Articles

What is Lean Six Sigma

September 3rd, 2008

Lean Six Sigma combines the quality improvements that come from using Six Sigma with the speed improvements that come from using Lean manufacturing principles. Six Sigma is a disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects in any process — from manufacturing to transactional and from product to service. Focus of Lean Six Sigma Lean […]

Reaping the Benefits of Value Stream Mapping

Value Stream Mapping (VSM) is a proven tool. Well suited for a broad range of industries and processes, VSM is ideal for creating positive organizational changes, developing efficient future states, and producing system-wide benefits in cost, quality, and flexibility. In short, it helps eliminate waste. But like any tool, VSM must be applied properly. That […]

It Can Be Copied But

Piggly Wiggly muri mura muda  No, they’re not your typical cheerleading blurbs, although with Toyota hugging the limelight these days as one of the world’s major car producers with stellar growth rates and can’t-be-beat performance, everyone might as well be cheerleading for the Japanese auto maker. The praises are richly deserved. The story began when Toyota […]

Handling Statistical Variation in Six Sigma

Six-Sigma provides a methodical, disciplined, quantitative approach to continuous process improvement. Through applying statistical thinking, Six Sigma uncovers the nature of business variation and its affect on waste, operating cost, cycle time, profitability, and customer satisfaction. The term six sigma is defined as a statistical measure of quality, specifically, a level of 3.4 defects per […]

Bringing Toyota Close to Home

Your company need not be in the automotive industry to benefit from the principles of the Toyota Production System. Whether you’re running a critical care unit, overseeing cross-country trucking operations or opening an art school, you can learn valuable lessons from the Toyota Production System. We’ll apply TPS in certain situations to bring some principles […]

Benefits of a Lean Office: Is it for you?

Lean office is no longer the propriety process and quality management mantra for manufacturing units. The success of Lean management in manufacturing units was bound to percolate to non-manufacturing processes sooner or later. Needless to add, success stories about Lean Office abound with many organizations proactively adapting this technique to cut down wastage (also referred […]

Shedding off the Fat

Even the powerful need to lose some fat. Close to two years ago, a report was published online about an award that was given at Hanscom Air Force Base to a Mr. Harvey Dershin, Vice President of Aon/Rath & Strong. Presenting the award was Major General Arthur J. Rooney, Vice Commander of the Electronic Systems […]

Go Army, Go Six Sigma!

What’s good for the geese is good for the gander. Or better, what’s good for the private sector is good for the public sector. Our Six Sigma focus now turns to the United States Army. The generals have reason to be proud. That pride is expressed in US dollars. How does a savings of $110 […]

Bench Warming or Benchmarking?

Introduction Benchmarking seems such a highfalutin word, another business concept that has been used ad nauseam. There’s a justification for that, we’re sure. But what’s the simplest way to describe benchmarking so even a high school student can understand it? Our research on benchmarking in process improvement revealed that the concept can be compared to […]

Make that Lean and Mean!

It Takes a Leader When you hear the words lean manufacturing, what springs to mind? That you’re getting an inferior product because cost reduction efforts take precedence over customer satisfaction? That a manufacturing facility is ill-equipped or else has obsolete machinery that no longer meet today’s standards? That the product you just purchased came out […]

What is Six Sigma Deployment

In the implementation of Six Sigma, an effective infrastructure lays the foundation for success. An effective infrastructure for your Six Sigma or Lean Flow change initiative in an organization requires a clear strategy and comprehensive planning. Strategizing and Planning The planning stage of a Six Sigma deployment is where you can gain valuable traction. A […]

The Lean Office Approach

Lean seems to be one of the new buzzwords in business these days. However, it is far more than that. It is a business concept. In order to understand the Lean Office, you must first understand what lean means. This term was first applied by Toyota to the manufacturing side of business, as their Toyota […]

Making Use of the Kaizen Event in the Office

Kaizen is a Japanese word that means continuous improvement in and orderly manner. A Kaizen event is an intensive, short-term project intended to improve a specific process within a business. By improving a process the overall system will be improved the proverbial weak link is strengthened and the chain does not fall apart. One of […]

Good Housekeeping with 5S Implementation

If your business needs a good house cleaning, then consider 5S Implementation. This Lean Office concept originated in Japan and is a method by which a business can get organized and stay organized. The 5S’ are: Seiri – this is a general sorting of the business processes, throwing away what does not work and keeping […]

Map Your Value Stream: Cut out Waste Visually

Value Stream Mapping is a visual imaging technique developed by the Toyota version of Lean Manufacturing. It is a paper and pencil tool that helps to visualize and figure out the flow of materials and information as a product or service courses through the value stream. It helps to understand and improve work processes using […]

The Lean Office: Eliminate Process Flab

The lean office system cuts down human effort, investment and working hours to alter how work is done, and thus increases output. Organizations which effectively adopt lean office techniques boost their performance hugely and raise the production per hour worked. In modern management jargon the term lean was first coined by John Krafcik of MIT, […]

Kaizen Events: Are They Any Good for the Non-manufacturing Sector?

Kaizen is a Japanese management tradition that roughly translates to becoming better through change. It’s a management philosophy that believes in continuous vigilance regarding all the aspects of a production system, and making changes based on this observation so that the system always remains at the peak of its productive efficiency. And one most effective […]