Cintas Six Sigma Efficiency Program

Cintas President and Chief Operating Officer was instrumental in the company's operational efficiency efforts, using Six Sigma methodology. ...

... "That led Cintas into implementing Six Sigma, a process-improvement methodology to increase efficiency across the company and an effort Holloman led before being named vice president of global supply chain management. " ...

Via Cincinnati Enquirer: Exec in small club

Semiconductor Manufacturing Benefits from Kaizen Events

Semiconductor manufacturer uses kaizen methods to sustain its improvement efforts and keep its facility capable of serving the industry needs at a competitive cost. ...

... "Small groups of workers and managers have spent a week or more in meetings - coming up with dozens of small steps that lead to productivity improvements. The kaizen events are modeled after methods that Japanese companies have used for decades to make their manufacturing operations the world standard for efficiency. " ...

Via Austin Statesman: Aging fab

Design of Experiments Leads to Better Products

Great reference for design of experiments and Taguchi methods. ...

... "An effective way to improve performance is to optimize the engineering designs of products or processes by experimental means. A structured and economical way to study projects whose performance depends on many factors is to apply the experimental method known as design of experiments ... " ...

Via Quality Digest: A well-run DOE method

Healthcare Delivery Uses Lean Manufacturing Techniques

Medical center stays relevant in its industry through leadership commitment and management techniques, such as lean manufacturing. ...

... "For about four years, ThedaCare has incorporated methods based on lean manufacturing or efficiency principles into its care delivery procedures. " ...

Via Oshkosh Northwestern: Medical Center

Six Sigma DMADV for Business Process Improvements

Six Sigma methodology can become your foundation for improvement of business processes. DMAIC or DMADV framework can provide the steps necessary to define opportunities, create change, and drive adoption. As companies implement and upgrade ERP systems, the improvement of business process is necessary to create value from the investment. ...

... "It not only provides the framework for setting up new business processes, but also for redesigning processes that have reached their inherent performance limits. The DMADV model includes the project phases of define, measure, analyze, design, and verify. " ...

Via SAP INFO: BPI, Improving Business Processes

Six Sigma Workshop February

Upcoming Six Sigma education opportunity ...

... "Kellogg Community College will be offering a Six Sigma workshop on Tuesday, February 5 and Wednesday, February 6 from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm at Kellogg Community College’s Regional Manufacturing and Technology Center ... " ...

Via Battle Creek Enquirer: Course

Six Sigma Supports Manufacturing Expansion

Boston-Power will expand production of next-generation Lithium-ion batteries for notebook computers through a partnership with GP Batteries. ...

... "Sonata will be produced in GP Batteries' state-of-the-art facilities in Taiwan. There, it will benefit from Six Sigma manufacturing processes and a unique, real-time quality control feedback and management system that is proprietary to Boston-Power. " ...

Via Boston Power: Manufacturing expansion of next-generation Sonata notebook computer battery

Leansigma Customer Focus

Lean and Six Sigma hybrid methods are synthesized to differentiate in the eyes of the customer. Global consulting firm provides training in these methods. ...

... "head of the $53-million turnover firm said he provided advice to manufacturing and service companies on LeanSigma -- a hybrid of lean manufacturing principles and six sigma principles. " ...

Via Sify: Listen to customer

6 Sigma Healthcare Study Shows Benefits

Healthcare association sees benefits from the application of Six Sigma methods to identify the critical levers for patient care. ...

... "In a retrospective study, Ms. Gamerdinger and colleagues from Mercy Medical Center evaluated the outcomes of a Six Sigma performance improvement project focused on compliance with JCAHO CAP Core Measures to ensure that each measure of care was met. Utilizing Six Sigma methodology, researchers identified critical processes and key stakeholders in patient care and utilized specific tools for process flow, cause/effect matrices, and outcomes analysis. The hospital also dedicated several full-time positions to the new methodology and trained more than 100 individuals in the Six Sigma program. When deviations from the Six Sigma protocol occurred, timely feedback was provided to care providers. After program implementation, researchers collected and analyzed data related to core measures, length of stay, and mortality in 1,550 patients with CAP admitted to the hospital during the study period. Results indicated that compliance scores for each JCAHO Core Measure improved from 70% to over 90%. CAP order usage improved from 40 %to 73%, yielding an 82.5% increase. Mean length of stay was reduced from 5.9 days to 5.1 days, a 13.56% reduction, which was associated with over $300,000 in cost savings. By the end of the study period, in-hospital mortality rates also decreased from 6.7% to 3.5%, a 47.8% reduction. " ...

6 Sigma decreases mortality in hospitalized patients

Lean Manufacturing Excellence Recognition for Medical Diagnostics Company

Ventana Medical Systems is awarded the National Award for Manufacturing Excellence from the Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME). The award is in recognition of the utilization of strategies and techniques that improve competitiveness and profitability. ...

