Hexion Disciplined Six Sigma Improves Business Process

Hexion Specialty Chemicals is recognized with a 2009 Global Six Sigma & Business Improvement Award based on its achievement in deploying Six Sigma for enterprise business improvement in the chemical industry. ...

... "Six Sigma at Hexion is a disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects in any business process. It provides various methods and tools to associates to examine processes within the business from the customer's perspective, and to improve them to increase efficiency and effectiveness. Hexion has implemented Six Sigma programming across its global organization and has made Six Sigma a core process in its business operations. Its award entry documented various business process improvements, savings and service enhancements resulting from embracing Six Sigma methodology as a way of doing business. " ...

Via Hexion Specialty Chemicals: Global Six Sigma & Business Improvement Award

Six Sigma drives Hexion's plant data reporting and analysis investments (PDF).

Hexion participates in industry efforts in benchmarking and best practice models. ...

Instantis Six Sigma Maturity Model (PDF): "The Six Sigma Maturity Model is a good representation of the journey Hexion has gone through so far in our Six Sigma deployment. My prior experience at multiple Fortune 100 companies also coincides with the model, commented Nipesh Shah corporate vice president of Six Sigma at Hexion Specialty Chemicals, the world’s largest producer of binder, adhesive, coating and ink resins for industrial applications. We look forward to participating in this research effort to get a better sense of how our progress stacks up against our peers. "

Here are some insights into their Six Sigma journey. ...

Via Aberdeen Group's Lean Six Sigma Benchmark Report (PDF): "We went after the best. We took plant managers and individuals who managed quality across the North American continent. They became our Black Belts. It takes time, but after 2 years we had a breakthrough. -Jonathan Squire, Hexion Specialty Chemicals, Inc. "

Automotive Customer Satisfaction

Customer satisfaction statistics are available for the auto industry, showing a growing disparity for American automakers except for Saturn. ...

... "Hit with record losses, American auto manufacturers are also suffering from slumping customer satisfaction. No domestic car maker is represented among the top four nameplates, but the bottom three in the industry are all American brands. Yet customer satisfaction for the industry as a whole remains at an all-time high (unchanged at 82), and one American car maker, GM's Saturn, shows considerable improvement, climbing 5% to tie its all-time high from 1998." ...

Via American Customer Satisfaction Index: American Automakers Fall Further Behind Foreign Competition (PDF)

Lean Logistics Services

Menlo Worldwide receives the Global Institute of Logistics' Award of Excellence for outstanding contribution to the development of Logistics Service Provision (LSP). ...

... "According to the Institute, Menlo was selected because of its success in applying the principles of Lean manufacturing to the LSP sector. After reviewing a considerable amount of data, the Institute was convinced that Menlo had developed an operating model and a best practice that provided an excellent benchmark for other LSPs to emulate. Additionally, Menlo significantly improved its customers' efficiency, service and overall supply-chain performance.

The Lean concept uses a company's employees to discover ways to remove waste from processes by drawing on the expertise and knowledge of people who perform the work. Employees are given a framework within which to work, and problem-solving tools enabling them to analyse work processes, identify wasteful and unnecessary practices and develop plans to improve efficiency and reduce costs. Essentially, Lean manufacturing methodologies applied in the supply chain allow for the continuous removal of cost from warehousing and logistics operations leading to improved financial returns for both the customer and the logistics provider. " ...

Via Menlo Worldwide: Menlo Worldwide Named Supplier of the Year by MAQUET, Inc.

Five-9s Availability Achieved Through Six Sigma Discipline

EMC uses Six Sigma methodology to drive availability improvements in its products to five-9s performance levels. ...

... "Traditionally, only high-end storage systems designed for the most mission-critical applications have delivered Five 9s availability. EMC designed an entirely new midrange architecture - UltraScale - to deliver the highest levels of availability in affordable, scalable and easy-to-use systems that meet a wide range of storage needs. Over the past year, EMC utilized a comprehensive Six Sigma-based approach to track and calculate availability metrics of both the Fibre Channel and Fibre Channel/iSCSI versions of the EMC CLARiiON CX3 UltraScale systems, including a thorough analysis of the root cause of unplanned customer system downtime whether hardware, software or process-related. " ...

Via EMC: EMC Clariion CX3 Ultrascale Systems Achieve Highest Midrange Storage Availability and Quality Benchmark

Six Sigma Survey Results: Lean Ahead ...

Survey shows lean adoption ahead of Six Sigma ...

... "In the 2006 AMERICAN MACHINIST BENCHMARKING SURVEY, 88 percent of the top-performing benchmark shops reported using lean-manufacturing methods, but only 22 percent of these shops were using six sigma. " ...

Six Sigma Survey Results: Lean Ahead: Ready For Six Sigma?

Boeing Lean Manufacturing: Final 717 Aircraft ...

Boeing lean manufacturing program continues, as the final 717's are delivered ...

... "Our production system is an industry benchmark because of the lean manufacturing and employee involvement practices we pioneered on the 717 in Long Beach, said Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally. The 717 has forever redefined how we build airplanes. We're extremely proud of the airplane, our employees and our many supplier partners on the program. The program was launched by an order from AirTran Airways in 1995, and the airplane quickly became renowned by customers for its excellent economics, performance and reliability. Based on the Douglas DC-9 and launched as the McDonnell Douglas MD-95, the 100-seater was renamed the Boeing 717 after McDonnell Douglas and Boeing merged in 1997. " ...

Boeing Lean Manufacturing: Final 717 Aircraft: Via Boeing: Boeing Delivers Final 717s; Concludes Commercial Production in California ...

Lean Strategy Takes Time ...

Report shows the benefits of Lean, but implementing the strategy takes time ...

