Continuous Process Improvement, Data Science, and Statistical Analysis
You always have opportunity to give feedback to team members. Usually it will be good feedback. Occasionally, you will have to give negative feedback. Here is an easy way to soften the blow when delivering negative feedback: Start with a positive -Emphasize something the team member has done well. -Be sincere, not fluffy. Don’t “blow…
Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe… As a project team leader, you already know the skills you want on your project team. Sure, you want a process expert. And “outside eyes” (someone who knows nothing about the process) is a great person to have as well. You also want a representative from each major function involved in…
This Time, it’s the People! Traditional lean thinking tells us that the problem isn’t the person; rather, it’s the process. But sometimes the process is designed to make the person the problem. In a heavily automated process all of the machine components are usually subordinated to the slowest machine in the line. This is part…
Replace the wasted time in your daily tasks with Value Added Learning by following these 3 simple tips. We never have enough time for the important things in life. But most of us aren’t effectively using the time we have available. Follow these three tricks to capture wasted time and get your productivity back on…
Implementation of a new CPI initiative involves interrelated parts moving fluidly through (and beyond) the entire organization. One method of implementation focuses on using an audit checklist to drive the desired results. This is related to the concept of “beginning with the end in mind”, and can be an essential part of driving the right…
Have you ever gotten really crappy service from a broken process? My wife and I recently completed a trip from Richmond, Virginia to Reno, Nevada (through Dallas/Fort Worth) on an airline I won’t mention (although I’ll say that it is the most patriotic of airlines if you happen to be American). Their passenger check-in process…
Occasionally I run across a new resource that makes process improvement easy. I recently discovered a “new” (to me, anyway) book from 2002 (“The Six Sigma Way Team Fieldbook”, written by Pande, Neuman, and Cavanagh) that I want to share with you because it presents Six Sigma tools and methods in a refreshingly useful way.…
During the Six Sigma Measure phase of your project you will probably be collecting a great deal of data. If you aren’t careful, you’ll end up collecting a lot more than you need (either by chasing too much data initially, or by having to go back during the Analyze phase to capture the data you…
My wife and I are on vacation and after a long flight from our home base of Reno to Richmond, Virginia, we wandered up to the rental car garage at the airport; we were tired and it showed. We were warmly greeted by Tyisha, who was about to become our best friend and the expert…
Do you remember the Dodo in Disney’s Alice in Wonderland (1951)? You know… The bird who’s standing on a pillar of dry land, exhorting everyone around him to engage in a “caucus race” in order to stay dry? If you’ve seen it, then the image below should refresh your memory. And if you haven’t seen…