Articles

Business Benefits of Lean Consulting

Six Sigma in Education: Apply Lean Principles to Your Sector

Six Sigma and Lean principles drive change, allowing businesses to seek out and eliminate waste, cultivate process improvement, and transform profit margins. But the question is, can they be used in the education sector? And how will their application benefit you? Today we answer these questions as we look at how you can apply vital […]

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Root Cause Analysis tools

What Are Common Root Cause Analysis (RCA) Tools?

What is Root Cause Analysis? When you encounter a problem, it is always advisable to get to the bottom of it as quickly as possible. In the business environment, the Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is a technique that allows people to determine the reasons why a particular problem has occurred. This technique identifies the source […]

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Techniques for Root Cause Analysis (RCA)

Cause and Effect Diagram, Fishbone Diagram or Ishikawa diagram, is an widely used tool to help users to find the roots causes of the problems they are investigating. The approach combines brainstorming and a concept map. The process has four major steps: identifying the problem; working out the major factors involved; identifying possible causes and […]

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Root Cause Analysis Tool – The Fishbone

Introduction to Fishbone Diagram Problems are natural and they are inevitable in processes. Problems multiply or tend to exist intensively if they are not figured out at first and with their root cause identification. Strategists today describe root cause as nonconformance, something which is invisible and is more important to be identified than anything else […]

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What is Kata Process Improvement?

When owning a business success is obviously the number one thing on any entrepreneur’s mind. There are many different routes that can be taken to get to the top. One of the new and inventive ways to run a successful business involves the Kata improvement process. Kata is a Japanese invented way to make a […]

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Relation between Kata and Kaizen

We are all actively seeking to improve ourselves. It does not matter if we are working on improving ourselves as individuals, or the company that we work for, constant change is the key to success. Kaizen and Kata go hand-in-hand, when it comes to small-scale improvements. They are very much the same, but they have […]

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Unsung Hero Six Sigma Business

How to Market Your CV as a Six Sigma Practitioner

Only the best employees get the best jobs in today’s fast-paced, results-driven business world. Use your skills to your advantage to bolster your career development. Six Sigma and Lean provide yet another reason for your candidacy, as all employers want capable, goal-oriented, enterprising employees to fill their ranks. However, if you don’t market yourself effectively, […]

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Benefits of Lean Process Improvement

Business Benefits of Lean Process Improvement

Lean is a popular methodology for process improvement in the business sphere. Its main goal is to make the business, operational, and manufacturing processes more efficient and help them yield higher quality of outcomes and results. Implementing Lean with its particular philosophy should be a company-wide endeavor and could bring a lot of benefits both […]

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Root Cause Analysis (RCA): 5 Whys

Root Cause Analysis (RCA): 5 Whys

One of the tools of continuous improvement, the 5 Whys technique can help, for example, with root cause analysis (RCA) when determining how to solve problems. With 5 Whys you look at the relationship of cause and effect. Your goal is to repeat the question “why?” enough times to get to an answer that will […]

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Lean Process Improvement Techniques – Dummies Guide

Let’s look here at techniques for achieving Lean process improvements. When you begin to address a problem or improve a process some good techniques to get off to a good start include: • Determine the problem and process to address • Use a project charter What is a project charter? It is a document you […]

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What organizations are using Kata?

When it comes to a healthy workplace, it is safe to say that organization and careful planning are two of the key factors that go into making sure the business is set up for success. If there is no organization, things start to fall through, communication breaks down, and before you know it, everyone is […]

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Be More Efficient with Lean Process Improvement

How to Be More Efficient with Lean Process Improvement?

Even structured companies experience chaos and disorganization. These can come in the form of redundant work by employees, outdated documentation, and duplication in processes. This does not only cause stress to employees but it can also mean financial losses to the company. It is important to take note that processes are not chaotic in the […]

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Top 10 Mistakes When Managing a Six Sigma Project

Whether you are a new practitioner or seasoned pro, mistakes are inevitable in complex projects. In fact, the saying goes that you aren’t a true project manager before your first catastrophe. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t learn from the mistakes of others (Lessons Learned, to those in the know!). Below are the top […]

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Six Sigma RCA Training - Decision Trees

How to Create a Decision Tree for Root Cause Analysis

Root Cause Analysis is an invaluable skill to have in your Six Sigma toolkit. But how do we use Root Cause Analysis to the best effect? What tool is most helpful for this task? That would be the Decision Tree. This method involves branching between causes and outcomes to illustrate the consequences of your choices. […]

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Avoid complacency and leave your comfort zone!

How to Avoid Complacency and Continually Improve with Six Sigma

Complacency is an epidemic. It kills productivity and can negatively affect your performance. Studies have shown that complacency comes from a lack of engagement, and affects up to 70% of the US working population. This means around three-quarters of American employees are not fully committed to their everyday workplace tasks! As an employer, this should […]

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Six Sigma, Kaizen, or Lean

Six Sigma, Kaizen, or Lean? What is the Difference?

Six Sigma, Kaizen, and Lean. You might have heard of them. People throw these terms around a lot nowadays, often interchangeably. But what do they mean? What makes them different? And are they so similar? Remember, each tool solves specific, specialized problems. This article will help you get to the bottom of this mystery so you […]

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The Five Whys - Root Cause Analysis in Six Sigma

The Five Whys: Understanding the Root Cause of a Problem

Is your company using Six Sigma to improve efficiency, eliminate waste, and minimize variation? Six Sigma has been a proven success for many businesses around the world dealing with similar problems. But where do these issues come from? How do they arise? And most importantly why? Six Sigma DMAIC teaches you to Define, Measure, Analyze, […]

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Go! Manage your Six Sigma project

Go: Guide to Running a Successful Six Sigma Project

This article is the third in our three-part series to help you achieve the best results using Six Sigma. You can read the previous two articles here. Now, go! You’ve made your plans and assembled your team, but what comes next is not always as easy (or as difficult!) as it may first appear. The […]

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Six Sigma Green Belts – What is their entry level salary?

Introduction With technological advancements and innovation in business processes, there came Six Sigma a systematic methodology to defeat defects and failures. Six Sigma is described as an engineering approach to minimize defects, counter failures and minimize waste in production system. It comprehensively deals flaws of a service system. Starting from automotive industry, Six Sigma entered […]

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Understanding the Basics – Lean Process Improvement

If we are to understand the basics of Lean process improvement let’s start with a review of the definition of Lean. We can define Lean as a system for developing process improvement that is continuous and has a focus on reducing and eliminating waste. Toyota developed the concept to help with their production operation and […]

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