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The role of Lean and Six Sigma in drug discovery and development is a controversial topic. Does Lean Six Sigma improve innovation or stifle it? A recent article in Drug Discovery Today offers new perspectives, analysis, and suggestions that I found encouraging. While acknowledging the contradicting perspectives and experiences many organizations have, the authors see […]

PowerSteering Software, the leading provider of business-driven project & portfolio management (PPM) solutions for managing Lean Six Sigma and other strategic programs, will sponsor a new webcast on Tuesday, February 15, at 11:30 a.m. (EST).

Process improvement deployment expert and healthcare industry veteran Angel R. Garcia, of Edwards Life Sciences, will deliver a keynote address at the iSixSigma Live! Summit & Awards. The event takes place next week, Feb. 7-10, in Miami, Florida.

Hamdan Bin Mohammed e-University, based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has created a new quality management award program aimed to promote creativity and innovation in the Arab world.

With assistance from Spanish wind-turbine manufacturer Gamesa, nonprofit foundation Tekniker and several other European technology firms, COSMOS seeks increases in turbine quality, as well as lower costs and faster manufacturing times, according to a release from Ibermática. According to the COSMOS consortium, many European turbine assembly operations involve both manual labor and work done by […]

Recent news from Lean Six Sigma use in government includes the announcement of Marine Corps Continuous Process Improvement award recipients and Lean savings for the Postal Service.

Most organizations are emerging from largest recession and slow recovery since the Great Depression. Unfortunately, the reactionary and inconsistent leadership responses to the meltdown have become the new cultural norm in organizations, taking culture backwards and destroying their ability to improve anything. Organizations have placed a “freeze” on improvement when they need it the most. […]

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is embarking on an initiative to overhaul and streamline its business operations systems with process improvement methods, such as Lean Six Sigma, according to a recent presentation at the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association’s (AFCEA) West 2011 conference in San Diego.

Remcon Plastics Inc. has hired Master Black Belt and Lean sensei Benjamin F. Wittich to run the rotational molding firm’s continuous improvement program.

The Green Grid, a global consortium that promotes energy efficiency in business computing systems, has named Six Sigma Black Belt Mark Monroe as its new executive director.

In another article published by iSixSigma, I proposed that implementing an integrated approach of Lean Six Sigma and theory of constraints (TOC) can lead to greater success for an organization than the use of an independent Lean Six Sigma approach. Since that article was published, I have received multiple queries about how to apply this […]

Recruitment has always been a good indicator of how the wider economy is faring. Since the global downturn, many recruitment companies have been squeezed. The rise of Internet-based recruitment, including social media tools, has added to their problems. Employers are watching their costs and they understand the alternative routes to new employees. As a result, […]

Most organizations are emerging from largest recession and slow recovery since the Great Depression. Unfortunately, the reactionary and inconsistent leadership responses to the meltdown have become the new cultural norm in organizations, taking culture backwards and destroying their ability to improve anything. Organizations have placed a “freeze” on improvement when they need it the most. […]

Soon after announcing its $3.5 billion takeover of St. Louis-based box maker Smurfit-Stone Container Corp., paperboard company Rock-Tenn said it plans to expand its Lean Six Sigma program to the new acquisition.

RS Precision, a manufacturer of a wide rnge of machine-tooled parts, has hired Allan Brill, a certified Lean expert and Six Sigma Black Belt, to the newly created position of continuous improvement manager.

The “Great Indian Bazaar” – the rapidly growing and evolving Indian retail market – presents special and daunting distribution challenges for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) products, such as groceries, toiletries and other items that are used up and must be replaced in a short amount of time. For a typical producer, about 100 stock keeping […]

I have a new saying for the new year: There’s an “L” before lean, and it’s Leadership. I’ve been saying this because I want to emphasize that lean is not the magic bullet that will cure disgruntled employees, overwhelmed staff, and broken processes… without effort from leaders. Over the years, as I have given lean […]

In its January/February issue, iSixSigma Magazine focuses on “Enhancing the Customer Experience.” What better way to explore that theme than through a look at retail giant Best Buy? In this profile, find out how the company is using Lean Six Sigma to satisfy both internal and external customers. The issue also offers how-to advice for […]

Based in Bardon, Leicestershire, U.K., Benson Group is one of the country’s largest carton suppliers, producing packaging for both the food and pharmaceutical industries at its 130,000-square-foot facility. The Bardon plant produces sheets of printed cardboard that is then cut and glued for use in the food industry as containers. With the adoption of Lean […]

Paul V. Arnold has joined iSixSigma, the leading provider of content for the Lean Six Sigma community, as Editor-in-chief.

During a Six Sigma project at an information technology (IT) department, there are many good reasons why a process or a system needs to change. There also are a few bad reasons – bad, but unavoidable. It’s up to the practitioners to decide how to transform bad reasons into good ones, and how to prevent […]

Circuit board maker EE Technologies (EET) is planning to add a fifth production line at its Emplame, Sonora, Mexico, facility and adopt Lean techniques to help meet rising demand for its products.

Onity, a provider of electronic locking systems, has announced that it has appointed W. Laird Hamberlin to the position of president. Laird, who is a certifed Six Sigma Black Belt, will be based in Onity’s global headquarters in Duluth, Ga., USA.

