For one of my clients, we conducted a survey of their employees to understand if daily huddles were helping them be more engaged in their work. The results of the 7 questions found a statistically significant improvement in scores after the huddles were implemented. Listen to the episode to learn more about the questions and the Paired T-test analysis. Links Article: Survey Shows Daily Huddles Improve Communication and Engagement Video: Regina Qu'Appelle Daily Huddles in Unit 5A Need...

In this episode, I share some audio about DMAIC from a recent class I taught, and I thought you'd find it helpful. I express the importance of ignoring improvement ideas in a DMAIC project until after you go through Define, Measure and Analyze first. You will get pressure to jump to Improve before you're ready, so resist that urge and trust the process. Links What is DMAIC? Need help in your organization? ⁠⁠⁠Let's talk! Schedule a free support call⁠⁠ Podcast Sponsor: Creative Safety...

In this episode, I discuss an improvement I made at home, that saved time in my personal life, and why small improvements are worth pursuing and not overlooking. I also discuss how small sample sizes are not a barrier to running statistical tests of significance or hypothesis tests. Links 2 Second Lean with Paul Akers Need help in your organization? ⁠⁠Let's talk! Schedule a free support call⁠ Podcast Sponsor: Creative Safety Supply is a great resource for free guides, infographics, and...

In this episode, I discuss the importance of the Control phase in a Six Sigma DMAIC Improvement project, including the key considerations to make before closing out your improvement activity. Create a system and/or process to monitor the results Update any documentation of the processes and procedures Update any training of the processes Create a response or mitigation plan in case there is a drop in performance Add any visual controls or job aids that can be posted in the work area ...

In this episode, I share the audio from a panel discussion I was asked to participate on Wednesday this week. The discussion was focused on Lean Manufacturing, but we also discussed Six Sigma quite a bit. The event was hosted by the Texas Chapter of the Women in Manufacturing Association. They are the only national and global trade association dedicated to providing year-round support to women who have chosen a career in the manufacturing industry I'm sharing only the segments when I talked,...

In this episode, I provide some tips on how to close out a project or improvement effort, when the primary metric may longer than a year before you might be able to see tangible results. I also discuss other things you can do to prove in the short term that your improvements will be effective in the long run. Links Need help in your organization? Let's talk! Schedule a free support call BIZ-PI.com LeanSixSigmaDefinition.com Have a question? Submit a voice message at Anchor.fm ---...

In this episode, I discuss a project I'm really excited about, the 2nd book release in the Lean Six Sigma for Good book series. This is the 2nd collection of real-life experiences and stories from Lean and Six Sigma practitioners who have spent time at the "gemba" with not-for-profit organizations. They have generously offered to write a chapter about lessons learned and tools they have applied. There are 8 chapters in total. Joe Wojniak and Lynn McCullough: Improving Thrift Shop...

In this episode, I discuss two acronyms to help you remember ideas on how you can improve a process. ECRS stands for Eliminate, Combine, Rearrange, and Simplify. SPACER stands for Standardize, Parallel processing, Automate, Consolidate, Eliminate and Re-arrange. I also mention SCAMPER, which is similar to these, and stands for Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Purpose, Eliminate and Reverse. Links ECRS SPACER/SCAMPER Learn more about the Lean Six Sigma Virtual Coaching and...

In this episode, I discuss Action Priority (AP), a newer method for determining which risks from an FMEA should be addressed. Traditionally, the multiplication of Severity, Occurrence and Detection was used to calculate a Risk Priority Number (RPN). Any number over a certain RPN threshold required action to reduce the risk.  Action Priority gives three possible outcome for each risk identified: Low, Medium and High, which can make it easier to decide which RPN scores are more important than...

In this episode, I explain a new virtual coaching program I'm launching in January of 2023.  If you or your team would be interested in completing some online Lean or Six Sigma training, completing a kaizen event or a Six Sigma project, and obtaining a certification, I have three approaches that might work for you at different price points: Do It With Me (Coaching) – We work closely with you to keep you on track with the training, and we help you with your Six Sigma project or Lean event...

In this episode, I explain what a "single-stall production system" means, and why it is superior to the traditional single piece flow assembly line. Single-stall is a method of work where one highly skilled worker is trained to perform all steps of the process by themselves (often in one stall to reduce floor space), instead of handing off the work to multiple workers in an assembly line. It can take months or years to develop their skills so they can perform each step at high quality, but...

In this episode, I read off an article I just wrote, based on my 20+ years of teaching Lean concepts and principles. These are the topics that get the most attention, solicit the most questions, or are the most eye-opening for my students and clients.  I also announce the launch of a new Lean course I helped create, called Lean Fundamentals. You can access the FREE Lean Introduction course (first 5 modules) using coupon code "KICKSTARTLEAN-LSSE" Links LinkedIn article: Lean  Lean...

