(346) 396-6008
In an earlier article entitled Zero Defects – Realistic Goal or Dream? I stated that achieving zero defects is not a dream at all but rather a realistic goal to be pursued. In our Black Belt course, our students are challenged to complete an improvement project where they create an improved process that is as […]
Author Archives: developers
In order to earn the Six Sigma Black Belt Certificate, our students are required to plan and execute a real world project that results in measurable improvement. To help them to be more successful, I challenge them to find ways to increase the amount of personal power that they have as the manager of their […]
In my experience there is a good deal of misunderstanding among students who are seeking to enhance their professional credentials in the field of Six Sigma. The source of the confusion is not recognizing that there is a fundamental difference between a Certificate in Six Sigma and Certification in Six Sigma. It is important that […]
In Six Sigma our goal is to continuously improve our ability to deliver defect free products and services that meet customer requirements. Doing so results in higher levels of customer satisfaction and lowers the cost of operations. In the course of a typical improvement project we define a problem, collect data about the nature of […]
Data that follow a distribution that is either not symmetric or that is symmetric but not bell shaped are said to be non-normal. A common misconception among students is that all data should be normally distributed, and that there is something inherently wrong if their data is not normally distributed. In fact, data is not […]
Black Belt students are exposed to Design of Experiments (DOE) in their classroom training, but in my experience very few of them actually apply the technique while completing a project to earn their Black Belt certificate. One of my students recently completed a project that made excellent use of a Designed Experiment, and his company […]
Our Yellow Belt course includes an assignment where students are required to write an operational definition for measuring something. An operational definition, when applied to data collection, is a clear, concise and detailed definition of a measure. The need for operational definitions is fundamental when collecting all types of data. Here is the text of […]
The entire country watched in disbelief last week as a United Airlines passenger was forcefully pulled off an overbooked flight to give room for crew members. The passenger had a valid ticket and boarding pass and was already in his assigned seat when he was dragged off the plane. How could this happen and why? […]
We often need to improve the performance of a complex system using Six Sigma. In this article we will discuss how to use simulation to our benefit. We first define the problem as a requirement that is not being met. We collect data about the extent of the problem and the factors that influence the […]
One of the first assignments in our Black Belt course deals with the origins of the continuous improvement approach that we know today as Six Sigma. Many students are surprised to learn that the body of knowledge and the tools and techniques have been evolving for well over 100 years. This article is the fourth […]