Clutter can be annoying or at its extreme even detrimental to a home or workspace. Clutter happens when you least expect it; for example, you save a magazine so that you can read it later. Then before you know it, you have an entire lifetime of National Geographic magazines stored in your closet! Lean’s 5S […]
Whether you are trying to remove waste from a process, or trying to find out what exactly needs to be improved in a process, the DMAIC template is your secret sauce. This roadmap is simple to use, along with some added tools such as process mapping, the 5 Whys and the Cause and Effect Diagram/Fishbone […]
While we usually examine DMAIC vs. DMADV here in our Six Sigma blog, we would like to show the similarities here to another methodology often seen in the business world, known as the SMART goal template, and show there is a correlation that’s just too obvious not to compare. What is the SMART goal template? […]
Process improvement is vital for any business in any industry. Since change is a constant, we want to continually improve the quality and standards of not only our products, but also how we run the day-to-day tasks to create those products or services. Six Sigma methodologies using the DMAIC have certain tools that are easy to […]
There are many great tools and templates used in Six Sigma, and today we are going to spend a little time with PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act). PDCA is a template or cycle used for problem solving. W. Edwards Deming originally created PDCA way back in the 1950s, and his intentions were to use PDCA with a continuous […]
Since Six Sigma is an all out team effort, it is extremely important to have the right candidates creating those teams. Let’s assume that we have an excellent staff already, but we need to increase our manpower due to turnover. This is when the duties of human resources become extremely important to get the company […]
The origin of Total Quality Management (TQM) had many forefathers in its inception, but was generic in nature. Meaning you could plug the works of Ishikawa, Juran and Deming (just to name a few) into any business and you’d get results — just not the best results for your specific business. Six Sigma has some […]
Here’s a basic overview of Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) and when it’s used. DFSS is used when you want to create a new product, service or process. After reviewing your current existing product, service, or process, you realize that process making improvements still won’t close the gap of what is required by your customer […]
When a company decides to implement Six Sigma, first and foremost they need to follow the entire protocol of Six Sigma. In other words, don’t skip and go right to what you think is important — all of it is important. Skip any one part and failure will ensue. For example, if in all your […]
Ebay, one of the most successful e-commerce companies worldwide, is a different type of company from traditional retailers, simply because it relies on a lot of small companies and sellers using their platform. Those sellers are eBay’s customers, or members that bring eBay revenue. This business model is now seen among many e-commerce companies in […]
We are running a series of sorts on different companies that have implemented Six Sigma into their company culture, and in turn have achieved monumental success. Today we will talk about The Vanguard Group. They are an investment management company based out of Malvern, Pennsylvania, and they have over $4 trillion dollars in assets under […]
When you hear the word Kaizen, what comes to mind? A Lean Six Sigma manufacturing tool, or perhaps an event, as in a Kaizen event (or the Japanese word for improvement)? Truth be told, all of the preceding should come to mind. Kaizen basically is about having continuous improvement; small tiny increments of change done […]
The 5S tool of Six Sigma is genius at removing waste and simplifying any process. This infographic on 5S brilliantly explains how waste affects the workspace. Waste can affect motivation, health, finances, and most importantly, your time. When you remove items that you do not need, this opens up space to make your job easier. […]
Wouldn’t it be great if we could find a tool existed that could fix every issue that comes up? That would actually be an appropriate response when asked the age-old question: what is the difference between Six Sigma, Lean, and Kaizen? First let’s define each business process improvement term separately: Kaizen is more of a […]
When there is an issue or problem in your business, you don’t want it to linger and cause deeper problems. You want to fix it forever. This is a job for Root Cause Analysis (RCA) — find the cause, fix it and never allow it to happen again. The Process of Root Cause Analysis Establish […]
For most Six Sigma professionals, the type of projects they work on determines how far they will advance in a single career. Similar to how Six Sigma ranks certifications into Belts, projects also follow an order. In our previous article, we introduced the first project type, Quick Wins. While these type of projects easily resolve […]
