Six Sigma holds the Voice of the Customer (VOC) in very high regard. VOC encompasses the expectations, preferences and requirements of your customers/clients. Let’s face it — without your customers, you wouldn’t have a business, so it would make sense to make them top priority. Now let’s take the VOC further. What if you were […]
So you’re a consultant, now what? A lot of Six Sigma practitioners ask the same question. Before rushing into any new projects, make sure you understand how much you should charge. It’s essential to your career development that you learn how to charge appropriately. Not all consulting firms are alike, and some will specialize in […]
How high is your sigma? Are your processes lean enough? If these questions are eating away at you, then it may be time to stop and take a hard look at your business. You’ve worked hard to get where you are, so why should something like low Sigma set you back? The answer: it doesn’t […]
It isn’t just individual projects that can benefit from some Lean thinking. You can make serious traction when defining strategic objectives for your company. In Six Sigma practices, strong leadership and team-based effort are important. But without strategic objectives to give your team and organization direction, the results can often fall short of your intentions. […]
Many reasons exist for a business failure but the technique to solve the business problem is not reinvented each time we face problems. The methodology to solve the business problem is merely conceivable through the ‘Continuous Process Improvement’. Continuous process improvement is considered as one of the techniques to react to the business problem or […]
Six Sigma widely use DMAIC approach during continuous process improvements as DMAIC is a data-driven quality strategy. DMAIC approach that includes Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control Phase improves the process and ensures best possible results during the continuous process improvements. Define Phase is the initial stage of the Six Sigma project that identifies and […]
Six Sigma Concepts are used to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of business performance. The statistical representation of Six Sigma describes the performance of the process. A process is said to achieve Six Sigma only if it doesn’t produce more than 3.4 defects per million (DPM) opportunities. Six Sigma focuses on process improvement and reduces […]
If an organization is not able to deliver the product or service within the delivery date affecting their production capacity and lead time or the organization looks for the continuous process improvement to be competitive in the marketplace then the organization should not face a problem to use Six Sigma methodology. Six Sigma identifies the […]
Let’s look now at details of the 5S’s of the Kaizen continuous improvement approach. Let’s first note that 5S is the name of a way of organizing the workplace. The letter S refers to the first letter of each of 5 words. Each is a Japanese word starting with this S sound. When you use […]
Let’s look more closely now at generating business opportunities and how the continuous improvement approach of Kaizen can help. Kaizen and business opportunities When we look at business opportunities, we can think of new businesses and new opportunities for existing businesses. Kaizen can help you create an atmosphere of continuous improvement to give you a […]
We now look at levels for Lean certification. This certification verifies the knowledge that an individual has concerning Six Sigma and Lean methods. The levels include Black Belts and Green Belts. Before we go into details lets remind ourselves that Six Sigma includes tools and techniques for process improvement and reduction of defects. With Six […]
Six Sigma improves the capability of the business process and reduces cost, saves time and increases revenue through qualitative and quantitative techniques. The qualitative and quantitative techniques involve a data-driven approach. Since Six Sigma involves a data-driven approach, it is supported through a well-implemented metrics program. Six Sigma includes two methodologies DMAIC and DMADV to […]
Let’s look now at the specific methods you can use to benefit from the Kaizen approach. These methods can help you improve productivity and quality to give you a competitive edge and improve business results. The Toyota experience of using Kaizen shows how you can improve competitiveness and results using the continuous improvement approach of […]
Let’s look now at an important tool used in continuous improvement efforts. The tool is Root Cause Analysis (RCA). We will cover steps you can take when using this tool to help solve problems and resolve issues. We should note that Root Cause Analysis is a way of finding a fundamental cause for a problem, […]
Let’s have a view now of top Six Sigma Tools and remind ourselves that Six Sigma refers to a method for reducing and eliminating defects. The method is data-driven and disciplined and can apply to manufacture and other industries. Let’s look at Six Sigma tools that can help you implement Six Sigma projects. These Six […]
Let’s look at the importance of Lean principles, and how Lean can impact your business. Before we begin let’s review a definition of Lean. Lean or Lean Manufacturing is a method of systematically eliminating waste in an operation, typically a production or manufacturing system. The waste can be through overburden or unevenness in work loads. […]
Let’s see how Japan became more competitive and what you can do in a similar way. After World War II, American experts helped to rebuild Japanese industry. The first program about Kaizen appeared in the 1950s when the concept began to emerge as a major force in industry. Edwards Deming played a key role as […]
The philosophy of Kaizen has many facets, and the basic idea behind the philosophy involves improvement and change. This improvement ties into the success and competitiveness of an organization. Let’s see how? What’s in a Word Kaizen is a Japanese word that means change for the better. When applied to an organization this change means […]
Lean manufacturing is a method developed by the Japanese company Toyota, and it is used in eliminating waste (muda in Japanese) in a manufacturing system. Essentially, this practice aims to add more value to the structure by reducing everything else to improve the value of products and customer interaction. There are several lean principles that […]
Asking “why” constantly is not child’s play. In fact, it is a favorite technique used in conducting Root Cause Analysis (RCA). This tool is used in identifying the root cause of the problem. What makes it great is that it does not require one to do hypothesis testing, data segmentation, or even use advanced statistical […]