... "We are very proud to be the recipient of this award, which places us as a leader in lean systems methodologies regionally, nationally and within the diagnostics industry. Our lean manufacturing initiatives, which are supported by a culture of continuous improvement, are just one of the many ways we strive every day to constantly improve upon quality, productivity and profitability throughout all levels of our global organization. " ...

Via Ventana Medical Systems: Ventana Medical Systems to Receive National Award for Manufacturing Excellence from the AME

Lean Six Sigma Consulting Organization Acquired

Accenture completes acquisition of the George Group. ...

... "As part of its comprehensive management consulting capabilities, Accenture will now be able to provide clients with offerings and techniques developed by George Group, including Lean Six Sigma, which combines process improvement methodology with efficient process discipline to reduce delivery times, lower costs and increase customer satisfaction. Terms of the sale were not disclosed. The transition of George Group's 250 employees to Accenture complements Accenture's aggressive recruiting initiatives to meet rapidly growing client demand for management consulting services, especially in process-improvement solutions leading to enhanced performance.

George Group consultants have provided services to Fortune 500 companies and government organizations in more than 54 countries. In addition to Lean Six Sigma, George Group has developed techniques such as Fast Innovation, which provides companies with methods and processes to accelerate and sustain innovation, and Conquering Complexity, which helps companies measure and reduce the impact of complexity within their organizations. " ...

Via Accenture: Acquisition of George Group, Specialists in Process Improvement, Accelerating Innovation and Streamlining Operations

Lean Labor Productivity

Local officials evaluate lean methods ...

... "Combining Lean and Six Sigma which generates long term change is designed to incorporate the best of both methodologies. " ...

Via Cumberland Times: Celebrate Work and Productivity

Lean Six Sigma Maritime Shipping Processes

Maersk partners with Mason School of Business to develop and deliver Lean Six Sigma training program for the company focused on business processes that enable maritime shipping. ...

... "The contract represents a customized engagement, where the faculty of the Mason School designed the Lean Six Sigma training and project management program to fit Maersk's unique needs and operating environment. Participants in the program will represent Maersk's key operating and business processes that will bring added value to its operations by using Lean Six Sigma methods to dramatically improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their processes. Lean Six Sigma is an integrated methodology, applying in a harmonized way two proven, powerful management methodologies: Lean and Six Sigma. Of these, Lean is primarily concerned with ensuring the efficiency of processes, so that they operate at minimum cost and at maximum speed, using resources in an optimal way. Six Sigma, on the other hand, focuses chiefly on process effectiveness, that is, customer satisfaction, high quality and near-zero defect rates. These methods have been known and used in business and industry for some time, primarily in a stand-alone mode. Integrated training and deployment of the two is a more recent development, where the Mason School's faculty has done groundbreaking work, based on long academic and hands-on industrial experience. " ...

Via College of William and Mary: Mason School of Business Partners with World's Largest Maritime Shipping Company

Six Sigma Differentiation for Bank

Kenneth Lewis, Bank of America CEO, uses Six Sigma methodology to drive efficiencies and improve customer service. ...

... "He stepped up an unorthodox plan to implement the Six Sigma methodology that manufacturers use to minimize errors. Over his tenure, Bank of America's annual revenue has more than doubled to more than $74 billion. " ...

Via Wall Street Journal: Bank CEO Perspectives

Customer Satisfaction Essential for GE Leader

GE's Steven Sargent shares his disciplined approach to customer service and life. ...

... "I do use the Six Sigma problem-solving DMAIC methodology - define the problem, measure data inputs, analyse the data, improve the process, control the process - to solve problems at work and at home ... " ...

Via The Age: GE Australia Leader

Healthy Conflict of Six Sigma and Innovation

Six Sigma is a useful foundation and differentiator. However, it can negatively impact innovation if the proper balance is not achieved. ...

... "Innovation thrives on trying new approaches. So when Six Sigma starts to be used as a universal solution for every possible challenge, it stops being a useful tool and becomes a religion. " ...

Via CIO INsight: Six Sigma

SixSigma IT Methods

Maximizing IT goals using Six Sigma will be explored in this discussion. ...

... "During Tom's presentation the potential and risks for applying Six Sigma to IT management will be discussed starting with the basic foundations from Motorola's original ideas and bringing the topic to today's need to apply it outside of manufacturing applications. Several examples from the real world of IT will be presented as good and bad applications of the method. A modification of Six Sigma will be developed to bring it more in tune with IT goals. " ...

Via Association of Information Technology Professionals: IT Methodology

Cycle Time Reduction

Thomas Group implements process reengineering for the military, reaping significant benefits. ...

... "It claims that its propriety Total Cycle Time methodology is the forerunner of such management concepts as Top Quality Management, Kaizen and Six Sigma. After Thomas advised it on a fleet-modernization program, the Navy realized one-time savings of $100 million, as well as $80 million savings annually, the firm says. " ...