... "The benefits are clear, but manufacturers adopting Lean strategies must be in it for the long haul because pervasive use of Lean processes and the resulting performance improvement take time, according to the results of Aberdeen's survey. " ...

Lean Strategy Takes Time: The Lean Strategies Benchmark Report: Manufacturing Excellence Moves to the Value Chain by Infor Global Solutions - Analyst Report - Via InformationWeek White Papers

SixSigma Master Black Belt Position Available: Quality Improvement Career ...

Position is available for a master black belt in Six Sigma ...

... "MASTER BLACK BELT: Lead the Six Sigma Program. Develop and conduct training plans; serve as the Six Sigma technical expert; maintain Six Sigma tool application and methodology integrity; benchmark Six Sigma best practices; ensure that projects are adequately scoped, assigned, and implemented; allocate GB and BB resources. LEAN EXPERT: Lead cross-functional teams to implement Lean solutions; contribute to the identification and prioritization of Lean opportunities; lead the analysis of root cause solutions; support the implementation of Lean metrics across sites; support the identification and documentation of best practices; support the development of training for value stream mapping and Lean Sigma tools. " ...

SixSigma Master Black Belt Position Available: Quality Improvement Career: Steelscape: Via The Daily News Online

Six Sigma: Army Transforms Business Process ...

The Army recognizes commands for leadership in improving business processes, through Lean Six Sigma. ...

... "For example, today's Gold Award recipient, the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Center, is one of the Army leaders in Lean Six Sigma and serves as a benchmark for other Army organizations to emulate. The APEA Program was established in 2004 to recognize organizational performance excellence. The ceremony Friday at the Pentagon recognized commands which have transformed their business processes since then. " ...

Six Sigma: Army Transforms Business Process: Via The United States Army: Command gets Gold for leading in Lean Six Sigma ...

Lean Program: GROWTTH ...

Dr. Mohsen Sohi, president and chief executive officer of Freudenberg-NOK, was named to the board of directors of the Original Equipment Suppliers Association (OESA). He is executive champion of the lean program, GROWTTH. ...

... "Named to his current position at Freudenberg-NOK in 2003, Sohi oversees all divisions of the $1 billion company, which is part of the global Freudenberg Group. With more than 16 years of engineering and management experience in the automotive, aerospace, electronics and retail sectors, Sohi is committed to the company's lean benchmark program called Growtth (an acronym for Get Rid of Waste Through Team Harmony). He has worked to integrate lean principles, Six Sigma practices and information technology to extend continuous improvement across the entire Freudenberg-NOK enterprise. " ...

Lean Program: GROWTTH: Via Freudenberg-NOK: Freudenberg-NOK President & CEO Named to OESA Board of Directors ...

Six Sigma Employee Training Investment ...

Six Sigma Employee Training Investment: Via NWAnews: NWACC named training provider for state program ...

... "Kennametal Inc. of Rogers sponsored the initiative, focusing on training existing employees in the Six Sigma quality process and national electrical code requirements. " ...

Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity - News: "The family-owned company has participated in Valley Industrial Association training programs since 2000 as it upgrades the skills of its employees to use state-of-the-art robotic manufacturing equipment. Employees have learned advanced programming, tool handling, and operation of robotics; software programming and use for specialty equipment; and manufacturing concepts such as SPC and Six Sigma."

Xerox - Factbook: "Xerox manufacturing and distribution facilities are managed to the highest quality and environmental standards; all manufacturing factories are ISO 9000 and 14001 certified. Extensive employee training and involvement is practiced, and the use of quality tools, such as Lean Six Sigma, is pervasive. "

Quality Digest Magazine: "One benchmark partner developed an apprenticeship program to develop employee knowledge across skill competencies. The program enabled the company to achieve Six Sigma production quality and a 90-percent retention rate of employees who participated in the program."

ZeroDefect Manufacturing: Subaru Committment ...

ZeroDefect Manufacturing: Subaru Committment: In the latest brochure for the 2006 B9 Tribeca, Subaru highlights its benchmark development and manufacturing process. Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. manufactures the B9 Tribeca for the global market and made a major investment in retooling the factory. A zero defect process is used to ensure quality and customer satisfaction. Quality checks are built into every step of the assembly process and pokayoke control boxes to track the process steps. Also, a significant investment in robotics was made to increase the flexibility in manufacturing. ...

Six Sigma Employee Benefits

Those companies that invest in enterprise improvement, such as the Six Sigma methodology, seem to value employees more and make greater investments in helping employees better themselves, through increased benefits programs ...

Six Sigma Employee Benefits: Via National Mental Health Information Center: Administering Generous Mental Health Benefits - Lessons Learned ...

... "A company's leadership can also help define its corporate culture. Advocating for success and excellence in a company's work is incongruous with a limited focus on employee benefits. For example, several employers said they use Six Sigma as a benchmark for manufacturing quality. To require such rigorous standards, the companies themselves must excel in all corporate endeavors, including benefits provision. " ...

Six Sigma Efficiency ...

Six Sigma Efficiency: Landfill Wins Top Honor In Efficiency: Scott County Times - Forest, Mississippi

CHRIS ALLEN BAKER, Times News Editor, writes about Six Sigma success at environmental landfill ...

... "Citing a project called Six-Sigma, operations at Clearview will be examined and used to help set standards, referred to as benchmarks, as to how other facilities should operate, Sanders said. " ...

Six Sigma Benchmarks ...

Six Sigma Benchmarks: Benchmarking Excellence Driving Organizational Value & Building ...

Six Sigma cost-reduction shown as frequent powerful benchmark ...

From PR Newswire (press release) ... accepted as a valuable tool to streamline processes, compare performance and restructure key operations, when it becomes a key component of Six Sigma green and ...

