Then Comes Kai Sigma
Posted by: meikah | 26 November 2008 | 8:51 pm
I knew it wouldn’t be long before Kaizen and Six Sigma would be combined.
Kaizen, from two Japanese words, Kai (change) and Zen (to become good), implies continuous improvement. It is grounded on the basic elements namely teamwork, personal discipline, improved morale, quality circles, and suggestions for improvement. The ultimate goal is to get rid of waste (Muda), and inefficiency.
Six Sigma, on the other hand, is a set of quality management methods and statistical tools whose ultimate goal is to improve processes and eliminate defects or waste.
The marriage of the two is therefore inevitable. True enough, there is now Kai Sigma. Catalyst Consulting coined the term and was talking about how they’ve combined Six Sigma and Kaizen in the 4th Annual Lean Six Sigma & Process Improvement Summit.
The approach Kai Sigma is a name that reflects the link to continuous improvement (Kaizen) with the use of DMAIC (the improvement method commonly used in Six Sigma).
Related posts:
Lean, Six Sigma, and Kaizen for Forest Management
Kaizen with Six Sigma
Filed under: Kaizen, Six Sigma, Six Sigma Organizations
1 Comment |
Lean, Six Sigma, and Kaizen for Forest Management
Posted by: meikah | 18 June 2008 | 8:52 pm
We have been experiencing unusual weather patterns lately. Rains during the summer, humid and hot dry climate where there should be wet or cool climate. When it rains, too, it really pours, thus flooding of great magnitude occur.
Many conclude that this altered weather patterns are caused by the degradation of our environment. Despite the efforts and renewed awareness, we continue to suffer from a damaged environment.
Perhaps, this reality must have inspired Forestry companies and the Natural Resources Department in New Brunswick to finally sit down and plan a forest management initiative. Many cities have embarked on the same or similar activities, but what’s interesting about this one is that the team will combine Lean, Six Sigma, and Kaizen and incorporate it into the forest management program.
Calling the program as LeanSigma Kaizen, the team hopes to achieve the following:
- launch the event at a reduced cost
- add value to their departments
- review the existing Frown Lands and Forest Act
- bring the red tape initiative to a new level
- implement an effective forest management event
Related Stories:
Lean Kaizen
Kaizen with Six Sigma
Source:
iSixSigma News
Filed under: Deployment, Environment, Kaizen, Lean, Six Sigma, Sustainable Business
1 Comment |
A Story About Airline Kaizen
Posted by: meikah | 25 May 2008 | 8:14 pm
Over at MBTmag, Mark Graban shares a story about an airline kaizen, where airlines slow down flights to save on fuel.
Mark says that it’s good to have airlines do Kaizen, instead of whining about high fuel prices and cutting down on employees salaries.
But what does airline slow down mean?
Literally, it’s where an airplane flies slower and so the flights take a bit longer, much like a car driving slowly to save on fuel. What I do know however is that the most fuel efficient driving is to go 80-100km/hr. And if we drive slow using low gear, you’re even consuming more gasoline.
Now, an airplane can actually fly slower?
Saving on gas is good, and I’m all for it. But I’m not quite sure if longer flights would be good for businessmen who had to adjust their time schedules in order not to waste on time.
What do you think?
Meanwhile, here’s how Kaizen can work with Six Sigma.
Source:
Six Sigma Zone News
Filed under: Airlines, Kaizen, Six Sigma, Sustainable Business
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The SixSig Roundup
Posted by: meikah | 28 March 2008 | 1:49 am
It’s time again to go ’round the blogosphere and read about Six Sigma and other quality management methodologies.
Learn from the following links and leave your message below. 
Buffalolog, Six Sigma Too “Dilbert” For The Buffalo News – this is another reaction to my earlier post on slowing down on Six Sigma.
Planview, Notes from ITIL Foundation Training – IT management, like any other field, definitely needs a good management system. ITIL is one approach to IT management, and in the post, Terry Doerscher shares his insights while on training for ITIL foundation-level certification. Six Sigma or not, I agree with Terry when he says that there should be mechanisms for assessment, optimization, and management of IT services.
Bloggeron, is Following a Systematic Approach to Six Sigma Project Implementations – Tony Jacowski offers a good review for Six Sigma practitioners who’ve been doing it through the years.
Statistical Thinking to Improve Quality, Resin Example of Hoerl-Snee Strategy (Part B) – Yes, the improvement process is iterative: gather data, identify special cause, gather more data, notice differences, and then conduct brainstorming session. The process may use Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) or DMAIC steps.
