Six Sigma Reducing Medical Errors
Posted by: meikah | 23 July 2008 | 11:35 pm
I’ve said this over and over that if I had to list the top 10 industries that should have zero defect, the healthcare or the pharmaceutical industry would be on that list.
Good thing there are quality methodologies, like Six Sigma, that can reduce errors. Take for instance, the medical errors. In an article on HealthLink, three initial projects on reducing medical errors were successful because of Six Sigma. These are:
- IV drug infusions - errors and discrepancies were improved by standardizing drug concentrations, developing tables to improve the accuracy of drip calculations.
- Patient Controlled Pumps for Administering Pain Medications - this area was improved by standardizing processes and training the involved personnel.
- Laboratory turn-around time - this aspect was improved by improving on software and interface issues and the pneumatic tube system, and training Black Belts.
*Photo from Stock.Xchng
Filed under: Benefits and Savings, Healthcare, Six Sigma
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Lean Six Sigma Saving Money and Environment in Heidelberg
Posted by: meikah | 23 July 2008 | 11:04 pm
ARMY.MIL news reports:
Residents in 10 family housing buildings in Heidelberg have walked through a six-week education process designed to significantly reduce the amount of non-recyclable waste that has to be incinerated.
The pilot project, called “Rumbling Rubbish/Keep It Green” was developed by Heidelberg Recycling Manager Travis Vowinkel, and with the support of the Environmental Division, the pilot program was launched.
The project has been successful because of Lean Six Sigma. Worked on as a Lean Six Sigma project, the families in the pilot project were educated about recycling and reducing wastes. The education campaign did not only involve info campaign materials but the staff members themselves also met with each family and showed them the recycling process that results in the least amount of non-recyclable waste.
Recycling projects are happen all over the world and some are making progress, others are struggling. But what struck me about this environment effort is the use of Lean Six Sigma. 
Anyone of you have used Lean Six Sigma in their environment projects, too?
Filed under: Benefits and Savings, Lean Six Sigma, Military, Sustainable Business, Six Sigma, Environment
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NYISO Enhances Website Response Time Through Lean Six Sigma
Posted by: meikah | 23 July 2008 | 9:48 pm
The response time of New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) website has improved a lot. Users are now able to enter and navigate the site much faster and more easily.
The NYISO’s website is important to a lot of people, especially those involved in and affected by news and policies in the transmission and generation, and other power supply industry. The site contains news and information about the bulk electricity grid and wholesale electricity markets in New York State.
The team of NYISO employees tasked with improving website response time attribute their success to Lean Six Sigma. In doing so, here are what they have accomplished:
- reduced the site’s average page download time from 17.3 to 3.3 seconds
- improved the downloading the site’s home page more than 1200 percent - from 18 to 1.3 seconds
- reduced the number of templates, combining computer script and compressing graphics, so that dozens of nyiso.com portals were accelerated
I can say that NYISO has the good sense to think of their users. Other websites don’t seem to care at all!
Source:
iSixSigma News
Filed under: Benefits and Savings, Lean Six Sigma, Six Sigma Organizations, Software/Technology, Internet, NYISO
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Mentor Graphics Uses Design For Six Sigma
Posted by: meikah | 21 July 2008 | 7:53 pm
TradingMarkets reports:
Mentor Graphics, a supplier of electronic design automation systems, has announced that its virtual prototyping tool, SystemVision, will support Design for Six Sigma methodologies to achieve cost-effective design innovation by a model-driven development process.
The development process for a product made up of a complex blend of hardware and software, analog and digital signals, sensors and actuators, and a mix of disciplines, such as electrical, mechanical, or hydraulic, is difficult to manage efficiently. At the same time, using physical prototyping to optimize the design for manufacturability becomes prohibitively expensive, cumbersome, and time consuming.
Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) methodologies combined with model-driven development can result in order-of-magnitude improvements in both productivity and quality when virtual prototyping, automated data collection, and statistical analyses are used to guide the model-driven development process.
Filed under: Benefits and Savings, Six Sigma Organizations, Deployment, DFSS, Six Sigma
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LAI’s Six Sigma Team Cuts Production Time by 20%
Posted by: meikah | 14 July 2008 | 9:54 pm
Early this month, LAI International reported that the company was able to cut its cycle time on a critical aerospace product by 25%.
Last week, Market Watch carried a story that LAI’s Six Sigma Team was able to cut production time for a critical structural aerospace component by 20%.
A team of LAI employees in engineering, quality control and production formed a team to complete a comprehensive Six Sigma study that includes intensive workflow assessment, process analysis, value streaming and control planning of a manufacturing process for a precision-manufactured structural panel for a jet fighter.
“We also took every step off of our flowchart and measured the time to do each and every step of the process,” John Rogers, vice president of operations, said. “The team examined key process input variables and studied methods to do each step more efficiently.” An evaluation seven months after the Six Sigma project was completed revealed savings of $196,000 in the program, related to a reduction in cycle times, more efficient inspections and an overall reduction in production time by 20 percent.
