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In the beginning… there is some valid concern expressed about the people side of lean and how individuals are affected by Lean initiatives in the public sector. There is a common, prima facie response when lean thinking is first introduced in the public sector. “We are about serving people not making cars”, they say. This […]

The general session opened with Chad Holliday, CEO of DuPont. His presentation was titled “Six Sigma from the 9th Floor” (the ninth floor beinghis office). He spoke with confidence, wisdom, energy, and humor. I’m sure it takes all that and more to be a CEO. The main takeaways of his message (two pieces of learning […]

I’m here at the ISSSP Leadership conference in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA. Not a far trip for me as I live in Phoenix, but to beat the traffic I’m staying at the hotel. The Westin Kierland Resort and Spa is spectacular. I brought my family along with me to enjoy the pool (since I sure wasn’t […]

I’m sure most anyone reading this blog is familiar with Deming’s 14 points. I recall studying them when I first started my Six Sigma journey and though they all have their place, one keeps coming back to me over and over again: Constancy of Purpose. When I first read this one I felt a bit […]

The Cox-Box is Copyright © 2000-2005 iSixSigma LLC and Gary P. Cox – All Rights ReservedReproduction Without Permission Is Prohibited – Request Permission

Benchmarking results consistently identify examples of Six Sigma success. Even so, getting “naysayers” on board is a continuous challenge. What do you tell them? Nayism 26: There are so many Six Sigma projects going on that we are getting distracted from core business. This nayism is frequently heard when Six Sigma gets into full swing […]

I’m sure this never happened to any other Healthcare Black Belts: You’ve been selected as a Black Belt for a team, and you’re assigned one or two Green Belts for the project. Early in the project you notice that one of the Green Belts is pretty weak in a number of areas… basic things like […]

This week I was starting up another green belt training. As usual I kicked it off by asking the participants presenting to each other who they are, what department they come from, if and what they have heard about lean six sigma and most importantly what they expect from the training. I ask them to […]

For a year now I have been running a Six Sigma Deployment on a Rail Project in Rugby (UK). My two main problems as deployment manager are; 1. Implementation of actions 2. Proving the projected cash savings. Both problems are as you can imagine at the back end of the DMAIC process. I also run […]

Malcolm Baldrige was US Secretary of Commerce (1981-1987) and a leader in quality management. He helped create the US Quality Improvement Act of 1987 and in his honour the annual award is named after him (Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award). The US President presents the award. The US is not unique in having a national […]

I’m heading off to the ISSSP 7th Annual Six Sigma Leadership Conference next week (May 16-19) in Scottsdale, Arizona. Michael Marx, our research manager, will also be attending. (It’s not too late to attend if you live in the area or want to book a last minute ticket. Use code LCISSDISC for a $1,499 ticket. […]

I signed off on Measure & Analyse last week which, in the way only a leadership /tollgate review can, lifted the pressure involved in gathering all that data and instantaneously dumped the pressure of delivery onto the team. This project presented such clear problems we’ve been able to go almost straight to delivery. As you […]

In God We Trust, Everyone Else Bring Data This is a nine and a half minute audio excerpt of the KCPW show The Bottom Line, moderated by Lara Jones of KCPW News. Lara speaks with a panel of Army Colonels and gets to the bottom of Six Sigma at the Army Reserve’s 96th Regional Readiness […]

“It’s a people thing,” says W. Michael McBride. It’s a Dr. Pepper and Jelly Bellies thing according to Joe at Learning about Lean. I feel the need to echo (scream) the sentiments of W. Michael McBride’s post “It’s a people thing.” as I have experienced these factors all too closely. As someone who began as […]

How many healthcare processes have you measured that are 2.0 Zst or higher at the start of the project? I’ve never had one of these – most of mine have started at below 1.0 or in the negative Sigma range. In every one of my projects, I’ve had to use lean tools to get where […]

Yesterday I was contacted 4 (FOUR) times by recruiters looking for a Six Sigma Expert. To 3 of them I returned a polite “no thank you, not interested”. With the 4th one I went into a discussion. Their client, a 2 site company is going to implement a new Six Sigma deployment, headed by 2 […]

I am regularly asked what characterizes an ideal Black Belt candidate. Like most people in the field, I have a list of adjectives and descriptive phrases I can trot out at a moment’s notice. Mine comprises about 50 items under the following headings: 1) Aptitude For Change; 2) Education and Experience; 3) Intellectual Curiosity; 4) […]

