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Trainers often use trial versions of QI Macros to train their students. That comes with a huge cost. Here’s Why:
Download my free ebook, Agile Process Innovation – Hacking Lean Six Sigma for Results.
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma For Hospitals” and QI Macros [software].
“I have found that a lot of training companies and universities and [others], when they teach Lean and Six Sigma they want to use our 30-day trial to train people. I have to ask you a question: Maybe you think you’re saving money, or you’re saving the patient money, or [saving] the student money, or you’re saving something, or you’re keeping your cost lower so you don’t look like an more expensive training [option] so you get more business… I don’t know what it is, but what’s the cost of NOT buying that software for that student?
Continue Reading "The High Cost of Not Buying Six Sigma Software"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.
Stop Using Excel Spaghetti Charts. Start using Smart Performance Charts (SPC). Here’s how:
Download my free ebook, Agile Process Innovation – Hacking Lean Six Sigma for Results.
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma For Hospitals” and QI Macros [software].
“I was recently in a presentation, and a person was putting up line charts and there were multiple lines on each chart. I know charts and I was still having trouble following the presentation. This person acted like everybody in the room was getting everything that he said. Nonsense.
“Nobody wants to read your ‘spaghetti chart.’
Continue Reading "Stop Using Excel Spaghetti Charts"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights, Jay Arthur Blog.
Denver requires emission testing for cars over a certain age. But it may not be necessary. Here’s why:
Download my free ebook, Agile Process Innovation – Hacking Lean Six Sigma for Results.
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].
“I live in Denver, Colorado. You know, we used to get in the winter… we’d call it ‘the brown cloud,’ right? So they decided that we had to test every car every few years just to try and do emission testing and figure out which ones were polluting. But there was a guy here that invented a little tool that could detect cars that are polluting as they drive by.
Continue Reading "The 4-50 for Emission Testing"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.
At the Colorado Lean Network (CLN) Conference, Children’s Hospital put up seven outstanding improvement project posters. They all used control charts, histograms and the tools of quality to tell the story. There were more control charts on those seven posters than in the 100s at last years IHI–Institute for Healthcare Improvement conference.
Some exemplar hospitals are using the tools of quality to improve healthcare. Most are not. It’s time to stop admiring the problem. Start using the tools of quality to save time, save money and save lives.
Download my free ebook, Agile Process Innovation – Hacking Lean Six Sigma for Results.
Continue Reading "Outstanding Improvement Posters at Colorado Lean Network Conference"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights, Jay Arthur Blog.
Employees often try to make do with whatever they have instead of asking for the tools the need. Here’s what to do about it.
Download my free ebook, Agile Process Innovation-Hacking Lean Six Sigma for Results.
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].
” One of my employees was having trouble with her computer, but for some reason she was afraid to ask, and she kept trying to fiddle with it, to figure out whatever was going wrong. And she drug one of our other employees who’s more technical in on it… and I said, ‘What are you guys doing?’
Continue Reading "Ask for the Tools You Need to Do Quality Improvement"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.
People are often confused about the difference between variable and attribute data. Here’s a simple way to tell which is which:
Download my free ebook, Agile Process Innovation – Hacking Lean Six Sigma for Results.
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].
“Over the years, I’ve found one of the things people get confused about is what’s ‘variable’ and what’s ‘attribute.’ Those words, for some reason, strike terror in the hearts of newbies, so I’m going to give you my short way of figuring this out: It has to do with decimals and integers.
Continue Reading "Confusion about Variable and Attribute Data"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.
Feel like you’re working in a Soul-Sucking Job? Here’s what to do about it:
Download my free ebook, Agile Process Innovation-Hacking Lean Six Sigma for Results.
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma For Hospitals” and QI Macros [software].
“My wife and I were talking, and a lot of people talk about how they don’t want to work in a soul-sucking job… a soul-sucking job. And I will tell you, the only soul-sucking jobs I ever had were working for a manager that I just couldn’t get along with, or I was being forced to do something, that was contrary to serving the customer I was supposed to be serving.
Continue Reading "The Antidote to a Soul-Sucking Job"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.
The time and effort we spend on something seems to make us value it more. But what if there’s an easier way? It applies to Six Sigma more than you might think.
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].
“You know, we celebrate Labor Day, and it’s all about workers. I was reading a book called ‘The Friction Project,’ which was recommended by a friend; [in that book] they talk about ‘the Ikea effect.’ If you know anything about Ikea, you go in, you shop around, you look for something, you see a nice bed… well, you buy a kit and then you assemble it.
Continue Reading "The IKEA Effect"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.
All too often companies waste too much money, time and resources on waste and rework. Maybe it’s time to whittle it down.
Download my free ebook, Agile Process Innovation-Hacking Lean Six Sigma for Results.
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma For Hospitals” and QI Macros [software].
“When I was a kid, my mom and I went back to visit her mom and dad, my grandma and grandpa in Fairborn, Ohio, right outside of Dayton. My grandpa would sit on the front porch, and he would take twigs, and he would just sit there and whittle those twigs down.
Continue Reading "The Essence of Waste and Rework"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.
Ever used a microwave? Easy, isn’t it? Six Sigma should work the same way. Here’s why:
Download my free ebook, Agile Process Innovation-Hacking Lean Six Sigma for Results.
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma For Hospitals” and QI Macros [software].
“I grew up in the 50s and 60s, and if my mom wanted to reheat leftovers she had to turn on the oven, put the food in the in the oven and wait 15-20 minutes for it to come up to temperature. I don’t know about you, but I use a microwave; I use it almost every day.
Continue Reading "Six Sigma as Easy as Using a Microwave"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.