In this episode, I share the audio from a recent video I created. The short video highlights four different industry case studies applying Lean principles and concepts. The 4 organizations highlighted in the video: Omark Industries (Manufacturing) - Learn more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lean_manufacturing Appvion (Manufacturing) - featured in the book Lean CEO at https://amzn.to/3QQjNiV City of Denver Colorado (Government) - Details available in this video at...

In this episode, I share the audio from a recent video I created. The short video highlights four different examples of nonprofits and NGOs applying Lean principles and concepts to social challenges in the local community. I also announce our new Lean courses: Lean Introduction and Lean Fundamentals. The Lean Introduction course can be accessed for free using coupon code "KICKSTARTLEAN-LSSE" The 4 nonprofits highlighted in the video: St. Bernard Project (New Orleans, LA) Learn more at...

In this episode, I read off a recent article I wrote, breaking down the turnover data from the University of Iowa 2021 football season. I explain how I would evaluate their data using categorization and Pareto charts to identify more opportunities to create more turnovers against their opponents, or reduce the number of turnovers caused, which will increase their chance of winning games. Links Hawks Good at Turnovers, But Can Do Better Need help in your organization? Let's talk! Schedule...

In this episode, I read off an article I wrote back a few years, about how the 5S workplace organization methods compare to the popular home organizing methods of Marie Kondo, developer of the KonMari method, which had become popular through her books and Netflix TV show. There are other links embedded within the article. Links Article: 5S and the KonMari method Need help in your organization? Let's talk! Schedule a free support call BIZ-PI.com LeanSixSigmaDefinition.com Have a...

In this episode, I discuss how I helped someone select a key metric for their Six Sigma project, based on the opportunity to measure and statistically validate the improvement. Links Lean Six Sigma Project Ideas Need help in your organization? Let's talk! Schedule a free support call BIZ-PI.com LeanSixSigmaDefinition.com Have a question? Submit a voice message at Anchor.fm --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/leansixsigmabursts/message

In this episode, I discuss a way to help identify a potential Lean Six Sigma project out of a larger improvement project taking place. Selecting a project is one of the hardest things to complete for those pursuing a Lean Six Sigma certification. Links Lean Six Sigma Project Ideas Need help in your organization? Let's talk! Schedule a free support call BIZ-PI.com LeanSixSigmaDefinition.com Have a question? Submit a voice message at Anchor.fm --- Send in a voice message:...

In this episode, I discuss how I applied the Theory of Constraints (TOC) to come up with additional improvement ideas for a bottleneck process at a client I am working with. Before we invest in more people or equipment (throwing money at the problem), let's make sure we have extracted as much opportunity out of the existing process. Links What is Theory of Constraints? Need help in your organization? Let's talk! Schedule a free support call BIZ-PI.com LeanSixSigmaDefinition.com ...

In this episode, I discuss ways in which I've combined current event topics from the Iowa Hawkeyes sports teams with my data analysis and process improvement background. I explain a summary of 4 articles I have written, and invite you to read the ones that are of interest to you. Links True or False? Iowa Football Struggles in Games on the West Coast Will Jordan Bohannon Tie or Break the Big Ten 3-Point FG's Made Record? Did Iowa Women Suffer from Lack of Fouls in Loss to Creighton? ...

In this episode, I discuss a situation I encountered related to hiring new employees within a set period of time. Thinking about the problem in terms of takt time was helpful, so I thought I'd share that with everyone. If you don't know about takt time, it's a method to establish a pace or rhythm for how often a process needs to complete items. We take the time available divided by the number of items to determine a pace for the work. In this example, we use it to determine how often you need...

In this episode, I share the 7th and final module of the free "Lean at home" course, giving you a full example of a home improvement project. Hopefully you will be inspired to make similar improvements to your own personal life. If you complete a similar project to this at home, you can submit the project workbook to me for review, and obtain a "Lean at Home" certification. If you want to watch all the videos of this course or access the workbook, you can access the entire free course,...

In this episode, I share the 6th module of the free "Lean at home" course, giving you ideas about how to error proof your home from mistakes, and documenting the new process using checklists and standard operating procedures or SOPs. At the end of the course, you will have the option to implement a project and get a "Lean at Home" certification. Over the next few weeks, I will upload other modules from the course. But you don't have to wait. You can access the entire free course, called...

In this episode, I share the 5th module of the free "Lean at home" course, helping you understand how to organize your home using the 5s method. I also go through an example of organizing my mom's sewing room. At the end of the course, you will have the option to implement a project and get a "Lean at Home" certification. Over the next few weeks, I will upload other modules from the course. But you don't have to wait. You can access the entire free course, called "Home Efficiency Using...

In this episode, I share the 4th module of the free "Lean at home" course, helping you learn about the 8 forms of waste, and how you can spot these wastes in your home process. At the end of the course, you will have the option to implement a project and get a "Lean at Home" certification. Over the next few weeks, I will upload other modules from the course. But you don't have to wait. You can access the entire free course, called "Home Efficiency Using Japanese Lean Productivity...