Today, more than most others, I’m convinced that a large majorityof ourSix Sigma brotherhood/sisterhood just don’t get that continuous improvement is a people thing. Sure, the technical stuff is important but what good is reciting a formula from memory if you can’t get the people in the operation or the executives in the board room […]

Later this month(May 16-19) the International Society of Six Sigma Professionals will host the 7th Annual Six Sigma Leadership Conference in warm and sunny Scottsdale, Arizona, USA. I attended the event last year and had a great time. You can read my blog entries from last year here. This year Chad Holliday, Chairman and CEO […]

Healthcare is a very traditional and conservative industry. Never more has this been apparent that after a few seminars I have recently attended on quality in healthcare. After the seminars, two things stood out in my mind: 1. Healthcare is, generally, not willing to take advice from folks “outside” of healthcare; 2. Physicians are the […]

During my black belt training I was introduced to the true scope of the normal distribution. Here was a distribution found extensively throughout nature and industry. It is a principle building block for the six-sigma methodology from which a number of our essential statistical tools are based including all of the t-tests. We discovered that […]

For companies considering a Six Sigma initiative, read what Robert Krakauer, executive VP of strategic operations and CFO of MagnaChip had to say about their new initiative in their Q1 results release: “During the quarter, we initiated a Six Sigma management system that is expected to result in improved product quality, substantial cost savings, and […]

New York-Presbyterian Hospital (NYP) began their Six Sigma initiative in 2003. Today they are ranked 7th in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals Honor Roll. Before implementing Six Sigma they were ranked 14th. Ed Craven, Director of Innovation Strategy at NYP said Six Sigma deserves some of the credit for jump in the ranks. […]

The Cox-Box is Copyright © 2000-2005 iSixSigma LLC and Gary P. Cox – All Rights ReservedReproduction Without Permission Is Prohibited – Request Permission

  I’ve been in the healthcare field all of my professional life. Whether this is your situation, or you have joined us lately, perhaps you’ve noticed the same thing I have. We all know what to do to make things better in our hospitals and facilities. It’s true… just ask anyone. Solve ER overcrowding? Reduce […]

Benchmarking results consistently identify examples of Six Sigma success. Even so, getting “naysayers” on board is a continuous challenge. What do you tell them? Nayism 25: For the past three years our product has been ranked ‘world-class.’ What can Six Sigma possibly do for us? Sometimes having a world class product or operation makes it […]

Or business of quality? I’ve had the privilege and honor of being able to attend the 7th annual Six Sigma Summit in London this week. It was my first experience with this type of event. Together with 380 other delegates, we have seen presentations and shared learnings from other companies’ deployment experiences. So, are these […]

Dow Chemical is a Six Sigma giant. A recent news item from CCH reported that they have been using Six Sigma to reduce the number of vehicle accidents at the Hydrocarbons and Energy business unit (HC&E). “The study was conducted in 2002 and improvements and a control plan were put into place beginning January 2003. […]

I’m a word person. You know the type, always evaluating the way ideas are conveyed through language. I’m not the obnoxious type of word person in that I don’t see it as my mission to correct the speech of others but I do enjoy learning the lingo of the particular shop or officein which I’m […]

Over the last two days many of the presenters have all touched upon a common theme: The hardest part of a Design for Six Sigma implementation is not the technical aspects of DFSS, but the organizational challengers, the soft side of the equation. Success is more about influencing the people than using the methodology. Today’s […]

How manyhealthcare Black Belts thinkthe biggest Six Sigma challenge is notproject management, or coaching your team, butteaching your Project Sponsor/ Executive Sponsor / Process OwneraboutSix Sigma? This is something I’ve encountered in early Six Sigma Project Waves. The scenario I’m thinking about is the one whereyou’re meeting with leadership about your project.In public meetings, they’ve […]

In an earlier blog entry, I described my feelings on DMAIC and roadmaps in general. To make a long story short, I don’t believe they add much value to the core toolset of Six Sigma. A couple of folks quite rightly expressed their disagreement with my view via comments. I say quite rightly, because I […]

I’m in Chicago attending the IQPC 8th annual Design for Six Sigma conference. Today’s events included presentations from HP, Bank of America, Bechtel Nevada and Motorola. Joe Ficalora, of SBTI, chaired the day. For the DFSS enthusiast today was a feast. To anyone else it probably sounded like an acronym convention. I really enjoyed the […]

