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Latest "Improvement Insights" Posts
When I started in quality improvement, everyone preached Total Quality Management (TQM). Before that it was quality circles. I’d like you to consider that the gospel of Six Sigma is holding back progress. Here’s why:
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and the QI Macros [software].
“The other day I was [presenting] a webinar for one of the ASQ sections; I’ve been doing Agile Lean Six Sigma webinars for the Agile sections that want something to do during this pandemic. One of the guys said, “Well, you’re sort of telling me that that we don’t need Green Belts and Black Belts to do a project.
Continue Reading "Six Sigma Dogma"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Agile Lean Six Sigma, Improvement Insights, Lean, Six Sigma.
My parents and grandparents lived through the early part of the last century – two world wars, Spanish flu, and the Great Depression. My wife’s grandmother caught the Spanish Flu and all of her hair fell out. Maybe we haven’t had the adversity to prepare us for this pandemic, but maybe we can learn from parents and grandparents how to cope.
Riding the Storm Out – REO Speedwagon
“Hi, this is Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and the QI Macros [software].
“On December 7th, 1941, my 17 year old mother was driving back from Knoxville, Tennessee back to Dayton, Ohio.
Continue Reading "Riding the Storm Out – Lessons from the Last Century"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.
There’s a lot of hype about Big Data, but approximately three-quarters of the money spent had no return on investment. There’s big profits in small data. Here’s what to do differently.
“Hi, this is Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and the QI Macros [software].
“Big Data is actually bad for small business. Now, there was a lot of hype around Big Data, but it kind of crested about 2011-2012 and it’s falling down now because people are discovering that Big Data doesn’t always give you the answers you want. What you need [is] small data, and there’s big profits in small data.
Continue Reading "Why Big Data is Bad for Small Business"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Data Mining, Improvement Insights.
Most quality consultants still quote Deming’s 14 points, but the U.S. economy has shifted. Corporate CEOs are traded like running backs in the NFL. Time for a 21st Century approach to quality that factors in the new reality.
https://www.qimacros.com/pdf/Agile-LSS-Mini-Manifesto.pdf
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma for Hospitals” and QI Macros [software].
“You know, in the Quality world, we still bring up Deming’s 14 points quite a bit. That’s kind of 20th Century Quality. Now, not that those ideas are extinct or anything, but a lot of it was about that time period.
“When I was working at the phone company we didn’t change CEOs but once every 10, 20, 30 years, right?
Continue Reading "Deming’s 14 Points Were Created for 20th Century Quality"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights, QI Macros, Six Sigma.
Most companies are drowning in data, so you don’t need to Define and Measure anything new. Take DM out of DMAIC to accelerate results. Here’s why:
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma for Hospitals” and QI Macros [software].
“In the whole Six Sigma world, the DMAIC process, one of the things I’ve noticed is every company I’ve ever gone to… ever… has so much data they’re just… they’re drowning in their own data, and they don’t know how to analyze what they’ve got. And yet in DMAIC, we teach people to Define and then figure out something to Measure.
Continue Reading "Take DM Out Of DMAIC"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.
Just because you don’t know how to fix something, doesn’t mean that it can’t be fixed. It’s possible to mistake-proof anything. Fix that leaky faucet.
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma for Hospitals” and QI Macros [software].
“If you have a leaky faucet, you don’t say, “Well, I can’t fix that” just because you don’t know how to fix a leaky faucet. You might hire somebody to do it, you might watch a YouTube video and you might go out and then figure out how to fix it and replace whatever the gizmo inside that’s causing it to leak.
Continue Reading "Fix that Leaky Faucet"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.
Is your customer bothering you? Do they make you angry sometimes because they won’t do what you want them to do? Here’s how to think about it:
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].
“My friend Shelle Rose Charvet wrote a book called “The Customer Is Bothering Me” and I thought that that was kind of a good thought to think about for a little bit. Do you ever get kind of angry with your customer for not doing what your customer needs to do to make life easier for you?
Continue Reading "Is Your Customer Bothering You?"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights, Service.
Many improvement projects fail after a few months because teams forget to put the C in DMAIC. Here’s what’s missing and what to do about it:
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].
“I normally talk to you about improvement stuff, but today I want to talk to you about something I keep seeing, which is: People make improvements and then six months later they’re gone. Make an improvement, six months later they they’re gone.
“We need to put the C back in DMAIC: the Control phase. Now, why don’t people do this piece?
Continue Reading "Put the C back in DMAIC"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights, QI Macros, Six Sigma.
Theory of Constraints (TOC) can give us insights into how to accelerate Lean Six Sigma and get results in a day. Here’s how:
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].
“You know, I’ve been around Quality for almost 30 years now; 30 years exactly, almost. If I think about it, it’s super cool… but why is it so slow and so unsticky? Why is it taking so long for it to get everywhere? I’ve come up with some theories about that.
“If you’re familiar with a technique called “Theory of Constraints,” there’s a whole process to figure out why things aren’t running as quickly as they should.
Continue Reading "Using Theory of Constraints to Accelerate Lean Six Sigma"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights, Six Sigma.
The pandemic has created a lot of anxiety and panic. There’s a simple way to relieve the stress. Here’s how:
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma for Hospitals” and QI Macros [software].
“Some years ago I actually saw a presentation about people having panic attacks, and they had actually MRIed or something the brain to see what’s going on. It turns out that the left hemisphere was all lit up: everything was going on. The left side was going crazy and the right side was dark: there wasn’t much going on at all.
“Well, that’s a panic attack.
Continue Reading "Brain Gym for Pandemic Anxiety"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.
