Process improvement projects have typically been a labor-intensive and imprecise process. Labor-intensive in that capturing the as-designed vs the actual current-state process required facilitated meetings, interviews, surveys and analyzing operational data over an extended time period. Imprecise in that workers will typically act differently when they know they are being watched and measured. The Hawthorne […] The post Process Improvement in the Age of Smart Manufacturing appeared first on isixsigma.com ..read more

Lean Six Sigma can assist organizations determine which processes are the best candidates for automation as well as make those processes more automation ready. The post Incorporate Lean Six Sigma in Automation Process appeared first on isixsigma.com ..read more

Anyone who has worked in manufacturing has probably experienced some level of finger-pointing when shipments fall short of expectations. Though there could be multiple reasons for a missed customer delivery, somehow it is always the other department’s fault. In extreme circumstances, several months of missing targets without effectively defining the root causes and addressing them […] The post Case Study: Using Six Sigma in a Non-Six Sigma Culture appeared first on isixsigma.com ..read more

In Part 2 we look at failure rates and material conditions for a surface finish example. The post Process Capability – Surface Finish Example: Part 2 appeared first on isixsigma.com ..read more

Practitioners cannot wait to use their newly acquired knowledge after they have finished Lean Six Sigma (LSS) training. They want to immediately apply the framework to their real-life projects. But what if, for numerous reasons, it is not possible to “go by the book”? In such cases, there are ways to break LSS down into […] The post Use “Light” Lean Six Sigma When the Textbook Approach Is Not Possible appeared first on isixsigma.com ..read more

In Part 1, we explore the concept of process capability, including how to calculate it and what to do with non-normal data. The post Process Capability – The Basics: Part 1 appeared first on isixsigma.com ..read more

In this case study, the 509th Maintenance Group of the U.S. Air Force used an eight-step continuous improvement approach to balance its resources and meet both flying hour program requirements and aircraft availability. Part 1 focused on steps 1 through 4. Part 2 looks at continuing to make improvements with steps 5 through 8. Step […] The post U.S.A.F. Uses Continuous Process Improvement on the B-2 Bomber: Part 2 appeared first on isixsigma.com ..read more

In the Analyze phase of a DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) Six Sigma project, potential root causes of variations and defects are identified and validated. Various data analysis tools are used for exploratory and confirmatory studies. Descriptive and graphical techniques help with understanding the nature of data and visualizing potential relationships. Statistical analysis techniques, […] The post Use a Classification and Regression Tree (CART) for Quick Data Insights appeared first on isixsigma.com ..read more

In this case study, the 509th Maintenance Group of the U.S. Air Force used an eight-step continuous process improvement approach to balance its resources and meet both flying hour program requirements and aircraft availability needs. This week looks at steps 1 through 4. Part 2 looks at steps 5 through 8. Introduction The B-2 bomber […] The post U.S.A.F. Uses Continuous Process Improvement on the B-2 Bomber: Part 1 appeared first on isixsigma.com ..read more

My company benchmarked against other manufacturing businesses before starting its cultural transformation change. They formed a team and visited companies including Toyota, GM, Milliken, Caterpillar, John Deere, Chrysler, Du Pont and Johnson Controls. After talking to each company about their cultures and continuous improvement processes, my company started to put together a roadmap for transformation. […] The post Project Examples from an LSS Deployment for Cultural Transformation appeared first on isixsigma.com ..read more