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Many Six Sigma experts have expressed doubt that Six Sigma can be used effectively in small, or even in some medium-sized, organizations. However, while the approach to deployment must be modified, it is possible for small businesses to successfully implement Six Sigma. Here is how. At the outset, several givens must be in place: The […]

One of the most frequent questions asked by software groups new to Six Sigma is something like, “What types of problems should we address with Six Sigma?” While there is no one-size-fits-all answer to this sort of question, there are criteria that are universally applicable and provide a project selection framework that covers general top-level […]

In 2008, iSixSigma set out to define the work environment that is most desirable to Six Sigma professionals and to honor the companies that best provide it. Employees from nominated companies were invited to complete surveys that examined factors such as job satisfaction, culture, rewards and recognition, and training and career development. The result is […]

For many years industries have used Cp, Cpk, Pp, and Ppk as statistical measures of process quality capability. Some segments in manufacturing have specified minimal requirements for these parameters, even for some of their key documents, such as advanced product quality planning and ISO/TS-16949. Six Sigma, however, suggests a different evaluation of process […]

In the 1990s, the teller counter was the primary customer-facing area in the financial service industry, and so improvement efforts were leveraged in this arena. With increased improvements in technology and online banking utilization, however, process improvement efforts have shifted to internal areas. Yet companies must realize that even though customers are becoming more self-reliant […]

When competition for new markets and customers increases, the level of customer satisfaction becomes a key factor for long-term business success. Satisfied customers often become loyal customers and help to ensure future cash flow. In their article “Zero Defections: Quality Comes to Services” (Harvard Business Review, 1990) F.F. Reichfeld and W.E. Sasser report that a […]

Like morning leads the day, a well-defined, well-scoped Six Sigma project is more likely to be completed and lead to savings. A DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) project that starts directly at the Measure phase has the potential to be ditched as investigation of the current problem may open a can of worms that […]

There has been a buzz about DMAIC, and it goes something like this: “Because DMAIC is for reactive problem solving, and companies are getting more proactive and oriented to Design for Lean Six Sigma (DFLSS), what is going to happen when the reactive problems go away? Won’t the use of DMAIC dwindle or disappear?” The […]

To generate a valuable customer survey, practitioners should follow nine steps. Part One of this series discussed the first three steps: establishing a goal, determining the sample and choosing the methodology. Part Two covered the fourth, fifth and sixth steps, which related to what types of questions to ask and how they should be asked. […]

Can we trust the data? This is the fundamental question behind measurement system analysis (MSA). The question can come up in any data-based project. Shortcomings in a measurement system’s accuracy (bias, linearity, stability or correlation) and precision (resolution, repeatability or reproducibility) can obstruct analysis purposes. One often-overlooked aspect of resolution is data granularity, or the […]

Lean Improves Airborne Radio Test, Repair Process

March Webcast on New Lean Six Sigma Belt Certification Standard

To characterize the effectiveness of productions tests, practitioners often use several types of metrics. Some measure the efficiency of the manufacturing process, while others measure the productivity. While these metrics are useful in many situations, they also come with drawbacks and limitations. One process can be efficient but not productive, while another may have high […]

Newspapers face pressure from their external customers to minimize the cycle time of their production process at both ends of the supply chain. At the start of the chain, readers want the freshest news, while advertisers want the latest possible closing time for booking ads. At the end of the chain, even a few minutes […]

MoreSteam.com Announces Release of ‘The Blended Learning Playbook’

The series features process excellence and IT leaders from high tech (Lenovo), outsourced information management services (Recall) and a diversified manufacturing and services conglomerate (Borusan Group).

Editor’s note: A longer version of this article was previously published in the September/October 2009 issue of iSixSigma Magazine. When the U.S. Department of Defense opened a Continuous Process Improvement/Lean Six Sigma Program Office in October 2007, the office had no budget, no staff and, in fact, no office space. But it did have a […]

Across all industries, there is one area of Six Sigma that can mean the difference between success and failure of deployment: project selection. Whether the method is used in manufacturing or service organizations, the future of a deployment is always influenced by the quality of project selection. Project selection typically starts with generating ideas. The […]

Quality audits are performed to verify the effectiveness of a quality management system. They can also be used to: Gain internationally recognized quality certifications, such as ISO 9001. Verify the existence of objective process data. Assess how successfully processes have been implemented. Judge the effectiveness of achieving any defined target levels. Provide evidence concerning reduction […]

Kaizen events – concentrated meetings that are designed to bring about rapid change – are often misunderstood by those who have not completed one. From the outside, the events may simply seem like advanced all-day meetings with fanfare. What many organizations do not fully appreciate is the investment required to pull off such an orchestrated […]

Ten companies have earned places on the second annual list of iSixSigma’s Best Places to Work™.