My son played football in high school, and one of the things that “football parents” were asked to do was to work at the stadium concession stand a few times during the season. Lucky me, I got to work at the cash register. This included filling orders for candy, gum, and drinks as well as […]

Mike Higgins of Molex will lead January 27 session on maximizing Lean Six Sigma value

When a company has multiple types of customers, a key factor in generating accurate voice-of-the-customer (VOC) data is the development of a unified VOC collection process. In my article, “Nice Doing Business With You” (iSixSigma Magazine, January/February 2011), I discussed various methods to ensure that all types of customer information is gathered from various departments […]

Hilco Appraisal Services, based in Northbrook, Ill., USA, has hired Master Black Belt James D. Glickman as the company’s chief marketing officer.

MoreSteam.com, the leading global provider of online Lean Six Sigma (LSS) training and Blended Learning support technologies, has expanded its international offerings with the release of three new foreign-language versions of its 80-hour Lean Six Sigma Green Belt.

How many times have you heard the saying, “Work will expand to fit the time available”? Even in industries where capacity expands and contracts depending on how much work there is to do, teams can still appear to be working hard all of the time. In value stream mapping exercises, Lean Six Sigma practitioners often […]

LaBarge Inc., a St. Louis-based manufacturer of electronic componenets, has named Black Belt Charles Metheny as the new operational excellence site leader for the company’s Berryville, Ark., USA, operation.

Running a call center is like handling a job interview: First impressions are critical. Good intentions do not make up for tardiness, ill-fitting clothing, dirty shoes, the inability to reasonably pronounce the interviewer’s name or ignorance about what the company does. The primary purpose of a call center is to increase the profitability of the […]

When the core of your business is about running more than 1,000 upscale hotels around the world, you learn a thing or two about meeting the needs of demanding customers. In 2001, Starwood Hotels and Resorts – owner of such famous hotel brands as Sheraton, Westin, W and Le Meridien – embarked on a Six […]

A true control strategy should be aligned with the process’s statistically based control limits.

Consumer electronics firm H.C. Starck Inc. will receive the “Evolution of Manufacturing” Award, an honor bestowed upon manufacturing companies located in Northern Ohio, USA, that have adapted their business plan to better compete in a global economy.

The city of Springfield, Mass., USA, has hired Marta Nichols, a Six Sigma Black Belt, to run its governement performance management program, known as CitiStat.

E-learning courses on the iSixSigma Marketplace are reviewed by an independent Master Black Belt and come with a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee.

Health Enhancement Products Inc., a manufacturer of health and wellness products in Scottsdale, Ariz., USA, has hired Troy Davis to fill the newly created position of operations manager.

When I teach lean concepts, it’s easy to talk about the concepts of timing the process steps. Most people nod their heads and say, yes, they get it. The idea is easy – each step has a start and a stop. But when I work with teams, it doesn’t seem to be so easy to work […]

The biomedical world – which includes the equipment used in hospitals, as well as physicians’ and dentists’ offices – is ripe for Six Sigma use. As a senior biomedical engineer and a Black Belt, I embarked on a Six Sigma journey that would provide top-quality service at reduced costs to my customers. As part of […]

After doing Continuous Improvement for some time, I started noticing improvement opportunities everywhere, in everyday life. Here is a recent example. With holidays and vacation days coming last December, I was going to get my basement organized and needed some shelf space. After reading some positive product reviews online, I bought two 48″ (wide) heavy […]

As improvement project leaders, Belts can sometimes lose track of an important factor in the success of a project: the impact that any changes stemming from the project will have on the stakeholders. As they rush quickly into data collection and employ tools such as failure mode and effects analysis, cause and effect matrix and […]

The MVP Awards recognize the Most Prolific and Most Helpful Posters on the iSixSigma Discussion Forum, the Best Blogger in the iSixSigma Blogosphere, and the Best Continuous Process Improvement Tweeter.

The Peninsula Regional Medical Center (PRMC), a hospital based in Salisbury, Md., USA, has promoted Six Sigma Black Belt Steve Leonard to the position of vice president of operations, optimization and innovation.

Confluence of Prime Numbers and MoreSteam Activity Adds Up to Exciting New Year

Crane Merchandising Systems, one of the world’s largest suppliers of vending machines and vending payment systems, has employed Lean techniques to consolidate two of its manufacturing operations into a single facility in Williston, S.C., USA.

“Ensure that every measure of performance is pertinent to the achievement of a goal or value of your organization. Otherwise, you risk misdirecting the organization.” –Peter Drucker, Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices (Harper & Row, 1974) Even in well-managed, global companies, the failure to measure what matters can lead to unintended consequences. Consider the following real-world […]

IC-TAG Solutions, a manufacturer of radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags, has begun the first phase of its Lean program, which includes a program to reuse and recycle materials and save energy during the manufacturing process.

Utlility vehicle and crane manufacturer Dueco Inc. has appointed Michael Johnson as its new materials manager. With more than 17 years of experience in the materials and operations field, Johnson has had extensive training in the Lean and Six Sigma methodologies.