model The Gwilliam Motivational Model is a […]

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Fenwick-vanKoesveld Test: Ask Three Questions to Find One Root Cause

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When something goes wrong in your organization, it is important to know what the cause of the issue is in order to prevent it from happening again. Luckily, there are several failure analysis tools available, one of which is the Fenwick-vanKoesveld Test.This test is relatively simple and serves to find the true reason for a […]

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Exit Criteria

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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.

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The Benefits and Drawbacks of Globalization: A Comprehensive Guide

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With most major corporations, in order to get their products into your hands inexpensively, the work does not all happen in one place. More often than not, various aspects involved in the manufacturing process occur across more than one country. This would be very difficult to achieve if not for the advancement of globalization.Globalization plays […]

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Empirical Rule

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

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How to Measure Efficiency and Increase Productivity

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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. 

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Understanding ERP: The Business Management System that Streamlines Operations

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Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is a business management system that integrates all aspects of a company’s operations, including finance, human resources, manufacturing, supply chain management, and customer relationship management. ERP software allows businesses to automate and streamline their processes, creating a unified and efficient system that improves productivity and reduces errors. It provides a centralized […]

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The Role of Continuous Improvement in Addressing Erroneous Data

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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 […]

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Understanding the Power of Hard Savings in Six Sigma Projects

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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.

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Form/Format

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It is necessary to have data organized in a systematic and uniform manner. This keeps information tidy and easy to interpret. One part of keeping data together in this way is by using an established form/format system. Can you imagine doing a major business deal and just being handed a blank sheet of paper to […]

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Unlocking Project Insights with Gantt Charts

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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 […]

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Understanding Frequency Plots: A Visual Approach to Data Analysis

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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 […]

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Improving Product Quality and Efficiency with FMEA

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Overview: What is FMEA? When it comes to risk assessment in Lean Six Sigma, one of the most useful tools you can use is FMEA. FMEA stands for Failure Modes and Effects Analysis. It’s a tool used to identify and prioritize potential failures of a product or process through a systematic approach that involves identifying […]

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The Global Commerce Initiative Empowers Businesses of All Sizes

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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 […]

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Hanedashi

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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.

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The Importance of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS)

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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 […]

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Financial Metrics

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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.

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Monitoring Process Stability with Control Charts

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Since there is variation in all processes, how can you tell whether the variation is due to random expected variation, or something unexpected? The control chart is a tool for making that distinction. Let’s learn how that is done. 

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How Customer Focus Can Increase Your Sales

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It is more important than ever for businesses to look at the needs and desires of their customers as indicators for how to operate. Since a business does not exist without customers, having an understanding of what they are looking for in the companies they support is imperative for success. More and more companies are […]

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Discover the Power of DMEDI in Process Improvement

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DMEDI stands for: Define, Measure, Explore, Develop, and Implement. This differs from the basic Six Sigma methodology of DMAIC which stands for: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control. Both methodologies are designed to improve your processes and products. Whereas, DMAIC is designed for incremental improvements of existing processes, DMEDI focuses on more robust improvements for […]

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Drift

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You finally found the perfect spot to anchor your boat and catch all the best fish. But, the tide is strong and your boat starts to drift away from where you need it to be. The same can happen to your process. 

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DOTWIMP

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You walk by waste in your organization every day. The acronym DOTWIMP can help you identify and analyze your seven most common sources of waste. 

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The Importance of Understanding and Implementing Directives

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Directives are an important tool for organizations that seek to align employees with their goals, increase efficiency, and promote a culture of continuous improvement. Understanding Directives: Benefits, Best Practices, and Common Questions Directives are a critical tool for organizations seeking to improve their performance and achieve their goals. By providing clear guidance and expectations, directives […]

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Understanding Statistical Distributions: A Comprehensive Guide

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If you plot your data on a histogram, the resulting graphic will illustrate how your data is distributed. This distribution can provide a lot of information about your data and the process from which it came from. Let’s learn some more about distributions. Once you have collected your desired data, you can display the data […]

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Documentation Matters: The Foundation of Effective Processes

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Documentation can feel like a drag, but it is an important part of making sure your organization is successful. Without proper documentation, there is no record of how to reliably implement processes, and a complete lack of consistency could occur. Documentation is also necessary for important guidelines and policies to be referenced once they are […]

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Ensuring Product Reliability with Design Verification, Production and Process Validation

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During the design or prototype stage of product development, there is a system of checks in place that can help make sure the product is successful in moving into the next stages. The products that are released into the mass market have gone through many stages of development so that they can be trusted by […]

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Design Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (DFMEA)

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As complexity increases, so does the probability of error. Rework, defects, retesting, and recalls are all very expensive. With design failure mode and effects analysis, we’ll show you the true value of adopting and inetgrating this approach.

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Degrees of Freedom and Sample Size: How to Determine the Right Amount of Data for Your Analysis

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Degrees of Freedom (DF) can be thought of as the amount of information you have to compute certain statistics. The more you want to compute, the more data and information you need. Let’s learn more about how to compute and use DF. You can think of DF as statistical money that you can spend to […]

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How Engineer Change Orders Can Improve Your Business Processes

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When there is a need for changes that will improve end products or components, it is necessary to have proper documentation so that there is a paper trail and to ensure the correct modifications occur. An engineer change order is an important part of making sure that necessary changes to products are handled in a […]

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Maximizing Efficiency and Accuracy with Design of Experiments

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A design of experiments (DOE) is a set of powerful designed experimentation statistical tools for understanding the impact that varying your process inputs will have on the outputs of your process. 

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The Benefits of Using Detectable Effect Size in Six Sigma Projects

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Making changes to your organization is foolish without having the proper data to tell you the impact that the changes may have. A tool called a “detectable effect size” can help in making that determination. It is nice to believe that certain changes that are proposed will have an impact on our business, but with […]

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GLM Essentials: Key Concepts and Applications for Data Analysis

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If you understand multiple linear regression, you already know a lot about the General Linear Model (GLM). Let’s learn some more about how and when to use the GLM. 

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Genchi Gembutsu

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How much can you learn about your process sitting in your office? According to Genchi Gembutsu, you can’t learn much. In Japanese, genchi means “actual place,” and gembutsu means “actual thing.” In the Toyota Production System (TPS), this concept is interpreted as “to go and see.” Let’s explore this a little further. 

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Heijunka

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Wouldn’t it be great if your production process ran smoother? Maybe Heijunka is the solution. Let’s find out more about it.

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