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Last week I spent an evening at the local emergency center with my mom. The experience reminded me of the old saying: “You are only as good as your weakest link.” And here’s why. . . When I walked into the emergency center I was immediately accosted by a huge poster focused on customer service […]

In January I looked through the ASQ body of knowledge (BoK) for Black Belt and said to myself, “I know most of this stuff now”. So put in my entry and passed the Mar’08 exam. I thought I would share the experience, as I believe a number of practitioners may have looked at the ASQ […]

Imagine a world in which we routinely do things Right First Time, Every Time. There would be no more rework as first time yield is 100% and no need to coach & mentor as green & black belts hit the ground running. Unfortunately it tends to be the case that in order to be Right […]

There’s a great quote from Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” that I was thinking of today, in relation to how we teach lean. Thecharacter Malvoliosays, “Be not afraid of greatness. Someare born great, someachieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon ’em.” So, with apologies to Will… “Some are born lean, some achieve lean, and some have […]

Thank you to all who attended iSixSigma’s premier webcast. We had a great time delivering it live from Boston last week. If you missed it though…it is now available online for your viewing pleasure. Gary Cox drew a special Cox-Box just for the event. The only place to see it is on the webcast. You’ll […]

What the heck is SigmaLeanZenOut? It is what a lot of people are doing in the world of continuous improvement. No matter where you got started, most companies gradually evolve to SigmaLeanZenOut. Six Sigma deployments add Lean, Kaizen, and then Workout (not necessarily in that order). Lean deployments add Kaizen, Workout then Six Sigma. You […]

I’ve received a decent number of emails and calls from people who wanted to see our premiere webcast, but couldn’t attend for one reason or another. Rest assured, we will be releasing a recorded version of the webcast soon. We’re still finalizing the recording, landing page, etc. Stay tuned to the iSixSigma Blogosphere for an […]

I was privileged to speak at a conference in San Francisco last weekend, sponsored by the American Society for Clinical Pathology. The topics focused on leadership in the clinical (medical) laboratory. After giving a presentation on 6S, I served asa panel member for questions submitted from the audience. One of the questions asked, “What can […]

It’??s election time again in Malaysia on 8th March 2008. I picked up this interesting story from Yahoo and wish to share it with the readers here. Held once every 5 years, this article talks about dead voters in Malaysia. KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia has found nearly 9,000 people aged more than 100 on its […]

Many of you have recently heard about the tremendous loss to the Quality profession. There is a press release from Juran Institute and a forum discussion. I had an email forwarded to me from the leaders of the Joseph M. Juran Center for Leadership in Quality. Below is the email:   February 29, 2008 Dear […]

In a previous post I mentioned that our webcast tomorrow was heading for a record. Well, as of this morning we’re up to 850 registrants. If you haven’t registered, please do so immediately! http://goto.spotfire.com/isixsigmawc/ Michael Marx, our research manager, will be going over the 5th Annual iSixSigma Global Six Sigma Salary Survey and highlighting some […]

“Innovation comes from the producer – not from the customer.” -W Edwards Deming   In the course of teaching Kano Analysis to green belts and others, I frequently talk about the difficulty in uncovering delighters or excitement needs, as the customer often cannot articulate these at an actionable level. Or in other words, “The iPod […]

Oh no – not a label! Too bad. Whether you like it or not, you are being labeled – or branded – every day. Regardless of whether your company brands themselves and markets this brand or does nothing, your customers have already put a brand on you. Think about it. What comes to mind when […]

Well, we might be getting close to the largest Six Sigma Webcast in history! If you haven’t seen Michael Marx’s previous post, iSixSigma is planning our premiere webcast event next Tuesday, March 4. It will be given by Michael (research manager for iSixSigma and iSixSigma Magazine) and feature his insights and explanations for salaries around […]

When I’m asked to do a presentation, for corporate training or national conferences, I always try to present in a style that reflects how we practice lean six sigma. How do you gain buy-in in any change process? By having the group participate in the discussion or decision! So, I add interactive segments into my […]

