Lean Six Sigma Bursts

A recent Value Stream Mapping event was held virtually, and we received some positive feedback from the event attendees. I wanted to share some of the comments to show how process improvement helps much more than just faster processes with less quality issues. It helps engage employees in the future direction of the organization, builds teamwork across departments, and creates a safe space for discussing problems and challenges. Please contact me if you'd like help with facilitating your own lean events, so I can better understand how to assist you in this important tool of process improvement. Links Value Stream Mapping Training (YouTube) Kaizen Event Training (YouTube) BIZ-PI.com LeanSixSigmaDefinition.com Have a question? Submit a voice message at Anchor.fm

Does your organization use a structured problem solving process, like DMAIC, 8D, or PDSA? If no, why not? I share my views on what challenges are created when you don't have structure to your problem solving approach. Links BIZ-PI.com LeanSixSigmaDefinition.com Have a question? Submit a voice message at Anchor.fm

Are you trying to decide how to select the best projects to work on, but have many stakeholders and customer needs to consider, and too many project ideas? Check out the Project Prioritization Matrix to help you objectively evaluate these projects and select the ones that meet the most important criteria. I pulled the audio from the training video for you to listen to in this podcast. There is also a link to the video if you had trouble following along, and I provide a link to the template you can download.  Links Video: What is a Project Prioritization Matrix? Selecting the Best Projects with Many Stakeholder Criteria Template: Project Prioritization Matrix (XLSX) BIZ-PI.com LeanSixSigmaDefinition.com Have a question? Submit a voice message at Anchor.fm

I received a question today that I thought would be helpful to everyone: “Imagine you are getting ready to kick-off the value stream workshop and you start to receive emails from a bunch of different people in the organization asking to attend. What would be your response?” I answered the question in an article on my website, but I wanted to read my response for this podcast. Links Article: How to decide on the right number of people for your lean event? BIZ-PI.com LeanSixSigmaDefinition.com Creative Safety Supply Have a question? Submit a voice message at Anchor.fm

When making improvements to a process, cost savings and avoidance is a common outcome that is estimated and reported. A common error is to combine the data together into one overall number, but they should be separated into three distinct buckets of money: Income Statement, Cash Flow and Growth.  Links Article: Client saved $800,000 in 3 Days E2: What is the difference between hard and soft financial savings? BIZ-PI.com LeanSixSigmaDefinition.com Creative Safety Supply

One of the most impactful quality initiatives I was involved with was the creation and deployment of the Cost of Nonconformance (CoNC) report. It was a method to assign a dollar amount to quality problems in order to bring attention to management in the language they most often respond to, money! It could also be applied more broadly beyond just quality issues to any type of waste to increase visibility for your Lean or Six Sigma initiative. Check out our Cost of Poor Quality course at https://www.biz-pi.com/product/cost-of-poor-quality-copq-course/ Links BIZ-PI.com Cost of Poor Quality Course LeanSixSigmaDefinition.com Creative Safety Supply

In process improvement, there is a strong focus of data. But in order to analyze data for an improvement project, you need to know what type of data you have or need, so you can perform the correct analysis. I share the different types of data you may encounter for your project. Links BIZ-PI.com LeanSixSigmaDefinition.com

I saw a recent question in a forum, asking about the origin of the sample size of 30 data points. I decided to read you the response I gave, and make it a new blog post on my website.  Links Article: Why do we need 30 data samples? BIZ-PI.com LeanSixSigmaDefinition.com

I share an article I wrote back in Dec 2013 about reducing or eliminating test or inspection steps using Six Sigma analysis methods of capability and stability, along with risk mitigation tools like FMEA and error proofing. Links Article: Top 3 things to validate before removing test or inspection steps Article: Which Should You Use Cpk or Ppk? BIZ-PI.com LeanSixSigmaDefinition.com

I share an interview I did with Mark Graban about why I created this podcast. He included me in a new networking group called Lean Communicators. We are a group of podcasters that talk about Lean, and we meet about once a month to discuss best practices and learn from each other. Check out the website of all the contributors at LeanCommunicators.com, where you can subscribe to an email list of new episodes from all contributors, or subscribe to individual podcasts. You can also follow us on LinkedIn using #LeanCommunicators. Mark also appeared in Episode 11 of this podcast, so you can hear his questions and my responses. Links LeanCommunicators.com LinkedIn #LeanCommunicators Lean Blog Podcast #394 with Mark Graban - Interviews with Lean Communicators network Lean Six Sigma Bursts - Episode 11 with Mark Graban BIZ-PI.com LeanSixSigmaDefinition.com