Lean Manufacturing Blog by Jay Arthur

Improvement Insights Blog

Latest "Manufacturing" Posts

Airing Your Dirty Laundry

Have you ever noticed that no one wants to admit the problems in their life or work? It’s time to start airing our dirty laundry and here’s why:



“You know, I grew up in Tucson, Arizona and I think Tuesday was wash day. We had this washing machine that sat out on the back porch because it never got cold enough to freeze the hoses for the thing. It was a roller washing machine, so you had a big tub about the size of a keg of beer and it would do the wash, but then there was a set of rollers on top.

Posted by Jay Arthur in Healthcare, Improvement Insights, Manufacturing.

Is Your Product or Service Lazy, Crappy or Whacky?

Sometimes the language of Six Sigma is off-putting. I have found one way to get people’s attention is to use plain English to describe their product or service.



“Your product or service suffers from three key problems: It’s either Lazy, Crappy or Whacky.

“Lazy: Your product takes long breaks, goes out to lunch, spends the night on the town, comes in in the morning a little bit hungover… it’s not your people, it’s your product. If you watch your product, your people are busy but your product is hanging out, taking its time, sitting around having a cup of coffee.

Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights, Manufacturing, Service.

ASQ Lean Enterprise Division 3/10/21 Web Meeting

Jay Arthur was the featured speaker for the 3/10/21 ASQ Lean Enterprise Division Web Meeting. His topic was “Turning Data Into Dollars with Microsoft Excel – Big Profits from Small Data.” You may view the recorded video of Jay’s webinar below:



If you’re interested in learning more about QI Macros for Excel (the software Jay wrote and developed), click HERE and view the demo video in the yellow box. You may also sign up for a free 30 day trial of the software by filling out the form on that page next to the video, or by signing up at THIS link.

Posted by Jay Arthur in Agile Lean Six Sigma, Excel, Manufacturing, Webinar.

ASQ Is Missing Out on a Huge Market for Quality

ASQ Membership is mainly manufacturing which is only 13% of US employment. How can we start helping the underserved?



Download my “Agile Process Innovation” E-Book

 

“I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].

“I was looking at one of ASQ’s media kit things and I was kind of surprised (but not really) when I looked at it and noticed that about 80 percent of the membership is manufacturing but only 13 percent was healthcare or other service-related things.

“The funny thing about that is that’s not how America is employed, right? 80% of America works in service industries and only 13 percent work in manufacturing.

Posted by Jay Arthur in Agile Lean Six Sigma, Improvement Insights, Lean, Manufacturing, Six Sigma.

QI Macros Software Demo – 2021 Lean Six Sigma World Conference

Thanks for attending the 2021 Lean Six Sigma World Conference. Click below to see a quick demo of how QI Macros can help you prevent waste, rework and lost profit.



Posted by Jay Arthur in Lean, Manufacturing, QI Macros, Six Sigma.

QI Macros Software Demo – 2021 ASQ Lean and Six Sigma Conference

Thanks for attending the 2021 ASQ Lean and Six Sigma Conference. Click below to see a quick demo of how QI Macros can help you prevent waste, rework and lost profit.



Posted by Jay Arthur in Lean, Manufacturing, QI Macros, Six Sigma.

ASQ Dallas-Fort Worth Section 1/13/21 Web Meeting

Jay Arthur was the featured speaker for the 1/13/21 ASQ Dallas-Fort Worth Section Web Meeting. His topic was “Automating Lean Six Sigma for Results.” You may view the recorded video of Jay’s webinar below:



If you’re interested in learning more about QI Macros for Excel (the software Jay wrote and developed), click HERE and view the demo video in the yellow box. You may also sign up for a free 30 day trial of the software by filling out the form on that page next to the video, or by signing up at THIS link.

If you’re interested in learning more about Jay’s ideas on Agile Lean Six Sigma, you can download a free brief summary of Jay’s ideas in his “Agile Lean Six Sigma Manifesto,” available at THIS link.

Posted by Jay Arthur in Agile Lean Six Sigma, Data Mining, Manufacturing, Webinar.

ASQ San Antonio Section 12/8/20 Web Meeting

Jay Arthur was the featured speaker for the 12/8/20 ASQ San Antonio Section Web Meeting. His topic was “Agile Lean Six Sigma – Hacking Lean Six Sigma for Results.” You may view the video of Jay’s webinar below:



If you’re interested in learning more about QI Macros for Excel (the software Jay wrote and developed), click HERE and view the demo video in the yellow box. You may also sign up for a free 30 day trial of the software by filling out the form on that page next to the video, or by signing up at THIS link.

If you’re interested in learning more about Jay’s ideas on Agile Lean Six Sigma, you can download a free brief summary of Jay’s ideas in his “Agile Lean Six Sigma Manifesto,” available at THIS link.

Posted by Jay Arthur in Agile Lean Six Sigma, Data Mining, Manufacturing, Webinar.

ASQ Chicago webinar, 8/12/20

This was a webinar Jay presented to ASQ Chicago on 8/12/20: “Agile Lean Six Sigma – Hacking Lean Six Sigma for Results.”

(In addition to the recorded webinar, there is a bonus featuring more on a topic Jay was discussing during the warmup and technical troubleshooting period just prior to the start of the webinar. Enjoy!)

Posted by Jay Arthur in Data Mining, Manufacturing, QI Macros, Webinar.

FOLB – Fear of Looking Bad

Humans, by nature, have a fear of looking bad (FOLB). And we have a fear of looking stupid (FOLS). These are slowing COVID-19 response and quality improvement. Here’s why:

Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].

“You’ve all probably all heard some of these acronyms that are running around like FOMO: Fear Of Missing Out. Well, I wanted to introduce you to a couple more that I’d like you to consider. FOLB: Fear Of Looking Bad.

“Now when I’ve gone out to work with companies in consulting roles, some of these managers think, “I’m supposed to be in charge of fixing everything.

Posted by Jay Arthur in Healthcare, Improvement Insights, Lean, Manufacturing, Six Sigma.