... Demonstrating the value of benchmarking requires strong alignment with organizational goals, absolute clarity of benchmarking definition and short activity cycle times, according to research by benchmarking firm Best Practices, LLC. Benchmarking organizations create maximum value by focusing on key drivers such as cost reduction, customer retention, and renewed market growth. In fact, more than 60% of companies surveyed by Best Practices, LLC identified projects driving cost reduction as best deliverers of economic results. ...

Best Practices, LLC conducts work based on the simple yet profound principle that organizations can chart a course to superior economic performance by studying the best business practices, operating tactics and winning strategies of world-class companies. For over 10 years, our highly credentialed research staff has conducted primary research exclusively for our Fortune 500 client base.

Six Sigma Lessons Learned ...

Administering Generous Mental Health Benefits - Lessons Learned, National Mental Health Information Center

... "A company's leadership can also help define its corporate culture. Advocating for success and excellence in a company's work is incongruous with a limited focus on employee benefits. For example, several employers said they use Six Sigma as a benchmark for manufacturing quality. To require such rigorous standards, the companies themselves must excel in all corporate endeavors, including benefits provision. In such an environment, executives are more willing to allocate significant resources to mental and overall health coverage." ...

Product Innovation Pricing Strategy ...

Price Cap Performance Review ...

... "price cap regulation theoretically encourages cost efficiency and product innovation, results in second-best prices, blunts incentives for cross-subsidization, and is easy to administer, in actual practice nothing in price caps in any fashion alters the firm's incentives to maximize its private profitability at the expense of social objectives (e.g., cost minimization, product innovation, and cost-based pricing). Moreover, price cap regulation is not designed to foster competition, and in fact, allows for anticompetitive behavior by a dominant firm and actually can enhance its ability to deter entry and handicap rivals. With the decoupling of price from cost and with the unilateral ability to alter price, price-capped dominant firms have a greater ability to take actions that deter new entry. Price caps may also result in a greater degree of unpredictability to prices, with potentially adverse effects on consumers and competitors alike. Since prices are no longer tied to costs or any other benchmark, the dominant firm may set and change prices for any reason it chooses (e.g., market perceptions, strategies, etc.). This unpredictability may be disruptive to consumers seeking nothing more than simple low-cost service and to competitors and new entrants striving to make rational investment decisions. " ...

Lean Manufacturing Drives Facility Rationalization ...

Lean Manufacturing Drives Facility Rationalization: Columbus McKinnon Announces Sale of Chicago Area Property

From PR Newswire (press release) ... The building was available for sale as a result of the facility rationalization and lean manufacturing efforts of Columbus McKinnon. ...

... Columbus McKinnon Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCO), a leading designer and manufacturer of material handling products, today reported that it had completed the sale of a 4.6 acre property that included a 116,000 square foot building in the Greater Chicago area for $3.675 million on January 13, 2005. The favorable effect to net income in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005 ending on March 31, 2005 will be $2.65 million, or approximately $0.18 per diluted share. The building was available for sale as a result of the facility rationalization and lean manufacturing efforts of Columbus McKinnon. ...

Columbus McKinnon is a leading worldwide designer and manufacturer of material handling products, systems and services, which efficiently and ergonomically move, lift, position or secure material. Key products include hoists, cranes, chain and forged attachments. The Company is focused on commercial and industrial applications that require the safety and quality provided by its superior design and engineering know-how.

Additional resources where lean manufacturing drives facility rationalization or footprint reduction ...

Strategy Services: Operational Excellence: Facility locating, rationalization, consolidation, expansion; Network footprint
modeling; Asset productivity; Value based cost reduction. ...

STRATEGIC PLAN: is our most important facilities rationalization initiative ... initiatives to reduce our footprint and reduce ... square foot benchmarks for facility construction and ...

Latest Supervisory and Control System for Advanced: File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat ... Hitachi has proposed a wide variety of facility rationalization measures using the cutting-edge integrated autonomic control system. ...

Transforming Nortel’s Logistics Practices: outsourcing, the traditional manufacturer/customer relationship ... to relocate its manufacturing plant to another ... Footprint reduction The third phase involved ...

Six Sigma Cycle Time Measurement and Reduction Benchmarks in the Supply Chain ...

Six Sigma Cycle Time Measurement and Reduction: New Benchmarks for Supply Chain Centers: Driving Efficiency and ...

From PR Newswire (press release) ... Drive cycle time reductions everywhere through six sigma teams and through expanded definition and use of cycle time metrics. ...

... In today's fast changing, competitive and cost-driven market, supply chain organizations have to take every opportunity to lower cycle time, reduce uncertainties and stay current with market trends. Supply chain executives need to optimize both dimensions by working closer with business units, other corporate groups, and with customers directly. A new study by Best Practices, LLC takes a data-driven look at best-in-class supply chain centers. ...

Best Practices, LLC is a research and consulting firm that works on the principle that organizations can chart a course to superior economic performance by studying the best business practices, operating tactics and winning strategies of world-class organizations. Our suite of customized Research and Consulting services is designed to assist you in improving your company's performance by analyzing the winning practices of leading corporations.

Additional resources on Six Sigma Cycle Time Measurement and Reduction ...

Existing Product or Service Improvement: A Six Sigma project was initiated to reduce cycle time. ... methodology consists of Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve ... from initiation of a Six Sigma program for ...

Performance Control and Measurement in Lean Six Sigma Environments: File Format: Microsoft Powerpoint 97 ... Reduce Variation & Batch Size. Improve Flow & Productivity. ... Addresses Cost Reduction, Alignment To Goals, Waste, Cycle Time. ... Lean Six Sigma Across the Enterprise. ...

Future Fab Intl.: the course of a (Phase I) Six-Sigma content-reduction ... influence on overall wafer build cycle time, formed the ... s = standard deviation of time t = average time. ...

