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six sigma business failure

Top 10 Mistakes When Managing a Six Sigma Project

Whether you are a new practitioner or seasoned pro, mistakes are inevitable in complex projects. In fact, the saying goes that you aren’t a true project manager before your first catastrophe. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t learn from the mistakes of others (Lessons Learned, to those in the know!). Below are the top […]

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Avoid complacency and leave your comfort zone!

How to Avoid Complacency and Continually Improve with Six Sigma

Complacency is an epidemic. It kills productivity and can negatively affect your performance. Studies have shown that complacency comes from a lack of engagement, and affects up to 70% of the US working population. This means around three-quarters of American employees are not fully committed to their everyday workplace tasks! As an employer, this should […]

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Know your lean from you kanban and your muda from your methodology

Six Sigma, Kaizen, or Lean? What is the Difference?

Six Sigma, Kaizen, and Lean. You might have heard of them. People throw these terms around a lot nowadays, often interchangeably. But what do they mean? What makes them different? And are they so similar? Remember, each tool solves specific, specialized problems. This article will help you get to the bottom of this mystery so you […]

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The Five Whys - Root Cause Analysis in Six Sigma

The Five Whys: Understanding the Root Cause of a Problem

Is your company using Six Sigma to improve efficiency, eliminate waste, and minimize variation? Six Sigma has been a proven success for many businesses around the world dealing with similar problems. But where do these issues come from? How do they arise? And most importantly why? Six Sigma DMAIC teaches you to Define, Measure, Analyze, […]

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Go! Manage your Six Sigma project

Go: Guide to Running a Successful Six Sigma Project

This article is the third in our three-part series to help you achieve the best results using Six Sigma. You can read the previous two articles here. Now, go! You’ve made your plans and assembled your team, but what comes next is not always as easy (or as difficult!) as it may first appear. The […]

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Lean in with Six Sigma

Lean In: How to Gather Support for Six Sigma in Your Company

Are you prepared to advocate and fully support Lean Six Sigma? If yes, how do you know? If no, how you reach that stage? These questions can be tiresome and their answers difficult to pin down. We’re here to make things easy for you. Today we will help you get ready for Lean Six Sigma (or recognize […]

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5S - Beginner's Guide

Explained: 5S Framework – Beginner’s Guide

5S is a methodology that is used in workplaces across the world. The “5S” name comes from the 5 Japanese words that make up the process. The five words are seiri, sieton, seiso, seiketus, and shitsuke. Roughly translated these words stand for sort, set in order, shine, standardize, and sustain. They all describe ways in […]

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Kaizen Methods - Beginner's Guide

Understanding Kaizen Methods – Beginner’s Guide

If you have never heard of the Kaizen Methods you might be surprised to learn that it is one of the best ways to live a better, more productive life or business. It has been used for years to help people reach goals once thought unreachable and to bring companies together that were having some […]

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Business Benefits of Kaizen

Get Your Business Competitive with Kaizen

Kaizen is an interesting method of improving your life and business. The word is Japanese and roughly translated means continuous change. When you break it down ‘Kai’ means change, and ‘zen’ means good, hence, Kaizen. The method of making your business better with Kaizen might seem strange to someone that has never heard of it, […]

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Successfully approach 5S in Lean Six Sigma

How to successfully approach 5S in Lean Six Sigma

5S and Lean Six Sigma are all part of a process to improve the workplace. There are numerous steps to both of these processes, but once you have a full understanding of them you will have a business that is constantly growing and improving. The main factor to remember about both of these methods, as […]

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Disrupt the Status Quo with Six Sigma

Disrupt the Status Quo: Practical Six Sigma Thinking!

You will find Six Sigma principles the world over. For many businesses, Six Sigma is a highly transformative strategy for process improvement. Using key Six Sigma principles, you can achieve the same for your company. Not only does Six Sigma provide ways by which to bring about improvement, but it can also help disrupt the […]

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what is Kaizen Philosophy

Kaizen: Create a Culture of Continuous Improvement

Companies are fluid entities. By default, structure and internal processes fluctuate. It’s how we respond to changes in the marketplace, and it is how we grow a business. However, we shouldn’t look to be happy with the ad-hoc. It is this very quality that is necessary to developing a culture of continuous improvement, or, to […]

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It's tempting to let improvements speed by, but don't lose control!

Six Sigma and DMAIC in Focus: C – Control Your Project

This article is the final part in our series on the principles of Six Sigma, focusing on Control within the DMAIC framework. You can find the rest of our series here. If you’ve stuck with us so far, congratulations! If you’re new… go back and read the rest of this series! We are taking a deep-dive into […]

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the internet of things IoT business six sigma programs 6sigma.us

Six Sigma and the Internet of Things (IoT)

Just What is The Internet of Things (IoT)? Gadgets, electronics and devices: we all have them and they fill our world. As the technology improves, so do they! Part of the improvements with these devices is that they are connected to the Internet. Cars, kitchen appliances, personal devices are just some examples of devices that […]

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Six Sigma Training - Anaheim

Upcoming Six Sigma Training: Anaheim/Los Angeles

2016 is here and training is in full swing at 6Sigma.us. We spent the last part of 2015 planning dynamic training agendas, with a global reach! With that in mind, we would like to invite you to join us in sunny Southern California for a comprehensive Six Sigma training event. During this event, we will […]

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