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CEOs of businesses launching Six Sigma initiatives often say they expect Six Sigma to help create a company culture of continuous improvement, as well as achieve important financial results. Having culture change as an explicit reason for doing Six Sigma is not only laudable, it shows savvy. Experience demonstrates that changing the way work is […]

MoreSteam.com Grants Starfish Family Services $250,000 in Six Sigma Training

Since launching its Six Sigma program in 2001, Decatur Memorial Hospital has trained a team of Green Belts, Black Belts, Master Black Belts and change agents, and completed projects that have led to increased quality and efficiency across the organization. And despite being four years old, the program remains vital with a high energy level. […]

MoreSteam University Intends To Join Big Ten Conference

Professor Peter J. Kolesar of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business Joins Juran Institute’s Board of Directors

One of the benefits associated with the deployment of digital image capture technologies is the elimination for the need to photographically record images on microfilm. There is a general perception that the quality of microfilm images is inferior to those produced by recently deployed digital imaging equipment. Despite the perception, there was a need and […]

For a business to successfully change its processes to meet customer needs and expectations, it must use measurable critical-to-satisfaction data. One company, a homebuilding business, used customer satisfaction surveys to measure performance for several years with customers receiving surveys periodically throughout their homebuilding experience. Then the company used this information to implement change. Data collected […]

In the late 1990s, the Bank of the Southwest (BSW), a regional financial institution located in the southwestern United States, decided it was not getting its fair share of the equity loan business. Residential housing prices were climbing at a steady rate in virtually all of its markets, and credit card debt also was rising. […]

Because of the rapid growth and increased competition in information technology (IT), business process outsourcing (BPO) and other service sector industries in India, quality and cost of operations have become the major distinguishing factors among such companies. Survival, growth and profits depend on how an organization controls its costs and satisfies its clients or customers. […]

There is no need for another survey to confirm what healthcare professionals already know – healthcare delivery is overdue for a major renovation. New management models and strategies must be adopted that will: Enable quick, sustainable results around immediate issues. Equip teams with solid problem-solving skills and proven best practices. Empower the organization with a […]

While most information technology (IT) organizations are constantly struggling to demonstrate cost savings, too few are focusing on ways to add value to the business. Alignment with the business is where the emphasis should be for IT departments. CIOs today are actively involved in divesting business processes, and partnering with new offshore providers in countries […]

During a Six Sigma project, the defect rate of the business process is calculated twice, first during the Define phase to show the impact of the problem and again during the Control phase to show how the process has improved. Although effective analysis of data that is not distributed normally is possible, completing one of […]

Six Sigma can be used in every business and every department within a company – even in places where many executives might not think it can apply, such as public relations. While PR professionals focus a good deal of time and effort measuring the results of public relations campaigns, they typically spend relatively little time […]

A Six Sigma project at a medical transcription company in India for U.S.-based customers first debunked the myth that output quality variability cannot be systematically improved because of the inherent variability of input quality and human skills. Then, encouraged by the results, the company launched a second phase of the quality movement to consolidate learning, […]

It is widely recognized that successfully implementing Six Sigma requires leading and managing change effectively. Today’s manager lives in the paradoxical world of having to simultaneously control day-to-day operations, while encouraging appropriate risk taking. Leading change, especially in successful businesses, is about aligning energy through a compelling vision of the future. The willingness to change […]

Many factors can play a role in corporate initiatives that succeed over the long haul and those that fail. But, five factors appear to have the biggest leverage in determining whether a company can achieve long-term success with Lean Six Sigma.

With a fundamental drive to excel in place, the management and staff of Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles have taken this quest to a higher level during the last few years through the application of Six Sigma, Lean and change management techniques.

At Providence Hospital in Detroit waiting times to see physicians in the emergency department (ED) ranged from 11 minutes to 4 hours. The hospital implemented Six Sigma and Lean to make an enormous improvement in its ED and express care program.

Failed Six Sigma efforts usually lack management commitment and attention to the investments needed to reach new levels of performance. But practical steps can be taken to maintain the focus and drive needed to reap the benefits of Six Sigma.

Some companies are taking Six Sigma tools and methodologies outside their regular operations and finding ways to apply them directly to their customers’ needs. It is proving to be a great sales tool that keeps them ahead of marketplace competitors.

A brief, well-organized presentation can be an effective method to introduce new employees to the concepts of Six Sigma, and at the same time stimulate interest and future participation in Six Sigma projects.

iSixSigma Description on ISSSP Website

If an organization’s Six Sigma program is beginning to fail, there are warning signals. Those signals can be as simple as gut feelings, but many can be compiled into a list of specifics which indicate a disconnection from the core business.

