When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing

The most interesting business book I read last year was Daniel Pink’s When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing (Riverhead Books, 2018). Based on research on a wide series of topics, the common theme is that of time – and timing – and how it affects your chances for success in all sorts of endeavors. … Read more

Smart Manufacturing and Lean Six Sigma

What is Smart Manufacturing? And how is it related to Lean Six Sigma? Also called Industry 4.0, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), and Cyber-Physical Systems, Smart Manufacturing has been the topic of conversation for several years among manufacturing experts, strategists and thought leaders. What does this mean to Lean Six Sigma Practitioners? Can we leverage … Read more

Adding Rigor to VOC & VOB: Quality Function Deployment

All LSS practitioners understand the importance of the Voice of the Customer (VOC) and Voice of the Business (VOB). Determining the VOC and VOB during the Define Phase is critical to project success in the DMAIC Process. Most GBs and BBs spend little time on this activity and use basic approaches for gathering and understanding … Read more

Better Facility Design Using DMAIC

Author: Rodney Reddic The greatest opportunity to eliminate and/or reduce waste in a production facility is the upfront design and planning of the facility. From a construction cost standpoint, it is about as inexpensive to construct a well-planned facility as to implement a poorly planned one. Decisions made during the factory planning and design stage … Read more

Don’t Be A Gunslinger

Author: Pat Boutier (Shingo Prize Winning Author, Certified TWI and Coach) Have you ever experienced the ‘rush’ of discovering the solution to a problem then implementing the change? If you’re reading this blog I’m sure you have. Solving a problem and getting it right does lead to good feelings. For many belts once the solution … Read more

Six Questions, Six Green Belts

TMAC is always seeking a better understanding of our Voice of the Customer (VOC). More specifically, we want to learn more about the viewpoint of our students. After some debate we settled on just three questions about two major areas – classroom training and project work. That is, a total of Six Questions. In addition … Read more

Behind the Scenes of Several LSS Projects

Author: Diana Martinez, Ph.D.
In the March LSS newsletter, Alberto Yáñez-Moreno, Ph.D discussed the financial results our students have reported from their certification projects. He reported a median financial impact of $100,000 USD for Green Belts (GB) and $149,000 USD for Black Belts (BB). These results are based on over 400 projects reviewed by TMAC’s Master Black Belts over the past 15 years.
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Financial Impact of Completed Projects Part 2

Co-Authored by Russ Aikman, MBB and Alberto Yáñez-Moreno, Ph.D Updated 2018 In Part 1 of this blog we provided a summary of the financial impact reported by Green Belts and Black Belts who submitted projects for certification [Part 1]. As noted in that blog, the reported financial results are on an annual basis, contain a … Read more

Financial Impact of Completed Projects – Part 1

Updated 2018 From its origins manufacturing in the 1990s, more and more companies have embraced Lean Six Sigma including service oriented businesses, health care organizations, cities and municipalities. To be successful these companies need to be aware of the investment required, most notably in terms of developing the skills and knowledge of their people. As … Read more

Leader Standard Work

A common challenge faced by all Lean Six Sigma practitioners is sustainability. That is, how to sustain a solution once it has been implemented. Some LSS practitioners are taking a new approach: Leader Standard Work. Before discussing LSW it is important to review the idea of standard work for front-line staff. One definition of standard … Read more