Via Star-Telegram: Thomas Group Inc

Kaizen Enables Hospital Improvements

Hospital sees benefits from kaizen approach to continuous improvement, where the workforce is empowered to seek change. ...

... "Columbus Regional Hospital in Columbus, Ind., focused on changing the culture and environment in its surgical area to improve operations. Practice changes were driven by stringent data analysis, as well some newer methodologies, including Lean Six Sigma and Kaizen. " ...

Via Infection Control Today: Hospital Efficiency

When Six Sigma Loses Customer Focus Nardelli-Style

Six Sigma as practiced at Home Depot, under the tenure of Bob Nardelli, lost its focus on the customer and became a number-crunching exercise. No methodology should make an enterprise lose sight of customer needs. ...

... "Six Sigma was used to streamline the check-out process and strategically place vacuum-cleaner displays, for example. ... The bottom line on Nardelli's tenure: Profitability soared, but worker morale drooped, and so did consumer sentiment. " ...

Six Sigma Gone-Bad

Performance Improvement Breakthrough Services By Milliken

Milliken & Company forms a dedicated business group to provide Performance Improvement Services to the manufacturing sector. The new group is called Milliken Performance Solutions and will serve customers from the company's Spartanburg, South Carolina headquarters. Milliken is one of the largest privately-held textile and chemical manufacturers in the world. ...

... "The formation of Milliken Performance Solutions will expand these services to support companies outside of Milliken's traditional base and will report to Craig Long, Vice President of Six Sigma and Quality. The Milliken Performance System is a daily management system that provides a systematic, step by step method of running any operation more effectively and efficiently. The system is in place at over 60 plants worldwide and can support both discrete and continuous process manufacturing plants. The system overcomes the limitations of conventional Lean Six Sigma programs by providing a more comprehensive approach that leads to dramatic breakthroughs in cost reduction, higher morale, increased customer satisfaction, and a cleaner safer environment. " ...

Via Milliken & Company: New Business Line Provides Performance Improvement Services

Reinvent Automotive Production Through Lean Manufacturing

Does the Chrysler sale offer opportunity to challenge Toyota for lean leadership? Will private capital have the patience for long-term methodologies, like kaizen and lean? We shall see. ...

... "And it is the chance of a lifetime for a car company to reinvent itself, to out-Toyota Toyota in lean manufacturing and vehicle quality. " ...

Via USATODAY: Chrysler Sale

Green-Belt SixSigma Training Starts April 23 Through Partnership

Partnership will offer Lean Six Sigma training for green belt level. ...

... "Professionals seeking career enhancement programs or companies working to make the most of their training dollars will gain exposure to both the Lean and Six Sigma methodologies in this 10 day program. Simons-White & Associates has integrated their Lean and Six Sigma Green Belt training programs for optimized learning. Upon completion of this program, attendees will receive 8 continuing education units and have completed a project to demonstrate their new skills. The new program will offer support with candidate and project selection, introduction to MINITAB statistical software as well as project implementation ... " ...

Via Simons-White: Ohio State University's Alber Enterprise Center in partnership with Simons-White & Associates offers Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Program

DataMining SixSigma DMAIC Methodology

Data mining vendor KXEN adopts Six Sigma DMAIC as its standard implementation methodology for inegrating analytics into corporate business processes. ...

... "The adoption of DMAIC - short for Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control - brings for the first time rigidly defined business goals, milestones and measurements to data mining projects. Until now the absence of such discipline has put many businesses off data mining according to Bloor Research analyst David Norris, restricting its use to specialized, low volume projects.

DMAIC is one of two Six Sigma methodologies and is most commonly used to improve existing business processes. It was chosen as the KXEN standard implementation methodology for its completeness, its clear tasks/deliverables descriptions and its suitability for business users. Six Sigma was pioneered by Motorola in 1986 and is a service mark and trademark of that company. The move also highlights KXEN's use in broader Six Sigma projects for overall business performance improvement initiatives where data mining can help identify the true indicators of performance, spot trends and detect failures. " ...

Via KXEN: Six Sigma Methodology For Data Mining Projects

LeanSixSigma Performance Excellence Journey

F3 affirms its committment to providing quality service and products through Lean Six Sigma. ...

... "By achieving this registration, F3 has embarked on a performance excellence journey that includes methodologies such as external benchmarking and Lean Six Sigma deployment. This long-term perspective is going to uniquely position them in the future. " ...

F3 Quality Commitment

Leadership: Six Sigma Roadmap

National Home Furnishings Association plans leadership symposium that will include excellence in Six Sigma. ...

... "Joseph Wexler, who helped create a Six Sigma Total Quality Management System involving more than 5,000 participants in three years at Dell, on Six Sigma Methodology: The Roadmap and Tools. " ...

Via Furniture Today: Leadership Symposium