Executive Leadership Role In Lean Six Sigma
Leaders contemplating starting a Lean Six Sigma program may ask, “What level of participation and involvement do we need from our executive leadership in deploying our initiative? and “What should their training consist of?” First, executive leadership should create a vision for their organization for three years, five years, and ten years. They need to determine a strong rationale for why the business requires the Lean Six Sigma initiative. The explanation must be specific to the organization and tie directly to benefits everyone can...
read moreCreate A Powerful Toolset By Combining Lean and Six Sigma
There still seems to be an ongoing debate about the benefits of combining Lean and Six Sigma and whether organizations should consider doing so. Both methodologies focus on the customer. Lean declares a “war on waste,” while Six Sigma declares a “war on variation.” Lean and Six Sigma empower people to create process stability and a culture of continuous improvement. Problem identification and problem-solving techniques exist in both methodologies. They include brainstorming, fishbone diagrams, 5-Whys, Pareto analysis, 8-Ds, FMEA, and...
read moreSome Things I’ve Learned Being A Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt
Having been a Master Black Belt for almost 20 years and instructing hundreds of students has been very rewarding. I enjoy teaching people new tools and techniques that make their lives and jobs more manageable and the coaching required to make their projects successful and help improve their organizations. Watching people make their processes more efficient, eliminate waste and variation, and save money to boot is a great feeling! I find that many people starting in Lean Six Sigma are hesitant due to their fear of statistics. This fear is...
read moreMake Better Decisions Using The Measurement Profile and Global Performance Measures
There is no single perfect performance measure that, after improvement, achieves an organizational goal. However, using the following six measurement areas to measure a different dimension of organizational performance will help organizations meet their internal and external targets. The measures are: Throughput Operating expenses Inventory Response time Quality Due-date performance These measures can be used for managerial control, defining qualitative objectives, rewarding executives and employees, and supporting decision-making...
read morePerformance Measures Aid In An Organizations Decision Making Process
Having performance measures or key performance indicators (KPIs) is an essential managerial tool. They are used to control activities within an organization to help them achieve their goals and objectives. They serve as an effective means for communicating management’s policies throughout the organization and can assist in decision-making. Performance measures assist in the goal of creating more value for an organization. Whenever the performance measure indicates improvement, the value of the organization is enhanced. However, if local...
read moreOperational Definitions Make Data Collection More Consistent
Operational definitions are defined as a clear description of what is to be observed and measured, such that different people taking or interpreting the data will do so consistently. It answers the question: “What do we mean by a defect?” “A service?” “How do we measure a characteristic?” Here are a few examples that occurred because there wasn’t an operational definition: Recall the Mars Polar Orbiter that crashed onto the planet’s surface because a group of engineers had written procedures in English units...
read moreTips To Ensure Your Kaizen Event Is Successful
Kaizen events are meant to be focused, short in length, low risk, and low cost. The idea is to try something, see if it works, then try something else. Kaizen events are a means of continually making improvements, identify waste and eliminate it adding more value as each new improvement is made. They are not intended to be a one-time event. The kaizen event must be planned and structured. It should enable a group to improve some aspect of their business. Prior to the actual event, an area is chosen and prepared, a problem is selected,...
read moreHow To Achieve One-Piece Production In Machining Operations
Last week, I discussed how Henry Ford developed one-piece-flow in his assembly operation and why he could not implement one-piece production in his machining operations. But all was not lost due to Taichi Ohno’s persistence, and one-piece production became a reality in machining operations. This week I’ll focus on the rules and conditions necessary to implement one-piece production in machining. Toyota identified five rules and conditions necessary for one-piece production: Base cycle time on market requirements. This approach...
read moreAdvent of One-Piece Flow In Machining Operations
Everyone will agree that Henry Ford developed the automobile assembly line. Back in Ford’s day, there were two ways to assembly automobiles. One way was to keep cars stationary while moving the assembly workers around; the other was to keep the assembly workers stationary while shuttling the vehicles around. Realizing how bulky and heavy automobiles were, Ford initially thought it better to follow the first concept. But one day, while looking for ways to eliminate waste, he noticed the following: waste in the scattered movement of...
read moreAutomation With A Human Touch
One of the two pillars of the Toyota Production System is autonomation, meaning automation with a human touch. The concept originated in the early 1900s when Sakichi Toyoda invented a textile loom that stopped automatically when a thread broke. Previously, if a line broke, the loom would make mounds of defective fabric, so each machine needed to be watched by an operator. Toyoda’s innovation let one operator control many machines. Autonomation allows machines and operators to detect when an abnormal condition has occurred and immediately...
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