Six Sigma

The term is called Lean, Lean Manufacturing and Lean Enterprise all meaning the same thing and deriving from the Toyota Production system and some other sources. Read the rest here: What is Lean Six Sigma? Read Full Story

“Eighty-five percent of the reasons for failure to meet customer expectations are related to deficiencies in systems and process rather than the employee. The role of management is to change the process rather than badgering individuals to do better” – Dr. Deming Several process improvement methodologies like Six Sigma , Total Quality Management (TQM), Quality Circles, Taguchi, Statistical process control, etc. are being successfully implemented in the manufacturing industries sector. It was perceived that such improvement methodologies are ineffective in the IT services industry. GE, pioneers of Six Sigma implementation in a non-manufacturing set-up, has estimated benefits of the order of $10 billion during ... Read Full Story

THE SIX SIGMA BLACK BELTS ARE BACK Here's one more reason why the world may face a jobless recovery: Six Sigma. In an attempt to boost earnings without putting more people on the payroll, companies are embracing the controversial data-driven system that aims to radically reduce production defects and improve processes in everything from marketing to manufacturing. Companies as varied as drug giant Merck, British confectioner Cadbury, and doughnut maker Dunkin' Brands are increasingly turning to Six Sigma to lift their bottom lines. Capital One says it has launched a Six Sigma initiative to "drive continuous improvement" in its operations, while Pfizer this year ... Read Full Story

The definition of an A3 Report is a simple storyboard that tells the whole story of an improvement event on one 11×17 sheet of paper. The left side defines the problem, the right side proposes solutions. That is the basic structure. However, A3 is much more than that. It is the tool used by Toyota to implement the PDCA process. Understanding A3 thinking and you can apply this to problem solving, proposals and status reports. But you have to pick a template and you have to follow some outline in creating an A3 to get it off the ground. Typically, when I create an ... Read Full Story

Relevance Research has shown that most of the service processes are performing at less than 3.5 sigma quality level with a defect rate of over 23,000 ppm or yield of 97.7 per cent. If we improve the sigma quality level of service processes to four sigma quality level, the defect rate will be dropped significantly to 6,210 ppm. This clearly indicates a 3.5-fold improvement in process performance. The process yield will be increased to 99.38 per cent. This would bring significant financial returns to the bottom-line of any organisations (due to reduced defect rate, reduced number of customer complaints, improved customer satisfaction, etc.). Most ... Read Full Story