It’s been awhile since my last blog posting… much time was spent managing my home renovation project. It’s now completed, I can sit down and ‘do my things’. I started blogging (my own blogsite) Six Sigma in April 2007 with the intention of staying in touch with the subject matter and also to learn certain […]

In the transactional environment, we frequently run projects around reducing cycle times. More often than not, cycle time distributions are not normal, owing to the fact that there is a hard stop at 0 – negative cycle times to complete transactions rarely seen. Despite the fact that most statistical analysis is built on the assumption […]

I recently spoke at a Lean Six Sigma Conference for Services hosted by the American Strategic Management Institute (ASMI). One of the morning speakers started her presentation by taking a quick survey. She went around the room and asked everyone three questions . . . What industry are you from? How long has your company […]

Mark your calendars… Tuesday March 4th, at 11 a.m. Eastern… The iSixSigma Global Salary Survey webcast. Attendance is free of charge. Just register to attend with your name and an email address. I’ll be your host along with Brad Hopper of Spotfire. Together we’ll dive into the Fifth Annual iSixSigma Global Salary Survey. This year we’ve […]

In healthcare, we are definitely trying to speed things up for our patients. Billboards around our area (and maybe, around the country) promise 30 minute door-to-doc time in their Emergency Departments (EDs). One promises no waiting to be seen by a healthcare professional! Mini-offices are springing up in chain pharmacies, promising no waiting for minor […]

LSS Academy’s Ron Pereira goes live with his first vlog (video blog). In this video Ron walks us through a “one piece flow” versus “mass production” simulation to showdifferences between the two approaches. Today with his first vlog, Ron also relaunched Lean Six Sigma Academy with the added functionality of a web 2.0 site. Take a minute […]

Reacting to the last several months of turmoil in the capital markets, I want to discuss an area where Lean Six Sigma professionals who work in banking and financial services should focus their attention, acquire new skills, and start having an impact –?? enterprise risk. A couple of years ago, one of my former colleagues […]

We can add one more U.S. city to the roster of those using Lean Six Sigma to better serve their citizens. Hattiesburg, Mississippi is following the Six Sigma example of Fort Wayne and Erie County. A couple of projects are already underway… Hattiesburg city employees Julia Lowe, an Urban Development accountant, and Maj. Billy Lane […]

I opened this morning’s USA Today while on the road, and was struck by this story. It details how a simple clerial error on the part of a pharmacy technician resulted in wrong dosage instructions – “As Needed” rather than “4 pills, 2 times per day” – and a fatal overdose for a Florida man. […]

The SBTI Show is the new and improved SBTI Lean Six Sigma Podcast. Sigma Breakthrough Technologies, Inc. is a forerunner in Six Sigma consulting firms that use the web to educate and instruct the masses in the ways of Six Sigma. The SBTI Show is a collection of video podcasts that you can listen to […]

Effectiveness = Quality * Acceptance * Execution   I originally learned this equation during Green Belt training as Effectiveness (of Solution) = Quality * Acceptance, and it immediately resonated with me. In order to produce the most effective solution to a given problem, the solution had to be of high quality, and it had to […]

Bob Hagemann, CFO and VP of Quest Diagnostics, recently spoke about the company at the Wachovia Healthcare Conference. During the presentation he touched on Six Sigma. Even after seven years pursuing Six Sigma, Quest Diagnostics is still expanding their deployment. Below are a few excerpts from the presentation: Our program to reduce costs by $500 […]

In Six Sigma we’re taught reducing variance is a good thing but is this really always the case? Take currency for example. In the US all paper currency is the same size and the same color. By reducing variance I’m sure the US Mint has saved costs by having a standardized ink color, standardized cutting […]

I am pleased and excited to announce that CTQ Media, owner of the publishing brands including iSixSigma, Real Innovation, BPM Enterprise and Sourcingmag, is on the verge of a new era of growth and expansion.

