Six Sigma Improving Human Performance and Workplace Safety
Posted by: meikah | 6 August 2008 | 10:06 pm
According to the Practicing Perfection Institute (PPI) survey, Six Sigma can improve human performance and workplace safety, slash errors and eliminate accidents, while showing efficiency improvements of more than 70%.
The results from three clients of PPI are:
- An electrical transmission organization in central Texas reports a 55.2% reduction in the average number of minutes per month of equipment outage caused by human error through integrating PPI’s methods.
- A major electrical transmission/distribution company in the northeastern U.S. reports that PPI’s own techniques for workplace safety resulted in an almost 75% reduction in human error rate — even in the midst of massive capital expansion employing multiple contractors!
- A commercial nuclear power plant was just awarded a Strength award by the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) for its incorporation of Six Sigma methods.
Source:
Six Sigma Zone News
Filed under: Benefits and Savings, Human Resource, Team Dynamics, Deployment, Six Sigma
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Successful Cessna’s Relocation is Due to Lean
Posted by: meikah | 6 August 2008 | 9:26 pm
The move was inevitable. Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. company, knew they had to move its 140,000-square-foot McCauley Propeller Systems manufacturing plant in Vandalia, Ohio, to its new 110,000-square-foot home in Columbus, Georgia.
The clincher: to make the move in one month.
The challenges: to maintain the least amount of disruption to production and downtime and to have little or no disruption of operations and deliveries.
The solution:
Cessna’s Jimmie Veal turned to The ACCESS Group (TAG), experts in lean manufacturing consulting and plant relocation based out of Nashville, Tenn., to complete a feasibility study for the business impact of the project.
Then they enjoined Jabezco, which was working in harmony with TAG, who determined the optimum move sequence through first understanding the process flow, inventory levels, demand, etc.
Today, the Columbus McCauley Propeller Systems operations are producing more product, have employed cost and production efficient robotics vs. manual labor and are following lean manufacturing principals.
It’s amazing that one big move like this has been made successful because of a system called Lean.
Source:
iSixSigma News
Related stories:
Six Sigma Helps Cessna Make Good of Its Promise
Textron’s Six Sigma Way
Filed under: Lean Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing, Textron, Lean, Cessna
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Upcoming Lean, Six Sigma Conferences
Posted by: meikah | 5 August 2008 | 9:10 pm
4th Annual Lean Six Sigma & Process Improvement Summit
Oct 27, 2008 - Oct 30, 2008
Hotel, Okura, Amsterdam, Noord Holland NetherlandsSix Sigma for IT 2008
Aug 25, 2008 - Aug 27, 2008
American Strategic Management Institute, Arlington, Virginia United States4th Annual Lean Six Sigma Improvement Week 2008
Sep 15, 2008 - Sep 18, 2008
Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, Chicago, Illinois United States2nd Annual Lean Six Sigma for Electronics
Oct 06, 2008 - Oct 07, 2008
San Jose, California United StatesWCBF’s Global Six Sigma Summit
Oct 07, 2008 - Oct 10, 2008
Las Vegas, Nevada United StatesASQ Lean Six Sigma Green Belt
Oct 12, 2008 - Oct 16, 2008
Crowne Plaza Hotel, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
For more events, check out GoingToMeet.com!
Filed under: Lean Six Sigma, Six Sigma References, Events/Announcements, Six Sigma, GoingToMeet
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Six Sigma Invades the Middle East
Posted by: meikah | 4 August 2008 | 11:28 pm
As more and more companies see and experience the value of Six Sigma, Six Sigma in turn is slowly but surely invading regions. First US, then Europe and Asia, and now Middle East.
In an article on AME Info, William Fouad Holding recently held a Six Sigma Awareness seminar in Jeddah. It was actually the third seminar in Dammam and Riyadh. This year it was titled “Six Sigma - The Secret of Success Behind Fortune 500 Companies.”
The Middle East Quality Management Professionals (MEQMP) has been gathering the largest group of management professionals for the last three years. The goal of the seminar is to create awareness in professionals and highlight the importance of Six Sigma.
Filed under: Benefits and Savings, Training, Six Sigma
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Lean Six Sigma Helps Cooper Tires Rides the Wave
Posted by: meikah | 4 August 2008 | 9:58 pm
MarketWatch reports:
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company today reported a net loss of $22 million, or 38 cents per share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2008. Net sales for the period were a record $773 million, an increase of $43 million over the prior year. The increased revenues were driven by pricing and improved mix partially offset by decreased tire unit volumes in North America. As with many manufacturing companies, Cooper faced intense challenges during the quarter that adversely affected operating results. These included record high raw material costs, increased utility costs, and weak market demand in North America. Raw material shortages also led to Cooper’s decision to temporarily curtail production during the quarter in North America. Continue reading…
The company is still riding high despite the macroeconomic challenges rocking all companies these days. What they do to counter these forces is to diversify and expand their market. More importantly they attribute the soundness of their operations to Lean Six Sigma. They have put commitment to their strategic plan.
Roy Armes, Chief Executive Officer, says:
“Our focus on improving our cost competitive position has intensified even further, with our execution of automation projects and the deployment of resources to implement a LEAN Six Sigma culture. This includes the training of 50 fulltime black belts during the year who will be working on projects that reduce waste within our facilities. We are also excited about the recently announced investment in Mexico as it is an excellent source of high quality cost competitive tires to support sales in Mexico, the United States, and Canada. While we recognize that we are facing strong headwinds as an industry, the actions we are taking will prepare us to capitalize on future opportunities.”
