SMART Goals is based on the acronym that stands Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timebound. Following this acronym is a great way to construct clearly-defined goals that matter to an organization. Expanding on each element: Specific: "Reduce lead time in minutes" as opposed to "Improve productivity" Measurable: "Reduce lead time…
What do you know about Sakichi Toyoda? Did you know he was born on Valentine’s Day? That he started out in the textile business? That he came up with the 5 Whys root cause guessing game? Oh, and that he founded Toyota Industries Company!? This year would have marked Sakichi…
UC San Diego’s annual continuous improvement conference and competition, Process Palooza, will be held for its 3rd year on March 25, 2020. This high-energy, day-long conference celebrates a commitment to business excellence, operational efficiency and continuous improvement. We expect about 1,000 staff to attend this year! It’s quite unique—it’s a…
We are proud to announce that GoLeanSixSigma.com is making a donation to the Canine Companions for Independence (CCI), a nonprofit that enhances the lives of people with disabilities by providing highly-trained assistance dogs and ongoing support. Community is one of our core values at GoLeanSixSigma.com, and we are happy to…
Hiring Managers: If you had to choose between two similarly qualified candidates (work experience and education) except one candidate had a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and the other didn’t, who would you prefer to hire? View other survey results and more on our Lean Six Sigma Industry Insights page!
The Challenge The Keefe Group, the nation’s largest supplier of consumer goods to the correctional market, embarked on their lean journey in 2018. Their C.O.O. was a big supporter of Lean Six Sigma and wanted to begin training Keefe employees in the methodology. He was a former General Electric Six…
What do you call it when a garage door stops closing before it hits your head? The Hokey Pokey? No, a Poke-yoke! Lucky for us, Shigeo Shingo baked this mistake-proofing technique into the Toyota Production System and the rest is history. This year would have marked Shigeo Shingo’s 111th birthday,…
Did Taguchi design Kimonos? He could have, if he’d spent his life working in the family Kimono business (and I’m sure they would have been stunning), but lucky for us, this quality rebel devoted a lifetime to the idea that customers deserved better. This year would have marked Genichi Taguchi’s…
If Bill Smith was the father of Six Sigma, Mikel Harry, in his words, was the godfather. We lost Dr. Harry in 2017 but this month would have marked his 68th birthday. Dr. Harry worked with pioneer Bill Smith at Motorola to refine the Six Sigma method and spread it…
Dr. Juran was a Quality Man with a Quality Life, and, after celebrating 81 years, clearly a Quality marriage! Time to tip our hats to the man who pointed out that sometimes inspection costs more than the defects themselves. Huzzah! December 24th would have marked Mr. Juran’s 115th birthday -…