There are an abundance of tools in the Lean Six Sigma toolkit but what really makes the difference is getting a little guidance and seeing some practical examples. Once you see how these tools and concepts function in the real world, it’s easier to apply them to your own processes and you’re more likely to see significant results.
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Process improvement has changed dramatically over the last 20 years—but how? For one, there are generational shifts in the practitioners. We’ll provide a glimpse of those shifts through the eyes of two certified Black Belts—Dodd Starbird and James Starbird—who also happen to be father and son. Today, Dodd and James…
As a Lean practitioner, I often hear and see teams struggle to identify the need to improve. Sometimes employees flat out say “we don’t have any problems” or “we are already Lean.” There might be observable indicators such as Performance Boards continuously showing “on-track” statuses or outdated Standard Work. These…
Question: How big is the problem? Answer: We don’t know. This is how my initial conversation with one nonprofit organization began recently. They use a database to track all consumer encounters. Similar to an electronic medical record, the database keeps track of consumer interactions and treatment plans. It also connects…
When you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meager and unsatisfactory kind. —Lord Kelvin (1824-1907) Lord Kelvin was credited with many scientific discoveries, and the metric…
One of the challenges presented to us by our trainers at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky (TMMK) was to document our daily learning. That may sound simple, but if you don’t have the discipline to do that every day, it’s far from an easy task. We asked, “how would we have…
“It takes a village…..”. Over the years, I have referred to this phrase as the gold standard for collaboration and accomplishment. It also provides a perspective on empowerment of your associates. Organizations experience the greatest success when they leverage and align their entire team toward a common goal. That—in combination…
I have been in the Continuous Improvement field for about 12 years now. It has been an amazing journey filled with awesome teams, amazing mentors, a lot of challenges but, most of all, a lot of meaningful work. It drives my passion for helping others to continuously improve how they…
Measurement Systems Analysis (MSA) is a mystery for many, but it doesn't need to be. Let’s start with a simple definition: MSA is an experiment that assesses the trustworthiness of your data collection efforts. The experiment tests for accuracy, understanding of Operational Definitions as well as whether different data collectors…