How a Cause & Effect Diagram Helped Reduce Defects by 19%
When organizations want to address an issue, they frequently bring people together to determine what actions to take. Often, part of the group’s process is to brainstorm about what causes the issue to happen in the first place. Maybe you have been in one, or several, of these situations with…
Driving Accountability to Maximize Results Using the Plus-Delta Tool
It’s one of the easiest tools to use yet one of the often most underutilized ones in the Lean Six Sigma tool belt. It’s the Plus‐Delta. A very simple‐to‐use brainstorming tool most commonly employed at the end of business or project meetings as a means of evaluating how well things…
How to Visualize a Process With a Value Stream Map
The Value Stream Map is a critical tool within the Lean methodology. It serves as the basis for documenting the "As Is" state of the process and is the platform for designing the "To Be" state of the new and improved process flow. A Value Stream Map (VSM) is a…
Six Sigma Reduces Database Errors by 53% at a Media Company
In today’s digital age, the old adage of “knowledge is power” could be replaced by “database is dollars.” So much of a company’s core competencies are housed, facilitated, executed around database systems. And databases are often the source of so many of a company’s problems. While most process owners point…
Lean Six Sigma: Step by Step (DMAIC Infographic)
Lean Six Sigma is simply a process for solving a problem. It consists of five phases: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, & Control. This process is also known as DMAIC (“duh-may-ik”), its acronym. DMAIC is a five-step method for improving existing process problems with unknown causes. Phase 1: Define Define the…
A High-Tech Firm Puts the Customer First and Achieves a 50% Reduction in Cycle Time
It’s not uncommon for high-tech firms to have a lock on the technologies that enable them to accelerate the velocity of business. However these same companies often find themselves seriously deficient in handling transactional items and service. The growth rates experienced in the upward arch of their technological growth often…
Why a Lean Six Sigma Culture Should Be Adopted in Healthcare
When organizations fail to align internally, often times, it’s quite apparent externally. If an organization’s culture is not clearly defined and properly conveyed to its people, they tend to have difficulty performing tasks as required resulting in less and less satisfied customers. The results are often painstakingly difficult to overcome…
Lean Six Sigma Activity: Build Excitement Around Excellence
When building a culture of process excellence, most organizations either strategize early on about how to gain buy-in or wish they had. Not having enough of the right stakeholders on board at the right time is a difficulty many in the world of Lean Six Sigma have experienced throughout their…
Reducing Costs Using Data Visualization in the Hospitality Industry
Businesses collect lots of data but don’t always translate that data into useful information about critical business processes. Data that companies collect can readily be incorporated into charts and graphs that provide this information. Here are a couple of examples. Using a Histogram A hospitality company experienced an unwelcome earnings…
How to Apply 5S: Work Station
5S is a fundamental pillar of a Lean deployment. The 5S exercise captures core principles of the Lean philosophy that facilitate the extension and development of a lasting lean implementation. Think of it as the foundation upon which a house is built upon. While some think of it as a…
Using a SIPOC to Leverage Control and Influence
We spend countless time in meetings discussing roles, responsibilities and accountabilities. Yet, I find managers and associates still have misunderstandings about what they’ve been asked to do and what it is they are responsible for. A tool I use when implementing Lean Six Sigma that leaders, managers and associates have…