The Institute for Strategic Improvement
The Institute for Strategic Improvement
  • About
  • Store
  • Contact us
  • Blog
  • Free Stuff
  • Links page
  • We support
  • Current Survey
  • Improvement Portal
  • FAQ
  • About
  • Store
  • Contact us
  • Blog
  • Free Stuff
  • Links page
  • We support
  • Current Survey
  • Improvement Portal
  • FAQ

December 31st, 2016

12/31/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Thank you for a great 2016 and best wishes for 2017.
0 Comments

# Quality Management terms

12/30/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
#Mura
Throughout 2017 we will be providing  quality management and lean terminology questions and answers  in between our blogs.

Continuous process improvement includes a focus on the processes of the organization where non-value added activities are eliminated. Which of the following describes Mura in a waste analysis?

 
     A. Unevenness in work and demand flow.
     B. Has necessary but non value adding waste.
     C. Greater demand than capacity in any given time or overburdening the process.
     D. Has unnecessary, non-value adding waste.

Answer: A – Continuous process improvement includes a focus on the processes of the organization where non-value added activities are eliminated. In a waste analysis designed to remove waste Mura is the unevenness in work and demand flow. Muri is having a greater demand than capacity in any given time or overburdening the process. Muda waste has two types, type 1 is the necessary but non value adding waste. Type 2 is unnecessary, non-value adding waste.



0 Comments

#Benefits of Six Sigma

12/29/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
The Benefits of  Six Sigma
Looking towards the New Year and creating strategies for developing quality? Have you thought of getting your Lean Six Sigma Black Belt or Green Belt certification? Our certification courses are half price through January 15th. There is no better time to get started with new skills. Our courses are easy to understand and we help you through every step of the way with instructor interaction.
 
Six Sigma can help your company improve, increase, or decrease any measurement which has a process involved whether human interaction is involved or not. Six Sigma helps you to develop improved customer loyalty, develop standards and expectations for quality, and help you measure customer service. Operationally Six Sigma can help with organization, time management, efficiency, and processing times. Culturally Six Sigma can help promote a culture of effective leadership, teamwork, and a highly motivated environment.

There are key fundamental traits that Six Sigma can provide your company.
  • The continual drive for perfection. Many companies seek perfection but few actually attain it. By using the PDSA cycle, companies are able to achieve higher levels of perfection and lower levels of failure by attaining a specific Sigma level.
  • Proactive management. Six Sigma helps companies define their priorities and focus on prevention of problems instead of always fighting fires.  If sigma to once the tools which allow for responsive proactive approaches to management
  • Enhanced collaboration. Six Sigma provides a better communication link for suppliers and customers within the Six Sigma project framework that support and creates the best team work environment. 
  • Process focus. Six Sigma provides the best products and services by improving process performance. This is accomplished by understanding the value stream, work flow, process actions and metrics.  Six Sigma can be used for existing projects products or services or when designing new ones.  Six Sigma helps to measure the performance, measure the efficiency, and measure the customer satisfaction. 
  • Six sigma is data driven. Six Sigma removes the guesswork in management by providing knowledgeable data based measures and metrics to make business decisions. Data driven information eliminates assumptions and guesswork and allows management to improve their businesses based on fact.
  • And most importantly, six sigma focuses on the customer. Many companies have a mission, vision, and value statement but few actually know how to meet the customers’ expectations and requirements. Six Sigma is centered on the voice of the customer.
  •  Get started today   https://www.instituteforstrategicimprovement.com/store/c4/Certifications.html
  • Nervous? Contact us here: https://www.instituteforstrategicimprovement.com/contact-us.html


