Demand Surges for Lean Talent Over Six Sigma March 29, 2012
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in lean, six sigma.Tags: lean, six sigma
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In an IndustryWeek analysis of an Avery Point Group study, the demand for lean skills is outpacing demand for Six Sigma skills this year by 68%, whereas last year lean outpaced Six Sigma demand by only 35%. The reason why is inferred to be because lean is viewed as being a faster system of improvement than Six Sigma.
For more of the IndustryWeek analysis, head on over to see the article here.
The Red Bead Game Applied to Medical Errors August 12, 2010
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in healthcare, quality, six sigma.Tags: healthcare, quality, six sigma
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Deming’s Red Bead Game – an exercise in process variation and performance measurement – was applied to the healthcare field by the BBC and was presented by Mark Graban over at Lean Blog. Even when odds are identical –all patients having exactly the same chance of dying, and all surgeons having the same surgical skill – chance can wreak havoc. Readers can adjust the chance calculator on the BBC website to understand how chance can impact an organization or event.
Check out the Lean Blog Post here and the BBC article and chance calculator here.
The Red Bead Game Applied to Medical Errors August 12, 2010
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in healthcare, quality, six sigma.Tags: healthcare, quality, six sigma
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Deming’s Red Bead Game – an exercise in process variation and performance measurement – was applied to the healthcare field by the BBC and was presented by Mark Graban over at Lean Blog. Even when odds are identical –all patients having exactly the same chance of dying, and all surgeons having the same surgical skill – chance can wreak havoc. Readers can adjust the chance calculator on the BBC website to understand how chance can impact an organization or event.
Check out the Lean Blog Post here and the BBC article and chance calculator here.
Consider This — Taking Lean Beyond the Shop Floor April 20, 2010
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in lean office, Lean Thinking, six sigma.Tags: lean office, Lean Thinking, six sigma
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Fokker Aerotron, a aerospace parts company specializing in maintenance, repair, and overhaul, has taken lean beyond the ground floor. Applying lean to administrative areas, overall performance and bottom-lines vastly improved: profit margins are up 5%, for example. In the past, Six Sigma, 5S, and other lean techniques never moved beyond the shop floor. But now, even storage is affected positively by lean, as 2,375 square feet of floor space was cleared up by honing in on the spare parts warehouse.
Check out the Industry Week article here.
Consider This — Taking Lean Beyond the Shop Floor April 20, 2010
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in lean office, Lean Thinking, six sigma.Tags: lean office, Lean Thinking, six sigma
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Fokker Aerotron, a aerospace parts company specializing in maintenance, repair, and overhaul, has taken lean beyond the ground floor. Applying lean to administrative areas, overall performance and bottom-lines vastly improved: profit margins are up 5%, for example. In the past, Six Sigma, 5S, and other lean techniques never moved beyond the shop floor. But now, even storage is affected positively by lean, as 2,375 square feet of floor space was cleared up by honing in on the spare parts warehouse.
Check out the Industry Week article here.
Chris Collins Leads Lean Six Sigma in Erie County Government February 17, 2010
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in government, Lean Thinking, six sigma.Tags: government, Lean Thinking, six sigma
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With a skyrocketing national debt, and the desperate search to eliminate waste, it’s about time a politician has transferred waste-cutting methods to government. Chris Collins, Erie County’s Executive, has applied lean six sigma principles to managing local government, “running the county like a business.” Aside from 35 years of experience in the private sector, and working for a salary of $1, Mr. Collins has also donated the remainder of his salary to charity. His application of lean six sigma principles to Erie County has resulted in eighteen completed projects.
Check out the Gemba Panta Rei article here.
Chris Collins Leads Lean Six Sigma in Erie County Government February 17, 2010
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in government, Lean Thinking, six sigma.Tags: government, Lean Thinking, six sigma
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With a skyrocketing national debt, and the desperate search to eliminate waste, it’s about time a politician has transferred waste-cutting methods to government. Chris Collins, Erie County’s Executive, has applied lean six sigma principles to managing local government, “running the county like a business.” Aside from 35 years of experience in the private sector, and working for a salary of $1, Mr. Collins has also donated the remainder of his salary to charity. His application of lean six sigma principles to Erie County has resulted in eighteen completed projects.
Check out the Gemba Panta Rei article here.