Six Sigma: into subgoals such as cycle time reduction, cost reduction ... team methodically proceeds through Measurement, Analysis, Improvement ... A Six Sigma improvement team is ...

Webinar on Six Sigma Manufacturing Process Optimization MPO Services ...

Six Sigma Manufacturing Process Optimization MPO Services: Pelion Systems to Host Webinar on Aberdeen's New Manufacturing ...

From PR Newswire (press release) ... Systems Pelion Systems is the market leader in Manufacturing Process Optimization (MPO) software products and services based on Lean, Six Sigma, and Flow ...

... Pelion Systems, the market leader in Manufacturing Process Optimization (MPO) solutions, today announced it will host a Webinar presenting Aberdeen Group's latest research report: The Manufacturing Performance Management Strategies Benchmark Report. Chris Jones, Aberdeen's senior vice president of value chain research, and Richard Sherman, Pelion's senior vice president of marketing will co-present key findings from the study on Wed., Jan. 12, 2005 at 12:30 p.m. EST. ...

Pelion Systems is the market leader in Manufacturing Process Optimization (MPO) software products and services based on Lean, Six Sigma, and Flow manufacturing principles. With Pelion, leading manufacturers are able to liberate capital, grow profits and sustain breakthrough performance by optimizing operations and extending their supply network to include suppliers, customers and outsourced service providers in their business transformation. Pelion MPO integrates easily with existing ERP and MRP systems to optimize operations and implements without operational disruption. Based in Lafayette, Colo., Pelion has sales and marketing offices in Chicago, Detroit and Austin.

Additional resource on six sigma and manufacturing process optimization MPO ...

Manufacturing Process Optimization Studies Employing Taguchi: PROCESS OPTIMIZATION STUDIES. Lambda Research offers manufacturing process optimization studies employing Taguchi experimental designs. ...

Building Process Optimization with Supply Chain Management in the: File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat ... Production process optimization with whole house redesign that is supported by efficient supply chain management system will contribute to improve the overall ...

Manufacturing and Process Optimization: Research in manufacturing and process optimization is focused on two areas: Chemical process optimization (Bill Morton) The aim of this work is to develop ...

Healthcare Balanced Scorecard: Cejka Search and Solucient Form Partnership to Study Hospital Leadership Characteristics

... "Data generated by the leadership survey will indicate background and longevity of hospital leaders, management practices, management team composition and other factors. For the past 12 years, Solucient has used a national, comparative, balanced scorecard approach to set the standard for identifying top performing hospitals across the country through its 100 Top Hospitals(R): National Benchmarks for Success studies and awards. Consistent winners of the Solucient 100 Top Hospitals award will be among those receiving the survey." ...

Solucient(R) is an information products company serving the healthcare industry. It is the market leader in providing tools and vital insights that healthcare managers use to improve the performance of their organizations. By integrating, standardizing and enhancing healthcare information, Solucient provides comparative measurements of cost, quality and market performance. Solucient's expertise and proven solutions enable providers, payers and pharmaceutical companies to drive business growth, manage costs and deliver high quality care.

Cejka Search is a nationally recognized executive and physician search organization providing services exclusively to the healthcare industry for more than 20 years. Partnering with organizations in pursuit of the nation's best healthcare talent, Cejka Search completes assignments across all levels of the healthcare continuum. Cejka Search is a Cross Country Healthcare, Inc. (Nasdaq: CCRN) company, a leading provider of healthcare staffing services in the United States.

Production Control Software: CMSsoftware Launches Microsoft.net-Based ERP Solution; Fully ...

From Business Wire (press release), CA ... includes, Distribution Management, EDI, Order Processing, Configuration Management, Purchasing and Procurement, Production Control, Scheduling/Production ...

Production control determines what products will be produced by manufacturing, how much of each product will need to be produced, and when each product must be produced ...

... CMSsoftware, Inc. - longtime provider of vertically integrated ERP solutions for manufacturers and distributors operating on the IBM eServer i5 - announces the immediate availability of CMSm5. CMSm5 is the culmination of a 4-year, multi-million dollar effort to provide the Microsoft.net community with the first ERP solution conceived and developed specifically to exploit the capabilities of that framework. ...

Today's demanding customers set high performance and quality benchmarks for their suppliers, and they exact tough penalties for those who fall short. CMSsoftware solutions provide robust and integrated functionality, enabling CMS customers to meet demanding customers' requirements and lower costs by optimizing internal resources and maximizing control over their processes and vendors.

Balanced Scorecard: Most Executives Are Unable to Take Balanced Scorecards From ...

From Business Wire (press release), CA ... Less than 20 percent of all typical companies have mature balanced scorecard implementations in place that are generating business value, according to research ...

It is taking some time for balanced scorecards to be successfully deployed in industry. Exemplars have mature scorecards in place ...

... Less than 20 percent of all typical companies have mature balanced scorecard implementations in place that are generating business value, according to research from The Hackett Group, a business advisory firm and an Answerthink company (Nasdaq:ANSR). At their most effective, balanced scorecards can be powerful tools, providing concise, predictive, and actionable information about how a company is performing and may perform in the future, and world-class companies are 159 percent more likely than typical companies to have mature balanced scorecards in place, according to Hackett's 2004 Finance Book of Numbers research. ...

The Hackett Group (http://www.thehackettgroup.com), an Answerthink company, is a business advisory firm providing empirically based advice and best-practices research to executives seeking to drive world-class performance in areas such as finance, IT, human resources, and procurement. Hackett's functional and process-specific benchmarks and its confidential, on-demand, membership-based advisory services are backed by an ongoing database of best practices in processes, technology, and organization in use at more than 2,400 clients around the globe. This unparalleled information repository allows Hackett business advisors to provide data, advice, and strategic insight with a level of integrity and authority available nowhere else. As of this writing, Hackett clients comprise 93 percent of the Dow Jones Industrials, 80 percent of the Fortune 100 and 90 percent of the Dow Jones Global Titans Index.