0 Comments

              Kaizen Events

12/27/2016

0 Comments

 
Kaizen Events
 
Kaizen is a Japanese word which means “Change for the Good”. Kaizen involves making small changes and overcoming resistance to change. Kaizen eliminates waste by removing Non Value Adding Activities which result in improved standardized systems, efficiency, processes, quality, delivery, service and cost savings. Kaizen roots began in the 1930s. Sakichi Toyoda, founder of Toyota, challenged his coworkers by saying “Open the window, it is a big world out there”.
Kaizen can be used on any process, task, or function. It can be used for improvement for administrative tasks, maintenance, engineering, business, and logistics just to name a few. Kaizen eliminates waste by removing Non Value Adding Activities which result in improved standardized systems, efficiency, processes, quality, delivery, service and cost savings. Kaizen is considered to be the "building block" of all lean production methods. Its roots began in the 1930s. Sakichi Toyoda, founder of Toyota, challenged his coworkers by saying “Open the window - it is a big world out there”. In the 1950’s Toyota implemented quality circles leading to the development of the Toyota Production System. The Toyota Production System is a system of continuous improvement in quality, technology, processes, company culture, productivity, safety and leadership. The continual small improvements (Kaizen) from these activities lead to substantial long term benefits as a whole to the organization. Kaizen uses the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle as a Lean operating model. It is based on the idea that you create a plan for change, do a trial of the change, check the outcomes or results, and then act upon the results to implement the change.
 
Lean and Six Sigma are longer duration endeavors. Kaizen is more a continuous improvement mindset as opposed to a specific tool. Kaizen uses personal creativity and ingenuity to identify problems and then develop and implement ideas to solve the problems. The best method is whichever method is appropriate for the project. They all have specialized tools and none of them fit every job or process you are trying to improve. There are instances where Lean principles are most appropriate, others where Six Sigma is the best fit, and still more where Kaizen is the best application.
 
Kaizen is an intensive burst of business process improvement.
  • A Kaizen event usually lasts anywhere from ½ a day to 5 days in duration.
  • All stakeholders with a vested interest in the improvement attend the Kaizen event.
  • It must have clearly defined objectives such as:
  • Reduce costs by 20%
  • Reduce waste by 50%
  • Reduce cycle time of the process by 40%
     
    The first part of Kaizen is to understand lean principles and Kaizen characteristics. The second part is kaizen event planning which includes the following activities:
  • Leadership involvement
  • Scoping the event
  • Event logistics
  • Team formation
  • Pre event communication
  • Preparation
     
    The third part of Kaizen is event execution includes:
  • The Kaizen event kickoff
  • Documentation of the current state
  • Identifying waste
  • Performing root cause analysis
  • Brainstorming
  • Designing and testing improvements
  • Implementation of the improvements
  • Event wrap up
     
    The final part of Kaizen is to set in motion sustainment activities and further developing the Kaizen culture of the organization.
Picture
Picture
0 Comments

2017 Strategic Course

12/23/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
r2017 Strategic Course
Have You developed your strategic ventures for 2017. Don't wait until New Years Day start planning now through next week. You want to first evaluate your current performance levels by asking questions about the current state.  Questions such as:
  • Is your strategic course clear?
  • Are you meeting your current financial and growth goals?
  • Are you keeping pace with technology?
  • Do you communicate effectively to customers and suppliers?
  • Do you truly understand what your customers need?
  • How efficiently only are you operating?
  • Do your processes have significant variation?
  • Do you have defective measurement systems?
     
    Once you have evaluated the current state for your company.  You want to evaluate your capacity for improvement. 
     
    Do you already have a quality management program?
    Do you consistently have improved efforts?
    Do you have the data you need to make improvements decisions?
    Are you making flexible decisions?
    Are you integrating improvement into your business culture?
     
    You need to determine through initial discussions with leadership or your own thoughts, are critical changes needed now? Do you have the commitment of your leadership? Does your existing improvement system satisfy your needs to be competitive in your market? 
     
    Your culture may need a check as well to implement change management. Most businesses have a culture which dominates the way they do things. This reflects the personalities of the people who have developed the business or simply evolved over time. It is important to understand the culture’s tendencies and these are a sample of the typical questions that can be answered in gaining an understanding of a company’s culture.


  • Do they know what QUality Improvement is?
  • Do they like change?
  • Do they strongly resist change?
  • What is their perception of management?
  • What is their perception of reward and recognition?
  • How do they like to communicate?
  • Do they question decisions or are they a company that accepts without challenge?
  • Do they enjoy training?
Set the tone for the New Year
0 Comments

Systems Thinking

12/18/2016

0 Comments

 

Systems Thinking

“Systems Thinking” allows you to see how all of your processes and systems work together. Do you put thought into your overall processes and systems to find efficiencies and opportunities?
 