Chris Collins Leads Lean Six Sigma in Erie County Government February 17, 2010
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in government, Lean Thinking, six sigma.Tags: government, Lean Thinking, six sigma
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With a skyrocketing national debt, and the desperate search to eliminate waste, it’s about time a politician has transferred waste-cutting methods to government. Chris Collins, Erie County’s Executive, has applied lean six sigma principles to managing local government, “running the county like a business.” Aside from 35 years of experience in the private sector, and working for a salary of $1, Mr. Collins has also donated the remainder of his salary to charity. His application of lean six sigma principles to Erie County has resulted in eighteen completed projects.
Check out the Gemba Panta Rei article here.
County Exec Calls Six Sigma a Survival Tool October 30, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in economy, six sigma.Tags: economy, six sigma
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Chris Collins has embraced Six Sigma both in the private sector and in his current role as executive of New York’s Erie County. And he said he believes the business discipline can be a lifeline for companies during tough economic times.
Lean Six Sigma is probably the best survival tool there is. And someday as your competitors go out of business, I have a saying: If you’re the last restaurant in town, you’re going to be busy Saturday night.
Erm, I’m not quite sure what he is driving at there, but read the article anyway here.
County Exec Calls Six Sigma a Survival Tool October 30, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in economy, six sigma.Tags: economy, six sigma
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Chris Collins has embraced Six Sigma both in the private sector and in his current role as executive of New York’s Erie County. And he said he believes the business discipline can be a lifeline for companies during tough economic times.
Lean Six Sigma is probably the best survival tool there is. And someday as your competitors go out of business, I have a saying: If you’re the last restaurant in town, you’re going to be busy Saturday night.
Erm, I’m not quite sure what he is driving at there, but read the article anyway here.
Six Sigma in the Spotlight: Cultural Building Block or Tactical Tool? October 10, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in six sigma.Tags: six sigma
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Among companies using Six Sigma methods, there has been a wide disparity in the degree to which the discipline becomes woven into the fabric of the corporate culture. Many firms implement Six Sigma with an eye toward short-term impact on quality and profitability.
Brian Burnsed and Emily Thornton of Business Week explore how this is playing out in the current economy and the ways in which consultants see a changing emphasis in the demands client companies bring to the table.
Unlike in the 1990s, when such executives as General Electric’s Jack Welch embraced Six Sigma with missionary zeal, consultants say today’s converts generally are looking for a fast way to save money. ‘We’ve really seen in the past 12 to 18 months that companies that want Lean Six Sigma want something very different,’ says Mark O. George, managing director in the Process & Innovation Performance group at Accenture. ‘Instead of the kind of cultural change often associated with a Six Sigma initiative, they’re looking for techniques that can pay off quickly.’
Read the full story here.
Six Sigma in the Spotlight: Cultural Building Block or Tactical Tool? October 10, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in six sigma.Tags: six sigma
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Among companies using Six Sigma methods, there has been a wide disparity in the degree to which the discipline becomes woven into the fabric of the corporate culture. Many firms implement Six Sigma with an eye toward short-term impact on quality and profitability.
Brian Burnsed and Emily Thornton of Business Week explore how this is playing out in the current economy and the ways in which consultants see a changing emphasis in the demands client companies bring to the table.
Unlike in the 1990s, when such executives as General Electric’s Jack Welch embraced Six Sigma with missionary zeal, consultants say today’s converts generally are looking for a fast way to save money. ‘We’ve really seen in the past 12 to 18 months that companies that want Lean Six Sigma want something very different,’ says Mark O. George, managing director in the Process & Innovation Performance group at Accenture. ‘Instead of the kind of cultural change often associated with a Six Sigma initiative, they’re looking for techniques that can pay off quickly.’
Read the full story here.
Process Maps and FMEA Help Prepare Utility for Disaster March 10, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in six sigma.Tags: six sigma
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Two Six Sigma tools, process maps and the failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA), were applied by a team at a wastewater utility to prepare for possible issues in the wake of retiring staff, and in the process helped ready the facility to face a powerful natural disaster. The case study details how these tools were used.
Read the full article here.
Process Maps and FMEA Help Prepare Utility for Disaster March 10, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in six sigma.Tags: six sigma
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Two Six Sigma tools, process maps and the failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA), were applied by a team at a wastewater utility to prepare for possible issues in the wake of retiring staff, and in the process helped ready the facility to face a powerful natural disaster. The case study details how these tools were used.