The Sixth Sigma, Kaizen Plan – Kaizen is creating noise these days. Go Kaizen? Yeah, why not. I like the organization part of it. Any strategy that calls for a never-ending contonuous improvement is always a good thing.
Filed under: DMAIC, Deployment, IT, ITIL, Kaizen, Lean Six Sigma, Six Sigma
No Comments » |
The SixSig Roundup
Posted by: meikah | 13 March 2008 | 9:23 pm
It’s that time again when SixSig goes ’round the cyberhighway and gather news about Six Sigma and other quality management methodologies.
For this week, learn from the following blogs, bloggers, and news agencies:
Jeff Dalton of Ask the CMMI Appraiser blog answers your question about incorporating Six Sigma and CMMI. He says, “Six Sigma is a set of methods for gathering, analyzing, and acting on information derived from statistal analysis of performance data. The CMMI is a process model. The two CAN co-exist with one another.”
Ron Pereira of Lean Six Sigma Academy, is in Japan observing how the Japanese do things and achieve results. He was sharing what he observed and learned from a company called HOKS. Among the revelations are: the company implements 3S instead of 5S, had 62,000 Kaizen activities, management’s focus in results, and its struggle with employees who also didn’t welcome change. From Ron’s account on information overload, I can see that HOKS makes for an interesting study.
Mike Wroblewski of Got Boondoggle? also shared his experience with HOKS. Mike focused on the 3S and how it is achieving significant results for the company. From management to employees, everyone comes in for work earlier than scheduled to do the 3S. Like, Mike, I like this slogan, too: “If I change, our company will change!” Great words of wisdom on organizational change, indeed!
Stephen Gill of The Performance Improvement blog shares about how the health systems need a strategy to carry out their processes well. One particular critical process is dispensing medicines. He gives Duke University Hospital as an example of a company that implements Six Sigma to control quality and reduce errors.
Check these great blogs now!
Filed under: Deployment, Healthcare, Kaizen, Lean, Lean Six Sigma, Manufacturing, Mike Wroblewski, Ron Pereira, Six Sigma Organizations
No Comments » |
Kaizen with Six Sigma
Posted by: meikah | 20 December 2007 | 11:11 pm
Loosely translated from Japanese, Kaizen means “continual improvement.” Further, an iSixSigma article describes Kaizeon as a strategy that promotes learning, builds capability, and improve processes. It drives everyone to constantly seek, study and exploit opportunities for improvement.
Kaizen, therefore is particularly effective in business environments that seek to improve their value streams with an inexhaustible focus on more effectively delivering value to customers and society.
How then is Kaizen with Six Sigma. Look at the figure below.
Then click here for the discussion.
Filed under: Kaizen, Six Sigma
2 Comments |
Lean Kaizen Update
Posted by: meikah | 18 July 2007 | 6:10 pm
When: Oct 1 – 5, 2007
Where: Lean Learning Center, Novi, MI
Phone: 248-478-1480.What: A powerful program for generating the results you need learned through a real kaizen experience. At the end of this class, participants will have the understanding and tools necessary to plan, facilitate, and lead Kaizen workshops on their own. Key benefits of attending the program include learning to make rapid and dramatic performance improvements to any process; learning to build effective teams; learning tools that can be used in both administrative and shop-floor processes; and learning to generate savings that can be used to fund long-term transformation efforts.
You may also want to check this book out:
For more conference updates, visit GoingToMeet.com.
Filed under: Events/Announcements, Kaizen, Lean, Team Dynamics, Training
1 Comment |
Lean, Six Sigma News Roundup
Posted by: meikah | 30 May 2007 | 9:03 pm
Today, let’s do the rounds of blogs that talk about Lean, Six Sigma, and other quality management strategies.
Let’s start with The Sixth Sigma, which I recently discovered. It features IBM and the company’s move to go lean has nothing to do with its streamlining of workforce. Well, that should be the case, for Lean is more than just laying off employees. The essence of lean is the continuous pursuit of waste elimination.
Over at Lean Six Sigma Academy, Ron is calling all bloggers or Six Sigma practitioners who want to share their insights on Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and other continuous improvements, to be guest bloggers at LSSA. Good idea, Ron!
Rob Thompson of Lean Sigma, which is now Learn Sigma emphasizing on the lean + six sigma formula, shares how Sony has screwed up lean methods: “God help you if you need a new screw for your Sony stuff: Sony charges 61 Euros (more than $82) for a replacement.”
Then Mike Wroblewski of Got Boondoggle? shared an amusing yet informative incident during their Kaizen event. Kaizen is yet another interesting quality strategy.
These are interesting insights that could help your continuous improvements now. Check out the blogs!
