Better Brainstorming

In last month’s blog I shared examples of the often-overlooked lean principle of Creativity Before Capital. The non-lean approach is to spend money – buy new equipment, hire more staff, or work overtime. The lean approach is to embrace the ingenuity of staff in using existing equipment and employees to meet customer needs.  In this month’s … Read more

Creativity Before Capital: An Overlooked Lean Principle

Most Lean Six Sigma practitioners focus their improvement efforts on applying tried and true lean tools to eliminate waste such as Work Simplification, Process Balancing, Mistake Proofing, Visual Management, and 5S. All of these tools can be very effective, and they certainly have their place. Yet the application of such tools is often done in … Read more

What are the Data Telling Me?

(Yes… “Data” is Plural!) Dear Lean Six Sigma Readers, I hope you are having an amazing Spring as I am! This month’s blog is about analyzing data. Have you ever been asked to analyze a dataset? If so, what was your approach? If you are like me, and enjoy discovering the story of the data, … Read more

What I Learned About Lean Six Sigma

Author: Pat Boutier (Shingo Prize Winning Author, Certified TWI and Coach, and retired TMACer) Welcome to the Musings of a Retired LSS TMACer! I have had the privilege to learn, experiment, and work with Lean Six Sigma over the past 16 years. Over that time, I have learned much and wanted to share a few … Read more

Overcoming Bias (Presentation)

A Core Skill for Effective Data Collection Program Manager and Master Black Belt Russ Aikman was a presenter at the 19th Annual Lean Six Sigma World Conference. The event was held virtually and provides advances learning for Lean Six Sigma practitioners. Below is the PowerPoint presentation used: Russ Aikman’s presentation from the 2021 Lean Six … Read more

Measure What Matters!

Over the course of many years of interactions with organizations in a wide range of industries, as an employee, visitor, or consultant, I always find myself looking for posted performance measures (charts, graphs, etc.). The existence of measures is as big a variable as the type used and the quantity found. In some cases, there … Read more

Lean Six Sigma is for Everyone

Imagine you are getting on a roller coaster. You buckle your seatbelt in the car and the gears turn and start slowly moving you up a steep incline. Your adrenaline starts to build in your stomach and your heart starts racing. You are excited and terrified at the same time. You know what is coming, … Read more

LSS Lessons from Vaccine Research

As we start the new year the global pandemic continues to claim lives at a terrible pace, with over 400,000 lost to COVID-19 in the US alone as of this writing. The good news: Multiple vaccines have been approved for use, and vaccinations began starting in December. One of those vaccines was jointly developed by … Read more

2020 Year in Review

By tradition, we have reserved our December blog for a look back at the past year. And what a year 2020 has been, unlike any in my experience. From natural disasters – including record-setting hurricanes, storms, and wildfires – to civil unrest to a tough election season. Most challenging has been the impact of the … Read more

Lean Six Sigma in Healthcare: A Case Study

Author: Eduardo Amezcua, Lean Consultant, Shingo Facilitator, and Black Belt Most examples of Lean Six Sigma projects involve manufacturing processes. This is mainly because it was developed in that environment. But LSS is a methodology that works well in a variety of industries. It is increasingly being used in healthcare to improve quality of care … Read more