Read the full article here.
30 Rock's Six Sigma Retreat to Move Forward February 16, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in six sigma.Tags: six sigma
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For those of you who may have missed it, NBC’s comedy 30 Rock recently ran a parody of Six Sigma. Two of the show’s main characters end up going to GE’s Six Sigma Retreat to Move Forward. For the Master Black Belt/Bronze Certified/Certified Jonah/CPIM set out there, it was pretty hilarious. Or familiar and sick, depending on how you look at it.
GE is a big adherent of Six Sigma. One can only wonder how much of this episode needed to be heavily researched and how much came from the writers’ notes from their recent real world experiences.
The American Society for Quality asked in an email how readers felt about the episode. Responses will be published February 25th. Naturally, we will cover this breaking story for you!
Watch the full episode on NBC’s website here.
30 Rock’s Six Sigma Retreat to Move Forward February 16, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in six sigma.Tags: six sigma
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For those of you who may have missed it, NBC’s comedy 30 Rock recently ran a parody of Six Sigma. Two of the show’s main characters end up going to GE’s Six Sigma Retreat to Move Forward. For the Master Black Belt/Bronze Certified/Certified Jonah/CPIM set out there, it was pretty hilarious. Or familiar and sick, depending on how you look at it.
GE is a big adherent of Six Sigma. One can only wonder how much of this episode needed to be heavily researched and how much came from the writers’ notes from their recent real world experiences.
The American Society for Quality asked in an email how readers felt about the episode. Responses will be published February 25th. Naturally, we will cover this breaking story for you!
Watch the full episode on NBC’s website here.
30 Rock's Six Sigma Retreat to Move Forward February 16, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in six sigma.Tags: six sigma
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For those of you who may have missed it, NBC’s comedy 30 Rock recently ran a parody of Six Sigma. Two of the show’s main characters end up going to GE’s Six Sigma Retreat to Move Forward. For the Master Black Belt/Bronze Certified/Certified Jonah/CPIM set out there, it was pretty hilarious. Or familiar and sick, depending on how you look at it.
GE is a big adherent of Six Sigma. One can only wonder how much of this episode needed to be heavily researched and how much came from the writers’ notes from their recent real world experiences.
The American Society for Quality asked in an email how readers felt about the episode. Responses will be published February 25th. Naturally, we will cover this breaking story for you!
Watch the full episode on NBC’s website here.
30 Rock’s Six Sigma Retreat to Move Forward February 16, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in six sigma.Tags: six sigma
add a comment
For those of you who may have missed it, NBC’s comedy 30 Rock recently ran a parody of Six Sigma. Two of the show’s main characters end up going to GE’s Six Sigma Retreat to Move Forward. For the Master Black Belt/Bronze Certified/Certified Jonah/CPIM set out there, it was pretty hilarious. Or familiar and sick, depending on how you look at it.
GE is a big adherent of Six Sigma. One can only wonder how much of this episode needed to be heavily researched and how much came from the writers’ notes from their recent real world experiences.
The American Society for Quality asked in an email how readers felt about the episode. Responses will be published February 25th. Naturally, we will cover this breaking story for you!
Watch the full episode on NBC’s website here.
Adjusting Continuous Improvement in Hard Economic Times February 16, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in economy, Lean Thinking, six sigma.Tags: economy, Lean Thinking, six sigma
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The events of the last few months can only be described as an economic perfect storm. Both junior companies and large conglomerates around the world went from planning their next multi-million (or billion) dollar expansion to putting projects on hold and cutting production, seemingly overnight.The focus should now be on managing costs, controlling expenses and improving efficiencies. It is the perfect time for continuous improvement initiatives to step up and show their worth. These initiatives, however, need to adjust their strategies so that the most value is returned in the shortest period of time. To do this, continuous improvement professionals need to:
- Concentrate on core processes
- Speed things up
- Create a sense of urgency
- Cut costs faster than falling revenue
Read the full article here.
