Improvement Insights Blog
You Can Use the Methods and Tools of Quality Improvement Anywhere
In college, I spent four years studying Systems Engineering. The methods and tools of quality improvement are what I use instead. Here’s why:
“I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].
“When I went to college I studied systems engineering, which is the mathematical optimization of systems, operations research (things of that nature), which is for solving very complicated problems like transportation or whatever. It wasn’t until I got into Quality Improvement, where I found a simplified set of tools that I could use in everyday life, that I really started to figure out how best to start to simplify, streamline and optimize systems: Better, faster, cheaper; free, perfect and now. There is an opportunity to use these tools.
“Now, I learned all that stuff and…oh my gosh, differential equations, Laplace transforms, all kinds of stuff I never use. But I use the Tools of Quality all the time. Value stream mapping or spaghetti diagramming or whatever… I used the principles of spaghetti diagramming to optimize how our things are laid out in our kitchen so I don’t have to commute too much to get something done. You can use it anywhere.
“So, you may not think that these tools are extra special, but they are. They’re handy. You can use them anywhere.
“Let’s go out and improve something this week: Your personal life, your work life, wherever. Let’s go out and improve something this week.”