Peter Senge the author of the Fifth Discipline has authored some of the  most well know books in terms or best practice references for learning organizations.  In his books there are five core disciplines used to advance learning organizations. They are systems thinking, personal mastery, mental models, building a shared vision, and team learning.
 
“Senge advocates the use of ‘systems maps’ – diagrams that show the key elements
of systems and how they connect. However, people often have a problem ‘seeing’
systems, and it takes work to acquire the basic building blocks of systems theory, and to
apply them to your organization. On the other hand, failure to understand system
dynamics can lead us into ‘cycles of blaming and self-defense’”.
 
Systems thinking is the cornerstone of the learning organization.  Systems thinking is a way of thinking about, and a language for describing and understanding, the forces and interrelationships that the behavior of systems. This discipline helps us see how to change
systems more effectively, and to act more in tune with the larger processes of the natural
and economic world.
 
Personal mastery is learning to expand our personal capacity to create the results we
most desire and creating an organizational environment which encourages all its
members to develop themselves toward the goals and the purpose they choose.
“Organizations learn only through individuals who learn. Individual learning does not
guarantee organizational learning. But without it no organizational learning occurs”
 
Mental models are reflecting upon, continually clarifying, and improving our internal                          
pictures of the world, and seeing how they shape our actions and decisions.
                                                
 Shared vision is the building of a sense of commitment in a group, by developing shared images of the future we seek to create, and the principles and guiding practices by which we hope to get there.
 
Team learning involves transforming conversational and collective thinking skills, so that groups of people can reliably develop intelligence and ability greater than the sum of individual member’s talents. The Five disciplines are adapted from (Senge)
 
“He adds to this recognition that people are agents, able to act upon the structures and
systems of which they are a part. All the disciplines are, in this way, ‘concerned with a
shift of mind from seeing parts to seeing wholes, from seeing people as helpless reactors
to seeing them as active participants in shaping their reality, from reacting to the present
to creating the future’
 
The leaders leading learning organizations must act as designers, stewards, and teachers  of the learning organization. Senge says that leaders of the past need new direction and have typically been people who were deeply individualistic with a non-systemic missions.
 
Where are you headed with your organization?

 

Picture
0 Comments

Meeting Standards

12/13/2016

0 Comments

 

Meeting Standards and Expectations

 How do you know if you are meeting expectations of your customers?

In order to tell if standards and expectations are met business performance measures must be developed which include the balanced scorecard, key performance indicators (KPIs), and the underlying financial impact of customer loyalty. Performance measures allow the organization to determine how well it is operating compared to strategic goals, benchmarks, and customer satisfaction.

Building a consistent customer base has a synergistic effect of more utilization by the customer through additional purchases or new products, more purchases through word of mouth to new customers, and new sales as a result to innovation. Customer loyalty results in a known CTQ measure where the organization can more readily determine improvements.
 
The balanced scorecard is used by many organizations to drive performance and accountability. The balanced scorecard focuses the organization on what was typically only financial measures. The balanced scorecard helps translate organizational strategy into action. Using the Balanced scorecard the organization develops performance measures in each of the four categories:
 
  • Financial considerations for the management of the financial bottom line and costs.
  • Customer concerns and the management of their expectations and needs for both present and future.
  • Business processes which impact the efficiency of the business operation.
  • Learning and Growth which affect the learning organization by developing the company in growth of corporate knowledge and expertise.

Key Performance Indicators (KPI) are measures used to track the performance of the organization to a high level strategic goal. Key performance indicators plays a role in the selection of Six Sigma projects. Two important KPI’s are “net present value” and “return on investment”.
 
