Whenever we present capability indexes the almost inevitable follow-up question is, “What is the fraction nonconforming?” What this question usually means is, “Tell me what these capability indexes mean in terms that I can understand.” These questions have resulted i

Last month I wrote an article entitled “Being Comfortable in a World of Never-Ending Change.” Editor in Chief Dirk Dusharme and I also covered this story on t

Lean, Six Sigma, and quality provide a set of tools and a framework for achieving excellence in any process.

Among other things, an effective lean management system drives process adherence and process performance. The daily accountability portion of the system includes brief tiered meetings with the stakeholders.

For those of us frustrated by the prevalence of mediocrity and apathy in the management theater, there may yet be hope.

The cause-and-effect diagram is one of the seven basic quality improvement tools, and this article will illustrate its synergy with the affinity diagram.

In the article, “Four Control Chart Myths from Foolish Experts,” by Davis Balestracci (Quality Digest Daily, March 30, 2011) the following comments were made r

As we continue our sabbatical journey, more opportunities for the improvement of management practices continue to appear. This month, the overriding theme that I have observed is the lack of front-line performance that seems to be a result of the system.

It seems the most popular way to improve a process these days is by applying the glorious "Lean Toolkit." Many companies focus on learning and implementing process improvement practices introduced by Toyota without realizing the same success that Toyota achieved.

Every once in awhile people will ask me to (discretely) evaluate a kaizen event team’s effectiveness. I don’t necessarily relish doing that when it is intended for the purpose of team comparisons, but it’s not an unfair request from senior leaders.