Answerthink, Inc. (http://www.answerthink.com) is a strategic business and technology consulting firm that enables companies to achieve world-class business performance. By leveraging the comprehensive database of The Hackett Group, the world's leading repository of enterprise best practice metrics and business process knowledge, Answerthink's business and technology solutions help clients significantly improve performance and maximize returns on technology investments. Answerthink's capabilities include benchmarking, business transformation, business applications, business intelligence, and offshore application development and support. Founded in 1997, Answerthink has offices throughout the United States and in Europe and India.

Balanced Scorecard Conference: Benchmark Your Quality Performance

From PharmaLive.com (press release), United States Implementing process improvement initiatives — including Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing and Balanced Scorecard — can be daunting. ...

Inexpensive conference on Lean, Six Sigma, and Balanced Scorecards presented by Dr. Robert Pojasek ...

... Process Improvement Tools Simple Steps for Cutting-Edge Quality A live, interactive audio alert Monday, Oct. 25, 2004 • 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. EDT. Register Today at http://www.fdanews.com/wbi/conferences/process.html?s=4333&p=04ODML! Implementing process improvement initiatives — including Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing and Balanced Scorecard — can be daunting. ...

Dr. Robert Pojasek — an internationally renowned expert in process improvement and adjunct professor for Harvard University — will explain how to use these tools to break down any process improvement initiative into easy, manageable steps.

Six Sigma Excellence: Proven Tactics for Profitability Across Industry Lines

From Business Wire (press release), CA ... Companies save billions of dollars and eliminate ineffective process steps by implementing "customer-centric" Six Sigma insights, according to ...

The folks at Best Practices, LLC. have created a Case Study of Six Sigma Excellence at GE, General Electric ...

... Companies save billions of dollars and eliminate ineffective process steps by implementing "customer-centric" Six Sigma insights, according to benchmark studies by research and consulting firm Best Practices, LLC. The program's methodology has emerged in various market sectors, especially in the manufacturing and the financial service industries, where companies employ the Six Sigma philosophy to improve process timelines, cash management and customer satisfaction. ...

Best Practices, LLC is a research and consulting firm that conducts work based on the simple yet profound principle that organizations can chart a course to superior economic performance by studying the best business practices, operating tactics and winning strategies of world-class companies.

Six Sigma Operational Efficiency: Lean, SixSigma & TQM Project Success: New Trends in Cost-Cutting ...

From Business Wire (press release), CA  ... "Lean, SixSigma & TQM Project Success: Recent Case Studies and Benchmarks," available at: http://www3.best-in-class.com/rr440.htm, offers an outline of ...

Six Sigma quality initiatives drive operational efficiency...

... Most businesses save up to 10 percent of their annual revenues each year through quality initiatives, according to a new study by research and consulting firm Best Practices, LLC. Based on a survey of 84 companies and 15 case studies, the findings act as a primer to assist companies on how to choose the best productivity approach based on the improvement or goal sought. ...

Best Practices, LLC is a research and consulting firm that conducts work based on the principle that organizations can chart a course to superior economic performance by studying the best business practices, operating tactics and winning strategies of world-class companies.

Performance Metrics: QSM Announces SLIM Suite 6.0 Software Lifecycle Management ...

From Business Wire (press release), CA ... We use the QSM SLIM methodology to get bottom line metrics on cost ... and the QSM approach has proven effective in documenting our performance against expectations ...

... QSM, Inc. today announced the most significant upgrade ever of its software lifecycle management solution, SLIM Suite 6.0, for managing both internal and outsourced application development. The five elements, which can be used individually or in the integrated suite, include SLIM-Control, SLIM-Estimate, SLIM-DataManager, SLIM-Metrics, and SLIM-MasterPlan. All SLIM Suite 6.0 elements are compatible with Microsoft's Access open architecture, and allow seamless interfaces to any ODBC-compliant tool. And, all can export to and import from the latest version of MS Project, including multi-level Work Breakdown Structure files. An improved API also facilitates the importing of statistics and other information from leading independent tool suites, such as those provided by IBM/Rational and Telelogic. ...

Founded by software engineering pioneer Larry Putnam in 1978, QSM's goal is to help clients become world-class software developers and reduce the overall expense of software development projects. QSM's SLIM software tools and consultative approach capture the management numbers that enable organizations to effectively estimate, track, and benchmark their software development and maintenance projects. The company is based in McLean, Virginia, with offices and affiliates in Massachusetts, France, The Netherlands, and the U.K.

SCM Supply Chain: Supply Chain Management: Build-to-order and Mass Customization ...

From Business Wire (press release), CA ... build-to-order/mass customization principles, to reduce excess inventory and speed product delivery, as part of their strategic supply chain management. ...

... Increasing emphasis on superior quality and the crucial bottom-line are compelling world-class companies to implement build-to-order/mass customization principles, to reduce excess inventory and speed product delivery, as part of their strategic supply chain management. A study by benchmarking research firm Best Practices, LLC, has profiled some of the cutting-edge benchmark trends at leading companies and supply chain organizations. ...

Best Practices, LLC is a research and consulting firm that works on the principle that organizations can chart a course to superior economic performance by studying the best business practices, operating tactics and winning strategies of world-class organizations.

Lean Manufacturing and the Defense Industry

From RAND Corp Research Brief ... Since the end of the Cold War, the Department of Defense (DoD) has launched a number of initiatives whose common objective has been to reduce the costs of weapon systems that are planned, under development, or in production. Largely in response to these measures, U.S. defense firms have in recent years begun to embrace lean manufacturing, a broad collection of principles and practices whose aim is to refashion the production process in a manner that includes the elimination of waste, the removal of inventory buffers, and a focus on quality ...