Clients Win CEO and Deployment Leader of the Year Honors at The Global Six Sigma and Business Improvement Awards

BMGI Releases Its 2010 Training Calendar – Corporate Training Tailored for Individuals and Small Groups

iSixSigma Sells E-learning Products With Four Top Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Courses

The current ISO 14001:2004 standard for environmental management systems has explicit requirements for defining and establishing objective targets and measures as part of an organization’s commitment to sound environmental management. Meeting these standards can be made easier when Six Sigma is applied in complement to an organization’s environmental management system. The presence of a robust […]

An international bank with 50 branches in Germany and approximately 300 employees decided in 2003 to adopt Six Sigma in all its business units in Europe. It then set out to use Six Sigma to implement one of its priority business strategies – significantly grow its car loan business in the next two years. The […]

iSixSigma Names Finalists for Most Successful Lean Six Sigma Programs and Largest-Breakthrough Improvement Projects

Personnel and Readiness Information Management (P&R IM), Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness), led an in-depth analysis of the Health Treatment Record (HTR) life cycle management process. The HTR is the chronological documentation of medical, dental and mental health care received by a service member during the course of his or […]

One of the most challenging concepts in Sort is the differentiation between needed and unneeded items. To make this step clear and easy to implement, it’s important to have a conversation to define what is “necessary” for the organization.

From the inception of iSixSigma Magazine, a regular feature of the publication was exclusive research on aspects of deploying Six Sigma. The topics benchmarked have ranged from “Black Belt Return on Investment” in the inaugural issue, January/February 2005, to “The Lean Six Sigma Toolset” in November/December 2009. In addition, the magazine reports each year on […]

MoreSteam.com Releases Transactional Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Course

The Army Recognizes Special Warriors

Quality Council of Alberta to Offer Online Lean Six Sigma Training

Effective cultural change is not simply the result of a large group of people accepting the arguments of other influential people – it is the sum of the change of that population’s values, operational knowledge and habitual behaviors. Essentially, culture is not changed until a majority of the population is thinking and acting differently from […]

PowerSteering Announces Upcoming Webcast: ‘Lean Six Sigma Beyond Process Maps – Delving into the Cultural Impacts’

iSixSigma Magazine is celebrating five years as a resource for Lean Six Sigma professionals. During those years, iSixSigma has produced a series of research reports on aspects of deploying Six Sigma. Here we’ve compiled benchmarking data on training.

Lean is gaining wide acceptance in these troubled times of recession across the globe. Organizations are striving to be more efficient in order to create more value for their customers. Many are using a project approach to Lean, which means focusing on a specific process and improving that process to achieve a certain output metric. […]

The increased demand and limited supply of fossil fuels has signified the importance of energy efficiency and conservation across the world. Energy resourcefulness has come to the forefront in both federal and private organization’s policies and practices. Many organizational standards and procedures aim to minimize the use of energy, thereby protecting the environment. Various federal […]

iSixSigma Congratulates Winners of Most Successful Lean Six Sigma Programs and Largest-Breakthrough Improvement Projects

Rising implant costs continue to impact hospitals across the nation. As technology expands, physicians are given new opportunities to try the most advanced implantable devices manufacturers have to offer. This was no different at Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital in Houston, Texas, USA. The hospital has one of the largest cardiology programs in Houston offering complete […]

It is crucial to have good leadership, the correct team, a solid project charter, and personal and business incentives to be successful in Lean Six Sigma. When all these items are in place, it is possible to run a first-class deployment.

Leaders need to take charge of identifying projects, determining the business case, defining the scope, establishing the goals and estimating the project timeline. This helps to ensure that projects are truly strategically important to the business.

To be successful, Six Sigma programs often need certain catalysts to precipitate change and help ingrain the method in an organization. The 10 catalysts explored here are most important in ensuring that a program takes hold.

Organizations are realizing the importance of measuring which business process models are the most beneficial. One of the best ways to determine how well these models suit the business is a cost-benefit analysis to estimate the return on investment.

Customer complaints, known in the VOC process as reactive data, may be difficult to hear, but they are valuable information for an organization to track. They usually represent many unspoken issues, and can be used to take needed improvement action.

For companies hoping to groom future leaders, a two- or three-year Black Belt tenure can serve as a key testing ground. Therefore, it is important to select the right Belt candidates, provide them with proper training and assess their performance.

Linking DMAIC process measures to rewards as part of an annual employee objectives and appraisal process is a step often taken imprudently. It can create distortions in how the business processes are run and how Belts approach their work.

There is a synergistic relationship between enterprise risk management and Six Sigma. The continuous improvement methodology assists leadership in managing both the operations of the organization and the inherent risk associated with it.

Testing

A Six Sigma approach to marketing may be the missing piece in the marketing accountability movement. By selecting a target audience and positioning their messages to those people, marketers can become more effective while saving on cost.