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Former Stanford Tennis Coach, UPSTA Pro, USTA Official and Six Sigma Champion Steven Falk’s groundbreaking book “The Six Sigma Tennis College Scholarship Guide,” which uses proven quality management principles to achieve athletic excellence, is now available for parents of college-bound kids to increase tennis knowledge and gain the skills to secure a tennis scholarship.

Analogic Corporation, a leading provider of medical imaging and aviation security technology, announced today that the Company has received a $100,000 grant from the Massachusetts Division of Career Services (DCS) Workforce Training Fund. Analogic will use the funds to support a Lean Six Sigma training program to improve the Company’s productivity and reduce costs.

Letterkenny Army Depot, in Franklin County, Pa., has earned its sixth Shingo medallion for its work in 2009 on the Patriot missile system. Letterkenny repairs and rebuilds vehicles that support the anti-missile missile. They include the launcher, radar trailer, control center and antenna mast.

Throughout the world, both commercial and government organizations are engaged in efforts to improve their overall operations. Government agencies are faced with a particular challenge when trying to improve operations – they may be dealing with smaller work forces without a reduction in deliverables. This presents the need to become more efficient in order to […]

A free workshop for energy executives detailing how to move process improvement closer to the CEO’s office is scheduled for May 24 at the second annual Energy Forum for Process Excellence.

Using Six Sigma has proven highly successful in addressing internal issues where the focus is on reducing production defects and costs. One way to take the methodology to the next level is to integrate it with the marketing function. Marketing offers a portal to an organization’s external environment – the competitive marketplace – where the […]

I teach a full-day workshop called “Lean Boot Camp.” It’s an introduction to small-scope projects and tools, the kind you can do as a beginner like 5S and a Waste Walk. I use a phrase that I picked up somewhere: “The lean approach is simply having the ability to see waste, and the courage to […]

In a Six Sigma implementation, the initial focus is typically on training in-house Black Belts and Green Belts to work on projects that support the business strategy and, in the process, demonstrate the efficacy of the methodology. At this stage, program oversight and mentoring – the typical Master Black Belt role – is often provided […]

Validation of every material and piece of manufacturing equipment in the biopharmaceutical industry is an expensive and time-consuming process, costing drug companies and contract manufacturers millions of dollars and delaying time-to-market for a new medication. To reduce the impact of this challenge, manufacturers have moved toward the use of disposable manufacturing equipment — bioreactors, chromatography […]

The job of any purchasing department is to source for reliable suppliers who deliver products conforming to specification on time and within a certain price range. The more data is available about potential suppliers, the better the decision will be. The question is, how should that data be analyzed? The following case study helps to […]

Erie County, N.Y., Executive Chris Collins is looking for the third deputy county executive of his first term.

A large, Indian, fast-moving consumer goods company had completed successful total quality management (TQM) projects to improve its manufacturing efficiency, expedite vendor payments and increase availability of finished products. For its next project, the company wanted to address problems in human resources (HR). By working with HR process owners, a focus for the project emerged […]

MoreSteam.com, the leading global provider of online Lean Six Sigma training and Blended Learning support technologies, has partnered with the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University (OSU) to present an innovative and affordable Master Black Belt development program.

PowerSteering Software, the leader in on-demand enterprise project & portfolio management (PPM) solutions, today announced its achievement of Stage-Gate® Certification, solidifying its credentials in the New Product Development market.

Which delivery method of Six Sigma training do you prefer? How have curriculums been changing? What’s working – and what isn’t? Participate in a short iSixSigma survey on Six Sigma Training to find out. The results will be published in the July/August issue of iSixSigma Magazine. As a token of our appreciation for participating, we will […]

Any change to a process is only successful in the long run if the stakeholders truly adopt and sustain the change. Process and technology improvements cannot be implemented without a change in the hearts, minds and behaviors of the people involved in the change. True adoption and sustainability requires thoughtful planning and focus, which should […]

Lead Time and Cycle Time are two important metrics in Lean and process improvement in general. However, many people do not seem to understand the difference and their relationship. In fact, many use them interchangeably. This can lead to confusion in understanding the true problems in a process, and worse, poor decisions in process improvement. […]

From time to time, Belts may meet people who strongly oppose the implementation of Lean Six Sigma. These people may have had bad experiences, such as failed projects or losses on investment, which planted seeds of doubt regarding the usability of the Lean Six Sigma framework. But when projects or deployments fail, is it really […]

I’ve participated in a lot of projects where one of the first questions is: How are our competitors doing it? Are there any benchmarks or nationally-recognized “best practices?” While this may give a team a sense of security, or help to push stretch goals, sometimes I think it stifles creativity. If we are developing, or […]

Continuous Process Improvement (CPI) approaches such as Lean, Six Sigma and TOC have been applied to help organizations to improve their efficiencies and profitability. However, there had not been research to quantify the effects and contributions of each of these approaches, which led to a recent scientific research conducted from 2003 to 2005.

Many people have experienced the pinch of money from time to time. As a Black Belt, I decided to use Six Sigma to aid in managing my money, and conducted a project to lower my expenses.

Contaminated needle sticks are a risk for healthcare workers. These injuries are frightening because the patient whose blood was pricked into the nurse, medical assistant, lab tech or other healthcare worker can be contaminated with Hepatitis B or C, or HIV/AIDS. Once the blood-borne pathogen exposure has occurred, the employee has to undergo tests to […]

For many middle and senior managers who are considering business improvement initiatives, the thought of committing resources to a three- or four-month Six Sigma project can be a daunting. Many managers feel they are already working “flat out” and don’t have the people to spare. Others understand the reality that projects can sometimes stretch out […]

Instantis, a leading provider of on-demand project portfolio management software used by business process and IT leaders to improve strategy execution and financial performance, announced today that WR Grace will lead an upcoming Webinar entitled: Optimizing the New Product Development Process at Grace.

