Here’s a story that proves once again that exciting quality applications can occur anywhere in the world. BHP Billiton operates the EKATI Diamond Mine in Canada’s Northwest Territo­ries, ... [Read More]

The current recession is the fifth in my working career. And it is beginning to feel like the worst. I can't imagine that any manager or improvement team member in any industry in any country isn't ... [Read More]

Those best adapted to particular conditions will succeed in the long run. This idea was invented by Herbert Spencer in Principles of Biology (University Press of the Pacific, 2002) to describe ... [Read More]

Criteria changes and lean Six Sigma In these difficult economic times, organizations are looking at all possible means to operate profitably. As demand for products and services drops and ... [Read More]

During a recession, the concept of lean should make absolute sense to an information technology (IT) manager who wants to pursue every channel to increase efficiency and productivity. We have ... [Read More]

There are several issues about the Six Sigma approach to quality that bother me. First, Six Sigma is a performance standard that hardly anyone can understand. Secondly, it’s an engineering ... [Read More]

The cost of doing business is rising dramatically. Included in this is the cost to recruit and hire talent to join your team. It’s estimated that the total cost of one hire can exceed $30,000 ... [Read More]

Today’s hyper-competitive business environment is creating a need for even more new products, new services, and new processes. Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) offers a generalized and effective ... [Read More]

A physics exam question asked students to describe how they would use a barometer to measure the height of a skyscraper. One student who failed the test contested that his answer was correct. He ... [Read More]

"We have had a series of power outages even though we have central and local uninterrupted power supply (UPS) systems. This disruption causes a loss of service to our customers. While we ... [Read More]