Adjusting Continuous Improvement in Hard Economic Times February 16, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in economy, Lean Thinking, six sigma.Tags: economy, Lean Thinking, six sigma
add a comment
The events of the last few months can only be described as an economic perfect storm. Both junior companies and large conglomerates around the world went from planning their next multi-million (or billion) dollar expansion to putting projects on hold and cutting production, seemingly overnight.The focus should now be on managing costs, controlling expenses and improving efficiencies. It is the perfect time for continuous improvement initiatives to step up and show their worth. These initiatives, however, need to adjust their strategies so that the most value is returned in the shortest period of time. To do this, continuous improvement professionals need to:
- Concentrate on core processes
- Speed things up
- Create a sense of urgency
- Cut costs faster than falling revenue
Read the full article here.
Leverage Innovation and Six Sigma to Grow Revenue February 2, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in Creativity & Innovation, six sigma.Tags: Creativity & Innovation, six sigma
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Dr. C.K. Prahalad and M.S. Krishnan’s two innovation principles, detailed in The New Age of Innovation (McGraw-Hill, 2008 ) can help practitioners to overcome constraints in responding to the VOC and delivering value without compromise. By applying Lean Six Sigma with the innovation strategies, an organization can improve the competitive positioning of a product or service in the market. Through a case study from a city-based restaurant, practitioners can see the possibilities for turning around a business by using these two complementary principles in combination with Lean Six Sigma.In this article on the iSixSigma website, Prahalad and Krishnan’s two principles are described and exemplified.
Leverage Innovation and Six Sigma to Grow Revenue February 2, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in Creativity & Innovation, six sigma.Tags: Creativity & Innovation, six sigma
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Dr. C.K. Prahalad and M.S. Krishnan’s two innovation principles, detailed in The New Age of Innovation (McGraw-Hill, 2008 ) can help practitioners to overcome constraints in responding to the VOC and delivering value without compromise. By applying Lean Six Sigma with the innovation strategies, an organization can improve the competitive positioning of a product or service in the market. Through a case study from a city-based restaurant, practitioners can see the possibilities for turning around a business by using these two complementary principles in combination with Lean Six Sigma.In this article on the iSixSigma website, Prahalad and Krishnan’s two principles are described and exemplified.
Six Sigma in Government: Focusing on the Customer January 26, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in government, six sigma.Tags: government, six sigma
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Six Sigma, with its emphasis in many cases on hard, current-year results, is often not associated with government agencies and their processes. One reason is that a government’s mission is as much about providing services to the public and other stakeholders as it is about cutting costs and realizing efficiencies. In fact, there is frequently tension between these two aims.On one hand, government agencies want to provide comprehensive services. On the other, they want to be seen as lean and efficient, using tax payers’ money wisely. Likewise, the public and other stakeholders want – and indeed demand – effective services from government agencies; however, tax increases are always unpopular, even when they are used to expand service levels. Therefore, Six Sigma professionals working in government agencies must shift their focus from financial savings, the primary goal of projects in the business world, and make added value for customers their first priority.
Read the full article here.
Six Sigma in Government: Focusing on the Customer January 26, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in government, six sigma.Tags: government, six sigma
add a comment
Six Sigma, with its emphasis in many cases on hard, current-year results, is often not associated with government agencies and their processes. One reason is that a government’s mission is as much about providing services to the public and other stakeholders as it is about cutting costs and realizing efficiencies. In fact, there is frequently tension between these two aims.On one hand, government agencies want to provide comprehensive services. On the other, they want to be seen as lean and efficient, using tax payers’ money wisely. Likewise, the public and other stakeholders want – and indeed demand – effective services from government agencies; however, tax increases are always unpopular, even when they are used to expand service levels. Therefore, Six Sigma professionals working in government agencies must shift their focus from financial savings, the primary goal of projects in the business world, and make added value for customers their first priority.
Read the full article here.
Building From the Basics January 19, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in Lean Thinking, Lean Tools & Techniques, six sigma.Tags: lean, Lean Thinking, Lean Tools & Techniques, six sigma
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In his book, Total Quality Control, Kaoru Ishikawa described the seven basic tools of quality that could be used to solve 95% of a company’s problems. I teach these tools in my workshop on creativity and systematic problem-solving. They are, indeed, at the bedrock of process improvement, whether you are a Six Sigma wonk or a Lean Weenie. These tools are common knowledge, but they are not common practice. In many of the kaizen events and six sigma projects I audit and mentor, these tools are often misapplied or missing altogether. Get reacquainted with these essential tools to improve your process improvement efforts.
Read about the Seven Tools of Quality in Quality Progress here.