Today, the International Association for Six Sigma Certification, (IASSC), announced the opening of an additional 200 Testing Centers around the world.

Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies (ADAT), a Mubadala-owned firm that provides maintenance, repair and overhaul services in the aviation industry, has embarked on a comprehensive performance and quality enhancement program that will further hone its technical prowess and improve efficiency to boost revenues.

For any organization, the first step in a Lean Six Sigma deployment is deciding to use the methodology. Once the leadership of an organization believes they can benefit from using Lean Six Sigma, they can follow eight steps – from creating a burning platform for adopting the approach to recognizing team member contributions – to […]

D.H. Stamatis, Ph.D., a leader in the field of quality, has been named 2010 Professional of the Year by Quality Magazine. He has spoken on numerous engagements, written more than 70 articles and published more than 25 books, including one of the top selling books by Quality Press on failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA).

Fine Tubes, the leading manufacturer of high-quality precision tubes in the United Kingdom, has recently appointed Dr. Richard Fletcher ss Quality Director.

The International Six Sigma Institute and Secret Society for Imperious Professionals of Process Improvement (ISSISSIPPI) today announced a breakthrough in the controversy surrounding Lean Six Sigma Certification standards.

After overtaking General Motors as the world’s largest car maker in early 2009, Japan-based Toyota Motor Corp. is now facing withering criticism from its own shareholders and the U.S. Congress as a result of the accelerating and braking systems in its cars, which have led to the recall of about 9 million vehicles worldwide as […]

Although it is typically taught in the Improve stage of training, the FMEA has a place in other phases. But before you can reap its many benefits, you must first be clear on how to use it.

I recently read a blog on GE Healthcare’s website. http://nextlevel.gehealthcare.com/cost/a-child-of-our-own.php Although the general idea of needing better ways to improve healthcare systems is valid, I cannot agree with the underlying interpretation of what Lean and Six Sigma are. It seems to me many people view Lean and Six Sigma as 1. tools for solving specific […]

Businesses are in business to make money. But calculating the true value of any project (Lean Six Sigma or otherwise) with respect to its impact on margin has always been challenging, mainly due to the ambiguity of turning notions into dollar values. For instance, it is clear that training employees will improve expertise and productivity, […]

On Tuesday, April 13, 2010, Xerox Canada and MoreSteam.com will co-host a one-day Lean Six Sigma program for education and networking.

The demand for business intelligence continually increases. Tapping into predictive analytics, a type of data mining that can be used to make reliable predictions of future events based on analysis of historical data, can help.

“We’re different!” Practitioners often hear these words while attempting to deploy Lean Six Sigma. While the phrase is sometimes viewed as an excuse to avoid change, in the case of the marketing and sales function within a pharmaceutical organization, it may hold some validity. This article explores ten reasons why sales and marketing claim to […]

Sentrx, the leading provider of drug safety services to the life sciences industry, is pleased to announce the appointment of Lauren Stewart as Vice President, Quality Standards and Corporate Compliance.

A new project team forms to solve a business problem and asks the simple question, “What is the current process?” A little digging around yields a dusty old process document, but it is so out-of-date. The project team (in their element) run a brown paper process mapping to get the true current process. Detailed analysis […]

The Quality profession has always been about improving processes, products and services. From TQM to PDCA to Six Sigma, all Quality methodologies are focused on eliminating defects and the root causes of those defects. It involves products that satisfy your customers, running processes at greater efficiencies, producing less waste and increasing business productivity. All of […]

Message: 8897 Posted by: Carlos Castillo Posted on: Tuesday, 29th January 2002 What are the benefits of choosing 6sigma over Kaizen, 6 sigma seems a great deal more expensive and more bureucratic. I have obtained great gains from Kiazen with minimal investment. Message: 8899 Posted by: mn Posted on: Tuesday, 29th January 2002 ——————————————————————————– I […]

Message: 16306 Posted by: Eric Posted on: Thursday, 25th July 2002 My company is actively deploying Lean Mfg principles. To this point, we have not been heavily involved with Six Sigma. Although recently our Customers have heightened our awareness of Six Sigma by asking/ requiring us to participate in their Six Sigma efforts – including […]

For online betting organization Betfair, based in the United Kingdom, scrupulous identification of customers is vital. Within 72 hours of creating a Betfair account, the customer’s age must be verified to be 18 years or older. Betfair’s verification process is a necessary part of protecting customers and the business, and for complying with relevant U.K. […]

Message: 15934 Posted by: Tim Posted on: Wednesday, 17th July 2002 ——————————————————————————– Hi, I am writing my thesis about Six Sigma and try to compare TQM and Six Sigma. Actually there are differences but does anyone know how to define TQM exactly. Can I use Deming for this comparison? Does it make sence to point […]

Motorola, the company that holds the Six Sigma trademark, says the data-driven defect-reduction process has saved the company more than $16 billion over the past 15 years. Six Sigma has generated similarly stunning results at companies here and abroad in the manufacturing, transactional, and service sectors. All businesses – regardless of sector, size, or project – link […]

Bill Smith spent years convincing higher-ups that he really had invented a better mousetrap. Then he spent the rest of his life spreading the word to business professionals, government leaders and educators. Smith’s mousetrap? It was Six Sigma, the TQM spin off that has generated billions of dollars for Motorola, the company where Smith introduced […]

On behalf of Six Sigma Academy, I would like to take this opportunity to clarify the evolution of six sigma since this seems to be a lively topic of conversation among many practitioners (even cartoonists!) these days. The roots of six sigma as a measurement standard can be traced back to Carl Frederick Gauss (1777-1855) […]