... The results of this study clearly indicate that the integration of lean principles into military aircraft production remains in a state of flux. To be sure, nearly all manufacturers surveyed as part of this research had either implemented lean pilot projects or expressed their intention to do so. Moreover, all manufacturers who had initiated such projects reported that savings had already been derived from their efforts. At the time of this research, however, none of the manufacturers surveyed had yet implemented lean manufacturing practices on a broader scale, either from the beginning to the end of the value stream or within the factory as a whole. ...

The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world. For more than 50 years, the RAND Corporation has pursued its nonprofit mission by conducting research on important and complicated problems. Initially, RAND (the name of which was derived from a contraction of the term research and development) focused on issues of national security. Eventually, RAND expanded its intellectual reserves to offer insight into other areas, such as business, education health, law, and science. RAND's innovative approach to problem solving has become the benchmark for all other “think tanks” that followed.

Six Sigma Benchmarks: New Benchmarks for Supply Chain Centers for Driving Efficiency and ...

From Business Wire (press release), CA ... Drive cycle time reductions everywhere through six sigma teams and through expanded definition and use of cycle time metrics. ...

... In today's fast changing, competitive and cost-driven market, supply chain organizations have to take every opportunity to lower cycle time, reduce uncertainties and stay current with market trends. Supply chain executives need to optimize both dimensions by working closer with business units, other corporate groups, and with customers directly. A new study by Best Practices, LLC (http://www3.best-in-class.com/cr105.htm) takes a data-driven look at best-in-class supply chains ...

Best Practices, LLC is a research and consulting firm that works on the principle that organizations can chart a course to superior economic performance by studying the best business practices, operating tactics and winning strategies of world-class organizations. Our suite of customized Research and Consulting services is designed to assist you in improving your company's performance by analyzing the winning practices of leading corporations.

Six Sigma Consulting: Wipro emerging quality consultant

From Rediff, India ... companies. These include processes like software testing before roll-out to enabling companies to move towards CMM Level 5 or Six Sigma. ...

... Wipro Ltd may be well-known to set the benchmark for quality standards. However, the time has come when it intends to spread its tentacles and infuse these standards into its clients. Wipro Technologies is increasingly getting Quality Consulting assignments where it is drawing out the blueprint for many of its customer organisations to improve their quality standards. Though the Quality Consulting business of Wipro is just a little over two-years-old, it is interesting to note that the division is fast emerging as a key contributor to the company's revenues. ...

Ranked India's most valuable company by Business Today and 16th among the software services companies in the world by BusinessWeek, Wipro has had a Cumulative Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 50% over the last five years, exhibiting stability, profitability and growth right from inception.

Six Sigma Financial Performance Measures: Benchmarks and Research

From Business Wire (press release), CA ... performance measures. -- Companies are investing hundreds of millions of dollars to implement Six Sigma programs. Organizations ...

... Beyond the balanced scorecard, leading companies often use strategic leading and lagging financial measures to effectively evaluate their performance. Benchmarking research conducted by research and consulting firm Best Practices LLC highlights successful practices across several different dimensions of performance measures. ...

Best Practices, LLC is a research and consulting firm that conducts work based on the principle that organizations can chart a course to superior economic performance by studying the best business practices, operating tactics and winning strategies of world-class organizations. For more information, call 919-403-0251.

Lean Manufacturing Benchmarks: Delta needs to get past disharmony

From Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA ... Delta recently announced that the senior VP of operations is going to look at Toyota plants to learn about lean manufacturing. ...

Sustainability and Lean Manufacturing: Conference to Present Profitable Sustainable Business Practices

From CSRwire.com (press release) ... is streamlining the way it builds commercial airplanes by applying the principles of lean manufacturing and has made great strides improving the company’s ...

" ... Studies have shown a clear link between a company’s sustainability practices and its financial performance--this fall, a premiere conference will give businesses practical tools to make sustainability a profitable, integral part of their current and future operations. The Network for Business Innovation and Sustainability (NBIS), in partnership with the Future 500, today announced a benchmark conference -- Profitable Sustainability: The Future of Business. Designed to lay the groundwork for how the successful future business is operated, the event will feature the best practices for implementing sustainable business initiatives ... "

The Network for Business Innovation and Sustainability NW is an independent organization that supports business, higher education, nonprofit and government organizations in creating prosperous economies, communities and a healthy environment. NBIS seeks to be a catalyst for business practices that enrich the quality of life for present and future generations.

Balanced Scorecard Approach: Gomez CEO Dr. Alex Stein Wins Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The ...

From Business Wire (press release), CA ... To determine award winners, the judges -- previous New England Entrepreneur of the Year award winners -- used a balanced scorecard approach built around ...

Gomez, the Internet Performance Management Company, offers products and services to Global 1000 companies to improve the effectiveness and profitability of their Internet operations through improved performance monitoring, measurement and analysis. Founded in 1997, Gomez has provided performance measurement, benchmarking and competitive insight to help build successful e-businesses. Gomez publishes widely accepted indices that measure relative Internet performance in many industries, including financial services, e-tailing and hoteling, which adds context to individual site performance. These industry benchmarks have become the independent standard by which many company's operations are measured.

Lean Six Sigma: Lean, Six Sigma & TQM Project Success: New Trends in Cost- ...

From TMCnet ... Visit http://www3.best-in-class.com/rr404.htm for more details. "Lean, Six Sigma & TQM Project Success: Recent Case Studies and Benchmarks," available at: http ...

