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When I got my first dog, Tai, I had to let him in and out until I discovered dog doors. Here’s how that lesson applies to quality improvement:
“A few years after I got my first house, I got a dog. He was the cutest little mixed breed rescue. His name was Tai, and it was a fun time, but I realized that whenever that dog had to go out I had to open the door and let him out to the back yard. Then when he wanted to come back in, I had to open the door and let him back in.
Continue Reading "Lessons from My First Dog Door"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.
Have you ever spent a lot of money for something and then not used it because it was too complex or time consuming? The same thing is true of Six Sigma SPC software. Here’s why:
“I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].
“I don’t know about you, but I think every teenage boy has a vision of the perfect car for them to ride around in. Back when I was a kid there were Corvettes and Camaros and Dodge Chargers and everything else, but I really liked the Jaguar XKE. Once I graduated from college and got out on my own I bought myself a 1968 XKE roadster… ragtop, because that was the car I always wanted.
Continue Reading "It Doesn’t Matter How Much You Spend for Six Sigma SPC Software"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.
Mom used to sew all of her own clothes, just like many people in Six Sigma are creating their own chart templates or code. Mom figured out a better way. You can too.
“Growing up in the 50s, my mom made all of her own clothes. She would go to the fabric store and pick out fabrics and pick out patterns. She’d come home and on this big cardboard thing she’d lay out the pattern on the thing and cut out all the pieces. Then she’d have bought thread, and then she’d sit there at the sewing machine and she would sew blouses and skirts and dresses.
Continue Reading "Are You Sewing Your Own Six Sigma Toolkit?"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights, Lean, Six Sigma.
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.
SPC software companies keep trying to gain some edge by tweaking the formulas for various statistics, but is the quest for the next decimal place of precision useful? If you’re trying to send a rocket to Mars? Absolutely. If you’re trying to tune up a business process, not really. Here’s why.
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software]. I’m going to talk to you about what I call The Next Decimal Place.
“Because I’ve been in the software business, [I’ve seen] people and try and change formulas. Let’s say it’s Cp and Cpk.
Continue Reading "The Next Decimal Place"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights, Statistics.
There are COVID-19 hot spots and cold spots. How do we keep the cold spots open and detect and quarantine warming spots? Maybe statistical process control can help.
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma for Hospitals” and QI Macros [software].
“Back in the mid 1800s there was a cholera outbreak in London, and John Snow (not of Game of Thrones, but Dr. John Snow) said, “I think there’s a pattern here.” He went out and figured out that everybody who had cholera was getting water from the Broad Street pump. Back then, there was no indoor running water so you had to take your pail, go out to the pump and get your water for your home or your business or your restaurant.
Continue Reading "Cholera and COVID-19 Hot Spot Detection and Quarantine"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights, Six Sigma.
Sometimes you’ll hear people say that software isn’t necessary for Quality Improvement. Let me demonstrate how much time you’re wasting if you create ONE Pareto chart by hand, instead of using software.
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and the QI Macros [software].
“If you’ve listened to any of my Insight videos or seen me present at conferences or [had me] train you in a workshop, you know that I don’t believe you can do Quality Improvement without software. We have to stop doing Quality Improvement the 20th century manual, slow way. We have to start doing it the 21st century way, and we have to start doing it quickly.
Continue Reading "Making Pareto Charts by Hand?"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Agile Lean Six Sigma, Improvement Insights, QI Macros.