Filed under: Lean Six Sigma, Six Sigma Organizations, Six Sigma
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Is Lean Six Sigma the Winning Formula?
Posted by: meikah | 4 August 2008 | 8:52 pm
If you still have doubts as to the merit of combining Lean and Six Sigma, RetailWire and Supply Chain Digest give you an idea.
Many believe this “Lean Six Sigma” strategy is the best way to improve overall supply chain results and tackle process improvement more holistically.
I don’t see why a sound combination of eliminating wastes and reducing variation cannot benefit a company.
A more relevant question, I think, would be, is your organization ready for a Lean Six Sigma initiative? Or does Lean Six Sigma fit in your organization’s improvement processes?
Source:
Six Sigma ZoneÂ
Filed under: Benefits and Savings, Lean Six Sigma, Deployment, Lean, Six Sigma
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Webinar Series: Lean Six Sigma for Tough Times - Leveraging Performance Excellence During an Economic Downturn
Posted by: meikah | 30 July 2008 | 11:40 pm
In a press release, the Breakthrough Management Group International (BMGI) will launch a six-part webinar series called Lean Six Sigma for Tough Times.
During this economic difficult times, we hear about layoffs and closures left and right. If you’re worried about your company, you may want to listen to BMGI’s CEO, David Silverstein.
Topics that are covered during this six part series include:
Retool your Deployment for an Economic Downturn - Aug 6
* Learn which projects make the most sense — which do not –when times are tough.
* Increase project speed — now is the time to learn to get through projects in days and weeks, not months.
* Find out how to look for atypical projects that you don’t normally work on.Deal with Underperforming Belts - Aug 13
* Ensure closed projects are delivering results as promised.
* Determine when to give up on underperforming projects.
* Team complimentary skill sets and re-engage.
* Recall former belts from other parts of the business.
Filed under: Lean Six Sigma, Events/Announcements, Webinar
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Six Sigma and Lean at Good Samaritan Hospital
Posted by: meikah | 30 July 2008 | 11:35 pm
For Good Samaritan Hospital in L.A., “good isn’t good enough. Aim Higher, Work Smarter and Do it Better.”
That is their mantra and they’ve lived with it. How?
Through Six Sigma, Lean, and other change management techniques. The hospital started with Six Sigma in 2001, deploying projects for:
- pacemaker billing and reimbursement
- length of stay for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI)
- use of Omnicell non-narcotic
- medical record retrieval
- room availability cycle time,
- lab supply management.
All projects have been successful.The elements of Lean were brought in to eliminate waste in the process steps and is also successful.
Filed under: Benefits and Savings, Six Sigma Organizations, Deployment, Healthcare, Six Sigma
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The SixSig Roundup
Posted by: meikah | 30 July 2008 | 10:06 pm
It’s time again to do the roundup and learn from similar blogs.
Check out the blogs I’m featuring below.
Mark Graban of LeanBlog shares that the Joint Commission, a non-profit hospital accreditation organization, is investigating the use of Lean and Six Sigma. The reason for doing so is that the Commission wants to improve its internal operations. I say, way to go!
Mike Wroblewski of Got Boondoggle is talking about My CI, my Continuous Improvement, to involve the employees and not only the managers in the continuous improvement effort. This is really swell! Often, an improvement initiative fails because people have not bought the idea because they see little value or involvement in it. Learn more: Top 12 FAQ about My CI.
Ron Pereira of Lean Six Sigma Academy is re-learning an old process, which is fathering a baby girl 
. Congrats, Ron! But he has an interesting post about batching, a process that may not be lean but can be equally efficient as well. I joined the discussion and well you can read my thoughts over there.
Holly Hawkins of iSixSigma Blogosphere talks about Six Sigma for the office. It’s a good post, a down-to-earth, more real application that many non-Six Sigma practitioners can relate. She asks, “Is there variation in the office?” Definitely. What are these? Read on.
Let me end this roundup with lines from Jeffrey K. Liker’s The Toyota Way:
We discovered the top management in the companies with vital programs had a process orientation, while the unsuccessful companies had results-oriented managers. The results-oriented managers immediately wanted to measure the bottom-line results of the continuous improvement program. The process-oriented managers were more patient, believing that an investment in the people and process would lead to the results they desired.
Filed under: Lean Six Sigma, Mike Wroblewski, Lean, Six Sigma, Mark Graban
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Introducing the TPS-Lean Six Sigma
Posted by: meikah | 28 July 2008 | 9:28 pm
Lean Six Sigma has evolved now into the TPS-Lean Six Sigma. The new initiative boasts of a wholistic approach to an organization’s process improvement. Wholistic means it touches not only on the non-human proceses, but also the human resource, which many companies say is their best asset.
EMQ shares The Evolution of Lean Six Sigma, TPS-Lean Six Sigma, first holistic program to address both business and human needs.
Highlights:
- TPS-Lean Six Sigma is a program that aligns the strategic goals of the company with the life goals of the individual.
- There are four fundamental elements of TPS-Lean Six Sigma Cycle.
- The result of using TPS-Lean Six Sigma is a highly optimized company that is driven by a highly motivated workforce.
Is this the much-awaited answer to the workforce-management saga? What are your thoughts?