Best Practices, LLC is a research and consulting firm that conducts work based on the principle that organizations can chart a course to superior economic performance by studying the best business practices, operating tactics and winning strategies of world-class companies. For more information about Best Practices, LLC, call (919) 403-0251, or visit the corporate website at http://www.best-in-class.com/.

Lean Manufacturing Success: New Benchmarks Set in Harbour Report 2004 Measures

From PR Newswire (press release) ... The Harbour Report highlights the efforts every automaker in North America is making in the areas of lean manufacturing, continuous improvement and other ...

More information and performance results can be found in The Harbour Report North America 2004, the annual study created and published by Harbour Consulting, a Troy, Mich.-based manufacturing and management consulting and automotive research firm. Harbour Consulting completed its first study of automobile manufacturing in 1981. Today, The Harbour Report is considered the
authoritative guide to automotive manufacturing in North America, and is a leading competitive analysis tool used by OEMs and suppliers to benchmark performance, develop strategies and improve operations. Copies of The Harbour Report North America 2004 can be ordered through the company's website at http://www.harbourinc.com.

Six Sigma: NCMS Helps Maintain the Readiness of America's Armed Forces

From PR Newswire (press release) ... Life Cycle Data Management for Six Sigma Product Quality - A process will be created to join CAD engineering and complete manufacturing process data in a ...

The National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) is the largest cross-industry collaborative research and development consortium in North America, and is the only consortial effort in the U.S. devoted exclusively to manufacturing technologies, processes and practices. NCMS has nearly two decades of experience in the formation and management of complex, multi-partner collaborative R&D programs, and is backed by corporate members representing virtually every sector of the manufacturing community.

Life Cycle Data Management for Six Sigma Product Quality: CAD technology is now capable of creating solid models with granularity and associated intelligence down to the feature level. Corresponding Object-oriented Product Data Management (PDM) systems integrated with CAD systems have been generically designed to add value to the traditional CAD geometry.

Other Six Sigma Projects from NCMS: The Six Sigma® Surface Mount Technology project objective was to significantly improve assembly process yields, with an ultimate goal of developing a methodology to achieve a six sigma quality level. The project effort focused on the solder paste deposition, component lead quality, and component placement process aspects of SMT. Project team members used a continuous improvement methodology to establish baseline performance, conduct benchmark evaluation, refine existing process capabilities, and identify or develop low-cost process monitoring equipment or specifications.

Project Data Management for Six Sigma Quality: This project will make available to downstream applications a complete, up-to-date listing of all engineering requirements for a given part, associated with the defining solid model and 2D drawing set. The result will be accurate and unambiguous requirements communicated to everyone who needs them; from process planners to quality inspectors of both organic manufacturing and external suppliers. Such automation will ensure that appropriate resources are aware of and deal with changes to any of the requirements, thereby reducing quality “escapes” and lowering operating costs.

QRM: Quick Response Manufacturing in Action

Benchmark QRM with Viking...

...Viking's expansion includes the addition of two new, high-speed Fuji production lines each consisting of a DEK 265 GSX screen printer, Fuji CP6 pick and place system, a Zevatech FM-760 flexmounter machine, an Electrovert Ominflo 7 convection oven and an Aquastorm 100 aqueous cleaning system. Viking has also purchased an additional HP83000 'ATE class' test system, the industry's leading in-line memory module tester. In total, Viking's U.S. manufacturing facilities now has three high-speed Fuji lines, plus a complete Quick Response Manufacturing (QRM) system served by eight Zevatech (FM730s and FM740s) and two HP83000 testers.

Viking's design, manufacturing and production processes utilize the company's highly acclaimed, just-in-time model which avoids inventory stockpiling while taking advantage of market and supply conditions to deliver products. Viking purchases components from leading manufacturers, then designs, assembles, tests and qualifies 100 percent of all its proprietary and generic products prior to shipping. All modules are tested at-speed and guaranteed working when they leave Viking's facilities...

About Viking Components
Founded in 1988, Viking Components Inc. is a worldwide leader in the memory upgrade and PC Card marketplace. Viking offers more than 2,000 products, including generic and proprietary memory modules, PC Card flash storage and fax/modems. Viking is an ISO 9001 certified manufacturer headquartered in Rancho Santa Margarita, California, and ISO 9002 certified at the European facility. For more information about Viking Components please call 800/338-2361, or visit the Viking Web site at: www.vikingcomponents.com.

Six Sigma CRM Value Realization: Create a CRM Value Management Process

From Destination CRM, Dan Merriman, president of Chapin Consulting Group, writes ... These benefits have long been understood and leveraged in other parts of organizations using methodologies such as Balanced Scorecard and Six Sigma...

This article highlights some key Six Sigma principles:

Create measurement system and control the improvement.

Choose your partners well - understand their maturity in realizng benefits.

Establish clear internal accountability for targets.

Put some skin in the game.

In a related article, All Together Now: CMM, CRM, ERP and Six Sigma from CIO Magazine, Six Sigma works fine with CRM and other operational and valuation methodologies...

Six Sigma has been very successful in impacting operational efficiency. What about Six Sigma's contribution to revenue growth? Company strategy meetings are focusing on boosting top-line revenue growth. How can we apply Six Sigma tools to CRM: Sales and Marketing? Both are business processes where the application of Six Sigma has only recently started, but are starting to pay off.

When we consider a Customer Relationship Management CRM program, we must first establish how our organization operates versus an industry benchmark and the view of the intended customers. What do the customers require versus what we and the competition currently deliver or should be delivering.

Many Six Sigma-practiciing companies are delighted by the results they are seeing from business processes where a process-orientation is not emphasized. Sales and Marketing CRM Six Sigma projects are increasing customer retention, improving margins, creating pricing leverage, simplifying customer proposition and improving service levels. These projects result in sustainable strong cash flow, strong brand awareness, and increase in revenue growth.