I was driving down the 5 in Los Angeles yesterday on my way back to the hotel and, as I’ve discovered is often the case when one’s pace is a blistering 3 M.P.H., my mind began to wander a bit. If you’ve read any of my previous posts you’re probably saying to yourself “great, he’s […]

It is very important to understand how to create a good key performance indicator or KPI for Six Sigma.This is also true when you add Six Sigma to your strategic plan, as I have. The KPIs that you develop must first be a goal(s) of your organization, department, etc.These should be agreed upon.Remember, these will […]

Pictured at right: Liam Atwood (8 months old), iSixSigma Magazine’s youngest reader. Thanks, Jon, for passing along the picture. I can’t tell you what Mia did with her copy… well, perhaps over drinks ;). See you at the ISSSP Leadership Conference in May.

The Cox-Box is Copyright © 2000-2005 iSixSigma LLC and Gary P. Cox – All Rights ReservedReproduction Without Permission Is Prohibited – Request Permission

Thelatest podcast is ready to download.This podcast includes highlights from the Third Annual Global Six Sigma Salary Survey, published in the March/April issue of iSixSigma Magazine. Nearly 2,500 Black Belts, Master Black Belts, Champions and Deployment Leaders worldwide took part inthe survey. The data is broken down by Six Sigma role, geographic location, educational level, […]

“Healthcare Black Belt seeks long-distance relationship with diverse group of process improvers willing to share opinions and experiences about the challenges of getting the right people to do the right things right.” First order of business: Who am I? I ask myself this question frequently. Every time I change jobs, it’s an opportunity to reinvent […]

The technology that had made healthcare so great in this country has also been at the center of many roadblocks to quality. It has long been the notion that as technology advances in healthcare, so should the quality and efficiency of the process. Therefore, it is the tendency to add technology wherever technology can be […]

It’s nearing the end of tax season in the U.S. and chances are you’re probably using Intuit’s Turbo Tax software to figure out how much you owe, or better yet how much your return will be… Intuit is an innovative company that has revolutionized the way we do our taxes and keep our books. From […]

My lovely wife was surfing the web this evening and she stumbled across this loose quotation from Benjamin Franklin’s “Poor Richards Almanac”: For want of a nail a shoe was lost, for want of a shoe a horse was lost, for want of a horse a rider was lost, for want of a rider an […]

Hi, Not one of my usual insightful articles on the world of Six Sigma today (!) more of a request for your assitance, guidance and input. I’ve recently taken the job of restructuring the electronic folder structure for our rapidly exanding team and ensuring it is tidy, functional and usable by everyone. As with all […]

In a perfect world, every project would lead directly to financial gain. We’d draft a charter that, when well executed, produced savings or income that translated directly to the bottom line. And this would be good because we all like making money. We can put it in the bank, earn interest on it, add many […]

Benchmarking results consistently identify examples of Six Sigma success. Even so, getting “naysayers” on board is a continuous challenge. What do you tell them? Nayism 24: Six Sigma sounds great but we’re swamped with work and I don’t see how we can take on one more thing. Being too swamped with work is often heard […]

Just a brief note of a great conference coming up on May 18 & 19, 2006 in Alexandra, Virginia. Sponsored by The Performance Institute, The Lean Six Sigma for Government Conference will provide first hand case studies about government agencies where Lean Six Sigma tools are being successfully used. You can review the details at: […]

Our company has put a recent focus on ‘away days’ for its senior teams. You know the sort of thing. The whole team ups and goes off into the wilds with threats of being left in the middle of nowhere with a tin of soup, a pencil and an elastic band. Living in Scotland we […]

The Cox-Box is Copyright © 2000-2005 iSixSigma LLC and Gary P. Cox – All Rights ReservedReproduction Without Permission Is Prohibited – Request Permission

In my opinion they should. After going though mindblowing and overwhelming Black Belt training sessions and doing the first Black Belt projects I was at times not sure what to do with respect to DMAIC. During those first training projects I was lucky to be mentored and coached by a great Master Black Belt. My […]

Before beginning any implementation of Lean Six Sigma in health care, it is important to get support and buy-in from management. Health care is a very conservative industry filled with professionals that maintain a traditional school of thought. Even though the health care industry has grown accustomed to change, the uneasiness of implementing a process […]