Lean Insight and Product Reviews
2 min read The story of Six Sigma’s origin started in a place where good stories rarely begin: aboard room, in a manager’s meeting. By the time the 1970s rolled around, the Toyota Production System had been implemented and Toyota was becoming one of the best manufacturers in the world. Motorola was finding their company unable to compete with other Japanese companies, and it was time for change. A group of Motorola executives were discussing, among other things, …
5 min read Lean Six Sigma within a Small Company Lean and six sigma strategies are known the world over for their effectiveness in helping to reduce waste and variation in production processes. That said, much of the information and many of the case studies we have on these techniques are conducted within the context of businesses that operate on a much larger scale than many that we ourselves might be associated with. Even the origins of lean, …
5 min read The Best Lean Six Sigma Tools There’s a great book that came out four or five years ago called “Dear Me.” It’s a project from an editor who wanted to contact celebrities from all walks of entertainment, industry, and more and ask them to write a letter to their 16 year old selves. Some of the letters were very personal, others spoke in more general terms, clearly seeking to share knowledge with the reader rather …
5 min read Make Your Lean Six Sigma Project a Success Whenever you are using Lean Six Sigma to make improvements to your facility and eliminate waste, you need to make sure you take the time up front to plan it out properly. In fact, the planning stage is often considered the most important of the entire Lean Six Sigma process. During this stage you will be making a checklist to help make sure you don’t miss anything. …
4 min read As more and more companies move toward six sigma standards, millions of individuals are evaluating whether or not they should attain their certification belts. Companies are also looking at whether or not it is worth it to send their employees through the training necessary to earn any of the various belts. This isn’t an easy question to answer, because you need to measure the costs (both in time and money) against the benefits that you’ll …