Six Sigma Healthcare: Virtua Health Harnessing the Power of Six Sigma to Improve Patient Care and Reduce Costs in Health Care

Sharing Virtua's Success with the Nation: Susan McGann, RN, Six Sigma Master Black Belt at Virtua Health, featured speaker at National Six Sigma in Health Care Conference

MARLTON, N.J., March 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Six Sigma: if you haven't heard about it yet, chances are you soon will. Six Sigma, a strategic problem- solving approach to improve business operations, is making its mark in the health sector as a means to improve quality of care while reducing costs. Developed by the Motorola Company in 1987, this highly successful approach to improving processes has since been widely adopted and praised throughout corporations including General Electric, DuPont, Johnson and Johnson and Dow Chemical.
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Virtua Health, a New Jersey based non-profit healthcare provider, has seen results since implementing General Electric's Six Sigma Master Black Belt development program in July 2000 -- the industry's first designed specifically for healthcare professionals. (In Six Sigma terminology full-time leaders and teachers of the Six Sigma process are referred to as master black belts.) A single Six Sigma project at Virtua saved the organization more than $1 million a year by increasing insurance reimbursement for surgically implanted devices.

Recently, Virtua Six Sigma Master Black Belt Susan McGann, RN, joined other healthcare leaders from across the country to share Virtua's success at the largest Six Sigma conference to date. The Second Annual National Six Sigma Conference "Successfully Implementing Six Sigma in Healthcare -- Harnessing the Power of Six Sigma to Improve Patient Care and Reduce Costs" was recently held in New Orleans, LA. At the conference, McGann shared her knowledge of and experience with the use of Six Sigma as an approach to improving patient safety in healthcare organizations; hiring, training and compensation for green and black belts; and experiences in capturing data and measuring gains.

McGann and fellow Virtua Master Black Belt Mark VanKooy, MD, have led a comprehensive effort to drive the methodologies of Six Sigma, CAP (Change Acceleration Process) and Work Out across Virtua Health. Together they oversee six full-time project leaders known as Black Belts, and 29 managers and supervisors trained as project leaders called Green Belts. The Six Sigma leaders of all levels work to implement programs that support Virtua's STAR initiative. The focus is an outstanding patient experience while raising the organization's process and outcome metrics from average to excellent. Virtua's goal is to train more than 150 Green Belt managers and supervisors in all healthcare areas.

"With mentoring from GE's Performance Solutions team and leadership from Virtua's master black belts, Six Sigma projects have been strategically aligned with Virtua's objectives, improving areas that range from revenue enhancement to heparin usage," says McGann. "Virtua's Six Sigma and change management initiatives have delivered tangible, measurable results having a positive impact on patient care, employee morale and the organization's bottom line. As a result of the improvement initiatives over the last few years, Virtua Health reports total annualized savings of more than $5 million to date."

Six Sigma supports Virtua's own unique plan for quality -- the STAR initiative. Developed by Virtua President and CEO Richard P. Miller to create an outstanding patient experience, STAR is a program that charges all employees with applying the principles of excellent service, highest quality and safety, caring culture, best people and resource stewardship to the day-to-day operations of the organization. Six Sigma is a tool to get STAR results. It also reflects the commitment Miller and Virtua's Board of Trustees have to getting results that matter to patients.

Virtua is currently starting the seventh wave of Six Sigma projects. Projects have been initiated in areas ranging from the administration of chemotherapy medication to improved billing for home care services.

One project that demonstrates the application and power of Six Sigma in health care is the Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) Length Of Stay project. The challenge Virtua faced was that the length of stay for Medicare CHF patients was 6.5 days while the Medicare benchmark was 4.2 days. The team found a great deal of variation in the later part of the hospital stay and around the discharge process. Important lab and testing results were not available to the physicians in a timely manner. There was also a great deal of variation in patient and family expectations about the length of stay.

The team created standard operating procedures for the nursing team and a patient and family information brochure describing the usual course of care for CHF patients. The team modified the flow of test results to assure timely availability to the physicians for these patients. The efforts resulted in a length of stay reduction to four days and savings of $116,000 per year in staff and room costs. Staff productivity gains were leveraged to reduce the need for agency nursing.

The project was conducted at one of Virtua's four hospitals but the approach has been fully rolled out at the other three facilities standardizing the process across the health system.

For more information on Virtua's Six Sigma program or STAR Initiative, contact 1-888-Virtua-3 (1-888-847-8823).

Virtua Health, the largest health care provider in South Jersey, is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing the highest quality health care to the communities it serves. Virtua Health, with more than 7,500 employees and 1,700 physicians, is comprised of four hospitals including Virtua Memorial Hospital Burlington County, Mt. Holly, and Virtua West Jersey Hospitals in Berlin, Marlton and Voorhees. More than 7,000 babies are born annually at Virtua's hospitals in Mt. Holly and Voorhees where comprehensive neonatal intensive care for premature newborns is provided. A wide range of world-class pediatric specialty care is offered through the Virtua/duPont Children's Health Program, an affiliation with the A.I. duPont Hospital for Children. The Fox Chase Virtua Health Cancer Program provides comprehensive cancer treatment, the latest technology, and access to national and regional cancer treatment and prevention studies. With five strategically located emergency centers, Virtua handles more emergencies -- and more pediatric emergencies -- than any other health system in South Jersey. Virtua also serves the community with comprehensive primary care and emergency services at its outpatient center in Camden; two long-term comprehensive care centers in Berlin and Mt. Holly; two outpatient surgery centers in Mt. Holly and Voorhees; a home-health care agency and the William G. Rohrer Center for HealthFitness in Voorhees. For information about Virtua's services or physicians, call 1-888-Virtua-3 or visit us on the web at www.virtua.org.