When a $1 billion European business pondered the need for a multi-million dollar CRM system and if its sales force would really use the system, an executive put the company on the right course by suggesting Six Sigma could help find the answers.

The objective of Lean Six Sigma is not reducing headcount, it is – among other things – increasing the opportunity for growth. And one of those growth opportunities can be found in General Electric’s “At the Customer, For the Customer” idea.

Six Sigma Project Selection – How Organizations Choose the Most Important Six Sigma Projects.

Strong sponsorship and chartering are key components for a successful Six Sigma project. Regardless of the Green Belt’s or Black Belt’s skills, there is a limited chance for project success unless these components are well conceived.

After embarking on a Six Sigma journey, many organizations soon realize that one of the most significant benefits is also one of the most difficult to quantify. It cannot be measured in terms of “Z” scores or analyzed using a box plot. This benefit is the “people value” (no relation to p-value). It is the […]

“As technology moves more and more into the very fabric of our existence, the real-time existence of consumers and businesses and the economy, the reliability of systems will need to reach the level of dial-tone. Consequently, the techniques used to develop systems, the quality of these systems, and the demands on the performance of these […]

Help desk organizations inevitably have waste in their processes that leads to customer complaints. Overcome those obstacles through value stream analysis – an efficient, effective process to review and improve help desk functions.

Whether it is Lean, DMAIC or DFSS, Six Sigma boils down to improving business processes. And irrespective of the methodology employed or the scientific rigor behind it, every process improvement initiative – if it is to be successful – has to be approved, understood and implemented by people. Given the body of work published about human inertia […]

A distinguished panel of healthcare executives recently shared their thoughts on the importance of leaders taking an active and visible role in their organization’s quality initiatives. They also agreed on the need for organizations to develop the right management systems and structures to adequately support their quality efforts, measure outcomes and encourage accountability. Speaking on […]

Several years ago, a company created a wristwatch pager – quite an advancement for its time – combining a wristwatch and pager in one. The developer instituted production quality at near Six Sigma level. Yet, the product never sold. While failure can occur for a number of reasons – quality, cost or being late to market […]

GOAL/QPC, Publisher of the World-Renowned Memoery Jogger Pocket Guides, Announces Merger with Member-Based Leading Quality Improvement Firm, CQM

Lean Six Sigma for Supply Chain Management

MVS Collaborates with Minitab to Bring the Voice of the Market to Strategic Six Sigma

Rath & Strong Announces the Eagerly Awaited Rath & Strong’s Lean Pocket Guide

US Fuels is responsible for the wholesale fuels operations in the United States for its parent company, BP, one of the world’s largest energy companies. US Fuels supplies branded gasoline to company-owned gas stations and branded fuel jobbers, and diesel fuel to commercial accounts such as railroads, trucking companies, transit authorities and truck stops. The […]

Since the early 1970s software and information technology (IT) has been significantly changing the way products, processes and services are designed, delivered and maintained. At an exponentially increasing rate, software and IT have become the driving force in the way people work, recreate and educate. Most experts estimate this global “industry” at about US $1 […]

When a Houston hospital found it had a 12 percent incidence of pressure ulcers – exceeding the 7 percent national average – it put a team in place and launched a project to reduce the incidence of pressure ulcers by half within a nine-month period. By Senaida (Cindy) Garza, Veronica Okere, Jackson Igbinoba, Kristi Novosad […]

Manugistics Group and StatPoint End Licensing Partnership for STATGRAPHICS Centurion XV®

How can some organizations experience so much success in implementing a Six Sigma continuous improvement program while others fail to fully achieve the desired results? The answer lies in their approach to the program.

A large-scale performance improvement initiative based on Six Sigma and change management improves the quality of patient care, raising satisfaction and increasing efficiency across the continuum of care.

The Lean event started with videotaping a press wash-up process to establish a baseline. After studying the tape, the team tried out new processes to reduce the wash-up time. After some refinements, time was cut 55% and savings was $150,000 a year.

How can a company find time for improvement if its managers are spending all their time fighting fires and managing the day-to-day responsibilities? How is it possible to improve a process when the company barely has the resources to maintain it? This all too common obstacle faces many organizations. One approach that leverages these resources […]

Six Sigma training, or any training for that matter, is of no value if it does not result in performance improvement that is quantifiable. And any learning by anyone requires support — the availability of interpersonal resources.

CEOs want to know the return on investment of Lean Six Sigma projects, and CFOs want to compare the real financial results to “PowerPoint dollars.” A rigorous approach to calculating an improvement project’s impact is important to every organization.

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Who’s Who Prize Drawing

The process improvement journey at Jordan Hospital took a large step forward last year when the organization was introduced to Lean Six Sigma concepts as part of a departmental optimization effort for its internal pharmacy.