Think about this: when was the last time you told someone about an experience that met your expectations. Perhaps it was an adequate dinner while on the road, or a satisfactory hotel stay. Now think about the last time your expectations either weren’t met at all, or were wildly exceeded. How many people did you […]

I just spent three days at IQPC’s 2008 Lean Six Sigma and Process Improvement Summit where more than 600 process improvement professionals came together to learn, share and network. In addition to getting a “booster shot” from Jack Welch, it was great hearing other professionals share their thoughts and experiences about how they have applied […]

Gianna Clark has been blogging for iSixSigma for over two years. She’s written nearly 80 posts speaking her mind. What’s on Gianna’s mind also happens to be good Six Sigma sense, excellent advice, and plenty of good fun. Outside the iSixSigma Blogosphere, Gianna is the Deployment Leader for Dominion and was recently awarded Deployment Leader […]

Over my career I have taken many personality & skill tests. For example, I know my Myers Briggs Indicator Type, mapped myself across the Insight Discovery Wheel, discovered my rating on the Management Assessment of Proficiency, found the next number in the sequence, found the wrong shaped shape and generally been tested in every conceivable […]

As I’m reading the newspaper, I notice two articles from different countries, Australia and China, both about eliminating plastic bag usage in retail outlets by the end of 2008. The Australian article focused on the benefits and did provide a few statistics, such as the number of bags used annually, estimated % decrease of landfill […]

Many organizations are awash in data, generating enormous and plentiful reports with a variety of statistics. Others have little data to work with, often going by gut feel and experience when decisions are to be made. Most are somewhere in between. In the transactional world, many process measurement systems are manual, comprised of spreadsheets, Access […]

It is the aim of most Continuous Improvement programs to transform the organization. Six Sigma usually attempts to do this in one of two ways: By taking top-down approach, wherein the end state of transformation is articulated and communicated by organizational leaders, and stages and activities of the transformation are painted only in very broad […]

My healthcare organization uses a versionof Lean Six Sigma that may be familiar to some of you. First, project definition through hoshin kanri(enterprise value stream mapping and value stream analysis). Define -VOC, CTQs, and performance specifications. Measure -Value Stream Mapping with analysis of data. Analyze -Waste Walk, SpaghettiMapping, and statistical analysis where appropriate. Lean – […]

Networking, by definition, is a supportive system of sharing information among individuals or groups having a common interest. Next week, IQPC is hosting one of the biggest networking opportunities of the year. It’s the 2008 Lean Six Sigma & Process Improvement Summit. This year hundreds of process improvement professionals will converge in sunny Florida to make […]

USA Today reporter Del Jones interviews Textron CEO Lewis Campbell. This is an outstanding Q&A session with a CEO who knows Six Sigma. Finally, a mainsteam media outlet that goes right to the source for information about the success of Six Sigma. Nine tough questions, nine solid answers. I especially liked the final question about […]

Lost Tools # 2 Data In this quick fire working environment using a ‘Sore Thumb Approach’ strategy (something hurts so you go fix it quick), we don’t always have time to collect the data. I’ve just taught the Measure phase to a wave of Green Belts and other than a SIPOC IT’S ALL ABOUT COLLECTING […]

Having now delivered many transactional projects I have noticed common themes repeatedly occurring. These include: IT Systems that have been poorly designed or operated Inadequately thought through policies & procedures Opaque, non-existent or duplicate processes Lack of viable information on process performance But there is one area I would like to focus, decision points. People […]

Every morning and every evening I walk to and from work.It can go fromcold rainy days (like today!) to balmy summer evenings. I enjoy the exercise and get to watch the changing of the seasons. For those of you with a statistical bent this is the season to “guess the population distribution”. On my return […]

The January/February issue of iSixSigma Magazine is out. Aside from being a fantastic issue in itself, the research feature is one that I particularly enjoyed researching and writing. Thanks to all those who responded to our survey last year we were able to gather solid data from the soft side of Six Sigma. The research […]

We graduated another Lean Six Sigma class last week. Our version of Lean Six Sigma is based on the DMAIC structure and Lean tools that works well in our healthcare organization, and this was our 8th class since October 2006. Just before we handed out the certificates for course completion, the hospital President who took […]

Gianna Clark notes that several hundred companies began their Six Sigma journeys about seven years ago. Is Six Sigma the quality equivalent of a stock market bubble? Are we cheerleaders of an irrational exuberance where performance economics do not match the hype we create? Is Six Sigma on the verge of becoming the next TQM […]