Financial measures help determine revenue growth, market share, margin, and the cost of quality (COQ) The cost of quality (COQ) are those costs associated with providing quality products or services. Cost of Poor Quality is the sum of internal and external failures. There are four categories of quality cost.  These are the appraisal, detection, internal failure, and external failure. The internal failure costs are costs associated with defects found before the customer receives the product or service. Internal failure costs are costs that are caused by products or services not conforming to requirements or customer needs. The external failure costs are costs associated with defects found after the customer receives the product or service. External failure costs are costs that are caused by deficiencies found after delivery of products and services to customers. Appraisal costs are costs incurred to determine the degree of conformance to quality requirements. Appraisal costs are associated with finding defects. Prevention costs are costs incurred to keep failure and appraisal costs to a minimum. The Cost of Poor Quality is the sum of internal and external failures.

What are your quality costs? What are you doing to manage them?


Picture
0 Comments

Happy Holidays

12/11/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Happy holidays start the new year off right with our collection of quick reference sheets. We'll even build  the sheets of your choice for personal improvement, business improvement and more. You choose the topics, we'll develop a list of quick reference ideas and best practices.
https://www.instituteforstrategicimprovement.com/store/p34/Quick_Reference_Sheet_Collection.html

0 Comments

Customer service

12/7/2016

0 Comments

 

The Best Customer Service

We all strive to provide the best products and services available to our customers within the constraints of our company. The factors that go into providing these products and services are many. If we manage the constraints through proper planning and active engagement to produce the optimal Six Sigma based results we are able to develop energy to promote our businesses to the next level and ensure our viability for the future.

When you are preparing for the optimal customer experience you need to ask yourself these questions:

What keeps you awake at night?
Where are your highest costs?
Where are your highest and lowest rates of customer and employee satisfaction?
Which areas do you have the most delay and bottlenecks in?
What problems do employees bring to your attention?
Which areas would you like to improve your quality?
Which part of a process bothers you the most?
Which departments most frequently request more resources?
 
If you are awake at night, costs are high, and quality is low, Six Sigma is the solution. Six Sigma allows you to provide the value actually desired by customers. It allows you to provide world class products and services in a manner that is the most cost effective, efficient, and valued. Six Sigma implementation will help you and your company.

Using the Six Sigma DMAIC companies have a statistical problem solving methodology system using data driven techniques to instill change management values and build a culture of continuous improvement. As you have seen Six Sigma can improve all levels and aspects of a business. No matter the size, type, or number of problems, there are Six Sigma tools to make an improvement. Six Sigma is able to reduce defects, prevent rework, and eliminate waste in all processes. Six Sigma helps to execute strategic change, accelerates the rate of improvement, generates the framework for sustained success, and improves customer value. We hope this Introduction serves you well and sparks the need for improvement innovation within your company or business.

Remember you can start small with little investment and will soon realize great rewards!


Picture
0 Comments

Quality Management

12/6/2016

0 Comments

 

Quality Management Systems

Picture
The International Standards Organization (ISO) provides many of the standards related to Six Sigma specifically for the management of quality systems.  Six Sigma provides the tools, quality management systems provide the process and documentation.  Six Sigma and the ISO standards complement each other and work in tandem.  The nice thing about ISO standards as they provide some guidance in the absence of solid thoughts on performance measures.
 
These are the keys standards under the ISO 9000 quality management standard series to provide guidance and tools for companies and organizations who want to ensure that their products and services consistently meet customer’s requirements, and that quality is consistently improved. 
 
  • ISO 9001:2008 sets the requirements of a quality management system.
  • ISO 9000:2005 covers the basic concepts and language used in quality management systems.
  • ISO 9004:2009 shows how to make a quality management system more efficient and effective.
  • ISO 19011:2011 sets guidance on internal and external audits of quality management systems.
 
Want to know more about Quality Management Systems and receive a certificate for training in Quality Management Systems? Only $19.50 for our normally priced $49 course.
https://www.instituteforstrategicimprovement.com/store/p8/Quality_Management_Systems.html



0 Comments
<<Previous

    Author

    Robert Kent Six Sigma Black Belt and improvement professional

    Archives

    February 2020
    May 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016

    Categories

    All
    Efficiency
    Innovation
    Leadership
    Lean Terms And Quality Management
    Motivation
    Personal Efficiency
    Project Management
    Quality
    Six Sigma
    Strategic Improvement
    Strategy Deployment
    Systems Thinking

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly