<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?>
<rss version="2.0">
	<channel>
		<title>Six Sigma Blogs at the iSixSigma Blogosphere</title>
		<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/RSS2.asp?action=full</link>
		<description>Six Sigma Blogs at the iSixSigma Blogosphere</description>
		<language>en-us</language>
		<copyright>Copyright 2004-2010 iSixSigma</copyright>
		<managingEditor>blogosphere@isixsigma.com</managingEditor>
		<webMaster>blogosphere@isixsigma.com</webMaster>
		<generator>iSixSigma Blog 1.0.5</generator>
		<lastBuildDate>Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:13:39 -0700</lastBuildDate>
    	<ttl>60</ttl>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Thank You, Six Sigma Community]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/thank_you_six_sigma_community.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Dear iSixSigma Blogosphere Readers,
Back in January 2005, I started up a little blog about Six Sigma companies.  It caught the eye of iSixSigma’s very own Mike Cyger and he invited me to join his growing team of forward thinking Six Sigma zealots dedicated to providing the best information about Six Sigma to the masses. 
As an active user of iSixSigma since 2001, working for the company was like being a roadie for my favorite band. Living and breathing Six Sigma.  
I’ve been associated with the Six Sigma industry for nearly a decade and have met some of the world’s finest people in this community. To you, I give my deepest thanks for all you have taught me. My journey to this point has been fantastic. 
But alas, it is time for me to move on. I have the chance to follow a dream of mine, and I cannot let the opportunity pass me. 
I will remain active with iSixSigma over the next several weeks transitioning my role. I will continue to keep up with the industry and look forward to keeping in touch with you in the future. I can be reached via LinkedIn.  
Best,
Michael Marx]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:51:44 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Top Ten Best Places to Work Announced]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/top_ten_best_places_to_work_announced.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The scoring is complete and the 2009 Top 10 Best Places to Work for Six Sigma professionals is out. 
Here is the Top 10 List in alphabetical order: I repeat, alphabetical order.


Cardinal Health Inc.
Computacenter AG &amp; Co. oHG
Ecolab Inc.
McKesson Corp.
Merck &amp; Co., Inc.
Pfizer Inc.
Piramal Healthcare Ltd.
Starwood Hotels, North America Operation
Vought Aircraft Industries Inc.
Xerox Corp.
The numbered order of this list will be revealed at an Awards ceremony and breakfast, February 3, 2010 during the iSixSigma Live! Summit and Awards in Miami. Congratulations to these companies as well as all those that participated.
There is still plenty of time to submit projects for consideration in other iSixSigma Live! Award categories:  

* Best Lean Six Sigma Start-up or Re-energized program* Largest Breakthrough Improvement Projects 
* Six Sigma Hall of Fame]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press&nbsp;,&nbsp;Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:53:41 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: TRIZ with Ellen Domb]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/triz_with_ellen_domb.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Next month (yes, I’m giving you early notice so you can put this in your calendar) TRIZ expert, Ellen Domb, will once again be on air with Steve Wilson of Quality Conversations, discussing practical applications of TRIZ.
Tuesday, Nov. 3rd, 11 AM Pacific. Be there. 
Ellen is also speaking at the iSixSigma Live Summit &amp; Awards in Miami next year. If you are looking for a reason to attend, Ellen’s TRIZ workshop would be reason enough - it’s fantastic. ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press&nbsp;,&nbsp;Innovation]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:41:40 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Research: Misused Lean Six Sigma Tools]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/research_misused_lean_six_sigma_tools.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The latest iSixSigma Magazine research is about to be released in the upcoming November/December issue. 
For this research we surveyed over 800 Six Sigma practitioners and asked them all about the tools they use, the tools they don’t use, and what tools they think are misused…
The chart at the left is the top 10 tools that practitioners said are commonly misused. (Click for larger view.)  FMEA clearly stands out, but the remaining 9 tools each bring in a fairly steady 4-5 percent of the vote. 
For the full results, including the top 10 “most used,” top 10 “least used,” and the top 10 “never heard of that tool,” see the November/December issue of iSixSigma Magazine.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:08:51 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Seventh Annual iSixSigma Global Salary Survey]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/seventh_annual_isixsigma_global_salary_survey.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Now accepting salaries! Each year iSixSigma analyzes the data from its own iSixSigma Job Shop to create a comprehensive Six Sigma Salary report available in the March/April issue of iSixSigma Magazine.
Last year data showed that the average Black Belt in the United States made an average salary of $88,438. Master Black Belts brought home an average of nearly 120K. I don’t know about you, but I am very interested to see what those numbers look like this year. 
I invite you to participate this year by logging into your Job Shop Account and updating your resume. If you do not have a Job Shop account, create one for free. We will be collecting data until next week: October 15, 2009. Thanks!]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:04:36 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma TRIZ]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_triz.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Tomorrow (Wednesday, Sept 30), Ellen Domb, founder of the TRIZ Journal, will be on Steve Wilson’s show Quality Conversations, hosted by blogtalkradio. 
Steve has interviewed a plethora of quality professionals in the past. Guest appearances include Tom Kubiak, Forrest Breyfogle, Mark Graban, Jessica Harper, as well as yours truly. 
Ellen and Steve will be talking about Six Sigma Trees. Not the kind that grow in your backyard, but rather the kind that Ellen so expertly sows into everyday business improvement thought processes...TRIZ sure has a way of growing on you. I’ve attended Ellen’s TRIZ workshops several times and always enjoy her style, method, and expertise in teaching the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving.  
Below is the promo introducing the show. Check it out tomorrow 8:30 Central. 

"Standard quality improvement methodologies such as DMAIC and PDSA have always incorporated brainstorming as a key method for finding creative solutions to problems. Brainstorming is designed to liberate a team’s thinking from past patterns and and uncover ideas that people might have unconsciously suppressed. When it works its great. But what happens when it does not work...if the solution lies outside the experience of the team? Ellen Domb, long time expert on the subject of TRIZ and founder of the TRIZ Journal joins us today to talk about the need for the use of TRIZ in Six Sigma."]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:47:45 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Quality Conversation with Steve Wilson]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/quality_conversation_with_steve_wilson.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[

 
The archive of my Quality Conversation with Steve Wilson this morning. Thanks Steve for having me on your show.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 14 Sep 2009 10:08:00 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Quality Conversations]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/quality_conversations.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[On Monday, Sept 14, I'll be speaking with Steve Wilson on his show Quality Conversations, hosted by blogtalkradio. Steve has interviewed many quality professionals in the past, including Tom Kubiak, Forrest Breyfogle, Mark Graban and our very own iSixSigma editor-in-chief, Jessica Harper. I am happy to join the ranks of Steve's guest list. 
We're going to be talking Six Sigma and the Economy... discussing the findings of a recent iSixSigma Magazine research report published in July this year. We'll be talking about serious subjects such as budget cuts, workloads, and job losses as well as more positive aspects the down economy is bringing out in companies practicing Six Sigma.
The conversation is live and open to callers, so if you want to call in and heckle me...go ahead, make my day.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press&nbsp;,&nbsp;Podcasts]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 11 Sep 2009 07:40:09 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Open Season For Awards]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/open_season_for_awards.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[iSixSigma is pleased to announce the opening of award nominations for the iSixSigma Live! Summit &amp; Awards in Miami in February 2010. Here’s what we are looking for:

* iSixSigma’s Six Sigma Hall of Fame: iSixSigma will recognize individuals who have significantly impacted corporate growth and shareholder value through the use of Lean Six Sigma by inducting them into the Six Sigma Hall of Fame. Last year Bill Smith was the first inductee into the Six Sigma Hall of Fame.
* Largest-Breakthrough Improvement Projects: In keeping with the conference theme of "Practices That Make Profits," iSixSigma will recognize Lean Six Sigma projects with the largest "breakthrough" results in four categories – supply chain, transactional, manufacturing and customer service.
* Most Successful Lean Six Sigma Start-up or Re-energized Lean Six Sigma Program: This award recognizes the most successful start-up or the most invigorating re-energized deployment. 
* iSixSigma MVP Awards: iSixSigma’s MVP awards recognize individuals that have made outstanding voluntary contributions to the Six Sigma community through the iSixSigma Discussion Forum, Blogosphere and Twitter. (Finalists and winners for the MVP awards will be determined by iSixSigma’s editorial team.)
The deadline for submitting projects and nominations is Nov. 30. For more information on award categories and entry requirements, visit: http://live.isixsigma.com/awards/default.html]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press&nbsp;,&nbsp;Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:35:44 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: The Best Place to Work]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/the_best_place_to_work.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Nominations are open for iSixSigma’s second annual Best Places to Work List. If you are working for a top notch company using Lean Six Sigma, go ahead and nominate it to be included in our list of Best Places to Work.
Last year 10 companies made the list. McKesson took home the #1 spot, followed by Vought Aircraft Industries and Textron. 
Read all about what makes McKesson the Best Place to Work in the latest article on iSixSigma.com. (This article was previously published only in iSixSigma Magazine).
If your company treats its Six Sigma employees right, let us know by nominating it for this year’s list. 
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=o3tIVeS1bYHbYiosX5BGNg_3d_3d
 ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press&nbsp;,&nbsp;Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 27 Aug 2009 13:24:46 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: iSixSigma Conference Survey]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/isixsigma_conference_survey.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[ 
iSixSigma Live! wants to know what you want out of an in-person event. We invite you to participate in a short survey about business process improvement conferences. 
How many conferences do you attend a year? What do you expect out of a conference? Where would you like to see the next iSixSigma Live! event? These are just a few of the questions we ask in a short 16-question survey.
Click on the link below to begin.http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=fLUzbxjj15mnZkS_2fRmK26g_3d_3d
Thanks for your time.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[iSixSigma Live Events]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 06 Jun 2009 20:57:32 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma Saves Paccar a Truckload of Money]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_saves_paccar_a_truckload_of_money.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I first wrote about Paccar and Six Sigma back in 2005, then again in 2006 I wrote a blurb with some noteworthy news. Today Paccar released their Q1 earning report that highlights the most current status of their Six Sigma and Lean deployments.   

Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing Generate Savings and Improve Efficiency“PACCAR’s application of Six Sigma tools together with Lean Manufacturing techniques have generated cumulative benefits for PACCAR of $1.2 billion since 1998,” commented Helene Mawyer, PACCAR vice president. “Thirteen thousand PACCAR employees have been trained in Six Sigma and over 10,000 projects have been implemented throughout the company. Six Sigma and Lean projects are integrated in all PACCAR facilities and have improved product quality and reduced costs in the factories and offices.”
Wow have they done well with Six Sigma and Lean. More than 10 years after the initial implementation, Helene Mawyer (who has been there since the early days) is now a VP and still touting the efficiency gains at Paccar. In 2004 they had trained 7000+ employees. Now it’s up to 13,000. Over the course of their deployment they have averaged benefits of $120,000 per project. Not too shabby. 
PACCAR Announces First Quarter Revenues and Earnings]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Automotive]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 28 Apr 2009 10:48:11 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Survey: Six Sigma and the Economy]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/survey_six_sigma_and_the_economy.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[ iSixSigma Magazine’s latest research survey is live!
This survey is all about how the economy is affecting companies and their business process improvement initiatives such as Six Sigma and Lean. 
The survey is short, only 20 questions and about half of them are simple demographic questions. Please invest about 7 minutes of your time and tell us what’s happening at your company.  
The full results will be published in the July/August issue of iSixSigma Magazine, and I’ll surely post the highlights here on the Blogosphere.  Thanks for your support!]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 15 Apr 2009 14:20:48 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Halliburton Suppliers Get Lean]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/halliburton_suppliers_get_lean.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[There is a great story this morning about Halliburton’s efforts to lead suppliers to Lean and Six Sigma. Having just completed a research feature (to be published in May) on this very subject I can attest the article is a living example of what to do when encouraging suppliers to become more efficient: 
Len Cooper, senior vice president of supply chain, said:

"We actually began to offer them our assistance and expertise, and invest resources, to catalyze them to adopt the same approaches we use internally,"
Lead by example and invest resources.  This often means putting a Black Belt or two on the ground with your suppliers. And why would you want to do that?

"We would rather have our best suppliers grow with us, especially in these times, rather than go out and find more suppliers in order to gain access to additional capacity. We wanted to share our Creativity Over Capital ideas and experiences and benefits with them." 
In the article there are many more nuggets of wisdom from Halliburton for taking Six Sigma to your suppliers... including the tip to start with Lean..hmmm, where have I heard that before? From Rey Moré, Chief Quality Officer, at Motorola.  He said the very same thing at the iSixSigma Live! conference in Miami. 
Halliburton pushes Lean Six Sigma to its supply base, Purchasing.com, March 12, 2009]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Energy]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 12 Mar 2009 10:29:01 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Quarter Reports Praise Lean Six Sigma]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/quarter_reports_praise_lean_six_sigma.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Can Lean Six Sigma help companies get through this economic downturn? Dale Barnhart, President and Chief Executive Officer at Lydall thinks so.  In the Lydall 4th Quarter Earnings report he said: 

"I can’t emphasize enough the importance of Lean Six Sigma to Lydall in light of the current economic conditions. In 2008, the Company realized significant savings from lean initiatives. Going forward, we will continue to focus on Lean Six Sigma to drive operational excellence, improve our performance to customers enabling increased market penetration, reduce working capital, and improve our competitive cost position."
Lean Six Sigma has been getting plenty of press in the quarterly earnings reports over the past few weeks:
Cooper Tire &amp; Rubber: "On a positive note, investments in automation, lean, Six Sigma and other projects continued to show improvement on the bottom line as we improved underlying manufacturing operations in spite of higher utility costs."
NewPage: "During the fourth quarter, to manage through these challenges and because of lower customer demand, we took market- related downtime of approximately 60,000 tons, reduced our capital spending, and kept our workforce focused on driving down costs. Lean Six Sigma projects and productivity initiatives have dramatically helped to reduce the effects of inflation. During the year, employees across the company participated in projects generating more than $65 million of annualized savings."
LAI International: "We are committed to continuous improvement and will focus on a number of major performance initiatives to drive improvement throughout the company, including operations, quality, engineering, customer service and sales. The company will continue to invest in Six Sigma quality management methods and lean manufacturing initiatives."
US Oncology: "Our lean six sigma program has improved efficiencies in our care delivery and drug management processes in over 50 percent of our largest practices." (US Oncology is a cancer care services company. Yet another place you can find Six Sigma...fighting cancer!) 
And so we see Six Sigma is important to these diverse industries during these adverse times. Is Six Sigma important to your company right now? ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Six Sigma Articles &amp; News]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 27 Feb 2009 13:46:58 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Supply Chain Research]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/supply_chain_research.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been pouring over the latest iSixSigma survey results about the use of process improvement methodologies and models in the supply chain.  So far I’ve found a couple of interesting things…
1. Success factors for implementing Six Sigma in supply chain are pretty consistent with implementing Six Sigma anywhere:

Image created at http://www.wordle.net/
2. Six Sigma and Lean are pretty evenly used by companies to improve supply chain operations. The real question though is, do companies that use Six Sigma also use Lean? And visa versa. For that you’ll just have to wait…
The full research will be printed in the May/June issue of iSixSigma Magazine. For those that responded to my email I invitation last month and completed the survey, the full results will be delivered to you via email shortly after the Magazine goes out. Thanks.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 24 Feb 2009 04:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Gemba Academy Intro to Lean]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/gemba_academy_intro_to_lean.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[If you'd like to take a beginner's course on Lean, look to Ron Pereira's Gemba Academy.  He has released his first video, Introduction to Lean Manufacturing. The clip below (and on the LSS Academy site) is the first 10 minutes of the 15 minute intro to Lean. Don't waste another minute in Lean ignorance...


]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Lean]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 19 Feb 2009 09:05:28 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma Puts the Shush! on Library Inefficiencies]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_puts_the_shush_on_library_inefficiencies.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[
This morning as I was reading my Six Sigma news feeds, I came across a mention of the Columbus Metropolitan Library (CML) crediting Lean Six Sigma for their high service ratings. 
The use of Lean and Six Sigma outside the traditional business setting intrigues me…so I investigated further…It turns out that back in 2005 CML identified the combination of Lean and Six Sigma as the best fit for improvement at the Library and started right in using these methodologies as a way to reach their strategic objective to provide excellent customer service.  
In 2006, one of CML’s own Quality &amp; Process Specialists, Shaunessy Everett, wrote an excellent story about the initiative for Library Journal. This article is very well written, entertaining and very informative. Since this story is about a library, you’ll have to read it for yourself (no cliffs notes or summarizations here).Do More, Better, for Less, Library Journal, Sept. 2006
It’s not just Six Sigma that makes CML great.  Patrick Losinski, Executive Director at CML, is featured in a SmartBusiness article that highlights additional management philosophies embedded at CML that keeps them on the cutting edge. Nonprofits: Patrick Losinski, SmartBusiness, Dec. 2007
Six Sigma at CML is not an anomaly in the library business. Houston Library as well as a few academic libraries have been reading up on the very Six Sigma books they shelve.  Sarah A. Murphy, Associate Professor, University Libraries, Ohio State University, wrote an extensive paper titled “Leveraging Lean Six Sigma to Culture, Nurture, and Sustain Assessment and Change in the Academic Library Environment.”  And Dong-Suk Kim wrote, "A Study on Introducing Six Sigma Theory in the Library for Service Competitiveness Enhancement."
The next time you’re in Columbus, Ohio, be sure to visit the Columbus Metropolitan Library and check out Six Sigma.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 16 Feb 2009 20:13:00 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: The Six Sigma Lift]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/the_six_sigma_lift.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[As a former forklift operator, I can understand the complexities of forklift operations. I know absolutely nothing about forklift manufacturing, but one could argue that it might be harder to operate a forklift than build one...
The very first Six Sigma project I ever heard about involved a forklift. It perked my interest, because naturally, I knew my way around a lift.  I was reading Harry and Schroeder’s Six Sigma: The Breakthrough Management Strategy Revolutionizing the World’s Top Corporations my first day as an intern for SSA &amp; Company, when I came across one of the Ploymerland (division of GE) Black Belt projects.
With customers threatening taking their business elsewhere, employees were trying to figure out why there was so much damage to delivered goods.... After using Six Sigma tools to identify the root cause, turns out the characteristics of the forklift as well as forklift operator experience played roles in damaging the goods.  Instead of training lift operators or hiring the most experienced, the simple and least expensive solution was installing shorter forks on every lift, eliminating the opportunity for puncture damage altogether. I remember thinking, "Wow what an easy fix to a problem you didn’t know you even had."
Six Sigma has come full circle since Polymerland - From forklifts being the root causes of defects in Six Sigma projects, to manufacturers using Six Sigma to build better forklifts more efficiently.  Such is the case at Crown.  Six Sigma has saved the company about 1.5 million so far. Not too shabby. 
Crown Embraces Continuous Improvement, forkliftaction.com, Jan 29, 2009]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Automotive&nbsp;,&nbsp;Industrial]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 09 Feb 2009 13:58:32 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Photos of Miami Live!]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/photos_of_miami_live.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[ 
Photos stream of the iSixSigma Live! Summit and Awards in Miami. 
To browse all photos and download your favorites visit: 
http://photos.isixsigma.com/gallery/7136980_gHfnR]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 27 Jan 2009 11:53:28 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Excerpts: Panel with Mikel and Don]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/excerpts_panel_with_mikel_and_don.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[
Michael Cyger moderated a panel with Mikel Harry and Don Linsenmann.  Together they put on a good show, fielding questions from Mike as well as the audience. Don, as usual, instill humor into just about every story he tells.   On the economy and Six Sigma: 

Don: "We’re all impacted by this downfall. Take initiative. Let the Six Sigma process manage the layoffs. Differentiate which markets are growing. Look at each division. Not something across the board. It’s a hard, tough problem. Six Sigma needs to be a part of it."  
Mikel: "Get back to basics.  Not incremental, but breakthrough. Time to reexamine everything you do.  Have the courage to lead. You lead people to breakthrough, not manage them to breakthrough."  
Q: If starting Six Sigma in retail, from middle management, how do you convince the CEO?  

Mikel: “Pray. Middle-out is a hard row to plow.” 
Don: “You must give CEO water-tight compelling data.”
Q: Where is Six Sigma going in the next few years?

Mikel: "Broadening and decreasing in depth. Consultants are watering down Six Sigma. We need need to police ourselves. The proliferation of books on the market is risky. Corporations think they can undertake Six Sigma on their own. The role of coaching is going to become more important. Are we doing the right thing, or the thing that’s right? The time has come that our industry needs breakthrough.  Now the time to apply Six Sigma to ourselves."    
Don: “Stick to the pillars.  ‘Adapt’ is the viable energy that keeps Six Sigma alive. Adaptive is the one word, but it needs to be constrained by what the pillars are.  It’s difficult.”
Don on “If you had a time machine and could start over with Six Sigma in 1999…”: "I’d run Six Sigma time faster than we did.  We were on a pace, we should have sped up the time.  Looking back it was possible to do things faster." 
Mikel on breakthrough: “Breakthrough is not crawl-walk-run. It’s take the leap of faith.”
Don on behavior that keeps Six Sigma alive: “Enthusiasm.”  ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 21 Jan 2009 15:05:51 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma and Supply Chain]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_and_supply_chain.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[As an iSixSigma Blogs reader I invite you to participate in iSixSigma’s latest survey on Six Sigma in the supply chain. 
This short survey will explore how Six Sigma and other process improvement methodologies, including supply chain models such as SCOR, are being used to optimize supply chain activities. It will also look at how companies involve their own suppliers in Six Sigma. 
To participate, click on the link below:http://www.isixsigma.com/supplychainsurvey 
All responses will remain absolutely anonymous and confidential. Your information will be reported only in an aggregate fashion so that no one will be able to link your response back to you. 
This survey will only be open for a short time. Please participate today. 
Thank you very much, Michael Marx Research Manager, iSixSigma Email: http://www.isixsigma.com/mm
 ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 20 Jan 2009 21:18:52 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Hmm... Which Deployment Model?]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/hmm_which_deployment_model.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I spent the Wednesday afternoon in the Deployment Models breakout session with Bob Crescenzi, from NewPage, Pam Cagle from Wal-Mart, and Stephen Turnipseed from Chevron.  
Each company is deploying Six Sigma with a different approach. Bob Crescenzi made a great point kicking off the discussions.  He said, “There is no vanilla deployment.” Top-down, middle-out, or grassroots, I think they all serve Rocky Road at some point! 
The most compelling story to me is that of Wal-mart.  Pam said they started in February 2007 with no money, no resources, and no curriculum.  They developed a training curriculum in-house, piloted it in Canada.  
“Our responsibility as LSS Leaders is to develop associates,” she said.  Although Lean Six Sigma is gaining traction at Wal-mart, it is still only used on the corporate level.  It hasn’t been introduced at the store level yet.  So don’t expect Six Sigma service from those associates just quite yet :)
The biggest takeaway here is that deployment models abound. There is no one, two or three ways to deploy Six Sigma. It’s been said time and time again that top-down deployments are most successful, but that just depends on what your definition of success is.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 19 Jan 2009 12:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: iSixSigma Live! Opening Session Highlights]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/isixsigma_live_opening_session_highlights.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The iSixSigma Live! Miami Summit and Awards opened yesterday with a bang. Richard Willet, Jr., President and CEO of NewPage kicked off the morning session.   
Rick gave an enthusiastic overview of Lean Six Sigma at NewPage.  There was so much he spoke about, but one of the points really stuck me as unique.  He said that Green Belts are first asked to spend one week leaning out their own work process, freeing up 25 percent of their time.  They then use that new-found time to work on their Green Belt projects. 
I think we can all learn a lesson from that. If you feel you do not have enough time in the day to get your work done, consider investing time leaning out your own processes, an extra 2 hours a day can go a long way.  Use it wisely.  
Jason Tafler, CEO PointRoll spoke about how a creative company can utilize Six Sigma. Once again what struck me was his take on Lean.  After the initial Six Sigma deployment, PointRoll felt they needed more. So they deployed Lean and TPS. The Lean work caused an awakening at PointRoll. Growth is now scaled at the company through Lean efficiencies vs. hiring.  
Buzzwords from the morning…Lean, and economy.  More to come.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 16 Jan 2009 08:00:27 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Best Places to Work Countdown]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/best_places_to_work_countdown.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Well we did it.  We announced the order of the Top Ten iSixSigma Best Places to Work list this morning.  If you were following my tweets this morning you already heard where the No. 1 place is… if not, here we go…
#10 Rio Tinto Alcan
#9 Volt Information Sciences Inc.
#8 EMC Corp.
#7 Xerox Corp.
#6 NewPage Corp.
#5 Masco Builder Cabinet Group
#4 Chevron Corp.
#3 Textron Inc.
#2 Vought Aircraft Industries Inc.
#1 McKesson Corp.
What a cool cadre of companies we have here.  Congratulations to all.  For advice from each of the Best Places on what it takes to be great, see the latest iSixSigma.com article, Tips from iSixSigma's Best Places to Work.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 15 Jan 2009 21:29:01 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: iSixSigma MVP Awards]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/isixsigma_mvp_awards.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I had the privilege of presenting the iSixSigma MVP Awards this morning to a fine group of Six Sigma professionals.  The MVP Awards are iSixSigma’s way of recognizing those people who volunteer their time and expertise making iSixSigma.com and the iSixSigma Blogosphere meaningful places to learn.  
Without purse or script, these knights and nobles selfishly give of themselves through open conversation, sharing their knowledge and passion for process improvement.  
And the winners are:
* Most Prolific Poster on iSixSigma Discussion Forums - Stan
* Most Useful/Helpful Poster on iSixSigma Discussion Forums - Mike Carnell, Owner CS International
Honorable Mention – Robert Butler
* Best Commenter on the iSixSigma BlogosphereMichael Cardus, Founder of Create-Learning-Team Building and TeamBuilding NY blogger
* Best iSixSigma BloggerSue Kozlowski, Manger Performance Improvement, Henry Ford Health System
Congratulations to the 2009 iSixSigma MVPs!]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 15 Jan 2009 13:36:32 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: iSixSigma Live! Awards Announced]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/isixsigma_live_awards_announced.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[

The iSixSigma Live! Awards ceremony went off beautifully this morning. Congratulations to all the finalists, and woo hooo! to all the winners! 
Winners: Largest-Breakthrough Improvement Projects        * Environment - Bell Helicopter, Textron Inc. for “Compressed Air Savings Headstart (CASH)”    * Supply chain - General Dynamics for “Submarine Material Receipt Inspection”    * Transactional - North Shore-LIJ Health System for “Increasing CT capacity in a Tertiary Hospital”    * Manufacturing - Xerox Corp. for “Photoreceptor Belt Tensioning System”    * Customer service - Sutherland Global Services for “Improving Customer Satisfaction”    * Solving the unsolvable - Shuuro Technologies for “Improving Revenue from Sales”    * Innovation - Delphi Corp. for “Joint Design for Electronics Cooling Heat Exchangers”
Most Successful Lean Six Sigma Start-up - NewPage Corp.
Most Successful Re-energized Lean Six Sigma Program - United Services Automobile Association (USAA)
iSixSigma’s Six Sigma Hall of Fame 2009 Inductee – Bill Smith. Accepting the award on behalf of her father, Marjorie Hook. Marjorie paid a tender tribute to her father honoring him as a loving father, husband and neighbor. 
 ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 15 Jan 2009 12:38:26 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Tweet, Tweet, Flying South for the Winter]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/tweet_tweet_flying_south_for_the_winter.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[It’s a busy week for us here at iSixSigma.  The final day leading to the iSixSigma Live! Summit &amp; Awards in Miami... 
If you tweet you’re in for a treat. I’ll be tweeting live from Miami. Follow the iSixSigma tweet for mini updates on what I’m up to at the conference. Be the first to read the winners of the iSixSigma MVP awards... as well as everything else under the sunny skies of Miami.
You can also follow here on the blogs, by reading my tweet feed below or just look in the left sidebar up top for the latest. 
Tweet Tweet.


       
For Non Flash Users
iSixSigma Live! Twitter Updates

 follow me on Twitter
 



]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 12 Jan 2009 17:08:41 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma on a Roll]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_on_a_roll.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Last year iSixSigma Magazine ran a cover story on PointRoll and the beginnings of their Six Sigma initiative.  PointRoll, a leading online ad agency, is a small company by Fortune 500 revenue standards (less than 100 million in revenue) and even smaller Six Sigma company by Six Sigma standards (1 Black Belt and 7 Green Belts when they started).  
To some, such a small deployment may not make much sense, but to PointRoll, this little initiative makes dollars and cents in one hand and happy customers in the other.  
This year iSixSigma Magazine followed up with PointRoll both in the May/June and November/December issues to see where they had gone with Six Sigma. 
PointRoll focused their first projects in production engineering and creative services. Now with almost two years of project work under their belts, they continue to find more ways to improve the business.  In 2008 they introduced Lean and have trained 42 people in Lean principles.  Their deployment has now grown to 1 MBB, 3 BBs, 4 GBs and 2 Lean Belts and they have started a DMADV project as well.
PointRoll’s Chief Executive Officer, Jason Tafler, will be a keynote speaker at the iSixSigma Live! Miami conference in January.  A "must see" for small companies just starting out on the Six Sigma journey. He’ll give insights on how his company has built a solid Six Sigma culture amidst a cool atmosphere of creativity and innovation.  ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 05 Dec 2008 12:25:22 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma Turns a New Page]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_turns_a_new_page.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[NewPage Corp. is the cover story in the November/December 2008 issue of iSixSigma Magazine. 


"From its inception three years ago, NewPage planned to make Lean Six Sigma an integral part of how the company was run. The paper producer is using the methodology to connect its amalgam of mills in a common culture and to differentiate from the competition at a time of decreased demand in the paper industry. NewPage has tailored its deployment to best meet those needs."
A couple of those tailor-made aspects of the NewPage deployment:
1) RLSS (Rapid Lean Six Sigma) – 60 day process that engages all employees in DMAIC not just the Belts.
2) Green Belt Pairing – Green Belts are paired up through training and projects. Each leading one project and supporting the other in one project.
3) Additional Belt designations- Yellow Belts and Brown Belts: Yellow Belts receive Six Sigma overview training. Brown Belts are technical experts certified as Black Belts but left in their previous roles.
If you want to learn more about the NewPage Lean Six Sigma deployment, come see Richard D. Willett Jr., NewPage President and Chief Operating Officer deliver a keynote address at the iSixSigma Live! Miami conference in January.  
NewPage Links
Papermaker Makes Lean Six Sigma Work, ControlGlobal.com, 2008
NewPage Honored As One Of “America’s Most Admired” In Its Industry by Fortune Magazine
Lean Six Sigma at NewPage
 
 
 ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Forest &amp; Paper Products]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 01 Dec 2008 10:45:52 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: And the Award Goes to...]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/and_the_award_goes_to.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[ 
iSixSigma Live! has announced the finalists for the awards that will be given at the Miami Summit in January.  
The top three finalists for the award, Most Successful Lean Six Sigma Start-up Program, are: Betfair, NewPage Corp., and Unlimited Technology Inc.
Finalists for the award, Most Successful Re-energized Lean Six Sigma Program, are: United Services Automobile Association (USAA), US Army TACOM LCMC, and Washington Mutual/JPMorgan Chase.
For the Largest-Breakthrough Improvement Project awards, there are 21 finalists in 7 categories. For all the details read the full press release. 
Congrats to all the finalists!]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press&nbsp;,&nbsp;Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 25 Nov 2008 10:15:59 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Best Places Finalists]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/best_places_finalists.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[
 
The Best Places to Work Competition has wrapped up and the top ten finalists have emerged.  Now we’re not going to tell you where the No. 1 place for Six Sigma professionals to work is yet…or what the order of the top ten is…. We’re saving that for the awards ceremony in January. 
But we will tell you in alphabetical order who the top ten finalists are:
ChevronEMCMasco Builder Cabinet GroupMcKessonNewPageRio Tinto AlcanTextronVolt Information SciencesVought Aircraft IndustriesXerox Corporation
We had over 50 nominations for companies all over the world.  Sixteen companies met all the entry requirements and completed a two part online survey. The senior Six Sigma leader submitted answers to an employer survey while full time Six Sigma personnel (BBs, MBBs and Deployment Leaders) at each company submitted answers to an employee survey.  
Companies were ranked by totaling the scores from the two surveys; the most weight was given to the employee survey.  The employee survey was also weighted giving the most weight to the job satisfaction category.  
Congratulations to these companies as well as all the companies who were nominated. The number one place will be announced at the iSixSigma Live! Awards breakfast in Miami in January. ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press&nbsp;,&nbsp;Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 27 Oct 2008 21:21:18 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Lincoln Electric Six Sigma]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/lincoln_electric_six_sigma.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Lincoln Electric, a world leader in the design, development and manufacture of welding equipment, improves operational efficiency through Six Sigma AND fosters innovation at the same time. Looks like we’ve got some benchmarking to do.  

“In the last three years, Chairman, President and CEO John M. Stropki has led his team through eight acquisitions and joint ventures while also training hundreds of employees around the world in Six Sigma.”
“The company would focus its efforts on recruiting top talent, increasing customer service, improving operational efficiency, expanding globally and fostering innovation from 2005 through 2007.”
This cover story article in SmartBusiness does not get into the specifics about Six Sigma, but it does get specific about strategy and execution.  Here is a company that uses Six Sigma as a means to reach short term strategic goals.  The focus is not Six Sigma for Six Sigma’s sake, but Six Sigma for strategic sake.
Joining forces, SmartBusiness, October 2008
Additional Lincoln Electric Six Sigma Links
Lincoln Electric Wins Award for World-Class Customer Service
Choose Wisely.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Industrial]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 16 Oct 2008 09:33:03 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Global Six Sigma Salary Survey]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/global_six_sigma_salary_survey.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[
It’s time again for iSixSigma to gather salary data for the 6th annual Global Six Sigma Salary Survey. This survey is a little different that our traditional kind. To gather data we go to the iSixSigma Job Shop database where thousands of Six Sigma professionals have uploaded their resumes. Along with uploading a resume, we ask a few questions about six sigma certification, education, experience, location, current salary and bonus.
Even if you are not in the market for a job you can participate in the survey by creating a free account and answering the required data fields. You do not have to upload a resume if you do not want to.
We only collect data from Job Shoppers who have updated their resume since the end of last year. This keeps the data fresh and relevant. If you have a Job Shop account already please log in and update your information today. If not, I encourage you to create a free account. Please help us make this year’s survey a success.  The final data will be featured in the March/April issue of iSixSigma Magazine.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 15 Oct 2008 10:15:11 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Erie County Saves a Cool 1.5 Mil]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/erie_county_saves_a_cool_15_mil.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Erie County’s Six Sigma initiative is set to save 1.5 million dollars by year end. Almost a half million more than the initial goal.  Below is the news reporting the story.  Interviews with Al Hammonds, Deputy County Executive and former Six Sigma Director as well as the new Six Sigma Director Bill Carey.
http://www.wgrz.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=61254&amp;provider=gnews
Yet still Erie has naysayers...in bold is the nayism followed by my thoughts:

Savings could have been found without Six Sigma: True, Al and I both agree on that. But would have the savings been found without any structure, and would have they been able to measure the savings?  I think not. If they could have done it, they should have done it, but they were not doing it. Enter Six Sigma.  See 1.5 million in savings.
Wastes Employees time, taking them off the job for Six Sigma meetings: No one likes a worthless meeting, but if Six Sigma meetings contribute to the $1.5 million saved...we need to have more Six Sigma meetings. Plus for that to be a valid point we’d have to Pareto chart the actual time wasting activities employees engage in... and see where the biggest opportunities for improvement are.  My educated guess is that time "wasted" in Six Sigma meetings is much smaller than say water cooler talk, late to work, sick when your actually not sick...that list is endless. 
Department heads could have found savings themselves: Refer to first bullet. 
Instead of paying Six Sigma Director’s salary of $110,000: Yes, I agree. $110,000 is not what Erie county should be paying the Six Sigma Director.  According to iSixSigma’s 2008 Salary survey, the average salary for a Six Sigma deployment leader in the Northeast is $126,250.  Give this guy a raise.  
Erie County Says Six Sigma Has Exceeded Goals, wgrz.com, October 8, 2008]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Government]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 09 Oct 2008 11:00:56 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Dominion Travels Six Sigma Style]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/dominion_travels_six_sigma_style.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Barq’s isn’t the only thing with bite. At Dominion, it’s Six Sigma that gives data teeth. Director of travel and corporate services, Donna Kelliher, said in a recent Travel Procurement cover story article:

"You can do those quick analyses, but when you put Six Sigma behind it, you’re using statistical tools and people will buy the outcome.  I have found it to be very useful in validating, with teeth." 
The article is a mini case study detailing Dominion’s success using Six Sigma to save money in the corporate travel processes.  

"Donna Kelliher likes to challenge the status quo, and her intuition, coupled with savvy implementation of Six Sigma analysis, has shaken some of the holiest of sacred cows in business travel. Booking air travel in advance always saves money? Not. Using nonrefundable fares always save money? Nope. These guidelines work for many companies and in many markets, but Kelliher’s research proved they do not always work, shattering the assumption that such general rules are so solid they might as well be mandates."
Everyone knows that the entire travel service sector could use some process improvement...but what about your own company’s internal travel procedures?  Are they based on travel protocol from the 1990s?  That’s so last millennium.  With the rising cost of travel (fuel, baggage, on-board sodas) looking into how your company spends money getting employees from here to there can only be a good thing.  Take some advice from Dominion and give your travel data that Six Sigma bite!
Diagnosis By Six Sigma: Dominion’s Kelliher Treats Travel Mgmt. Ailments With Holistic Remedies, Travel Procurement, September 2008]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Business Services&nbsp;,&nbsp;Energy&nbsp;,&nbsp;Travel &amp; Leisure]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 06 Oct 2008 12:38:34 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: iSixSigma MVP Awards]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/isixsigma_mvp_awards.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Here’s some news you may not have heard yet... iSixSigma will be serving up some sweet awards at a breakfast ceremony during the iSixSigma Live! Miami conference.  All the details on each award can be found at: http://live.isixsigma.com/awards/default.html 
The iSixSigma MVP awards are my favorites... We’re looking for the: 
Most prolific poster on iSixSigma discussion forumsMost useful/helpful poster on iSixSigma discussion forumsBest iSixSigma BloggerBest commenter on the Blogosphere
If you participate in the forums or blogs, it’s time to get your game on. Impress the judges (aka iSixSigma editorial team) with your helpful and insightful prose and you just may walk away an iSixSigma MVP.  ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press&nbsp;,&nbsp;Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 19 Sep 2008 16:41:14 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma Laundering]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_laundering.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[There’s been quite a bit of Six Sigma laundering going on these days…Gianna’s post, Dirty Socks, Ron Pereira's posts, Laundy Kaizen and How to Fold a T-Shirt in Two Motions, and now we have this video segment from MSNBC.  
Northeast Laundromat owners Leonard and Jennifer Cooperman, in St. Petersburg Florida, were the recipients of MSNBC’s Your Business small business makeover. MSNBC brought in Six Sigma consultant and author Greg Brue to sort through the dirty laundry and come up with data based suggestions for improving their business.  
I think it’s a nice piece on Six Sigma for small business. Watch and enjoy.  (It’s only 4:24 plus an introductory ad.)
 
My marketing suggestion for Leonard and Jennifer Cooperman…two words: Seth Godin.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 15 Sep 2008 12:52:57 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Gage M&amp;M]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/gage_mampm.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[
The good folks at Minitab just released a sweet little article about using M&amp;M’s to teach statistics.  It’s called Sweetening Statistics and is written by Michelle Paret and Eston Martz.
If you’ve been through traditional classroom Black Belt training you’ve probably already done these exercises yourself as they have been a part of the traditional Black Belt curriculum for years.  I sure remember them from my Black Belt training days… Break out a few bags of M&amp;M’s during a moment like this and the class goes wild.
The article shows how you can use the measurable qualities of M&amp;M’s to teach many statistical tests including: 1-sample t, paired t, proportion, Chi Square, and Correlation.  They are even good for teaching Gage R&amp;R.  I’d plan on at least on bag per test, M&amp;M’s have a way of disappearing faster than they can be measured...
So the next time one of your friends asks what it is you do for a living, make a party out of it and invite a group over for dessert, then FIRE UP MINITAB!
 ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:49:01 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Survey: Six Sigma Project Failure]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/survey_six_sigma_project_failure.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[ iSixSigma Magazine’s latest research survey is live! 
This survey dives into the deep pool of Six Sigma project failure. What does "failure" mean? You tell us what project failure means at your company.  Is it when a Six Sigma project fails to deliver the expected improvements?  Fails to get completed, or fails to stay in control?  Once we know what failure means we’ll get into finding out the root causes for failure.
This is your chance to be heard. The survey is only 22 questions (that’s a 5 to 10 minute investment of your time).  The full results will be published in the November/December  issue of iSixSigma Magazine, and I’ll surely post the highlights here on the Blogosphere.  Thanks for your support!]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 28 Jul 2008 14:56:12 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Erie County Scouting Six Sigma Talent]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/erie_county_scouting_six_sigma_talent.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Al Hammonds has been appointed the new Deputy County Executive, which means Erie County is looking for a new Director of Six Sigma.  


“A new director for the Six Sigma program will be chosen within the next three to four weeks, Collins said. The hope is that the new hire will be easier to find than Hammonds was.”
As for Al…“he’s excited about the opportunity to continue implementing Six Sigma business practices within county departments.”

“Beginning to implement Six Sigma in Erie County government has been one of the most challenging, yet rewarding jobs of my career,” said Hammonds.  “I will approach my new responsibilities with the same excitement and drive.”  
Anyone interested in leading the Six Sigma initiative in Erie County, get that resume in.  
Collins appoints new deputy county executive, Tonowanda News, July 8, 2008
Hammonds Named Deputy County Executive, WNYmedia.net, July 7, 2008]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Government]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 09 Jul 2008 10:58:02 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: iSixSigma Accepting Award Nominations]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/isixsigma_accepting_award_nominations.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[
Breaking news...iSixSigma Live! Summit and Awards is now accepting award nominations.  That’s right.  You can nominate people, companies and projects for one of the many award categories:

Six Sigma Hall of Fame 
Best Places to Work 
Most Successful Lean Six Sigma Start-up or Re-energized Lean Six Sigma Program  
Largest-Breakthrough Improvement Projects (in eight categories)  
Additionally there is a People’s Choice Award  where iSixSigma readers get to decide the winners of the breakthrough improvement projects.  And finally, the iSixSigma MVP Awards.These awards will be presented to individuals that have made outstanding voluntary contributions to the Six Sigma community through the iSixSigma discussion forum and Blogosphere.  
The details for each award can be found at http://live.isixsigma.com/awards/default.html 
Now get nominating!  ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press&nbsp;,&nbsp;iSixSigma Live Events]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 07 Jul 2008 16:33:46 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: The Best Place to Work]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/the_best_place_to_work.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Do you work for a great Six Sigma company?  If you think your company is one of the best places for Six Sigma folks to work, nominate them to participate in iSixSigma’s Best Places to Work competition.  
In a nutshell, we’re looking for places (companies, government organizations, associations, nonprofits) that:  
    * Foster a supportive culture for Six Sigma    * Develop their Six Sigma talent through leadership and other training    * Offer career advancement opportunities for Six Sigma alumni    * Provide competitive pay, and excellent rewards and recognition
For all the details on the competition visit:http://live.isixsigma.com/awards/bestplacestowork.html 
After you’ve read up on the eligibility requirements and rules, then go ahead and nominate a company that you think fits the bill.
Nominations are already starting to pour in.  Spread the word. Don’t let your company be the best place to work that no one knows about!]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:10:45 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma meets IT at McKesson]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_meets_it_at_mckesson.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Last Week, Ben Worthen, of The Wall Street Journal, interviewed Randall Spratt, chief information officer at McKesson Corp.  McKesson was one of the pioneer healthcare companies to use Six Sigma, starting in 1999 and still going strong today.  
In the interview Spratt talked about how the use of Six Sigma and technology are making operations more efficient. He first gave the quick Six Sigma spiel and then went on to share an example where a Six Sigma project led to a technology based solution to a warehousing problem: 

WSJ: One technology that McKesson developed is a small computer that warehouse workers wear on their wrists and that is attached to a scanner on the worker's finger. How did you come up with this system and what has it accomplished?
MR. SPRATT: It came from a Six Sigma analysis. Most errors in the warehouse came at the point of picking, which is taking something off a warehouse shelf, associating it with an order, and putting it in the right bin for shipping. The second-highest error rate came from stocking errors. If you stock a drug in the wrong place, the pickers have to search for it and they waste a lot of time. So they sat down and said how can we solve these problems.
This is classic Six Sigma meets Innovation.  Analysis reveals where the problems are and then innovators develop a solution to the problem, Six Sigma makes sure the new innovative system stays in control. And who says Six Sigma and innovation don’t get along? 
The interview is great read for all Six Sigma practitioners, and especially for the healthcare IT professional.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Healthcare&nbsp;,&nbsp;Innovation]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:08:21 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: The Great Discovery, Mikel Harry]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/the_great_discovery_mikel_harry.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[2008 ISSSP Leadership Conference, Day One
A few quotes and thoughts from Michael Harry’s presentation, The Great Discovery.
What is your life dream? Have we lost the dream in Six Sigma? The power of dreams is unbelievable. Belief in a dream united Motorola. That dream was Six Sigma.
Six Sigma Timeline:1980s: Quality Improvement1990s: Cost reduction2000s: Value creation2010s: Personal achievement
At Six Sigma corporations between two and five percent of employees are involved with Six Sigma.  Mikel asks, “What about the other 95 percent?”  Empowering the masses is the future of Six Sigma.  
The great discovery is a Six Sigma way of reasoning that will empower you to innovate and execute higher quality solutions for your:

Personal Life
Home Life
Work Life
It was developed after looking back at 20 years of successful Six Sigma deployment data. The Great Discovery is about teaching people in all stages of life (even kids) how to achieve their dreams by working towards them in a systematic, planned way.
Do the dreaming * Dream the doing * Plan the doing * Do the plan]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 21 May 2008 17:37:24 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: David Wickersham, President and COO Seagate]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/david_wickersham_president_and_coo_seagate.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[2008 ISSSP Leadership Conference, Day One
“Best practices need to continue to improve.”
David’s presentation covered the Seagate Business Excellence Journey over the past 10 years highlighting some of the things they’ve learned.
One of the best practices David is particularly proud of is the training curriculum.  They have gone from traditional classroom training over a four week period to a hybrid blended approach of classroom complemented with eLearning over a three week period. Even more unique is he specialty training.  All belts are all trained in a core set of Lean and Six Sigma principles and tools.  Then they either go on to operational fundamentals or transactional fundamentals.  After that they get to specialize further in their respective fields.  A brilliant innovation for training.  The college approach.  
The next best practice they developed is the career path for business excellence employees.  Business Excellence employees have the option to stay in the business excellence community after their service.  A unique alternative to traditional repatriation after a period of time as a belt.  
He closed with a few bullets on sustaining the initiative:

It’s a journey and deployment will change over time.
Get commitment from the top, educate the middle, engage the whole
Development of Business Excellence resources (hard and soft skill) is crucial
Sharing best practices through annual seminar and newsletters
Career path for employees in Business Excellence.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences&nbsp;,&nbsp;Methodology]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 20 May 2008 16:01:25 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Pinnacle Peak Hiking]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/pinnacle_peak_hiking.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Wake up to Life Hike, ISSSP Leadership Conference


5:00 AM

5:15 AM - the lively passengers

The Rowdy Back Row!

The "fast" group

Pinnacle Peak

The whole gang
]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 20 May 2008 15:59:42 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma Salary Data in Spotfire Web Player]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_salary_data_in_spotfire_web_player.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[For those of you that joined us for the Six Sigma Salary Webcast in March you saw the software we used to analyze the data.  The application was made available for free download so you could test-drive running analysis on your own. 
I’m happy to announce that the sample iSixSigma salary data is now available for your slicing and dicing pleasure in the Spotfire Web Player, a free web based application that lets you play with the data without downloading the software.
iSixSigma Salary Data in Spotfire Web Player
Not only can you view the iSixSigma Salary data, but Spotfire has built a host of other entertaining applications as well.  From Sports to politics, you can find one to suit you.
As an end note, if you missed the webcast live, it is still available to watch online. You can also still download the trial of Spotfire with the Salary Data included.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 25 Apr 2008 08:56:02 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Project Failure: Eight Reasons by Minitab]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/project_failure_eight_reasons_by_minitab.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Yesterday, I attended a Minitab Webinar showcasing the top 8 reasons Six Sigma projects fail.  Presented by Lou Johnson &amp; Cate Twohill.  Lou took care of the project failure segment (which was the vast majority) and Cate talked a bit about Minitab’s Quality Companion.  
First off they did a fantastic job. Lou’s history and experience with Six Sigma and statistics coupled with his passion for getting to the bottom of project failure…resulted in this fine presentation.  
The data was based off a survey of nearly 150 of Minitab’s customers at nearly 100 different companies.  And yes there were more than eight reasons for failure cited by respondents.  There were actually 42 reasons, but the top eight represented 62 percent of the total.  
Lou laid out the eight reasons with detailed explanations and examples for each reason.  I won’t go in to any detail besides listing them as Lou is sure to give this presentation again and again…
The Top Eight Reasons Six Sigma Projects Fail...
# 8 - The project solution was not implemented# 7 - Project scope too big# 6 - Not enough training# 5 - Project too small for DMAIC rigor# 4 - Project forced into DMAIC# 3 - Project had no data or bad data# 2 - Project not linked to Finances
and the #1 reason Six Sigma projects fail...No management support
The biggest takeaway was, as Lou described it, “Rule #1: Pick the right project.”  Four of the top eight reasons can be attributed to project selection (now comes my favorite part of the presentation, the iSixSigma research quote):

“While only 32% of respondents in organizations with new (less than one year) Six Sigma programs frequently or always use a formal prioritization process, 63% percent of those in organizations with five to ten years experience with Six Sigma do.” iSixSigma Magazine, March/April 2005
Throughout the presentation Lou offered a simple solution to each of the failure modes, and in most cases the solution could be found utilizing one of the features of Minitab’s Quality Companion.  
Thank you Minitab for sharing these findings. Below are some additional articles from iSixSigma about project failure. As you read them you will find that they support Minitab’s findings as well as offer a few other failure modes to consider. 
Tips and Suggestions for Six Sigma Project Success by Simon Bodie
Why Projects Fail by Holly Hawkins
How to Face Failed 6 Sigma Projects iSixSigma Discussion Forum
Understanding Six Sigma Deployment Failures by Mike Carnell
Project Selection Research by Jonathan Atwood, iSixSigma Magazine, March/April 2005
 
 ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press&nbsp;,&nbsp;Management&nbsp;,&nbsp;Methodology&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 24 Apr 2008 10:29:14 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma Buy-in Survey]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_buy_in_survey.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[ iSixSigma Magazine’s latest research survey is live! This survey will explore aspects of getting buy-in at all levels in the organization, from the shop floor to the senior executives.    
With your input we’ll be able to better understand what buy-in means to companies and how different levels of Six Sigma buy-in affect deployments. The results of this survey will be published in the September issue of iSixSigma Magazine. 
Please take a few minutes to tell us what Six Sigma buy-in means to you and your company and please pass the word to the naysayers in your company (if any), we need to hear from them too! Thanks.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 21 Apr 2008 15:11:40 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Minitab Webinar: Project Failure]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/minitab_webinar_project_failure.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Minitab Webinar Top Eight Reasons Why Six Sigma Projects Fail April 23, 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Eastern 
Next week Minitab is going to present a free Webinar naming the top eight reasons why Six Sigma projects fail. This is sure to be great information for all Six Sigma practitioners. But why stop at eight?  I’m sure we can collectively come up with a nine and ten…I’ll give it a go:
Top ten reasons why Six Sigma projects fail:
Number 10: Black Belts spend all their time reading the Cox-Box cartoon on the iSixSigma Blogosphere.
Number 9: Black Belts get discouraged after they get blasted by Stan on the iSixSigma Discussion Forum.
Please, please, add your own project failure top tens to the list. Maybe Letterman will pick it up...]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:17:24 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: MoreSteam's New LSS Certification]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/moresteams_new_lss_certification.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Finally, an international Six Sigma certification to set the standard. MoreSteam.com recently announced a new high tech Lean Six Sigma certification.  Read the Press Release for the details, or go right to the online certification website and get certified.  

"MoreSteam.com announced today a new strategic partnership with ISSISSIPPI.org to apply advanced technology to elevate the Lean Six Sigma certification process. Using proprietary internet-based brain scan technology developed by ISSISSIPPI researchers, Lean Six Sigma professionals can now be certified using a completely objective, scientifically rigorous process – at a fraction of the cost and time required by old school methods such as real-world project evaluations, and question-based testing. This innovative web-based brain scan is completely non-invasive and takes less than a minute to complete."
Earn the respect of your Six Sigma peers.  Visit http://www.ississippi.org/ now and start the process. Only one minute of your time and you’ll have a certificate to mount in your office proclaiming your Belt level.  I tested as a Dark Slate Gray Belt.  It’s been a few years since I actively worked on a Black Belt project...I’m going to have to study up a bit more...  
After you take the certification exam, post up your belt level in the comments section. There are sure to be a plethora of belt colors attainable.
]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 04 Apr 2008 10:08:55 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: iSixSigma Live! Seattle Networking Party]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/isixsigma_live_seattle_networking_party.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[If you live near Seattle and would like to hobnob with the areas finest Six Sigma practitioners in a casual after work setting…attend the iSixSigma Live! Social and Networking Party at the Rock Bottom Brewery in Bellevue.  
Thursday, May 1, from 6 to 8 PM.  Rock Bottom can only hold so many Six Sigma gurus so hurry and register today.  The full details for the event can be found at: http://live.isixsigma.com/seattle ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press&nbsp;,&nbsp;iSixSigma Live Events]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:40:41 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Lucky Kat Six Sigma for Kids]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/lucky_kat_six_sigma_for_kids.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[
Lucky Kat Television, in association with Dr. Mikel J. Harry, is launching a Six Sigma for kids program. The online TV network has partnered with several education and entertainment companies to build a fun online learning network for kids.  
Part of the fun will be teaching kids about Six Sigma through Harry’s Six Sigma for Kids program set to debut soon.  Read Dr. Harry’s letter announcing the progress and watch Lucky Kat’s interview with Dr. Harry on Lucky Kat TV. In Dr. Harry’s own words:

“We will learn how to dream the big dream. Think about that big dream. Plan how to realize that big dream, and do the actions that are necessary to bring it into reality.”
This is exciting stuff if I do say so myself.  Teaching our children to think analytically at early ages will make high school, college and managing their careers so much easier.  I’ve signed my kids up to learn Six Sigma from the Lucky Kat.  Check out the classroom at the Katville Academy! (Must register and sign in to explore the island and learn.)

Child Education and Entertainment Meet Lucky Kat, Press release, March 27, 2008]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Innovation]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 28 Mar 2008 12:42:40 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Naysayers in Erie County]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/naysayers_in_erie_county.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Six Sigma in Erie County is seeing setbacks as skeptic county legislators put a cap on the Six Sigma budget. The initial one million dollars planned has been slashed to $120,000.  

“I’m one of the skeptics, I believe. They didn’t name me Doubting Thomas for nothing,” Legislator Thomas J. Mazur, D-Cheektowaga, said Thursday. “I am glad the control board slowed down this steamroller.”
“I’m not sure we are going to be saving these millions and millions of dollars,” Legislator Timothy M. Wroblewski”
They want to pilot the initiative first, to see what happens…If only the legislators had done their research before making such a hasty decision.  iSixSigma Magazine research from Nov/Dec 2005 outlines the ins and outs of starting up a Six Sigma initiative.  
Finding One: You get what you pay for.  
Fifty percent of respondents (536) from companies that invested less than 500K on Six Sigma the first two years didn’t even see their investment back.  Nearly 75 percent of respondents (260) from companies that invested 500K to 1 million saw an ROI of 2x or more.  As the spending increased, so did the ROI. (Finding 1, Table 1.2, pg. 34)
Finding Three: Companies that begin with an enterprise-wide initiative have a higher ROI than those that start with a pilot program. 
Fifty three percent of respondents from companies who did not make their initial investment back the first two years worked from companies who started with a pilot initiative. Sixty percent of respondents from companies who saw an ROI of 8x or more worked for companies who started Six Sigma enterprise-wide.  (Finding 3 Table 1.2, pg. 38)  
I’m afraid that unless Hammond can really focus his efforts under the budget constraint, the legislators have sowed their own seeds of mediocrity.  Hammond and the Six Sigma team should still be able to save money despite the cuts.  After all, this is a government organization, where like it or not, admit it or not, there are apples, oranges and mangoes just laying around for the plucking.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Government]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 25 Mar 2008 14:13:52 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Salary Webcast Now Available]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/salary_webcast_now_available.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[







Thank you to all who attended iSixSigma’s premier webcast.  We had a great time delivering it live from Boston last week.  If you missed it though…it is now available online for your viewing pleasure.  Follow the link below to get started: http://spotfire.tibco.com/events/webcasts/detail.cfm?id=7231 
Gary Cox drew a special Cox-Box just for the event. The only place to see it is on the webcast.  You’ll be asked to register with Spotfire by creating a profile first, and then you’ll be set to go.  Run time is 59 minutes 47 seconds including Q &amp; A.  
After viewing the webcast (or during for you multi-taskers), you can download a sample set of the salary data in the Spotfire application.  You control the slicing and dicing.  I highly recommend taking Spotfire for a spin with the salary data.  http://registration.spotfire.com/eval/ 
Thanks again to all. 
]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 12 Mar 2008 11:37:11 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma Salary Webcast]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_salary_webcast.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Mark your calendars…Tuesday March 4th, at 11 a.m. Eastern…The iSixSigma Global Salary Survey webcast.  Attendance is free of charge. Just register to attend with your name and an email address.
I’ll be your host along with Brad Hopper of Spotfire. Together we’ll dive into the Fifth Annual iSixSigma Global Salary Survey.  This year we’ve loaded the salary data into Spotfire’s business analytics software which will be the vehicle to guide you through a virtual analysis that you just won’t see anywhere else.  
We’ll slice and dice the data right before your eyes, showing you year to year salary trends broken down by Six Sigma role, regions, experience, education, and industry.  
The best part about attending the webcast (besides getting to listen to me ramble) is you will have the chance to download a sample set of the salary data in the Spotfire application and play with it yourself.  
Whether you’re an HR executive or deployment leader looking to benchmark salaries against the industry or a Black Belt working hard to become a Master Black Belt… the webcast and downloadable data will inform you and arm you with the data you need to make those salary decisions.  
I am looking forward to meeting each of you on March 4th.  
Register for the webacst
]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press&nbsp;,&nbsp;Management&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 22 Feb 2008 10:40:01 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Ron Pereira, One Piece Flow Video]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/ron_pereira_one_piece_flow_video.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[LSS Academy’s Ron Pereira goes live with his first vlog (video blog).  In this video Ron walks us through a "one piece flow" versus "mass production" simulation to show differences between the two approaches.  

Today with his first vlog, Ron also relaunched Lean Six Sigma Academy with the added functionality of a web 2.0 site. Take a minute to visit and see what Ron’s been up to.  ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Guest Blog&nbsp;,&nbsp;Lean]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 18 Feb 2008 14:54:41 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma Goes to the Pound]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_goes_to_the_pound.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[We can add one more U.S. city to the roster of those using Lean Six Sigma to better serve their citizens.  Hattiesburg, Mississippi is following the Six Sigma example of Fort Wayne and Erie County.  
A couple of projects are already underway… 






Hattiesburg city employees Julia Lowe, an Urban Development accountant, and Maj. Billy Lane with the police department were selected to attend Lean Six Sigma training classes.
Lowe’s project addresses simplifying the cost it takes to tear down abandoned buildings.  Lane said the intention of his Lean Sigma Six project is to improve the ways animal control provides its services following a series of complaints from citizens. 

The city sent Lowe and Lane to Pearl River Community College for the training which was done in partnership with the University of Southern Mississippi.  This is a much smaller initiative than Fort Wayne or Erie County, but it’s a start – and sometimes that’s the hardest thing to do.    
So the next time someone argues, “Six Sigma doesn’t apply to my industry…yada yada yada”,  This may be your reply: “Did you know that there is a dog catcher in Hattiesburg, MS that is using Six Sigma?  Tell me again why your business can’t be improved?”
City Adopts Lean Six Sigma, Hattiesburg American]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Government]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 13 Feb 2008 13:05:20 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: The SBTI Show]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/the_sbti_show.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The SBTI Show is the new and improved SBTI Lean Six Sigma Podcast.  Sigma Breakthrough Technologies, Inc. is a forerunner in Six Sigma consulting firms that use the web to educate and instruct the masses in the ways of Six Sigma.  
The SBTI Show is a collection of video podcasts that you can listen to or watch on YouTube.  In the video below SBTI literally walks through an emergency room Six Sigma project, speaking with doctors and nurses about how they used Lean Six Sigma to reduce wait times.  Thank you SBTI for putting on a great show! 


]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Guest Blog]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 11 Feb 2008 21:24:26 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Quest Diagnostics CFO Speaks Lean Six Sigma]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/quest_diagnostics_cfo_speaks_lean_six_sigma.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Bob Hagemann, CFO and VP of Quest Diagnostics, recently spoke about the company at the Wachovia Healthcare Conference.  During the presentation he touched on Six Sigma. Even after seven years pursuing Six Sigma, Quest Diagnostics is still expanding their deployment.  Below are a few excerpts from the presentation:







Our program to reduce costs by $500 million is very focused. We’re going to be using Lean Six Sigma to drive efficiencies and streamline processes across all of our laboratory operations.
We’ve used Lean Six Sigma in one of our main laboratories in Atlanta, and we have realized some terrific results there, seeing efficiency gains of 20% or more in some of those departments, and we are going to be deploying Lean now through the rest of our laboratories over the next several years or so.
And as we think about our patient service centers, as I mentioned earlier, we are using Lean Six Sigma to streamline the processes there as well.

Quest Diagnostics at Wachovia Healthcare Conference, insurancenewsnet.com]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Healthcare]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 07 Feb 2008 11:45:53 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Book Review: Six Sigma? Glad You Asked]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/book_review_six_sigma_glad_you_asked.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[
Gianna Clark has been blogging for iSixSigma for over two years.  She’s written nearly 80 posts speaking her mind.  What’s on Gianna’s mind also happens to be good Six Sigma sense, excellent advice, and plenty of good fun. Outside the iSixSigma Blogosphere, Gianna is the Deployment Leader for Dominion and was recently awarded Deployment Leader of the Year at the IQPC Process Excellence Awards. Congratulations Gianna!
Her latest endeavor is the new eBook, Six Sigma? Glad You Asked.  The book compiles many of Gianna’s blog entries along with new material into Q&amp;A format, which makes it a super easy read and reference tool for all those burning Six Sigma questions you’ve got stacked up in your head.  Gianna answers questions like: 

Do you have to name it Six Sigma? 
Is this a Six Sigma project or a “Just Do It?” 
Six Sigma: Diet or lifestyle change?
You’ll find that Gianna’s answers are real. You won’t have to read through fluff for her to get to the point.  You can also expect some lighthearted humor as Gianna introduces the characters Si Poc &amp; Cora Lation, her very own cartoon duo that will surely make you laugh out loud.  
Since Six Sigma? Glad You Asked is available for instant download in PDF format, you can take Gianna anywhere in the world and get the answers to your Six Sigma quandaries. It’s like having your own business process improvement guru on demand.  What’s next?  I’m hoping for a Six Sigma deployment leader of the year action figure….]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Book Review]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 01 Feb 2008 09:29:37 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Textron CEO on Six Sigma]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/textron_ceo_on_six_sigma.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[USA Today reporter Del Jones interviews Textron CEO Lewis Campbell. This is an outstanding Q&amp;A session with a CEO who knows Six Sigma.  Finally, a mainsteam media outlet that goes right to the source for information about the success of Six Sigma.
Nine tough questions, nine solid answers.  I especially liked the final question about QualPro’s S&amp;P 500 “study”.  Mr. Campbell hinted we should do a Six Sigma project on that study…I bet even if we did an MVT study on the Six Sigma study we’d find holes…but, I digress.
Textron is in its fifth year of a corporate-wide Six Sigma initiative, and yet, CEO Lewis Campbell still says they are “maybe 30 yards down a 100-yard football field. We’re going all the way.”
This interview is a powerful read and will give a company thinking about Six Sigma a few words to the wise:  

“A mistake companies make is they don’t aim projects at solving problems for the last time or create some bodacious way to satisfy customers better than anyone else.”
“You can also use it (Six Sigma) to help your customers eliminate waste, although I would caution not to do that when launching a program. We’re mature enough to do that now.”
“I believe everybody wants to do a better job tomorrow than they did yesterday.”
Textron gets Six Sigma right in word and deed.  Now go spread that word. 
Executive Suite: Textron CEO zeroes in on Six Sigma, USA Today, January 21, 2008]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Leadership&nbsp;,&nbsp;Management]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 22 Jan 2008 10:06:55 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Research: The Hard Truth About Soft Skills]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/research_the_hard_truth_about_soft_skills.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The January/February issue of iSixSigma Magazine is out.  Aside from being a fantastic issue in itself, the research feature is one that I particularly enjoyed researching and writing. Thanks to all those who responded to our survey last year we were able to gather solid data from the soft side of Six Sigma.  
The research jumps right into the soft skills vs. technical skills debate, one that has been around for years…which is more important, the soft stuff or the technical stuff?  We asked Six Sigma practitioners around the world which characteristics or skills they thought were the most important for success as a Black Belt.  Sky was the limit, respondents wrote their own answers.  
Rest assured technical and analytical skill are among the top five skills cited by respondents, but these “hard” skills fall short behind communication and leadership skills, which topped the number one and two spots, respectively.  Interpersonal skills – another softie – complete the top five. The tag cloud below represents the results.  The size of the words depicts the frequency with which each characteristic or skill was cited.

As a Six Sigma Black Belt, I know first hand that technical savvy is a must.  But I also know that the technical aspects of Six Sigma can be learned quite easily through excellent instruction (thanks Paul), practice and passion for improvement.
So that leaves communication, leadership and interpersonal skills as critical x’s in the success factor equation for a Black Belt.  The data shows that these skills, among other soft skills, are actually harder to learn than the technical skills.  Sixty-five percent of respondents reported this to be true. 
The full results shed even more light on the importance of soft skills for each Six Sigma role.  The results also show how often soft skills are utilized by Green Belts, Black Belts, and Master Black Belts.   If you’d like access to the full results, subscribe to the Magazine (or at least borrow a colleague’s issue).
Press Release: Teaching Soft Skills Makes for Six Sigma Success]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 15 Jan 2008 13:27:34 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Voice of the Customer Survey]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/voice_of_the_customer_survey.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[ iSixSigma Magazine’s latest research survey is underway.  This time we are exploring the Voice of the Customer and Six Sigma.
With your input we’ll be able to better understand how VOC is integrated into Six Sigma deployments.  The results of this survey will be published in the July/August issue of iSixSigma Magazine. 
Please take a few minutes to tell us what your company is doing (or not doing) with Voice of the Customer data.  Thanks.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 11 Jan 2008 14:41:52 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: New Blog Alert: Today's Six Sigma]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/new_blog_alert_todays_six_sigma.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[There’s a new blog in town, one that is sure to make it big.  I invite dummies and non-dummies alike to read Today’s Six Sigma by Craig Gygi.  Craig was the lead author of Six Sigma for Dummies as well as the Six Sigma for Dummies Workbook that hit the bookstores in late 2006.  
When it comes to Six Sigma, Craig is no dummy.  His track record and history with the methodology date back to the early 90s where he was formally introduced to it at Motorola. Craig is an entrepreneur at heart and has founded several companies in the Six Sigma software and consulting industries. 
Craig’s approach to Six Sigma is fresh and his eye is on the future.  I interviewed Craig back in 2005 after the release of Six Sigma for Dummies – and was amazed at his foresight into the future of Six Sigma. 
His latest blog entry, The Bright Future of Six Sigma, is a perfect example of his fresh take on where the methodology is heading:  






And, just like with the computer industry, these fits of turbulence will give way to the enduring future of Six Sigma—a future that lies in making Six Sigma common, in enabling as many people as possible to extemporaneously improve their work through its tools and methods. Basic Six Sigma skills training will be accomplished with little or no disruption. Six Sigma capabilities and functionality will be integrated directly into traditional business software and applications. And escalation paths to projects and experts will be established to match the right approach and technical skillset with the problem at hand...

Get ready to go places with Craig Gygi.  Visit his blog and subscribe to the RSS feed.   Don’t be a dummy, get Gygi! ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Guest Blog]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 07 Jan 2008 16:15:45 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Hello Six Sigma in Erie]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/hello_six_sigma_in_erie.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Chris Collins, the new County executive of Erie County, gave an interview to WNYMedia.net recently where he unveils the details of the Six Sigma initiative underway in the county.  The video below is the Six Sigma excerpt of the interview.  It’s only two minutes long and worth the watch.  



You can tell Collins has got his head wrapped around Six Sigma from the interview.  He states that the initiative will be a self-contained county department and announces the creation of a new position, Director of Six Sigma, to lead the efforts. I like how Collins says that running the Six Sigma initiative would be too much to give to a deputy county executive as one more thing to do.  
Alfred Hammonds Jr. has been appointed the Director of Six Sigma. Working with Hammonds is the Six Sigma implementation subcommittee team. Collins says about a dozen of them are Black Belts or Master Black Belts.  Many of the team members are from Six Sigma companies, including HSBC Bank, DuPont and Moog.  Most notable, retired Motorola Quality Director and Erie County resident, John Lupienski, is on the team.
Collins is showing commitment and providing the right resources.  Just a couple tell-tale sings your Six Sigma initiative will succeed.  How Collins handles the road blocks will also be key to success.  ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Government]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 04 Jan 2008 08:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Goodbye to the Six Sigma Mayor]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/goodbye_to_the_six_sigma_mayor.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Mayor Richard’s legacy, journalgazette.net, December 26, 2007
Mayor Graham Richard left office last week as Mayor of Fort Wayne Indiana.  The article above describes his many accomplishments over his two terms in office, including Six Sigma:






From major public projects that will distinguish the city’s landscape for decades to the minutiae of using Six Sigma practices to improve snow removal, Richard leaves office Tuesday with an extraordinary track record.

Mayor Richard has been the superstar of Six Sigma for Government.  He liberally shared his knowledge, mistakes, and best practices through public meetings and Six Sigma conferences.  He even wrote a book about how Fort Wayne used Lean Six Sigma.  
Not only did he rally his own troops to Lean Six Sigma, wherever he spoke he inspired citizens to contact their own state officials and encourage them to make improvements.  
Mayor Richard has not only served the city of Fort Wayne, but through his exemplary leadership and business savvy, other cities have followed in his footsteps.  






Many local residents are probably unaware of how highly regarded Fort Wayne – because of Richard – has become in the world of public administration, using analytical tools like Six Sigma to quantify, evaluate and improve how the city delivers services.

The most recent county to declare pursuit of efficiency through Lean Six Sigma is Erie County with County Executive Chris Collins leading the way.  
Goodbye Mayor Richard, your legacy will live on, city by city.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Government]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 03 Jan 2008 11:54:22 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Collins Serious About Six Sigma]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/collins_serious_about_six_sigma.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Chris Collins, the new Erie County executive, is making good on his promise to bring business efficiency practices to the county...namely Six Sigma.






In his most unusual appointments, the new executive selected Alfred Hammonds Jr. as his director of Six Sigma implementation. Six Sigma is the business-sector efficiency discipline Collins championed during his campaign. Hammonds, senior project director at the University at Buffalo’s Center for Industrial Effectiveness, is a black-belt practitioner of Six Sigma.
 
Collins Goes Public, The Buffalo News, December 31, 2007]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Government]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 02 Jan 2008 04:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma for Leadership Development]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_for_leadership_development.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Gail Farnsley is the CIO at Cummins. She is also a Green Belt using her Six Sigma skills tackle a leadership development project she dreamed up.  She is hoping to use Six Sigma to identify and develop employees with potential to move into IT management.  Specifically, management that reports directly to her. 






Farnsley has realized what too many IT managers haven’t: What makes a good IT manager has changed, and IT departments aren’t preparing people for the new demands. "It’s more than an execution job," she says. An IT manager today has to be a business partner and has to have international, compliance, and even Six Sigma experience. "We weren’t pushing our people to have those skills," she says.

Read more about her project in the article and Q&amp;A session on InformationWeek.com.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Leadership]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 17 Dec 2007 16:28:32 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Suggest Improvements then Take a Day Off Work]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/suggest_improvements_then_take_a_day_off_work.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The U.S. Army Garrison Fort Leavenworth Army post in Kansas is striving to make Lean Six Sigma part of their culture.  Part of their project selection process is taking employee suggestions.  Suggestions for improvement have been hard to come by since Lean Six Sigma joined the Army.  Employees feared improvement would mean downsizing.  
But thanks to a new suggestion incentive program (and a commitment to no downsizing) suggestions for improvements are up:






The Garrison’s Lean Six Sigma Tiger Team formulated a reward system for civilian, military and contract employees. The reward corresponds with the success of the idea. For example, a civilian who suggests an idea that saves $2,600 could get an 8-hour time-off reward.

Employees who make suggestions can then track the fruits of their brilliant ideas via a tracking system.  This kind of reward system can go a long way.  
Jennifer Stefano, management analyst, says it best, "Everybody knows what to do to improve their job; making it relevant was the key."  A free day off work is more than relevant, it’s awesome.  Who in their right mind wouldn’t be making suggestions like crazy?  
So what does your company do to reward employees for making process improvement suggestions?  A day off, a gift certificate, or a pat on the back? ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Change Management&nbsp;,&nbsp;Government]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 07 Dec 2007 15:59:45 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma Certification Survey]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_certification_survey.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[iSixSigma Magazine is conducting research on Six Sigma certification requirements.  With your help we’ll get to the bottom of the certification issues that hover over the industry.   
While there may be no formal standards, different companies have different methods and requirements for certification of their Green Belts, Black Belts and Master Black Belts.
Please take a few minutes to tell us what your company is doing to certify the ranks.  As a thank you for taking the survey, each respondent will have the opportunity to download the full results free of charge from iSixSigma Publications after they have been published in an upcoming issue of iSixSigma Magazine. ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 30 Nov 2007 08:43:18 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Sith Sigma: A Blog From the Dark Side]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/sith_sigma_a_blog_from_the_dark_side.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I recently came across a fairly new blog in the "business improvement" universe...Sith Sigma. It’s the rantings and ravings of a couple of infamous Sith Lords, Darth Sidious and Darth Vader.  
They offer plenty of entertaining but solid advice on Leadership, motivation and project management.  The blog has nothing to do with Six Sigma directly, but the intelligent business banter from the dark side may still influence you for good. 
(If you’re in the mood to explore Six Sigma and Star Wars further, read this post from a long time ago...)]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Guest Blog]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 26 Nov 2007 09:10:54 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma Donuts at Maidstone Bakeries]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_donuts_at_maidstone_bakeries.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[







"Donuts. Is there anything they can’t do?" Homer Simpson would be proud of Maidstone Bakeries.  Striving for the perfect donut.  According the a press release:






Maidstone produces more than 60 million donuts per week and wanted to ensure top quality while making sure its production operations were as efficient as possible.

Maidstone is using Six Sigma along with Dyadem’s FMEA Pro-7 software to improve operations at the Brantford facilities.  






By identifying areas of production waste and leftover dough and oil, Maidstone eliminated 80 percent of the waste, improved its environmental efficiencies and saved significant dollars in the process.
 
So far Maidstone has saved a few hundred thousand dollars through the use of Six Sigma methodology.  Not bad.  Good for Six Sigma...really good for donuts. 
I will mention one thing that was incorrect in the Press Release: “(Six Sigma) commonly used to improve quality in manufacturing but rarely seen in the consumer products sector.”  Rarely seen? Six Sigma is all over the consumer products sector and has been for quite a while.  Maple Leaf, Bama Companies, Ocean Spray, Coca Cola, just to name a few. ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Consumer Food Products]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 12 Nov 2007 11:27:43 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: New iSixSigma Military Channel]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/new_isixsigma_military_channel.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[iSixSigma launched a new website last week, Six Sigma in the Military, complete with stories about how the U.S. Military is using Six Sigma.







The purpose of this iSixSigma Military channel is to document the transformation of the United States Armed Services through the use of Lean Six Sigma and related process improvement methodologies.
Ronald E. Rezek, special assistant to the acting secretary of the Army, has said the goal of the Army’s Lean Six Sigma deployment is to "make the business side of the Army as efficient as the war-fighting side is effective." Leaders of the other armed services echo that sentiment and transformation objective.
This portal will serve as a central community for everyone associated with the business transformation of the U.S. military. It will provide communication updates on deployments, the opportunity for military leaders at all levels to learn new skills, advance their careers and contribute to the success of their organizations.

The cover story of the September/October 2007 issue of iSixSigma Magazine is online at the new site as well as other news and information about the U.S. Military’s Lean Six Sigma initiatives.  ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Government]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 05 Nov 2007 16:31:43 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Process Improvement Training Video]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/process_improvement_training_video.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[This training video was made for CISCO by the Creative Learning Studio. It’s an entertaining explanation of process improvement as told by a fictitious news station in need of better proceses.  DMAIC gets a plug as a way to achieve improved processes.  Enjoy. 


]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Methodology]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 05 Nov 2007 16:22:42 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma Politics]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_politics.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[If Fort Wayne Indiana is the Six Sigma City, we just might see a Six Sigma County on the horizon...if Christopher C. Collins is elected as the Erie County Executive. He believes that good government can be achieved through good business. The Buffalo News reports: 






Collins’ candidacy is built on his remarkable success in turning around several struggling companies. His clear goal is to graft the strategies that worked in those businesses onto Erie County’s often-dysfunctional government. Indeed, he specifically cites his desire to make Erie County the nation’s first “Six Sigma” county. Six Sigma is a business program of quality improvement and control.

I am all for the application of business improvement methodologies such as Six Sigma in government organizations.  We are seeing a clear trend toward that now in government organization including the U.S. military.  
Chris Collins has already had some negative feedback on his ambitions to become a “Six Sigma county.”  Mike Miller, a Six Sigma Green Belt, shares his thoughts on what Six Sigma could mean to Erie County in his blog:






The whole Six Sigma analysis process is time consuming, resource oriented and costly. There are probably thousands of human-driven operational processes resulting from services provided by the county. To improve them all would take several lifetimes.

Quite the pessimist that Mr. Miller is.  He is also stuck in the “Six Sigma only works for manufacturing” nonsense.  
Proclaiming the desire to be a Six Sigma county as candidate Collins has done, only implied that he’ll start looking at processes from a business improvement perspective, using Six Sigma tools to do it.  No one becomes Six Sigma overnight. GE has hundreds of thousands of human driven processes, and that didn’t keep Jack Welch from his Six Sigma objectives.  ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Government]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 29 Oct 2007 11:26:50 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: A Pair of Six Sigma Jacks]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/a_pair_of_six_sigma_jacks.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[




Jack Welch in an interview talks about what it means to be a Six Sigma Company alongside Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) and his take on Six Sigma.  Enjoy.  ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Management]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 19 Oct 2007 15:33:20 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: A Unique Raytheon Six Sigma Project]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/a_unique_raytheon_six_sigma_project.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[There is just no end to the kinds of business problems Six Sigma is able to help solve.  A news release picked up by CNNMoney.com, Forbes.com as well as others websites discusses a unique application of Six Sigma at Raytheon…







A team of Raytheon Six Sigma(TM) experts used the Raytheon Six Sigma process to validate and prioritize issues, determine root causes of barriers and identify and document optimal system changes and implementation actions required to truly remove barriers for people with disabilities to be competitively employed.
Talk about a Six Sigma project to improve quality of life!  Six Sigma doesn’t always have to be about product quality or financial savings.  Companies that use Six Sigma to solve these kinds of issues really understand the power of the methodology.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Methodology]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 05 Oct 2007 12:38:25 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Starwood Six Sigma and Innovation]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/starwood_six_sigma_and_innovation.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Finally Six Sigma gets a little good press!  Business Week showcases Starwood’s Six Sigma program in an upcoming innovation feature.  Not only is this positive press for Six Sigma but the article highlights how at Starwood, Six Sigma and innovation work together successfully!  






Instead of hiring the usual ethnographers or consultants, Westin owner Starwood Hotels &amp; Resorts Worldwide Inc. turned to Six Sigma, a management process known for reducing defects and increasing efficiency. It was a surprising move given Six Sigma’s rap as a creativity killer. But under Geoffrey A. Ballotti, president of Starwood’s North America Div., the company is using Six Sigma’s strengths to promote innovation--and generate tens of millions in new revenue. Combining creativity and efficiency is a delicate managerial maneuver that few service companies can pull off.

It looks like 3M should benchmark Starwood to see how they’ve managed to keep innovation and Six Sigma alive in the same room.  The synergies of Six Sigma and innovation are only part of the story.  






In 2006, programs developed under Six Sigma delivered more than $100 million in profit to its bottom line. As a result, the White Plains (N.Y.) company is one of the world’s most profitable hotel operators: Its net margin is nearly 15%, higher than those of rivals Hilton Hotels Corp. and Marriott International Inc.  "We have been driving our margin growth faster than our competitors," says Ballotti. "When people ask why, I point to Six Sigma."

I could quote every paragraph, so you might as well go read it for yourself.  Bookmark it, and send the link to all the naysayers you know.  Viva innovation, viva Six Sigma!  (Thanks to Katie Barry at RealInnovation.com for sending me a link to the article.)]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Travel &amp; Leisure]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 03 Oct 2007 15:06:21 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma: No Lame Duck at AFLAC]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_no_lame_duck_at_aflac.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Earlier this year Elizabeth M. Ferrarini at Enterprise Leadership interviewed Gerald Shields, CIO for AFLAC. 

EL: What best practices do you use for IT?
GS: We have a couple of people who are Black-Belt certified in Six Sigma, and we use Six Sigma for some projects. Our primary best practice is the Capability Maturity Model (CMM), which came out of the Carnegie Mellon Institute and the Software Engineering Institute about 20 years ago. CMM assesses the probable success of your application and support levels. We’re one of two insurance companies in the world with Level 3 CMM certification. That’s the highest rating you can get.
At AFLAC, Six Sigma takes the back seat to CMM, which is the primary process improvement approach for IT.  But still AFLAC finds Six Sigma useful for certain projects.  
There has been quite a bit written about how Six Sigma and CM can work together.  For anyone interested in reading about these synergies, here are a couple of nice resources:
Connecting Six Sigma to CMMI Measurement and Analysis
CMMI and Six Sigma Synergy]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Insurance]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 01 Oct 2007 09:12:06 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: TWOL (The Wastes of Lean)]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/twol_the_wastes_of_lean.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[A common way to learn principles or tools is to associate a word as an acronym.  The seven/eight wastes of Lean is a great example of acronymic variation.  I’ve come across five different words invented to illustrate the wastes of Lean:
The iSixSigma dictionary uses the word DOTWIMP to list the seven wastes of Lean and TIM WOODS for the eight wastes.
Six Sigma Guy learns the eight wastes of lean from his co-worker as TO WISDOM and an article from the Lean Mining Network suggests WORMPIT as a way to remember the wastes.  
Another acronymous word for the eight wastes is DOWNTIME.
Is all this variation good?  If all you are going to do is memorize the acronyms...then the more there are the better.  Choose the one you like best and roll with it.  Any others acronyms out there for the 7/8 wastes of Lean?  Do share.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Lean]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 17 Sep 2007 13:36:07 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: No Secrets in Military Six Sigma]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/no_secrets_in_military_six_sigma.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[One thing I really like about the government Six Sigma initiatives is the public sharing of information.  The DOD units are so proud to talk about how they are using Six Sigma and the benefits they are getting out of it.  
The Indian Head Division of NAVSEA has an entire website dedicated to Lean Six Sigma.  They share Lean Six Sigma success stories and updates via their Lean-Quality Newsletters. They even share the entire Lean implementation plan. 
According to the total savings in their success stories, since 2005 the Indian Head Division has saved nearly 8 million dollars and 2007 projections total nearly $1.5 million.  
Other Navy divisions are eager to showcase success as well.  Read about NAVSUP and their Six Sigma initiative and watch this video that shows how they used Lean Six Sigma to maximize ordnance delivery.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Government/Non-Profit&nbsp;,&nbsp;Military]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 07 Sep 2007 15:57:57 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Grapes of Sigma]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/grapes_of_sigma.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[For those of you who talk Six Sigma at dinner parties, here’s something for your next soiree — Six Sigma wine.  I hear it goes well with a fishbone diagram and doesn’t leave that statistical aftertaste like those lower sigma level wines….  
I’m not a wine drinker so I can’t comment on taste, but I can tell you about process…and the growers at Six Sigma Ranch aim to squeeze every ounce of perfection out of their grapes.  
How do they do it? They stomped the winemaking process into pieces and put it back together using Six Sigma. 






At Six Sigma Vineyards and Winery we combine the old-world art of making wine with the science of data-driven Six Sigma principles….The data-driven principles of Six Sigma are employed, not only in the winemaking process as such, but in all stages of the process…

Kaj Ahlmann and his wife Else are the proud owners of Six Sigma Ranch.  Kaj, the former CEO of GE’s Employers Reinsurance Corporation, named the ranch after the Six Sigma methodology that he practiced at GE.  The Six Sigma logo on the bottle is there to represent consistent quality.  
Hats off to the Ahlmann family for giving Six Sigma the squeeze.   ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Consumer Food Products]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 20 Aug 2007 13:01:06 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Second Quarter Six Sigma]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/second_quarter_six_sigma.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Second quarter financial results have been hitting the wires the past few weeks and companies have been publicizing the benefits of Lean and Six Sigma.  Quotes from a few of the recent releases:

Ducommun Incorporated"We continue to benefit from healthy aerospace markets and the success of our Lean and Six Sigma initiatives. As a result, we are enjoying growth in new business opportunities and a broadening of our customer base.”
Regal Beloit“New products and acquisition growth fueled sales, while Lean Six Sigma and productivity projects contributed to operating margins.”
Cummins India“…as well as continuing to drive efficiencies in our operations with the use of Six Sigma…”
Ryerson"Year-over-year and sequentially, lower expenses reflected the benefit of various cost-savings initiatives, including the Integris integration and the company's Six Sigma problem-solving and continuous improvement process, which resulted in the improvement in wages, salaries, benefits, and service center operating expenses."
And we can’t forget Covance.  
As Six Sigma deployments mature, companies generally stop publicizing the financial benefits of the methodology. Some companies claim they do not even keep track of the dollars anymore!  One thing is for sure, the Six Sigma methodology delivers results.  If it didn’t why would nearly three fifths of the Fortune 500 alone continue to use it?  ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 01 Aug 2007 09:59:58 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Blog Alert: Semoe]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/blog_alert_semoe.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[This week’s iSixSigma Blogosphere Newsletter features SEMOE as the Guest Blog. SEMOE stands for Search Engine Marketing Operational Excellence and is written by Matt LeVeque, a search Marketing Manager with Commerce360. 
Matt knows his search engine marketing as well as his Six Sigma.  He has a strong background in online marketing and was formerly the Sales and Marketing manager for Rath &amp; Strong.  I got to know Matt visiting with him at the many Six Sigma conferences we attended over the years.  
For your search engine marketing fix with a Six Sigma twist, visit SEMOE!]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Guest Blog]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 31 Jul 2007 10:04:14 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma at Covance]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_at_covance.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Yesterday, Covance, a $1.3 billion in revenue drug development service company, announced their second quarter results.  The results were good, earning up, revenues up, etc…Included was a plug for their Six Sigma program:






Our relentless focus on operational and service excellence continues to deliver substantial benefits. Six Sigma, which is being utilized across more than two-thirds of the company, delivered approximately $5 million in incremental profitability in the first half of 2007.

So they have save a few million this year so far…what they say next is the part that really means something:






More importantly, Six Sigma reduces process variation, which improves project delivery, increases client satisfaction, and helps drive repeat business.

Covance understands that financial benefits are not quite as important as the customer satisfaction benefits of having reliable processes.  As the saying goes - it's costs less to keep a customer than get a new one - Six Sigma is helping Covance keep their customers and drive revenue growth.    
Covance has been using Six Sigma since 2002. Currently only about two-thirds of the company uses the methodology but they plan to ramp up to an enterprise-wide program by next year.   A slide from the earnings report presentation gives even more details about Covance’s Six Sigma deployment – revealing the numbers of Six Sigma workforce employees as well as total projects completed.  Good benchmarking stats for other Six Sigma companies.  
Covance is also working on joint Six Sigma projects with clients.  A tell-tale sign of a maturing and successful deployment. 
Links
Second Quarter 07 Earing Release The Application of Six Sigma, Natural Products Insider magazine, April 2006]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Pharmaceuticals]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 26 Jul 2007 12:30:55 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Using RSS Feeds]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/using_rss_feeds.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[At the iSixSigma Blogosphere you can subscribe to feeds that will deliver updates whenever one or all of our bloggers writes something new.  These feeds use the RSS format which you can pick up with an RSS news reader. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication.  It is an XML-based format for content distribution that is changing the way internet users gather information.  
There are hundreds of RSS readers to choose from. I have used many readers and have found that I like Google Reader the best.  It’s easy, it’s free and I can read my feeds from my personalized iGoogle page.  
To subscribe to an RSS feed, simply click on the orange RSS button or XML icon next to your favorite blogger or category, copy the URL and past it into your reader.  You can also subscribe to "all bloggers" by clicking the XML icon below.  Now you’ll get an update when new blogs are posted.  If you prefer email, you can subscribe to the newsletter for a weekly update.  Below are several iSixSigma feeds to choose from:
All Bloggers  | Six Sigma News  | iSixSigma Discussion Forum ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 25 Jul 2007 13:36:30 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: iSixSigma Publications Launched]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/isixsigma_publications_launched.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[iSixSigma just announced a new marketplace called iSixSigma Publications (http://www.isixsigma.com/pubs/).  The marketplace sells Six Sigma research articles and project examples as well as training materials and templates. 
Not only does iSixSigma Publications sell their own publications, they also have a partner program where independent authors can distribute their own works.  If you write it, develop it, or build it, iSixSigma Publications will market it, sell it, and distribute it.  
This new marketplace is a first of its kind for the Six Sigma community.  Visit iSixSigma Publications today.  If you like what you see, become a partner and start earning income from your own creative works.  
Press Release]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 20 Jul 2007 16:32:57 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Accenture to Acquire George Group]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/accenture_to_acquire_george_group.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Big news for the Six Sigma consulting community.  Accenture has agreed to acquire George Group.  The news hit the PR wires yesterday:  






The acquisition will expand and enhance Accenture’s ability to help clients become high-performance businesses through the addition of George Group’s specialized expertise in process improvement techniques including Lean Six Sigma, which combines process improvement methodology with efficient process discipline to reduce delivery times, lower costs and increase customer satisfaction. 

I’ve been saying for years that the big guys are going to start snatching up the Six Sigma firms…looks like it’s a reality now.  But what does it mean?  I think it means that Six Sigma is here to stay.  It means you’re going to be hearing a lot more about Six Sigma in the press.  It also means that Accenture is hiring to keep up with the demand: 






Accenture is also recruiting aggressively to meet rapidly growing client demand for process-improvement solutions leading to enhanced performance.

Process improvement solutions are still in demand and big consulting firms are getting in on a piece of the Six Sigma pie.  They’ve been wanting to for years.  Accenture has been dabbling in Six Sigma offerings for quite some time now, even partnering with other Six Sigma consulting firms to deliver solutions to clients.  They’ve finally sealed the deal with one of the largest and most prominent Lean Six Sigma firms.
What do you think about this shift in the status quo of the Six Sigma consulting business?  Who’ll be next to come to the table looking for that sweet Six Sigma pie?  Bain, Boston, Booz, McKinsey?]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 20 Jul 2007 16:22:56 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: New Blog Alert: Six Sigma for Corporate Real Estate]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/new_blog_alert_six_sigma_for_corporate_real_estate.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Last week I was alerted to a fairly new blog in the Six Sigma Blogosphere.  It is written by Michael Jordan, Sr. VP Management Consultant at Jones Lang LaSalle.  After perusing his blog for just a few minutes I could quickly see that his writing is as good as his name.  He’s the Michael Jordan of Six Sigma and real estate, literally.
Michael has been at Jones Lang LaSalle nearly a year helping clients improve their corporate real estate operations.  Before that he was at Sun Microsystems for almost 10 years.  
In his blog, Six Sigma for Corporate Real Estate, he shares real stories of Six Sigma application in the corporate real estate environment. His writing comes off as very real and personable. And as an extra positive, he is not at all long winded.  His blog entries are a nice quick and solid read.  Take his latest entry, “Oops! We (almost) fired the project managers!”   In four short paragraphs he describes how root cause analysis and identifying controllable x’s is better than simply blaming project managers for performance:






They thought project managers were the driving difference.  They turned out to be a "big X".  Deeper (but not much deeper) analysis showed that it was a function of geography -- again, only a "big X."  Turns out that variation in municipal requirements (another "big X") was causing permitting times to be consistently longer in certain parts of the country…

I highly recommend his blog for all Six Sigma practitioners.  And if you’d like to learn more about how Jones Lang LaSalle is using Six Sigma internally and with their clients, read the January 2007 issue of Building.com - Six Sigma at Jones Lang LaSalle was the cover story.
Jones Lang LaSalle: Where Six Sigma Works, Building.com, January 2007]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Guest Blog]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 16 Jul 2007 09:24:00 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Hotel Satisfies Customers with Defects]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/hotel_satisfies_customers_with_defects.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I read this story a long time ago about a hotel chain that learned that customers were happier if they experienced a problem and it was fixed than if they had a defect free stay.  I must have told this story a few dozen times with out remembering where I read it. I finally found the reference in this Fortune article dated Dec. 2001.  






A global hotel chain was stunned to discover a perverse consequence of its customer-centric Six Sigma quality initiative. Apparently guests were mildly pleased by the chain's sincere efforts to provide a hassle-free stay. But what really moved the customer-satisfaction needle was how well the hotel responded when something went wrong…

I once found myself stuck in an elevator with a group of friends at the hotel we were staying at.  It took over an hour to get rescued.   All I can remember about the whole experience is how cool it was when we got back to our hotel room and found a huge basket of goodies as an apology for the elevator incident.  Bottom line, we got stuck, but we got a small token for an apology.  Free food.  
A typical customer satisfaction scenario at a restaurant could play out like this…The server brings out the wrong dessert. Instead of taking it back and making you wait for the right one, they offer to let you have the one in front of you free of charge while they bring out the right one.  They even ask if you want one of them packed to go.  I love to go back to restaurants that give me free food when they make a mistake.  (If the Taco Bell drive-thru followed this rule I’d never have to pay for a burrito again.)
The service industry can really take advantage of this situation.  You can still satisfy your customers even if you’re far from Six Sigma service levels.  And for those Six Sigma companies… why not satisfy the 3.4 customers per million that are getting away?  Or better yet focus more on the process handling customer problems than the process preventing all defects together.  
Getting two desserts is not a defect.  Getting an upgraded room because the hotel made a mistake with you reservation is not a defect.  Those are the kind of mistakes that bring customers and their friends back through your doors.  ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Travel &amp; Leisure]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 13 Jul 2007 11:06:59 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: MoreSteam.com Declares Independence]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/moresteamcom_declares_independence.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[MoreSteam.com is at it again. First with their April Fool’s Day press release and now with their Independence Day press release… 






We Hold The Data To Be Self-Evident: that all men and women are not created equally as instructors; that some are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable teaching abilities, and that others are not; that learning through self-directed study combined with activity-based instruction produces superior results, among these are Life with reduced travel, Liberty from the classroom and the pursuit of Quality --That to secure these rights, Training Deployments shall be instituted among Men and Women, deriving their just powers of instruction from on-line facilities to meet the just-in-time demand of the learner...

I gotta give it to them, they sure get creative with their marketing. The Six Sigma community could use a good laugh every now and then (outside the iSixSigma Discussion Forum of course).]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 05 Jul 2007 16:44:42 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Martin Guitar to Implement Lean]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/martin_guitar_to_implement_lean.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[We’ve all heard the stories of rock stars and their chemical dependencies…now it looks like The Martin Guitar Company has picked up the habit too. The world class acoustic guitar company has recently become dependent on Air Products and Chemicals… to teach them their ways of Continuous Improvement.
Dave Rosendale, the Global Director of Continuous Improvement at Air Products shared a story this week in IndustryWeek, of how the chemical company spent time with the Martin’s senior management team teaching them the ways of CI, which include Lean Enterprise and Six Sigma.






Air Products detailed these principles to Martin Guitar via interactive sessions. The sessions noted that companies must create a culture where each individual acts as an agent of change and people must be skilled at identifying and eliminating non-value-adding activities, or "waste," in their work processes or areas.

Martin Guitar has been making guitars since 1833.  They didn’t become world class because of their Lean Six Sigma operations.  After 174 years of doing things right, now it’s time to do things a little better.  Just goes to show that even the best companies can still get better by utilizing Lean and Six Sigma.  
This B to B benchmarking/consulting approach is a fantastic way companies can learn about Lean and Six Sigma from their peers.  Other companies that preach what they practice are Raytheon, Ford, 3M, Paccar, Chevron, and JLG Industries just to name a few.  From full consulting to workshops for suppliers, Six Sigma training is not left up entirely to consultants.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Consumer Products]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 29 Jun 2007 11:12:23 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Research: How Companies Innovate]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/research_how_companies_innovate.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The July/August issue of iSixSigma Magazine includes my latest research article that explores different aspects of innovation, including what people think of the relationship between Six Sigma and innovation.  
A press release was issued this morning that includes a few highlights from the data:  






With a vast majority of companies professing to want "innovation," those that rate their efforts most effective say they rely on a clear strategy and systematic methodologies…

We surveyed 1,000 Six Sigma professionals from around the world and found that 91 percent said their companies are engaging in innovation activities.  While just about everyone says their company is innovating there is quite a bit of variation in what innovation means and how effective they are at it.  
Only 13 percent said that their company’s innovation efforts are effective.  Of those that said their company is effective at innovation, 81 percent said they had a clear strategy driving their innovation efforts and 84 percent said their company uses a systematic process or methodology for innovation.  
Compare that to the 10 percent of respondents who rated their company’s innovation efforts as "somewhat ineffective" or "ineffective" and said that their company uses a systematic process or methodology for innovation.  
Strategy and process are two keys to business success.  It looks like they also open the door to effective innovation.  
The full results can be found in the July/August issue of iSixSigma Magazine.  ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 25 Jun 2007 20:28:10 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma at Ocean Spray]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_at_ocean_spray.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Ever see the Ocean Spray commercials, Straight from the Bog, with character growers Justin and Henry?  According to an Ocean Spray press release last year, the new ad campaign featuring the two character growers has boosted sales six percent year over year. 
Innovation around the cranberry is what Ocean Spray is all about.  Here’s a company that relies heavily on innovation but also know how process improvement works into the equation.  
The Manufacturer published an article earlier this month where Michael Stamatakos, VP of Operations, gave some insight into how Ocean Spray is using Lean and Six Sigma together to reduce waste, improve operations, and make better craisins. 






“We’ve really driven our approach down to nine key principles,” he continues. “Define the right work; target the right measures; isolate the critical few; link improvement to everyone’s work—and that means everyone; clean and organize work logically; control and communicate the work visually; institutionalize and validate key processes and tools; apply proven technology; and, most important, build and sustain capability. People are our most important assets.”

Benefits to date have been very significant.  They have cut waste nearly in half across the beverage plants and have made beverage line productivity improvements of 10 to 15 percent without capital expenditures.  
Ocean Spray is a nice example of a company that has innovatively created new demand for their products while at the same time cleaned up their operations and improved efficiency to accommodate the increase in sales.  
So the next time you see Justin and Henry on TV spouting off the wonders of cranberries, try to figure out which one of them is the Six Sigma Black Belt…
Links
Ocean Spray, Not Bogged Down, The Manufacturer, June 2007
Corporate Spotlight, Ocean Spray, American Executive, January 2007 
Ocean Spray website]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Consumer Food Products]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 18 Jun 2007 16:17:40 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: New Blog Alert!]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/new_blog_alert.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Dr. Phil is blogging!  No, not that Dr. Phil, I’m talking about Dr. Phil Samuel, Chief Innovation Officer for BMG.  
The blog is called Chief Innovator Online and is the second blog written by BMG executives. David Silverstein, CEO of BMG, has been blogging for just over a year now and Leadership &amp; Business.  
I know Phil personally so it’s exciting to see him blogging his genius.  His most recent post, Better Isn’t Enough - You have to be different looks at the dichotomy facing organizations today:

“Almost every corporation on our planet is on a quest to outperform its rivals in two key business activities – improve the performance of current business, and create the future for the business. The trouble with this is that few organizations do this well – they are either good at continuous improvement or good at innovation, but not good at both in a strategic, tactical and deliberate way… Continue reading 
Welcome to the world of blogging Phil! I hope to read innovative posts from you throughout the year. ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Guest Blog]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 11 Jun 2007 22:15:06 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Army Nears $2 Billion in Lean Six Sigma Savings]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/army_nears_2_billion_in_lean_six_sigma_savings.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[
From Army recruiting to the Bradley fighting vehicle (and everything in between -including meal scheduling), the US Army continues to improve processes and save dollars through Lean Six Sigma.  

“Lean Six Sigma techniques implemented throughout the Army continue to prove successful, and leaders anticipate reaching a $2 billion-savings mark this year.”
Yesterday’s article on army.mil/news showcases several of the Army Lean Six Sigma projects that Green Belts and Black Belts have been working on:

More efficient meal scheduling
Streamlining the communication process across the chain of command through lieutenant generals
Army recruiting process reduced from 32 steps to 11 steps
Reduction in clothing outlet inventory 
Go Army!
Army Business Transformation Knowledge Center
Lean Six Sigma]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Government/Non-Profit&nbsp;,&nbsp;Military]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 05 Jun 2007 10:02:41 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Is Six Sigma Kryptonite to the Superhuman Forces of Innovation?]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/is_six_sigma_kryptonite_to_the_superhuman_forces_of_innovation.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[It’s almost becoming an age-old debate whether or not Six Sigma and innovation can co-exist in a symbiotic relationship.  We have heard time and time again that Six Sigma "stifles innovation." But where’s the data to prove it? 
The most recent issue of BusinessWeek covers innovation at 3M and what Six Sigma has to do with it (but more about what Six Sigma doesn’t have to do with it).  Apparently 3M is scaling down their Six Sigma efforts in the “innovation” centers of the company.  It looks like we have one data point now.
Business blogs have been going crazy commenting on the BusinessWeek cover storie.  Most bloggers quickly agreeing with what mainstream media prints. Hey, if it’s in BusinessWeek, Fortune, or the the WSJ, it’s gotta be true!  While I could never agree that citing one company example is proof an entire methodology is corrupt, the article does dig deep in to how company culture influences innovation - and 3M surely has/had a data driven culture.  
Mike Lopez, over at the Lean Blog, shares his first impression of the article:

"As a Lean Six Sigma black belt at my company, I find that reading these types of articles continuously reminds me that neither Lean nor Six Sigma is a panacea."
I thought the exact same thing after reading the article (independent of Mike’s blog entry). Six Sigma is hardly a cure all.  And please do not blame all consultants for perpetuating this fallicy. I have never met a consultant who preached such falshoods. Unfortunately, if a company is not hitting their numbers, something must be blamed.  Six Sigma companies (those that use the methodology) are perfect targets for this misguided blame.  They are "supposed" to be perfect. 
A comment to Mike’s post sums up my thoughts on the relationship between Six Sigma and innovation: 

"It seems positively stupid to think you can’t have both Six Sigma AND innovation at the same time at a company.  This is more of the "we can only focus on one management tool at a time" mentality that’s harmful and destructive. We have to throw out Six Sigma from the places it’s useful because our innovation has suffered?"
Amen.  3M needs to get to the root cause of their lackluster innovation instead of beating up Six Sigma… the same Six Sigma that has saved 3M billions of dollars.  Sounds like an interesting and profitable Six Sigma project...  
The July/Aug 2007 issue of iSixSigma Magazine will include my latest research on Innovation and Six Sigma. We surveyed 1,000 people. Here’s a sneak preview of Finding Two: 



    
 


The two keys to effective innovation are an actionable strategy and use of a systematic process.
Survey data suggests that two characteristics make an innovation program successful: an actionable strategy and using a systematic process. 
Eighty-one percent of respondents who rated the innovation efforts of their company “effective” said the company is executing an innovation strategy. The strategy alone is not enough; the key is to be taking action on the strategy. 
Half of the survey respondents indicated that their company has no innovation strategy. 
Regarding how innovation occurs, of the respondents who rated their company’s innovation program effective, 84 percent said innovation occurs through a systematic process or methodology; 16 percent said it occurs on an ad hoc basis. This compares to respondents from programs rated “ineffective,” of which 2 percent said innovation is systematic and 98 percent said it is ad hoc. 

If you’d like the full results of this research, subscribe to the Magazine, borrow the issue from a friend next month or make a meaningful comment below.  I’ll send out a free copy of the magazine to the first person who shares their reaction/thoughts/opinion on the subject of innovation and Six Sigma. Go ahead share...
Links
At 3M, A Struggle Between Efficiency And Creativity, BusinessWeek, June 11, 2007
Six Sigma: So Yesterday?, BusinessWeek, June 11, 2007
Bloggers commenting on the BusinessWeek article
Innovation and Six Sigma, Real Innovation Commentary
Improvement and Innovation, Real Innovation Commentary
Putting Six Sigma back in its box, Cognitive Edge
More blogs from Technorati: six sigma 3m]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press&nbsp;,&nbsp;Guest Blog&nbsp;,&nbsp;Methodology]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 04 Jun 2007 17:48:47 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: QualPro vs. Six Sigma - Revisited]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/qualpro_vs_six_sigma_revisited.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The QualPro vs. Six Sigma debate is hot again.  Forrest Breyfogle has written an article on iSixSigma.com poking holes in Charles Holland’s research of 58 Six Sigma companies…. For those unfamiliar with the debate sparked by the July 2006 Fortune article and subsequent Dilbert cartoon, go ahead and read up.
Forrest isn’t the only one who has refuted Holland’s research.  Last year Kevin Meyer wrote what he thought of the research and earlier this year Ron at the Lean Six Sigma Academy threw in his two cents.
More recently Dave Silverstein, CEO of BMG joined the debate after reading an article Holland wrote for Chief Executive Magazine. Then Ron piped up again and couldn’t resist giving Holland a taste of his own medicine by saying "Look, Lowe’s uses MVT and they still saw a drop in sales and earnings...  Mark Graban from the Lean Blog called him on the whole correlation/causation issue with a comment and he publicly acknowledged his error.  
I wonder how long this fight will go on?  I do say that Chuck should have know better than to step in to the ring with an army of Black Belts...]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press&nbsp;,&nbsp;Methodology]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 28 May 2007 20:57:57 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Guest Blog: Ask Craig Gygi]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/guest_blog_ask_craig_gygi.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Pete Abilla over at shmula has set up a question answer session with Craig Gygi, author of Six Sigma for Dummies and the Six Sigma Workbook for Dummies.  Just ask Craig a question in the comments section of the blog and Pete will be post Craig’s answers in a few weeks.  
Pete says that Craig is an "all-around good guy" and I second that opinion.  I interviewed Craig in 2005 after the release of Six Sigma for Dummies, and have had many conversations with him since then.  I’m looking forward to hearing some of his thoughts on the questions that have already been posted.  
Get over to shmula and ask Craig a question!]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Guest Blog]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 28 May 2007 20:24:07 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century - AFSO 21]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/air_force_smart_operations_for_the_21st_century_afso_21.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The United States military has recently ramped up process improvement initiatives in the Air Force, Army and Navy. Mark Graban over at the Lean Blog recently wrote a post about the Lean efforts of the Air Force. I thought I’d share even more information about the program here.
The primary goal of Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century (AFSO 21) is to eliminate waste.  Time, manpower and money are all targeted. Some sources say that 80 percent of the AFSO 21 efforts are Lean but numerous other tools and methods make up the AFSO 21 Playbook - Value Stream Mapping, Constraint Analysis, Root Cause Analysis, Six Sigma/Statistical Analysis and Quality Function Deployment just to name just a few.
AFSO 21 is the name given to improvement initiatives mandated by Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Mosely and Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne. In November 2005 Michael Wynn wrote a letter to the Airmen detailing the mission and goals of the Air Force which included: 
“Foster Lean Processes across the Total Air Force.  Lean is about highest quality, and husbanding resources; from completing BRAC actions, to flight line operations, and inventory. We all can contribute.”
To demonstrate the size and commitment of the Air Force to the Smart Ops 21 initiative they have recently awarded hefty contracts to consulting firms to provide support and training:
Bearing Point, Alexandria, Va., was awarded on 16 April 2007, a $99,000,000 firm fixed price contract. This action provides for Advisory and Assistance Services for Air Force Smart Operations 21. http://www.defenselink.mil/contracts/contract.aspx?contractid=3502
Mainstream GS, LLC., Loveland, Colo., is being awarded a $90,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract. This action provides for the Continuous Process Improvement (CPI) Program to provide contractor support in the achievement of AFSO21 initiatives at Ogden Air Logistics Center and throughout the Air Force. http://www.defenselink.mil/contracts/contract.aspx?contractid=3461 
The University of Tennessee was recently awarded a five-year, $25 million contract to University of Tennessee’s College of Business for the primary purpose of training and certifying trainers who will eventually train Air Force personnel in implementing AFSO21 in their respective local operations.http://www.lionhrtpub.com/orms/orms-2-07/smartops.html 
General Dynamics Corp. was awarded a five-year, $28 million contract from the Air Force’s Air Combat Command to provide transformation and continuous process improvement support to the Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century effort. http://www.washingtontechnology.com/online/1_1/30557-1.html 
Links
Main AFSO 21 Website
Current news stories about AFSO 21
Smart Ops 21: Improving the Air Force one process at a time ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Government/Non-Profit&nbsp;,&nbsp;Military]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 25 May 2007 08:10:21 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Green Belt Mistakes]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/green_belt_mistakes.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[iSixSigma Blogosphere Newsletter Guest Blog - May 15, 2007  
Dawn Mular, Sun Microsystems employee and blogger, recently wrote Top 10 Program Mistakes (Green Belt) Programs Make...
First, I like that she plugs the Software channel of iSixSigma, linking to the recent article, Top 10 Program Mistakes Software Green Belts in Training Make, but more importantly she takes three of those top ten mistakes and shares her own stories as she progressed through Green Belt training.
Visit her blog to hear her thoughts on mistakes 10, 9 and 8:
10: Not Exploring All the Educational Resources  9: Denial of Application in the Participant’s Workplace  8: Wanting to Move into Measure and Analyze Phases Before Define Is Solid]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Guest Blog]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 14 May 2007 22:00:02 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Predictive Index,  Bob Wilson &amp; Associates]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/predictive_index_bob_wilson_amp_associates.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[My favorite part of the Leadership Conference is diving into the softer side of Six Sigma, the people side of the equation.  I spent the afternoon on the first day in the Predictive Index session led by Heather Haas, the director of strategic initiatives for Bob Wilson &amp; Associates. 
First off, Heather did a fabulous job teaching the basics of PI to the class.  She is well versed in the subject matter and communicated the material effortlessly.  She loves what she does and it shows.  It’s always fun learning from someone who is passionate about their craft.
So what is the Predictive Index (PI)? As quoted from Heather’s slides…“A proven tool that helps us understand (and predict) why people respond to their environment and the people in it the way that they do.” 
In a nutshell it’s a kind of personality test, similar to Meyers-Briggs but it does more than chart your personality – It identifies the root causes that drive personality behaviors.
I am still amazed at the accuracy of my test results.  They are dead-on at describing the way I respond to people and situations in the workplace. Last year I attended a half-day workshop with Bob Wilson himself and was astounded at his ability to look at my PI graph and then describe me perfectly.   
PI is a tool that can help your company with communication, hiring the right people, you name it.  As Heather said, “A fool with a tool is still a fool.”  To use PI effectively you’ve got to know what to do with this newfound information about yourself and your co-workers.  You’d be surprised at how much better you could communicate with your workmates once you have their chart in front of you.  It’s like reading a book. The more you know about people, the more effectively you can manage and be managed. 
I can’t go into all the details about PI in one blog entry, but I can tell you as someone who has taken the test and been through a workshop, learning about PI has had a positive affect on my work and home life.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 14 May 2007 12:42:10 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Mike Pestorius, Six Sigma in Sales and Marketing]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/mike_pestorius_six_sigma_in_sales_and_marketing.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Mike is the Associate VP of Six Sigma for sanofi-aventis.  He is also the author of Applying the Science of Six Sigma to the Art of Sales &amp; Marketing.
Mike is very energetic and enthusiastic.  Watch out Don Linsenmann, you’ve got competition. Mike made some great jokes, but not enough sugar had kicked in from our snacks to get much laughter.  Although the picture doesn’t show it, there were about 35 people in there, all in the back.  
Mike is going to tell us how to apply Six Sigma to transactional environments where you cannot control the variables like in manufacturing. The bulk of his presentation was delivering case study examples where DMAIC can be applied to sales and marketing processes such as improving sales rep competency, hiring profiles, the manager/sales rep field ride, territory planning, product promotion… If you are a member of ISSSP download this presentation.  It would be an excellent framework for starting projects in these areas.
Other areas where Six Sigma can be applied are: 

Customer qualification 
Product launches 
Sales training 
 “It’s like finding bags of money on the ground” (quote from Mike while he was explaining these areas) 
Contract compliance 
Professional education 
Channel effectiveness
Takeaways

Six Sigma in a transactional environment is not grassroots, needs to be driven from top 
Make sure there is a succession plan around your Six Sigma in sales &amp; marketing program.  Don’t make it a dead end for those involved. 
Six Sigma in sales &amp;marketing is not intended to replace “the last 10 feet of the sale” it is intended to facilitate its occurrence 
Try not to make it too complicated, lots of Six Sigma tools available start by teaching people to use a hammer, screwdriver and a saw.  Affinity diagrams, process maps etc. 
Get a good reward and recognition plan in place. 
This was the first time I’ve heard someone make any sense out of Six Sigma in sales and marketing.  His examples were sound and easy to understand all in the context of the DMAIC framework.  Others I talked to said similar things.  I’ll have to read the book now that I know it’s written by someone who knows his stuff and can communicate it effectively.     ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 09 May 2007 17:23:19 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: During the Break]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/during_the_break.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I've only got one more session to attend before I pick the family up at the pool and head for home.  The snacks this afternoon are really good.  They are setting up now. Popcorn, licorice, candy bars, soda, peanuts and soft pretzels with queso.. Just what we need for the next session. Good thing I'm blogging close to the refreshment bar.  These goodies are going to go quick. 
I just sat in on an innovation and Six Sigma discussion.  It was pretty cool listening to everyone define what innovation means.  That's the first thing Six Sigma can do for innovation, reduce the variation in its definition! But that wouldn't be very innovative, now would it?  
I also had a short conversation over lunch with Karen Welch from Abbott Nutrition.  We talked about the "Future of Six Sigma."  She's very interested in the subject and had some really insightful thoughts on where Six Sigma is headed.  People are stating to gather around the snacks, I'd better go pick something up before everything is gone...  I'll pick up the blogging again later, I've got a few more blog entries drafted that just need some work before posting.  ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 09 May 2007 15:39:27 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Jim Pearson, EMC Corporation]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/jim_pearson_emc_corporation.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Jim Pearson, VP Customer Advocasy at EMC Corporation, just finished his presentation about Lean Six Sigma at EMC. I interviewed Jim nearly two years ago about their Six Sigma deployment.  
Jim shared EMC’s Lean Six Sigma program building blocks: 

Centralized training program
Single online repository
Established financial guidelines
Certification and recognition programs
Mentor and facilitations offerings
For rewards and recognition, EMC gives out cash certification awards:  $2,000 for Green Belts and $4,000 for Black Belts.  That’s a nice chunk of change for anyone.  If you’re motivated by money, it’s also a good enough reason to get trained!  They also use Black Belt training as a part of their emerging leader program.  That kind of emphasis on the Six Sigma really does solidify the committment and thus shapes the culture of a company.
Key takeaways: 

Leverage existing culture
Lean Six Sigma does not have to be a mandate
Use big projects and grassroots to be most effective
Must prove the results
Over communicate the wins
Build a strong infrastructure (training, financial, reporting)
There are more than just financial benefits, measure them]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 09 May 2007 12:49:30 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Chris Jones, Delphi]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/chris_jones_delphi.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Chris Jones, I&amp;CIM Global Deployment Champion for Delphi is speaking now. He’s laying out the case for change at Delphi. In a nutshell, because their customers demanded it. 
Delphi’s Enterprise-wide Strategy: Tools, process, and culture, encompassed by Kaizen: 

Tools are tools.  You use them to help solve problems.
Process is THE problem solving framework integrated in all business processes.
Culture is the expectation at ALL levels of the org to effectively execute the process
Kaizen is the ongoing optimization of the tools, the processes and the culture.  
Delphi deployment is a middle-out deployment.  Meaning it is not driven from the top down, but more from the middle out.  
What I like about Delphi’s deployment is the Delphi Problem Solving process in the initiative.  The problem solving process allows Delphi to choose which tools will work best with which projects.  It weaves the tools together along with culture.  They do not just use DMAIC, or Lean or any other tool in the set.  They assign the proper tools to the right projects.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 09 May 2007 11:01:31 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Day Two: General Session, Abbott Nutrition]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/day_two_general_session_abbott_nutrition.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I’m here for day two of the ISSSP Leadership Conference.  Rox is opening the general meeting, thanking everyone for the fun at the Grand Evening last night.  From Michael Cyger’s pictures, we know that Minitab had a good time…
Today we’re going to talk about change management. The emcee is Jeanenne LaMarsh, Founder and CEO of LaMarsh Associates.  The first speaker is Karen Welch, Director, Business Excellence at Abbott Nutrition.
Karen is going to talk about how Abbott Nutrition has integrated change management into their Lean Six Sigma deployment. 
Abbott uses of three simple change management tools to mitigate the change: They uses a Key Role Map to ID sponsors, change agents, targets.  They then identify resistance with an InfoMatrix.  And finally design plans to mitigate the resistance – with communication, training, and reward plan.
Although managing change is not as simplistic as just using a few CM tools, Abbott is doing much more as well. ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 09 May 2007 10:23:37 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Rusty Patterson, Raytheon]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/rusty_patterson_raytheon.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[After a much needed break, we’re back in the main hall and will hear from Rusty Patterson, VP Customer and Supply Chain Institute for Raytheon. His presentation is titled, “What’s Next for Six Sigma?  Transforming Your Company to Remain Competitive.”  Raytheon kicked off Six Sigma in the beginning of 1999.  For cornerstones for Six Sigma success to date:

Begin with the “to be state”. Visualizing the future instead of just making incremental improvement.
Tie Six Sigma to the business strategy
Target the constraints that limit how we provide value to the customer
Make it more than a toolbox for improvement
The challenges ahead:

Integrating value creation and value delivery. 
Complacent mentality = going out of business.  Need to rock the boat. 
Competitive advantage is innovation.  
Four cornerstones of the future? The same as before but you must must innovate, innovate, innovate...!!!Raytheons mantra, "The boldness to imagine the future – the passion to deliver it."]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 08 May 2007 12:00:56 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Stephen Turnipseed, Chevron]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/stephen_turnipseed_chevron.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Next up is Stephen Turnipseed, Lean Six Sigma Advisor for Chevron Global Upstream.  I’ve heard Stephen speak before.  He is a great speaker.  
Chevron does not have the luxury of a CEO driven deployment.  They started Six Sigma as a grassroots deployment, and it has been expanding.  Now it’s moving into supply chain.  
Steve is going to contrast a grassroots deployment to a traditional top-down deployment.  This will be interesting.  
Assumption with a grassroots deployment:

Employee driven initiatives will have more buy-in
Early success will create pull 
Other parts of the company will try to emulate
It will expand as champions move around.  (this is the only true assumption)
The reality of a grassroots deployment: no career path, no recognition, no accountability, limited support, little buy-in, no time given to work projects, large degree of variability, slow maturation and financial benefit.
Critical success factors for grassroots deployments:

A tolerant company culture
Inspired individual –ability to influence, stake career on their belief, and able to carve out a position that allows her/him to continue the cause for the long term.
Able to get funding for training and coaching
Program achieves enough success to sustain itself
Develop other inspired individuals and convert leaders
Stephen goes on to talk about how to roll out Continuous Improvement in the supply chain.  And Chevron engaged their customers and suppliers to join them in Six Sigma training.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 08 May 2007 11:12:01 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: ISSSP General Session]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/isssp_general_session.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The ISSSP Leadership Conference general session has started. Roxanne O’Braskey is welcoming the attendees and giving a shout out to the 18 SKF employees from around the world that are here today.  
Marty Sherber is the Master of ceremonies, he is the senior VP of client development for AIT.  He’s also a 5th degree Master Black Belt as well.  That is very cool, a real MBB.  I wonder how many other people have a dual Black Belts or Master Black Belts? 
Chris Koelsch is up now and going to talk about Lean Six Sigma at DuPont.  He is the Supply Chain Director and Six Sigma Champion.   DuPont is at the Six Sigma conference regularly.  At every conference they talk about how the company is over 200 years old and that Six Sigma is going to get them through the next 100.    
Some DuPont Six Sigma stats:

1 billion in final validated benefits in 2006.  
18,000 Green Belts, 2,200 Black Belts and 300 MBBs trained in 2005.  
Pillars that drive Six Sigma success:

Message from the top
Full time belts
Best and brightest
Financial team validating the savings
“Supply chain is not just about movement of material.  It’s about meeting customers expectations faster and better than anyone else.  It’s about money, material, and information.  At the end of the day it’s about delta and cash flow.”
Lean has helped DuPont reduce lead times.  Lean tools added to the Six Sigma tool box: supply chain mapping, VSM, 5s, SMED, waste analysis, TPM, and Kaizen.  They’ve got a Kaizen playbook to aid in implementing Kaizen events around the world.  ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 08 May 2007 10:19:00 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Research: Culture Change and Six Sigma]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/research_culture_change_and_six_sigma.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The May/June issue of iSixSigma Magazine has hit the shelves (metaphorically speaking of course) as well as cyberspace via the digital edition.   
If you do not subscribe to the magazine you are really missing out on a wealth of information.  I’m not just saying that because I work for the Magazine.  I was hooked on iSixSigma Magazine from the first two issues, before I even decided to join the team.
The cover story is a fantastic story of Six Sigma success coupled with community outreach.  That is the story of Lonmin’s deployment.
The research in this issue delves into organizational change and what Six Sigma has to do with it.  Read the executive summary for the highlights and for an extra peak at the data read today’s press release:  




    
 

The survey also showed that Six Sigma-trained employees used their change management skills far more often than generally perceived. "Though only thirty-two percent of respondents said they would label their Black Belts as ’change agents,’ almost twice that figure said they personally use change management skills frequently or all the time.”]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 02 May 2007 11:30:42 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: eBay Looking for Six Sigma Talent]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/ebay_looking_for_six_sigma_talent.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Pete Abilla who runs the shmula blog has just started working as the process improvement leader at eBay . I have been reading shmula since Pete started blogging and can honestly say that he is one of the best process improvement bloggers out there.  I often link to him in the Guest Blogger section of the iSixSigma Newsletter. 
Right now he’s looking for a few people in the Vancouver, BC area who know their way around Lean and Six Sigma to be part of the eBay team.  Read his post, Need a Job, eh? for the job description and detailed candidate qualifications.  
Pete is looking for Lean Six Sigma gurus who really know their stuff.  If you know an exceptional Black Belt in Vancouver, tell your friend about this position.  What a great opportunity this is -- working for Fortune 383 in a new process improvement initiative.  Believe me, as with all great things on eBay, this position won't be up for grabs for very long, don't get outbid - email Pete now!]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 02 May 2007 10:11:23 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Cox-Box Calendar Giveaway]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/cox_box_calendar_giveaway.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[
Michael Cyger has been on an office cleaning frenzy lately, giving away books for trivia… I thought I’d do a little spring cleaning myself.  I’ve got five Cox-Box wall calendars sitting on my shelf when they should be hanging up in your office.  
I’ll send one calendar out to the first five people to email me the following information:
1- Full name,2- Company name,3- Your title,4- Mailing address,5 -Correct answer to this question: What was Gary Cox doing when he created the Cox-Box cartoon?  (Hint: the answer can be found somewhere in the pages of the iSixSigma Blogosphere.)(Hint 2: Read Gary’s bio)
I’ll update this blog entry with the names, company names and titles of the first five people who email me the answer.  Contact information will only be used to mail you the calendar, nothing more.  Good Luck!
[UPDATE 5/01/07 9:15 AM PST]
Congratulations to the following five winners:
1- Mary Ellyn, Community Outreach Coordinator, UH Conneaut Medical Center2- Samuel Aborne, Consultant, George Group3- Ramesh Pondhe, Operations Improvement Engineer, Susquehanna Health4- Amy Butler, Process Improvement Leader, Cavendish Farms5- Alisha Arsenault, Production Coordinator, Cavendish Farms
The answer to the trivia question, "What was Gary Cox doing when he created the Cox-Box cartoon?" is: 
He was going through training for his Black Belt Certification and drew the Six Sigma cartoons on the flipchart for his class.  Read Gary’s bio for the whole story...  Thanks for playing!]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 30 Apr 2007 08:57:44 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: IBM Study on Innovation and LSS]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/ibm_study_on_innovation_and_lss.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The IBM Institute for Business Value released a study earlier this year entitled “Driving operational innovation using Lean Six Sigma.” This study showcases how three companies - Caterpillar, POSCO, and Scottish Power have elevated Lean Six Sigma to do more than improve processes and reduce costs:  




    
 

Although CEOs might instinctively think of management approaches such as Lean Six Sigma in terms of process improvement and cost reduction, our research suggests that this perspective is shortsighted. The successful companies we studied acted in a more visionary manner. They deliberately expanded the scope of Lean Six Sigma, using it to surface significant innovation opportunities that impacted much more than their operations. And in the process, they were able to improve business performance and establish organizations that now have an inherent inclination toward innovation.
The next time you hear someone say that Six Sigma stifles innovation, forward them a copy of this report and let the success stories speak for themselves.  
Driving operational innovation using Lean Six SigmaIBM Institute for Business Value studyby: George Byrne, Dave Lubowe and Amy Blitz]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 25 Apr 2007 13:14:05 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Gold Diggers Strike Six Sigma Vein]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/gold_diggers_strike_six_sigma_vein.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Meridian Gold finds and produces gold with its mining operations in Chile as well as a pipeline of exploration projects throughout the Americas.  While continuous improvement is nothing new to the El Peñón mine, they recently began using Six Sigma in their Operational Excellence initiative:  




    
 

Edgar Smith, Meridian’s Vice President of Operations, commented, "I am pleased to announce that we have re-hired Stabro Kasaneva as the General Manager of the El Peñón Mine. Stabro will be responsible for leading his team in ramping up the mine to 2,800 tonnes per day and implementing the new operational excellence initiatives, which are based on the Six Sigma principles to help achieve these goals. Meridian Gold Press Release
For Meridian, the color of Six Sigma gold just might turn out to be green.  ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 09 Apr 2007 17:36:24 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Blogosphere Reader Survey]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/blogosphere_reader_survey.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Here’s your chance to tell us what you think about the iSixSigma Blogosphere.  Take our reader survey and help us improve your experience reading the blogs.http://www.isixsigma.com/blogsurvey
iSixSigma.com is also running a reader survey, so head on over to the URL below and take it while you’re at it.http://www.isixsigma.com/isssurvey  
Over the next few weeks we will be conducting surveys for all the CTQ Media websites, including BPMEnterprise.com, Sourcingmag.com and RealInnovation.com.  So get your feedback hats on and get ready to tell us how we’re doing and where we can improve. Thanks!]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 28 Mar 2007 13:16:23 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Bob Zimering on Textron Six Sigma]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/bob_zimering_on_textron_six_sigma.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Textron released an article last week entitled, Bob Zimering, a Textron Master Black Belt, Discusses Six Sigma at Textron and Responds to Some of the Critics.    
In the article Bob Zimering does exactly as the title suggests. He responds to the Fortune article where Qualpro said that Six Sigma companies trail in the S&amp;P… 




    
 

Textron’s stock price, incidentally, has outpaced the S&amp;P 500 by some 140 percent since introducing Six Sigma, but apparently Textron was not included on Qualpro’s list of “large” companies.  In any event, the company attributes this good stock performance to many factors, not any single one.
The article also gives a look at how Textron Six Sigma and Innovation work together, not apart.  




    
 

The consensus is that the original 1980’s Six Sigma from Motorola was narrowly focused on reducing defects in simple repetitive processes, and probably was not very good at innovation.  But since then, Six Sigma has evolved to include Design for Six Sigma (DFSS), which is about focusing improvements on customer needs and new ideas.  There are many opportunities to grow Six Sigma’s capability for revolutionary or disruptive idea generation by integrating methods from leaders such as  W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne (Blue Ocean Strategy) and Clayton Christensen (The Innovator’s Solution)... and from what I saw at the conference, Textron is at least on par with other industry leaders in developing this capability.
Bob Zimering on the Six Sigma Dilbert cartoons:  




    
 

“I think they’re great!” says Zimering.  In fact, I get a Dilbert calendar from my mom for my birthday every year.  Dilbert has had fun with just about every business function: operations, sales and marketing, IT, customers, suppliers, outsourcing, etc. I’m glad that Six Sigma is pervasive enough that it gets featured every few months; otherwise I would start to wonder if people had lost their passion about it.”
Overall a very informative, one that should get picked up by Fortune or the Wall Street Journal…but oh yeah, they don’t quite know how to publish good news about Six Sigma. ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Management]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 22 Mar 2007 18:06:25 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Fourth Annual iSixSigma Global Salary Survey]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/fourth_annual_isixsigma_global_salary_survey.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[As research manager for iSixSigma Magazine, I spend my Decembers analyzing the data from the iSixSigma Job Shop to figure out who makes what and where they make it.  I really enjoy crunching the numbers because I get to spend so much time in Minitab. (My love for Minitab was kindled by my Black Belt instructor, Paul Sheehy, who later became an official Minitab trainer.)  
The results from the latest analysis has become the 4th Annual Six Sigma Global Salary Survey, published in March/April issue of iSixSigma Magazine.
A Press Release issued this morning gives you a taste of the data - revealing the worldwide salary and bonus figures for Black Belts, Master Black Belts, Champions and Deployment Leaders.  
On average, BBs across the globe earn $76,241per year and their average bonus is $9,698.  For the salary and bonus figures for MBBs, Champions and DLs, read the Press Release.
Here on the Blogosphere, I’ll give you a bit more salary trivia to spark those water cooler conversations... 
Question: How much does a Black Belt in the United Sates make a year?  Answer: About $10,000 more than the worldwide average: $86,011
Question:  If you work in India as a Six Sigma Black Belt how much do you make?   Answer: $51,956
True or False:  "I am a certified Black Belt, here are my credentials...I should make more than the average Joe Black Belt who went through training but does not have formal certification like I do." Answer: False.  There is no statistical difference in salaries between certified Black Belts and non-certified Black Belts.
Question: What is the highest paying industry for Black Belts in the United States? Answer: Telecommunications: $104,457
The full survey results are available in the print edition of iSixSigma Magazine, as well as online to subscribers in the newly launched digital edition.
iSixSigma 4th Annual Six Sigma Global Salary Survey Press Release]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Management]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 06 Mar 2007 15:17:46 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: SBTI Response to WSJ Article]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/sbti_response_to_wsj_article.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I was speaking with Joe Ficalora, EVP of Technology for Sigma Breakthrough Technologies, Inc., at the IQPC Miami Summit in January and we got to talking about all the bad press Six Sigma had been getting lately.  Joe told me that he and his colleague Joe Costello had co-written a letter to the author of the January 4th WSJ article about Six Sigma and Nardelli’s departure from Home Depot.  I asked Joe if he wouldn’t mind sharing the letter with me.  
After reading their response I felt their counter-points offered a good look at the other side of the story, the side of the story that the mainstream press just can’t seem to find time to write about.  
Thanks to both Joe’s at SBTI for setting Six Sigma straight.



Dear Ms. Richardson, 
We wish to respond to your article, dated January 4, 2007 in the Wall Street Journal, entitled “Departure of CEO Nardelli Brings Into Focus A Management Technique He Championed”.  As a long-term provider of Six Sigma business methodologies, and many complementary approaches to driving business excellence, SBTI is very interested in your recent article.  We would like to bring to light some additional information that we are certain would be interesting to readers and we feel compelled to respond to certain key points in your article which we feel are in error or perhaps ill-informed.  SBTI was not involved in Home Depot’s Six-Sigma deployment; however we feel that the performance of Home Depot’s stock price was not a direct reflection of Home Depot’s Six-Sigma deployment.
Perhaps the most important point you raise is in the title of your article.  There is an implied question whether it is CEO Nardelli that is parting ways with Home Depot or is it CEO Nardelli and Six-Sigma that are parting ways with Home Depot.  The fact of the matter is simply Bob Nardelli is leaving, but I doubt you will find Home Depot abandoning their Six-Sigma deployment.  They may modify or re-invigorate the approach, but odds are against them stopping.  Why? They would not abandon Six-Sigma because it works.  In all things in life there is a distribution or variation in the individual samples, a fundamental tenet of Six Sigma.  You have written about a single sample in only one individual, at one company and attempted to raise questions about an entire methodology and all the deployments of it.
By and large the executives who have left GE and AlliedSignal (now Honeywell) and other Six-Sigma companies who became top executives have uniformly started Six-Sigma and Lean programs at their new companies, and nearly all successfully deployed it.  Focusing on one CEO is a mistake of omission by ignoring the larger picture.  It may grab headlines, but it is most certainly myopic.  Consider the following short list of Executives who started Six-Sigma in their new positions:

Fred Poses – to American Standard
Jim McNerny – to 3M, to Boeing
David Weidman – to Celanese
Ed Breen – to Tyco
Matt Espe – to IKON Office Solutions
Jim Sierk – to Iomega
Wes Lucas – to Sun Chemical
These are all bright, motivated-to-succeed executives.  They would not begin an initiative that was unproven, untested, or questionable in their new leadership roles.
Also, Six-Sigma began at Motorola, true, but was expanded and improved with each new deployment at Texas Instruments, ABB, and Kodak among others.  Along the way from Motorola’s birth of Six-Sigma, Texas Instruments Defense Systems Electronics Group identified how to modify the approach and measures used to drive new product designs to higher levels of quality with appropriate advances in product launches.  It was deployed to all products, high volume and low volume, and all services and functions beyond just manufacturing in the deployment at AlliedSignal, beginning in 1994.  Larry Bossidy truly moved Six-Sigma from a Quality Initiative to a Business Initiative with documented and predictable bottom line results.  He also insisted that the two oft-competing methodologies of Lean and Six-Sigma begin cooperating as one improvement method.  It is true that Jack Welch and GE preached Six-Sigma from the mountain tops and sang praises in a very public way, but it was far from “languishing” before GE.
Let us consider Six Sigma and the return on investment with regards to a realistic time frame.  Classic Six Sigma return horizons are 18 to 24 months.  Mr Nardelli’s implementation of Six Sigma began in mid-2000.  With the consideration to Executive Training, Black Belt selection, project selection, training, launch, execution and results associated with the projects we should expect to begin hitting the Income Statement profit and loss numbers around late 2002.  At this time, (Q3, 2002) the share price of Home Depot was about $25.  Today the share price closed above $41, this is a 64% improvement.  In comparison (over the same timeline) Lowe’s share price went from $21 to $32, a 52% improvement.  Considering these numbers and this timing, Home Depot out-performed Lowe’s by 23%.

 Figure 1 – Lowe’s versus Home Depot Stock Prices
A savvy investor would have been able to time this predicted up-turn in performance. 
As stated in the Business Week, January 15th,, 2007 issue, Home Depot has enjoyed a 12% annual growth rate.   Under Bob Nardelli’s direction, Home Depot Supply, which services professional contractors, is up 159%.  Wall Street did not agree with Nardelli’s focus on Contractor Services and hence their opinions have been reflected in the share price. Overall, Nardelli’s numbers aren’t too bad, since January 28, 2001 to October 29, 2006 overall sales are up 209%, gross margins are up 6%
You are very correct in Qual-pro’s competing stance, biased viewpoint and lack of popularity in their approach.  Their approach is less practical from SBTI’s perspective.  Multi-Variable Testing as they espouse on their website is taught over an extended time, and in truth is just one aspect of the Six-Sigma roadmap which has been taught in a more compressed standard format to over thirty thousand individuals by SBTI.  Please have a look at an excerpt from our recent SBTI Quarterly newsletter for some contrasting perspectives on bottom-line results versus the S&amp;P 500 or the Dow Jones Industrial Average (which is a more appropriate numerical comparison due to averaging and sample sizes).  Figure 2 is one of those graphs, which does include 3M stock by the way.  

Figure 2 - SBTI Client Weighted Stock Average vs. DJIA
Other Six Sigma providers have done this type of successful comparison of their clients’ stock average too.  Any premier Lean and Six Sigma consulting firm assists in increasing the value and forever changing a company if the client’s leadership team is involved and leading the deployment.  While we cannot speak for Home Depot, a short glance through Steve Zinkgraf’s 2005 book, “Six Sigma, The First Ninety Days” should provide some insight as to what to expect and why it works with committed company leadership.
With regards to stock performance there are multiple issues to contend with, as pointed out in your article.   Especially if Six-Sigma is viewed as a merely a set of process tools and a Quality Improvement program, then why would the stock price be positively affected?  Total Quality Management (TQM) came and went without any major and sustained business impacts over a global basis.  Larry Bossidy points out in his recent book, “Execution” that there is three-way focus to obtain sustained business results on External Realities, Internal Activities, and Financial Goals.  While Home Depot was facing challenges from Lowes, their earnings per share increased 145% under Nardelli’s leadership.  If Six-Sigma and Lean have an impact in efficiency, Earnings-Per-Share would be one area that should be impacted, which it was in Home Depot’s case.  
Lastly, your article, while certainly about negative results with Mr. Nardelli at The Home Depot need not end there.  Remember that Home Depot is only a single sample of a Six-Sigma deployment and the variation in deployments is almost as large as the number of consulting companies providing Lean and Six-Sigma consulting and training.  
There are literally tens of thousands of Improvement Teams, Executive Champions and Sponsors, Lean Leaders, Master Black Belts, Black Belts and Green Belts who do yeoman’s work of solving chronic business problems every day with the tools of Lean and Six Sigma, sometimes called Lean-Sigma.  These people feel compelled to constantly and forever improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their companies, satisfying their customers, while keeping productivity advancing, and making their companies more competitive each year.  That is the real story, and one worth telling.  We urge you to seek out more than the individual departure of an ex-GE executive, but to look further into the quiet revolution that is literally spanning the globe in company business performance improvement.
We invite you to dig deeper into Lean and Six-Sigma and would be happy to arrange a tour of some of SBTI’s customers, their results and perspectives on the methodology from top to bottom, inside and out.  If you want to gain some additional perspectives, this would be a unique opportunity.
We look forward to your response, as we continue serving our varied and global customers’ needs this year in all things Lean and Six-Sigma.  
Best Regards,
Joe FicaloraEVP, TechnologySigma Breakthrough Technologies, Inc.
Joe  Costello, Executive Director, LeanSigma Breakthrough Technologies, Inc.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Management]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 06 Mar 2007 09:09:57 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Mayor Graham Richard, Performance is the Best Politics]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/mayor_graham_richard_performance_is_the_best_politics.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Mayor Graham Richard of Fort Wayne Indiana recently published a new book called Performance is the Best Politics: How to create high-performance government using Lean Six Sigma.  In conjuncton with the book the Mayor launched a new website, http://www.performanceisthebestpolitics.com, that offers previews of case studies included in the book.  
In the Mayor’s own words: "This book is for readers searching for best business practices to produce high performance government. I believe in the great talent and boundless energy of the thousands of government employees and leaders who work hard to deliver the best services. " 
Visit the website to learn about the book and download a preview copy.  The book is available for purchase in hard copy for $14.95 as well as digital download for $6.95.  It is 256 pages filled with the secrets of the Mayor’s success applying Lean Six Sigma to the city’s operations.   
I purchased the downloadable PDF version of the book and have enjoyed reading the detailed case studies of some of the Mayor’s classic Six Sigma projects including Reducing Missed Garbage Pickups and Pothole Repair Cycle Time. But the book is not all garbage and potholes…The book also describes the City’s Six Sigma deployment model and compares it that of traditional business, showing where government deployment is different.  There’s also a great project showing how Six Sigma slashes through red tape.   
The Mayor doesn’t stand to make any money on the book, as proceeds will be donated to a non-profit group that supports training city employees.  So be a good citizen - do something to get your city on the Six Sigma track and mail a copy of the book to your local government officials and hope they have the sense to take some good advice.
Links
Mayor’s new book shares secrets of Six Sigma governing success, Journal Gazette, January 2007
City of Fort Wayne, High Performance Government Home 
The Mayor Speaks at IQPC Conference]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Book Review]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 12 Feb 2007 08:52:59 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: General Colin Powell on Leadership]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/general_colin_powell_on_leadership.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Keynote address at the 8th Annual Six Sigma Summit in Miami, Florida, USA
The Six Sigma crowd was on their feet before General Powell even said a word.  The General launched his address by telling us he got an A in statistics at The George Washington University.  That made all of us Six Sigma data heads happy.  Now that he was in good with the crowd he went on to tell stories from his personal career that demonstrated effective leadership.  A few of his thoughts paraphrased:
“Any manager who is not taking the most junior person in the company and listening to his/her innovative ideas is not being a good leader.”  He told the story about a time when he was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and let the most junior guy at the table tell him his ideas. And again as Secretary of State he had the action officer (lowest person) brief the President on a situation.  This sent a message of trust throughout the department, and did wonders for morale.  
“It is empowering to know that you can take your idea to the top of the organization.”  As Brigadier General, Powell consistently kept to the same walk routine in the afternoons.  This simple action sent a message to his subordinates that they could always reach him. They often caught up with him to talk directly to him, because they knew they could.    
“Our openness is our greatest weapon in fighting terrorism.” America will remain an open welcome place.   Even with the anti-American attitudes we’re still the trusted source for diplomacy.  We’ll be fine, as long as we remain open, follow the constitution, and believe in ourselves. “Leadership is about solving problems.  The world brings their problems to America.”  He told the inside story about how he resolved the July 2002 island conflict between Morocco and Spain – all from his home office over a single weekend.   His incentive for solving it so quickly…his grandkids were coming over to swim.  (Read the CNN article Spain, Morocco defuse islet row).
To demonstrate effective mentoring he told the story about the time he lost his pistol.  This story is also told in his autobiography “My American Journey” and can be found online by reading Excerpts from My American Journey on the 3rd Armored Div. History website.
The General gave us one last laugh and made his exit as if he were George Costanza, “Alright! That’s it for me. Goodnight everybody.”  
I had personally hoped he would talk more about the similarities and differences between leading in government and leading in the corporate world.  But I was not disappointed in the least.  General Powell is revered by many including the Six Sigma community – from standing ovation to standing ovation Powell filled our hearts and minds with the power to lead.  I was even lucky enough met him, shake his hand and get a picture.  It was humbling to shake the hand of a man who has spent his life serving and protecting the United States of America and who has no doubt shaken the hands of many of the leaders of the nations of the world.  ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 29 Jan 2007 22:05:44 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: 8th Annual Six Sigma Summit: Photos]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/8th_annual_six_sigma_summit_photos.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Below are a few pictures from the IQPC Six Sigma Summit in Maimi.   

Jami Smith from Expedia.com singing with the entertainment. Next year Jamie should "be" the entertainment.  She can sing!  

Fellow blogger Gianna Clark, Managing Director of Six Sigma at Dominion, meeting General Colin Powell.

Your very own iSixSigma:  Michael Cyger, Michael Marx and Managing Editor of iSixSigma Magazine, Jessica Harper.  

Kathi Swagerty and Rick Murrow of Air Academy.

Jessica Schneider of Breakthrough Management Group.

John Hubbs, Kim Bruce and Robert Gettys of George Group

The SBTI team: Joe Ficalora, Ian Wedgwood, and the lovely Debby Sollenberger.  

Tim Kelley and Smita Skrivanek from MoreSteam.

The Minitab crew.  Jeffrey Harpster, Cate Twohill, Jeff Ozarski, and Chris Paret. ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 26 Jan 2007 12:54:16 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Ellen Bovarnick, Nortel Networks]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/ellen_bovarnick_nortel_networks.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Ellen has personality.  She tells it like it is.  She is a recent addition to the “turnaround team” at Nortel Networks.  As the VP of Lean Six Sigma and Global Quality, she laid out Nortel’s plans to execute on their new Lean Six Sigma initiative launched in April last year.  

“Lean Six Sigma will be the largest continuous improvement and quality initiative in Nortel’s 110-year history.” - Mike Zafirovski, President and CEO of Nortel
Ellen said that the Nortel deployment will be more intense than GE’s deployment.  As I recall Jack Welch said of Six Sigma, “Six sigma will be the biggest, the most personally rewarding, and, in the end, the most profitable undertaking in our history.”  So it looks like Mike Zafirovski may still have a couple of GE plays up his sleeve.   
Nortel will focus the deployment on four “Big Y’s”

Customer Satisfaction (Responsiveness and Delivery)
Time to Market (Revenue)
Cash (Days Sales Outstanding &amp; Inventory)
CoPQ (Cost of Poor Quality)
Nortel Six Sigma Deployment stats:

Total leadership change in 2005 -- GE and IBM backgrounds are in charge now
Six Sigma training goals – by the end of 2007 1 percent of employee base will be Black Belts and 2 percent Green Belts.  Do the math, that’s 300 BBs and 600 GBs
All BBs will be internally hired and will serve for 30 to 36 months (Ellen thinks that 18 to 24 months, the typical BB assignment, is not long enough to get the best out of them.  
Green Belts will be trained in powerful thinking, not statistics 
Nortel will have 14 MBBs some internally hired some recruited
Curriculum has moved from DMAIC to more integration with Lean and Design for Six Sigma.
Learning points

LSS powerful in improving the pace and quality of innovation
Focus on facts and data effectively neutralizes historical bias and emotional attachments
Involve product developers
Address known pain points, build credibility quickly
Consider the whole system first then customize to meet business and customer needs
Ellen really went into it differentiating between using the “Six Sigma” tools and solving problems.  She said, and I paraphrase, “It’s not about using the tools. It’s about listening to the data, and really understanding what the root cause is.”  
The Nortel deployment is looking very promising.  Patterned after GE, it will have the added asset of hindsight to overcome the roadblocks that GE faced.  Plus the technology available today will greatly assist Nortel in launching their enterprise-wide initiative, technology that GE just didn’t have back then.  
I asked Ellen about the level of visibility and transparency that the public will see.  She assured me that Mike will continue to share information with analysts and the public alike as he has done since the announcement of Six Sigma.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 26 Jan 2007 10:26:07 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Don Linsenmann: The Man, the Myth, the Comedian]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/don_linsenmann_the_man_the_myth_the_comedian.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Don Linsenmann, VP Business Process Excellence &amp; Corporate Six Sigma Champion at DuPont delivered a superb presentation on Tuesday.  If the only two people I heard this week were Don Linsenmann and General Colin Powell, I would have been satisfied.  
Once again, Don reviewed the faces of Six Sigma with his Rubik’s Cube analogy.  Each color/side of the cube represents a face of Six Sigma:  Strategy, Leadership, Management, Methodology, Technology, People.  
Don explained that today we have a new challenge – the 4x4 Rubik’s cube.  It’s not linear like the 3x3 cube, it’s exponential.  This generation of Six Sigma does not focus on defect reduction, or cost reduction – It is all about value.  
He passed an actual 4x4 cube around the room, giving people a shot at solving one side.  The United Airline attendee did very well, she got 7 squares on the blue side.  The Home Depot guy tried real hard and got all but three of the Orange side.  Then a smart engineer got all but one square of the green.  It was a good lesson in complexity.  All the while Don entertained, taught and shared his insights into what it takes to build a successful Six Sigma deployment:
Critical success factors for Six Sigma

Leadership commitment
Resource commitment
Data/technical rigor
Mechanism track results to the bottom line
Integrating all the pieces/innovating opportunities
Seven Key Innovation Tools 

Value chain analysis RMA/RVA (Rapid Market Assessment/Rapid Value Assessment)
Rank order priority list
Multi-generational offering plans
Technology road map
Comprehensive program management
Program staffing resource matrix &amp; project budget
Stage gate management and project execution
DuPont deployment stats:

Validated over $3 billion in Six Sigma savings. 
22,000 Green Belts (out of 24,000 employees) - That’s 92 percent of the company!
There is no doubt DuPont is committed to driving Six Sigma clear into the 22nd century.  Who knows, by then Black Belts may be synthetic intelligences manufactured by DuPont with the purpose of carrying out all Six Sigma projects to perfection....and in their spare time, they’ll wear LYCRA stretchy pants and play with Rubik’s Cubes…just for fun.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 24 Jan 2007 23:32:41 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: 2007 Six Sigma Excellence Award Winners]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/2007_six_sigma_excellence_award_winners.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I just came from the award gala dinner...and the 2007 Six Sigma Excellence Award Winners are:
Award for Best Defect Elimination in Manufacturing Project- Sponsored by Minitab
Winner: Delphi Thermal Systems - 2007 930 HVAC Module Snap Case MachineHonorary mention: Delphi Corporation - Process Optimization to Significantly Increase Product Strength
Award for Best Defect Elimination in Service &amp; Transaction Project- Sponsored by JMP
Winner: Dominion – Electric Load ForecastingHonorary mention: ADT Security Services – Reducing False Alarms from New Residential Customers 
Award for Best Innovative Six Sigma Project - Sponsored by George Group
Winner: Delphi Thermal Systems - Residential Air Conditioning Application Honorary mention: Delphi Thermal Systems – 2007 930 HVAC Module Snap Case Machine 
Award for Best Design for Six Sigma Project - Sponsored by SBTI
Winner: Tyco Safety Products - Visible Source Tag Development Honorary mention: Delphi Packard Electric – High frequency connection development 
Award for Best Lean Six Sigma Project - Sponsored by six sigma IQ
Winner: Christus Schumpert Health System – World Class Revenue Cycle Honorary mention: Lockheed Martin – Missiles and Fire Control - Lean Material Center
Award for Best Six Sigma Project in Financial Services - Sponsored by iSixSigma Magazine
Winner: Christus Schumpert Health System- World Class Revenue Cycle Honorary mention: Tyco International/ADT Security Systems - Increase Sales to Relocating Customers
Award for Best Six Sigma Project in Healthcare - Sponsored by ISSSC
Winner: NY Presbyterian Hospital – Global Throughput Initiative Honorary mention: Firstsource (formerly ICICI OneSource Ltd) – Improve Accuracy on Non-Keyable Claims 
Award for Best Six Sigma Project in Government - Sponsored by the iSixSigma Blogosphere
Winner: JEA – Electric Meter Testing at Commonwealth Improvement ProjectHonorary mention: Dominion – Virginia Legislative Survey Project ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 23 Jan 2007 23:07:38 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Day One: 8th Annual Six Sigma Summit]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/day_one_8th_annual_six_sigma_summit.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[This week I’ll be blogging from the IQPC 8th Annual Six Sigma Summit in Miami, Florida.  Today’s sessions are over and I must say that I was impressed with the presentations.  My favorite speaker today was, hands down, Don Linsenmann, VP and Corporate Champion at DuPont.  Don is one dynamic speaker.  He’s part comedian, part instructor, and all entertainment.  He shared some great information about DuPont’s deployment; savings, to date, number of Green Belts, critical success factors and seven key innovation tools.  All of which I’ll share in a later post. 
Ellen Bovarnick, VP Lean Six Sigma and Global Quality at Nortel Networks, put on a great Six Sigma show as well.   More from her will come later too.  I also attended the CSX and Allstate presentations.  Both presenters shared excellent data on their deployments, and you guessed it, I’ll be posting that later on as well.  Tomorrow we’ll hear from General Colin Powell, the Keynote address.  I’m really looking forward to hearing him speak.
Tonight, I’m out the door to the Excellence Awards.  Stay tuned this evening if you are interested in hearing who the winners are…]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 23 Jan 2007 17:05:06 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma Saves the Fortune 500 $427 Billion]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_saves_the_fortune_500_427_billion.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Let me introduce you to the iSixSigma published report, Six Sigma Saves a Fortune.  Featured in the January/February issue of iSixSigma Magazine. The research is sure to interest the entire Six Sigma community – advocates as well as naysayers.  
Press release:

“Over the past 20 years, use of Six Sigma, the popular business improvement methodology, has saved Fortune 500 companies an estimated $427 billion, according to research published in the January/February 2007 issue of iSixSigma Magazine.
“The estimate is based on reported savings linked to Six Sigma in public documents.  "Our data also showed that corporate-wide Six Sigma deployments save an average 2 percent of total revenue per year," added Michael Marx, research manager for iSixSigma.”
We have real numbers that estimate Six Sigma savings to be quite significant.  A management philosophy that has saved nearly a half a trillion dollars at Fortune 500 companies alone since 1987 is quite an accomplishment.  
So if you’ve been reading the negative press Six Sigma has been getting lately (Fortune article, Dilbert comic, and the recent WSJ article) don’t be too quick to judge Six Sigma.  Let these savings numbers speak for themselves.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 11 Jan 2007 12:10:51 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma Decorations]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_decorations.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Last year for the holidays I wrote about Amazon and their Six Sigma efforts.  This year let me introduce you to a much smaller store, yet still striving for Six Sigma.
The Christmas Decorations &amp; Gifts Store endeavors to spread Christmas cheer and customer delight to their patrons by practicing Six Sigma.  From their website:

“We are dedicated to making this Christmas web site your favorite sight for all your seasonal needs. We hope that our web site will make your Christmas activities more enjoyable and meaningful. Christmas Decorations and Gifts Store has spent endless hours to make this web sight easy to use and browse through. We strive to exceed six sigma philosophies in our warehousing and shipping processes.
“When ordering Christmas decorations a missed quantity or missed delivery date is almost as bad as not receiving the order at all. The correct Christmas items must be delivered on time to the proper customer address. Any mistake is almost unforgivable. Realizing that this is the case Christmas Decorations &amp; Gifts Store is utilizing some of the practices and techniques of World Class companies. Among these is the application of the philosophy of six sigma. 
With six sigma the objective is to understand our processes so well that the chances of a defect (a six sigma mistake) are less than 3.4 per million. We feel that customers are the only people who can determine if a mistake has been made. Our customer delight is our life blood.”]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 14 Dec 2006 14:20:33 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: e-Zsigma Interviews Santa Claus]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/e_zsigma_interviews_santa_claus.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The ghost of Christmas past pointed me to this interview with no other than the man himself – Santa Claus.  Rod Morgan of e-Zsigma was fortunate enough to meet Santa and ask him all the details surrounding Six Sigma at the North Pole.  
Below is an excerpt where Santa describes how Six Sigma was brought in to complement current Lean Manufacturing practices:

News: "You mentioned earlier that Six Sigma was brought in to complement your existing Lean Manufacturing practices.  How was this integration accomplished and did you get any resistance from the Elf workforce?"
Santa: "To be honest, as if I could be anything but, there was quite a lot of skepticism at first.  Lean had worked for us - we had seen improvements in terms of efficiency with the elimination of a lot of waste and cycle time reduction, and our people were tired.  Implementing Lean had been a big project for us and happened over several years - in fact, it is still going on... it never stops.  We had a choice, in that we could have brought in Six Sigma tools and methodology as an add-on to Lean... disguised as additional training or something like that.  But, we felt that if we did that, we might not be successful in lighting the fire that we know is required for Six Sigma to really take hold and drive results.  We wanted people to know that there was something new in the air, and it was different, yet complimentary to what we were already doing.  I think everyone realized that something was still missing, since even with Lean, we were still having problems... bottlenecks, quality problems, frustration... What we didn’t know at the time... something we learned a little bit later, is that we didn’t have right tools that really allowed us to focus on variation."
To learn more about the Six Sigma and Lean initiatives at the North Pole read the entire interview!  
e-Zsigma December 2003 Newsletter, Six Sigma SpotLight: Santa Claus, CEO Polar Enterprises Inc. ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 14 Dec 2006 09:30:57 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Santa's Six Sigma Delivery]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/santas_six_sigma_delivery.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[To better acquaint their employees with Six Sigma, the Y-12 National Security Complex published the following story in their January 2002 employee newsletter.  
Bechtel Shares a Six Sigma Parable

You may have heard about the most recent process improvement initiative, Six Sigma, which is taking off like wild fire around America. Corporate giants like Motorola, General Electric, Allied Signal and Bechtel are embracing this new approach to work process improvements with enthusiasm and the results have been staggering.
Not to be outdone by the lower 48 states, Santa Claus has rolled out his own Six Sigma deployment to help satisfy the global demands of his customers. Kids throughout the world expect their gifts to arrive no later than 6 a.m. Christmas morning so that playtime can be maximized with the newly acquired toys. In recent years, Santa has been hard pressed to deliver the ‘goods’ by 6 a.m., December 25. But 2001 was different.
Early in June, Santa Claus assigned his Yellow Belt elves to map their own work processes and measure key cycle times, durations, and rejection rates. With his Champion, Mrs. Claus, Santa developed a high-level flow chart to illustrate all the key functions necessary to satisfy his young customers. With the data collected and summarized in a Pareto chart, Santa determined that the most critical and time consuming work activity is finding the correct gift stored in his sled for kids like Johnny in Portland and Jane in Seattle. The data indicated that 80 percent of Santa’s work time was spent rummaging around in his sled for the right gift during his delivery run on Christmas Eve.
Furthermore, incorrect gift delivery of more than 33 percent has led to many very unhappy customers in years past. Santa quickly assigned his resident Black Belt elf to work on the Process Improvement Project (PIP) that would improve the toy delivery system to ensure timely and accurate delivery.
By September, the Black Belt, working with the Yellow Belt process owner and other subject matter experts, had further reviewed the work process. 
Additional data was then collected, and the Black Belt applied statistical hypothesis testing to confirm the suspicion that toy positioning in Santa’s sled did indeed affect Santa’s ability to efficiently deliver the right toy to the children of the world. The PIP team quickly developed an Improve Plan, requiring that a sequential delivery listing be developed prior to packing Santa’s sled. With this list in hand, the elves were then instructed to reverse-pack the sled in the order of delivery.
Furthermore, each gift was labeled with the name and location of the child. The Yellow Belt then implemented the approved Control Plan to periodically check the sled’s packing sequence and confirm that all packages were properly labeled.
Santa declared victory on Christmas Day, when all the children of the world had the correct gifts in time for their early wake-up schedules.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 11 Dec 2006 15:15:09 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: A Customer Service Rave]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/a_customer_service_rave.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[We’ve all been to the post office and waited in line for what seems like eternity....  At the post office, it’s first in, first out.  One postal worker for each transaction.   With the holidays upon us, I’m sure we’ll all have the experience again soon.  
The following story didn’t happen in a post office.  This customer service rave happened in a UPS Store…it’s a simple story, but the impression it left on me will last a long time.
I walked in to a moderately busy UPS store one afternoon.  There were three employees working and about five or six customers.  I browsed the packaging materials for a few minutes trying to decide if I should go with a padded envelope or box.  As I picked up the envelope, I made eye contact with one of the employees.  She happily reached out to me and asked if I needed anything.  I told her I needed to overnight the items I was carrying.  She looked at what I had and recommended a free box for my precious cargo.  
As she gave me the paperwork and explained what to fill out, I realized that she was helping another customer as well.  While I was busy scribbling, she went back to her previous customer and continued what she was doing.  In the meantime she reached out to a third customer that walked in and started to help her as well.  
I was amazed at the multi-tasking ability of this employee!   Helping three customers at once is not something you see very often in a traditional “wait-your-turn-in-line” environment.  This batch processing queue sure beats FIFO queue at the post office.
The UPS store has won repeat business with me, as along as there is an “Ashley” there to help me (and a few others).  Since The UPS Store is a franchise chain, and each store is independently owned, I’m not sure if it is standard operating procedure (at all 5,600 stores) to hire multi-tasking employees that can deliver flawless service, to three customers at once, all with a smile…but it sure would be a good idea.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Transportation &amp; Logistics]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 04 Dec 2006 09:47:39 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: LEGO Bricks, Almost Six Sigma]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/lego_bricks_almost_six_sigma.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I read a very cool article in BusinessWeek yesterday called The Making of…a LEGO. (Brought to my attention via Slashdot.)  While the article doesn’t actually talk about Six Sigma it does tell us a little about the manufacturing process of the LEGO bricks:


“The bricks are so meticulously made that the company claims that out of every 1 million elements made, just 18 will be declared defective and removed from the set.”
If you consider each completed LEGO brick one opportunity then LEGO is running a 5.63 sigma process. (Sigma process calculated with the Process Sigma Calculator). Not too shabby.  
If you’ve got a few minutes on hand make sure to read the comments under the Slashdot reference.  There is quite a bit to be said for and against Six Sigma including references to the recent Dilbert comic.  
Links
LEGO Website
Case Study: Thermoplastic Injection Molding of LEGO® Toys, A designed experiment examining the manufacturing process for the LEGO building block.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Consumer Products]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 30 Nov 2006 07:28:04 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: A Customer Service Rant]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/a_customer_service_rant.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Seth Godin points us to a positive customer service story regarding a flat tire.  I’d like to tell you my story...the exact opposite experience at my local big chain tire shop.  My tire went flat while I was out.  Luckily I happened to be next to a gas station.  I managed to fill it up enough to get me to shop where I bought them.  They offer free flat repair.  
I strolled on in to shop at 3:35 PM on Saturday and said, “I’ve got a flat that needs repair.”  Three employees were sitting at the front desk chatting when I walked in.  The manager said, “Sorry we just closed at 3:30.  There’s nothing I can do.”  Another employee added, “You can come back at 8 AM Monday morning.”  I said, “But I have a flat right now!”  She repeated, “We’re open again at 8 AM Monday morning.”
I walked out of there perplexed at their complete lack of care for my situation.  Sure they had just closed, and they wanted to get home. I understand that completely.  What bothered me most isn’t that they wouldn’t fix the tire because they were closed, it was the attitude the second employee gave me.  She was basically telling me that I wasn’t her problem, and wouldn’t be until they opened again.  Where was the compassion to help someone in need?
I have always been a fan of this tire chain. For years I have bought my tires there.  And I have always recommended them to others.  This is the first time they completely disrespected me as a customer.  
I drove around calling other places looking for help.  I ended up at Firestone.  I waited patiently in a small line in the front office to inquire if they had room to squeeze me in.  The employee said, “We can help you today, but not until about 6 PM.”  I explained that I really needed to get it fixed sooner than that.  He responded, “You might want to go over to AutoZone just down the street.  Buy a Fix-a-Flat repair kit and see if that will tie you over until you can bring it in.”  
I did just that.  I pulled the nail myself, filled it with the Fix-a-Flat repair can and the tire was ready to go.  The Firestone employee offered an alternate solution.  He truly helped me. The employees at the chain store could have done the same thing, but no, I wasn’t their problem because I walked into the store six minutes late.  I haven’t been back there since then, and don’t plan to.  A hundred positive customer experiences can’t make up for just one act of disregard towards a customer.
Yes, brands can be built by simple acts of kindness just as they can be destroyed by uncaring off-the-clock employees.  You decide; is kindness towards customers a good policy?]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 21 Nov 2006 14:32:00 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma, Easy as Pie]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_easy_as_pie.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Last year to celebrate Six Sigma and Thanksgiving, I directed you to a couple of Thanksgiving DOE’s.  
This year let’s talk apple pie.  The Bama Companies make a mean apple pie.  In fact they make millions of them each year.  Not quite the same as the apple pie that my wife bakes for Thanksgiving, but the Bama Companies hand-held pies still taste mighty good.  
If you don’t think you’ve had a Bama Companies apple pie, just remember the last time you had a McDonald’s famous hot apple pie...that was a Bama pie.  
Bama Companies make all sorts of goodies; pies, biscuits, brownies, crusts…  The company has a 77 year history of producing quality baked goods and the vision of being a billion dollar company by 2010.  It’s no wonder that Six Sigma is part of the recipe for success at Bama.  Driven by CEO Paula Marshall, Six Sigma has been helping grow the business since 2001 and in 2004 they won the Malcolm Baldrige Award for their efforts in excellence. Bama Companies is definitely doing more than one thing right.  
Celebrate this Thanksgiving with pie.  Whether it be a Bama pie or an extra slice of that relative’s famous apple, pear, pumpkin or pecan, now you can tell everyone around the table that Six Sigma is all about making the perfect pie.
Links
Bama Six Sigma
Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award
The Bama Companies, Inc. Wins McDonald’s ® USA Highest Quality Honor]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Consumer Food Products]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 20 Nov 2006 14:03:31 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Innovative Use of Six Sigma Savings]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/innovative_use_of_six_sigma_savings.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[BusinessWeek released an article this morning titled How Wall Street Can Catalyze Innovation.  The opening lines liken the quality discipline to what the future holds for the innovation discipline:

“Just as quality became a serious business discipline 20-plus years ago, and is now embedded in most organizations through standard operating procedures, innovation must be developed as a discipline. And we believe that, over the next 20 years, it will be.”
Michael Cyger also made a similar comparison as well at Real Innovation Commentary (part of  CTQ Media’s recently launched RealInnovation.com).   
The article then quotes responses that business managers typically give to questions about innovation.  First we hear from the “Business-as-usual CEO,” then the “Toe-in-the-Water CEO” and finally the “Switched-on/Forward-thinking CEO.”
In response to the question, “How much money are you devoting to the effort (innovation) and where are the funds coming from?” The “Forward-thinking CEO” says:

“Our Six Sigma efforts don’t normally move the needle for us revenue-wise, but they sure deliver a lot to the bottom line. We’ve started with a chunky seven-figure budget and we expect to double it with the operational savings we create so we can fund worthy innovation projects at all levels in the company.”
What a great way to return Six Sigma savings back into growing the business; Fund innovation projects.  It’s also a nice synergy between Six Sigma and Innovation.  Perhaps the innovation minds in corporations will be less critical of Six Sigma if they could see the savings directly fund their projects…or perhaps they’ll still find a way to go against the grain…Those innovative minds, you never know what they’ll do (or think).]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 16 Nov 2006 17:04:50 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma at NBC Universal]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_at_nbc_universal.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The 30 Rock Six Sigma reference got me thinking about Six Sigma at NBC Universal... not much searching later I found a Six Sigma educational video produced by the quality team at NBCU and narrated by Linda Hildebrandt, a Master Black Belt on the quality team.  
The self-made video is professional quality (would you expect anything less from Hollywood?) and introduces us to the quality team at NBCU.  Linda then walks us through the Six Sigma basics.  The beauty of this video is in the clips from the NBC show The Office that are seamlessly edited in, giving the video way more humor that you’d expect from a Six Sigma educational video.
Watch the video to learn a little about Six Sigma at NBC, but more importantly, watch it for a good laugh. 
UPDATE: The video has been removed from YouTube and no longer available.  It was good while it lasted.  
Six Sigma at NBC Links
Six Sigma: A Hollywood Studio Learns the G.E. Way]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Travel &amp; Leisure]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 15 Nov 2006 16:43:00 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma at 30 Rock]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_at_30_rock.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[My mother-in-law (we call her TiVo) said she was watching 30 Rock last week…(just one of the many, many shows she records, hence the name TiVo) and told me about a scene where Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) explains Six Sigma to his staff writers.  Well, I went a looking for it and thanks to YouTube here’s the clip:



I found the clip very funny, especially the line about the Sigma 6 GI Joe. So now we’re seeing Six Sigma references in pop culture entertainment!  As you might know NBC is owned by GE, whose former CEO, Jack Welch, made Six Sigma famous -- so the humorous riff on Six Sigma is quite fitting.
30 Rock Six Sigma Links
Tina takes on corporate America, Fortune, September 7, 2006.  Excerpt:

"(Tina) Fey, who writes, produces, and stars in the show, which will air this fall, recently spoke with FORTUNE’s Stephanie Mehta about the television business, working for a large company, and Six Sigma. That’s right, Six Sigma..."
TV and Film Guy’s comments on the Six Sigma bit via BlogCritics
Recap of the entire episode via TV Fodder
Wikipedia overview of the episode - Jack the Writer]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Management]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 13 Nov 2006 11:57:45 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Nortel Networks Hires Ellen Bovarnick]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/nortel_networks_hires_ellen_bovarnick.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Nortel Networks recently hired Ellen Bovarnick to run their newly deployed Six Sigma program.  Ellen was previously the VP of Process Excellence at Coca-Cola.  Mike Zafirovski, CEO of Nortel, is the former President and Chief Operating Officer of Motorola and before that spent 25 years at GE…No wonder he is pushing Six Sigma at Nortel!  
Six Sigma is only a part of the turnaround strategy Zifirovski has introduced.  Hiring Ellen to lead the initiative will surely prove to be one of his best decisions.  Ellen is a very dynamic individual. I have spoken with her several times at Six Sigma conferences and it has always been a pleasure speaking with her.  I’ll be keeping my eye on the work she does at Nortel.    
Nortel Names Ellen Bovarnick Vice President of Lean Six Sigma and Global Quality, October 30, 2006
Nortel Hires Standards Executive; She Will Be Based In RTP, October 30, 2006
Nortel hires exec away from Coca-Cola, October 30, 2006, October 30, 2006
Nortel’s new game plan: Canada telecom, Canadian Business Magazine, March 27-April 9, 2006]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Computers &amp; Electronics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Six Sigma Articles &amp; News]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 03 Nov 2006 12:46:07 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: World's Largest Jack O' Lantern]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/worlds_largest_jack_o_lantern.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[
First, a special thanks to Dominic at the Fortune Business Innovation Insider blog for directing me to this story.  
OK, this Halloween/Six Sigma connection is a small stretch…ConocoPhillips, the sponsor of this giant pumpkin, is a Six Sigma company. If you are in Southern California stop by the refinery for a visit:

“ConocoPhillips extends an invitation to the community to see Smilin’ Jack and enjoy some of his delicious caramel corn on the nights of October 30 and October 31, from 6 to 9 p.m. The ConocoPhillips refinery is located at 1660 West Anaheim Street, Wilmington, CA 90744, between the Harbor Freeway and Gaffey Street.”
The Great Pumpkin Returns to ConocoPhillips’ Wilmington Refinery, Press Release, Friday, October 13th, 2006
Related Halloween PostsSix Sigma Rocks!Sweet Six SigmaSix Sigma is Out for Blood!]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 26 Oct 2006 22:01:01 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma is Out for Blood!]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_is_out_for_blood.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Blood Systems Laboratories, a division of Blood Systems, is the second largest blood testing company in the United States (second only to the Red Cross).  They launched a Six Sigma program early in 2004.  The Blood Systems 2005 Annual Report highlights Blood Systems Laboratories’ Six Sigma achievements:

“Completed 18 Six Sigma/Rapid Action Planning (RAP) projects which led to improvements in cycle time, waste reduction and higher levels of customer satisfaction.”  
One such case study shows how Six Sigma was used to improve donor testing.  Using DMAIC the Six Sigma team was able to reduce the Incubation Time Tolerance Error (an error caused by exceeding memory limits on a blood testing workstation) by 85 percent, saving the laboratory $28,800 per year.  
So yes, Six Sigma is out for blood, out to save blood.  But don’t let Six Sigma do all the saving…you too can help save lives.  Be a Hero this Halloween and donate blood!  
Related Halloween PostsSix Sigma Rocks!Sweet Six SigmaWorld's Largest Jack O' Lantern]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Healthcare]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 26 Oct 2006 11:16:00 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Sweet Six Sigma]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/sweet_six_sigma.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I imagine that Halloween is to Hershey’s as St. Patty’s Day is to Green.  You can’t have one without the other.  I love Hershey’s Chocolate….whether it’s a Kit Kat, Reese’s, Mounds, or Almond Joy (sometimes I do feel like a nut), a Kiss or a Hug, or my favorite, a Special Dark Miniature, when that mildly sweet chocolate melts in my mouth… I’m not thinking about Six Sigma…until now. To curb that Halloween Six Sigma sweet tooth in you, I point you to an article by Amy Roach Partridge at inboundlogistics.com, titled:  
With Six Sigma, Hershey’s Kisses Errors Goodbye Read about how Hershey’s collaborated with GENCO to apply Six Sigma at its Lebanon, Pennsylvania sales fulfillment warehouse.  
At the thought of Hershey’s using Six Sigma, I was hoping to see a project that improved the creaminess of the chocolate or one that grew sales in a specific region, but alas, the Six Sigma project at this warehouse ended in a reduction in workforce:

“Seeing they were wasting productive time, Hershey’s scaled back the Lebanon warehouse staff by 25 percent, or 1.5 full-time employees, a substantial reduction for a six-person team. The move saves Hershey’s $45,000 per year in labor costs.”
So Six Sigma saves Hershey’s a few thousand dollars but sends one and a half employees looking for work?  Not the morale building boost you’d expect from an inaugural project. It’s these kind of projects that give Six Sigma its stigma.  For the one and a half laid off Hershey’s employees, I’m sure the thought of Six Sigma is nothing but bittersweet.Related Halloween PostsSix Sigma Rocks!Six Sigma is Out for Blood!World's Largest Jack O' Lantern]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Six Sigma Articles &amp; News]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 25 Oct 2006 10:51:59 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma Rocks!]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_rocks.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[To help prepare you for the Halloween spirit, this week I’ll be posting Six Sigma stories with a Halloween twist…I’ll cover the frightening, the sweet and the orange....  
Today, let me introduce you to the Dark Side of Six Sigma – Six Sigma the fuzzrock trio based out of Long Branch, New Jersey.  These guys seriously rock.  They have an old-school sound that is sure to take you back to your rock-n-roll roots.  The name of their band was inspired by, you guessed it, Six Sigma as we know it…from their website:



“What the hell is ’Six Sigma’ anyway???  Six Sigma is a mathematical philosophy whereby each Sigma represents a range of deviations from an acceptable Median. To go all the way to Six Sigma is virtuous.”
Someone should book these guys for a Six Sigma conference.  They’d be sure to liven up the event!  If you like Six Sigma and you like to rock, check these guys out.  Use them as intro music to your next Black Belt presentation.  Rock on Six Sigma!
SIX SIGMA IS: Vox/Guitar: Doug Timms, Bass: Scott Margolin, Drums: Mappy
Related Halloween PostsSweet Six SigmaSix Sigma is Out for Blood!World's Largest Jack O' Lantern]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 24 Oct 2006 01:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Mikel Harry Rejoins Six Sigma Academy]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/mikel_harry_rejoins_six_sigma_academy.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Six Sigma Academy has announced that Mikel J. Harry, author of Six Sigma: The Breakthrough Management Strategy Revolutionizing the World’s Top Corporations, and founder of Six Sigma Academy, will rejoin the firm as Vice Chairman &amp; Chief Knowledge Officer.  
This is big news for the Six Sigma community and as well as a strategic move for Six Sigma Academy. Harry is considered one of the architects of Six Sigma and in this new role he will continue to develop the methodology, using his experience and expertise to drive Six Sigma beyond traditional thinking.  

“We are delighted that Mike is joining us.  We love that he has chosen to return to his company,” says Scott Miller, SSA’s CEO.  “His addition to our firm will accelerate our ongoing efforts to develop new, more efficient ways of delivering client value.  Mike added to Scott’s remarks by saying; “It’s a wonderful feeling to be reconnected to SSA.  Our reunion has created a super opportunity to develop new and innovative ways to create value, especially for those corporate leaders that seek to push the envelope of business performance.” 
As Mikel returns to his roots we should expect to see further evolution to the Six Sigma methodology.  If you’ve ever spoken with him you will see immediately that he is overflowing with ideas, passion and lots of stories.  His reunion with SSA will give him the resources to put his Six Sigma imaginations to work.
The entire press release can be found on iSixSigma.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Six Sigma Articles &amp; News]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 17 Oct 2006 11:09:14 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Interview with Microsoft CIO, Stuart Scott]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/interview_with_microsoft_cio_stuart_scott.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Today, XGP Gaming released an interview with Stuart Scott, CIO of Microsoft.  In the interview Stuart talks about his first year as CIO with Microsoft and he elaborates on where he sees Microsoft IT headed in the next few years.   When questioned about his goals for Microsoft IT, Stuart stated:

"...we expect to cut business complexity in half over the next three years by standardizing and simplifying our business processes, and by consolidating and eliminating redundant systems, applications and tools."
This answer lead to a question about Six Sigma and what it means to him as a CIO:

PressPass: It’s said that you’re a Six Sigma "black belt." Could you explain what that means and why it’s an asset, and tell us how you parlay that sort of expertise into success in your role as CIO? 
Scott: Six Sigma is a data-driven process for making business decisions and choosing investments that help ensure a return for your business. It’s a discipline in which you use analytical tools to draw out statistically significant information. So if you’re talking to customers, for example, you want to do that in such a way that you come away with a genuine understanding of what they want, and you grasp the difference between what you could do to make those customers feel better vs. what’s critical to enabling those customers to be successful, and what’s critical to Microsoft’s growth. Using good data and analytical tools, you can invest in programs like improving the business or putting in a new information system with the confidence that you’ll achieve the desired result in terms of incremental business value. For me, that’s always measured in a ledger. Any benefit we talk about has to be quantified in a way that demonstrates increased shareholder value.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Computers &amp; Electronics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Six Sigma Articles &amp; News]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 16 Oct 2006 14:23:02 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: IQPC Day Two: Photos]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/iqpc_day_two_photos.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[
Just three of the IQPC team that worked tirelessly to make the conference a success.

The George Group

Larry Goldman and Mark Briscoe of Decisioneering

Eric Nadler of iGrafx

The Instantis Team

jmp on a customer demo

The Quality Group

SigmaFlow showcasing Coach

SixNet Intelligence System

Clark Swain of NIMBUS

Richard Teerlink book signing

The Richard Teerlink Lunch Group
Additional Conference Photos
IQPC Day One: Photos]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 02 Oct 2006 11:30:28 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: IQPC Day Two: Richard Teerlink, Harley-Davidson]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/iqpc_day_two_richard_teerlink_harley_davidson.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Richard Teerlink, Former Chairman of Harley-Davidson, taught us that we need to embrace change if we are to be successful.  He opened with a quote from Eric Hoffer:

“In the times of change the learners will inherit the earth while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world than no longer exists.”
In this context he rode through the history of Harley-Davidson up to the 1981 and then talked about the changes they made from ‘81 to ‘85 that brought the company in to profitability again.  He presented the case that people are the only sustainable competitive advantage a company can have.  Below are a few quotes that stood out in my mind on various topics:
Culture:  “Culture begins with employee engagement in and understanding of the values, direction and purpose of the organization”
Change:  “Change is continuous and accelerating.. If you don’t like it, tough.”  
Communication:  “It’s not the words you write the words you say, it’s what you do.”
Organization chart:  “The right people getting together at the right time to do the right thing right.”  
Harley-Davidson Mission Statement: “We fulfill dreams through the experience of motorcycling…”
At the close of his presentation, a conference attendee asked Richard if he has a Harley tattoo…  He responded, “My Harley tattoo in on my heart and soul.”  
Related Conference Blog Entries
IQPC: Day One: Main Conference SessionIQPC Day One: William A. Steenburgh, Senior Vice President of Xerox Services
IQPC: Day One: Brad Dalton, Senior Vice President of Bank of America
IQPC Day One: Breakout Session: Michael Cyger, iSixSigma
IQPC Day One: Breakout Session, Liam Palmer, HSBC
IQPC Day One: Panel Session: Gaining Buy-in
IQPC Day One: Breakout Session, Raj Gohil, BP
IQPC Day One: Photos
IQPC Day Two: Richard Goldberg, Cisco
IQPC Day Two: Photos]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences&nbsp;,&nbsp;Leadership]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 02 Oct 2006 11:30:05 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: IQPC Day Two: Richard Goldberg, Cisco]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/iqpc_day_two_richard_goldberg_cisco.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Day two began with remarks by Steve Dubrow, today’s conference chair.  Richard Goldberg, Vice President of Corporate Quality at Cisco gave a terrific overview of Cisco Lean.  First he explained what Cisco Lean is:
Cisco Lean is going:• From push to pull• From higher inventory levels to inventory reduced across supply chain• From redundant processes to simplified consol and more efficient processes• From higher IT systems complexity to increased flexibility and scalability of IT systems• From good supply chain management to best in class supply chain management
Next he spoke of the Lean change elements:• People – evolving roles• Process- simplify• Tools and systems – process focuses architecture• Strategy execution
And finally Cisco Lean results:• 40 % reduction in inventory to contract managers• Purchase order transition to partners• Component manufacturers accepting purchase orders directly from Cisco
Related Conference Blog Entries
IQPC: Day One: Main Conference SessionIQPC Day One: William A. Steenburgh, Senior Vice President of Xerox Services
IQPC: Day One: Brad Dalton, Senior Vice President of Bank of America
IQPC Day One: Breakout Session: Michael Cyger, iSixSigma
IQPC Day One: Breakout Session, Liam Palmer, HSBC
IQPC Day One: Panel Session: Gaining Buy-in
IQPC Day One: Breakout Session, Raj Gohil, BP
IQPC Day One: Photos
IQPC Day Two: Richard Teerlink, Harley-Davidson
IQPC Day Two: Photos]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 28 Sep 2006 12:04:12 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: IQPC Day One: Photos]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/iqpc_day_one_photos.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[
We saw the King!

A special sign just for us.

Debby Sollenberger and Joe Ficalora of Sigma Breakthrough Technologies (SBTI)

Tracee Beebe and Bryan Carey of DeLeeuw Associates.

One cool Steve DuBrow of i-Solutions

The one, the only, Chris Paret showcasing the Quality Companion 2.  
Additional Conference Photos
IQPC Day Two: Photos]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 27 Sep 2006 21:59:33 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: IQPC Day One: Breakout Session, Raj Gohil, BP]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/iqpc_day_one_breakout_session_raj_gohil_bp.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Today must be the day for metaphors; Raj Gohil, Process Fitness Master Consultant for BP, Lubricants Americas, taught us what it takes to make a Six Sigma project successful by telling intriguing stories that he learned from his father and grandfather.  He even threw in a Confucius quote. Each story had its own business analogy and the way he told them made for a lively presentation.  
Top 10 Must Dos for a Successful Six Sigma Project
1. Genuine focus on customers2. Global vs. local optimization3. Measurement and process variation4. Risk and failure analysis5. Accomplishing more with less6. Data, data, and data7. “What if…?” analysis8. Mistake proofing9. Performance and controls10. Soft vs. hard skills
Related Conference Blog Entries
IQPC: Day One: Main Conference SessionIQPC Day One: William A. Steenburgh, Senior Vice President of Xerox Services
IQPC: Day One: Brad Dalton, Senior Vice President of Bank of America
IQPC Day One: Breakout Session: Michael Cyger, iSixSigma
IQPC Day One: Breakout Session, Liam Palmer, HSBC
IQPC Day One: Panel Session: Gaining Buy-in
IQPC Day One: Photos
IQPC Day Two: Richard Goldberg, Cisco
IQPC Day Two: Richard Teerlink, Harley-Davidson
IQPC Day Two: Photos]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 27 Sep 2006 19:18:17 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: IQPC Day One: Panel Session: Gaining Buy-in]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/iqpc_day_one_panel_session_gaining_buy_in.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Next, I attended a panel discussion called “Brainstorming Innovative Techniques to Gain Shopfloor to Boardroom Buy-in.” Panel Members were: 
HT Vassar, Abbot – Ross Products DivisionMerle Schneider, Clinical Research Operations, MerckMatthew Booth, VP Operations Development, Boston Financial
They each gave a quick overview of the beginnings of Six Sigma at their respective companies and then shared lessons learned.  Merck has a good story I’ll likely share later.
The familiar question arose as to which is better, full-time or part-time Six Sigma employees?  HT from Abbot answered with conviction – definitely full time!
Additional questions were asked about how to communicate quick wins to the organization.  Merle at Merck chimed in with the A+ answer.  They host Operational Excellence awards, where the senior leaders attend and the projects as well as the teams are recognized.  
Overall, I felt that the panel participants gave good insights that the audience could take back to their organization.
Related Conference Blog Entries
IQPC: Day One: Main Conference SessionIQPC Day One: William A. Steenburgh, Senior Vice President of Xerox Services
IQPC: Day One: Brad Dalton, Senior Vice President of Bank of America
IQPC Day One: Breakout Session: Michael Cyger, iSixSigma
IQPC Day One: Breakout Session, Liam Palmer, HSBC
IQPC Day One: Breakout Session, Raj Gohil, BP
IQPC Day One: Photos
IQPC Day Two: Richard Goldberg, Cisco
IQPC Day Two: Richard Teerlink, Harley-Davidson
IQPC Day Two: Photos]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 27 Sep 2006 16:44:03 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: IQPC Day One: Breakout Session, Liam Palmer, HSBC]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/iqpc_day_one_breakout_session_liam_palmer_hsbc.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Next, I listened to Liam Palmer, Global Head, HSBC Securities Services Best Practice.  He was very entertaining as he talked about Six Sigma at HSBC, specifically teaching us what to do to sustain Six Sigma projects.  He shared a yoga analogy to bring the concept of sustainability home.  
Here’s the short version.  As a runner he wasn’t very flexible and wanted to be able to stretch and touch his toes…so he took a yoga class.  After nine months he was within 5mm of reaching his goal, so the solution to his problem was deemed  a success.  Five years later, can he touch his toes? No. But he can still do the crane pose.
So it is he said with Six Sigma projects.  You often have momentary success when we go through an action to solve a problem.  Three of four years later you’ve still got a solution but it looks like a crane instead of flexibility.  
He then told us more about a project HBSC is working on to improve the accuracy data of client profitability.  The project has potential savings of $22 million.  The key will be sustaining the gains.  Overall a very worthwhile presentation.
Related Conference Blog Entries
IQPC: Day One: Main Conference SessionIQPC Day One: William A. Steenburgh, Senior Vice President of Xerox Services
IQPC: Day One: Brad Dalton, Senior Vice President of Bank of America
IQPC Day One: Breakout Session: Michael Cyger, iSixSigma
IQPC Day One: Panel Session: Gaining Buy-in
IQPC Day One: Breakout Session, Raj Gohil, BP
IQPC Day One: Photos
IQPC Day Two: Richard Goldberg, Cisco
IQPC Day Two: Richard Teerlink, Harley-Davidson
IQPC Day Two: Photos]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 27 Sep 2006 16:26:23 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: IQPC Day One: Breakout Session: Michael Cyger]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/iqpc_day_one_breakout_session_michael_cyger.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I hit four sessions this afternoon.  I couldn’t blog real-time because there was no wireless available…so I’ve found time between sessions to fill you in…
First session, iSixSigma’s very own Michael Cyger, gave a fantastic presentation.  He listed five Six Sigma imperatives and qualified each with company examples and research from iSixSigma Magazine.  The Five Imperatives:
1. Set big goals2. Adapt3. Reduce, reuse, recycle4. Make it personal5. Build leaders
For the "Make it personal" imperative, he cited Mayor Graham Richard of Ft. Wayne, Indiana and his personal approach to building a Six Sigma city.  He likened the common reason that people do not vote – because they do not see the relevance to their personal life – to the reason people do not support a Six Sigma initiative – because they don’t see the relevance in their work.  The answer: make the quest for data personal to employees.  Make it part of their daily routine as the Mayor does. 
Related Conference Blog Entries
IQPC: Day One: Main Conference SessionIQPC Day One: William A. Steenburgh, Senior Vice President of Xerox Services
IQPC: Day One: Brad Dalton, Senior Vice President of Bank of America
IQPC Day One: Breakout Session, Liam Palmer, HSBC
IQPC Day One: Panel Session: Gaining Buy-in
IQPC Day One: Breakout Session, Raj Gohil, BP
IQPC Day One: Photos
IQPC Day Two: Richard Goldberg, Cisco
IQPC Day Two: Richard Teerlink, Harley-Davidson
IQPC Day Two: Photos]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 27 Sep 2006 16:14:43 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: IQPC: Day One: Brad Dalton, Senior Vice President of Bank of America]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/iqpc_day_one_brad_dalton_senior_vice_president_of_bank_of_america.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Next up is Brad Dalton, Senior Vice President of Bank of America.  
Brad is talking about a project at BofA to build a single Six Sigma based change management capability – One that will integrate all existing practices and take advantage of the best of them all.  
The guiding principles for the project approach:
• VOC will drive the work• Use DFSS and Lean• Leverage best practices in industry and BofA• Stop spending time and money on conflicting processes and tools.  
What does Michael Angelo have to do with Lean Six Sigma?  It has been said that he said his sculpting is nothing more than removing the stuff he didn’t need and freeing the sculpture from the marble…
Six Sigma analogy--Everything that we need is right here, we just need to get rid of the stuff we don’t need and free the beautiful process inside.
Brad was very energetic, passionate, and very entertaining.  He presented the steps of the project as a story. A very good story.  Excellent presentation.  The best Bank of America presentation I’ve heard.
Related Conference Blog Entries
IQPC: Day One: Main Conference SessionIQPC Day One: William A. Steenburgh, Senior Vice President of Xerox Services
IQPC Day One: Breakout Session: Michael Cyger, iSixSigma
IQPC Day One: Breakout Session, Liam Palmer, HSBC
IQPC Day One: Panel Session: Gaining Buy-in
IQPC Day One: Breakout Session, Raj Gohil, BP
IQPC Day One: Photos
IQPC Day Two: Richard Goldberg, Cisco
IQPC Day Two: Richard Teerlink, Harley-Davidson
IQPC Day Two: Photos]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 27 Sep 2006 10:52:18 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: IQPC Day One: William A. Steenburgh, Senior Vice President of Xerox Services]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/iqpc_day_one_william_a_steenburgh_senior_vice_president_of_xerox_services.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Key bullets from Bill Steenburgh, Xerox Services
First he gave us a rundown of the last six years at Xerox:

2000-2002: Xerox losing money on a sustained basis 
2002-2005: Investing for growth 
2005 +: Expanding customer relationships
Then Bill talked about how Xerox has combined Lean and Six Sigma to drive improvement.  He said “you really need to use both Lean and Six Sigma.”  He also reiterated Anne Mulcahy’s commitment to the program.

Lean = Speed plus Low cost 
Six Sigma = Culture plus Quality
Lean Six Sigma summary for Xerox Services:

Close performance gaps – DMA Umbrella Initiatives 
Implement strategic initiatives 
Fully integrated into Service Management Process 
Drive top line/improve customer satisfaction at customer site
Biggest Opportunities at XS

Cross functional initiatives 
Effective utilization of Green Belt projects 
Design for LSS 
Variability/replication opportunities 
Continued alignment of projects/resources with the vital few 
Ongoing succession planning 
Implementation when IM/Technology required , but limited funds available.
It’s good to see that even mature Six Sigma companies still see opportunities for improvement.  His final words were advise to getting to the “A” path of sustained commitment:

Change culture and leadership behavior 
Link projects  to business strategy 
Link projects to customer value
Related Conference Blog Entries
IQPC: Day One: Main Conference SessionIQPC: Day One: Brad Dalton, Senior Vice President of Bank of America
IQPC Day One: Breakout Session: Michael Cyger, iSixSigma
IQPC Day One: Breakout Session, Liam Palmer, HSBC
IQPC Day One: Panel Session: Gaining Buy-in
IQPC Day One: Breakout Session, Raj Gohil, BP
IQPC Day One: Photos
IQPC Day Two: Richard Goldberg, Cisco
IQPC Day Two: Richard Teerlink, Harley-Davidson
IQPC Day Two: Photos]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 27 Sep 2006 10:23:20 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: IQPC: Day 1: Main Conference Session]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/iqpc_day_1_main_conference_session.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Today is the opening day of the IQPC Lean Six Sigma Summit West 2006. Roxanne O’Braskey, President of ISSSP is the conference chair today.  Roxanne is a wonderful speaker.  She show so much passion for Six Sigma when she speaks about it. She’s pumped us up to hear and learn from the presenters today.
We’re about to hear from William A. Steenburgh, Senior Vice President of Xerox Services...  
 
 
 
Related Conference Blog Entries
IQPC Day One: William A. Steenburgh, Senior Vice President of Xerox Services
IQPC: Day One: Brad Dalton, Senior Vice President of Bank of America
IQPC Day One: Breakout Session: Michael Cyger, iSixSigma
IQPC Day One: Breakout Session, Liam Palmer, HSBC
IQPC Day One: Panel Session: Gaining Buy-in
IQPC Day One: Breakout Session, Raj Gohil, BP
IQPC Day One: Photos
IQPC Day Two: Richard Goldberg, Cisco
IQPC Day Two: Richard Teerlink, Harley-Davidson
IQPC Day Two: Photos]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 27 Sep 2006 09:41:14 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: IQPC Lean Six Sigma Summit West, Las Vegas]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/iqpc_lean_six_sigma_summit_west_las_vegas.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[This week I’m in Las Vegas for the IQPC Lean Six Sigma Summit West.  The event last year was fantastic.  This year I’m looking forward to the keynote from Richard Teerlink, former Chairman of Harley-Davidson.  There's also a nice line-up of speakers from The Home Depot, Cintas, and Cisco as well as case studies from Sun Microsystems, Volkswagen de Mexico, and BP Oil and Gas Company.  
The next few days are going to be a feast for Lean Six Sigma folks.  What happens in Vegas shouldn’t always stay in Vegas…so be on the lookout this week for blog entries from the City of Six Sigma.  ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 25 Sep 2006 18:42:26 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma at Express Scripts]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_at_express_scripts.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[At the Bank of America, Health Care Conference 2006 in May, Express Scripts gave a presentation that included a few slides about their Lean Six Sigma program.
Their value proposition: “To reduce pharmacy costs, without compromising health outcomes, while maximizing patient satisfaction.”
Lean and Six Sigma together are part of how they are giving “value” to that proposition.  In a recent Lean event a group achieved an 83% improvement in a floor space reduction exercise as well as eliminated 30 steps in a 68 step process.  Now that’s improvement.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Fortune 500&nbsp;,&nbsp;Healthcare]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 31 Aug 2006 04:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: 1,000 Projects Completed at Mercury Marine]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/1000_projects_completed_at_mercury_marine.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[As a division of Brunswick Corporation, Mercury Marine recently completed their 1,000th Lean Six Sigma project.  BYM News reported this morning on this significant milestone and shared more insight into Mercury’s deployment:  

“Since (Patrick C. Mackey) launched the cultural transformation of Mercury three years ago, nearly 700 management and production employees have been formally trained in Lean Six Sigma methods, with dozens more attending training every quarter. The company has also worked with its suppliers and customers to create a lean supply chain to ensure the highest quality products are manufactured and available for consumers.”
Time and time again we see that successful Lean Six Sigma programs reach outward to suppliers and customers.  It’s just not enough to work only on internal processes.  No company is an island - involving the supply chain as well as customers in improvement activities is essential.     
Links
Lean Six Sigma helps Mercury Marine improve quality, BYM News, August 30, 2006  
ISO and Lean Six Sigma, Mercury Marine Website]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Automotive&nbsp;,&nbsp;Fortune 500&nbsp;,&nbsp;Six Sigma Articles &amp; News]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 30 Aug 2006 09:26:01 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Peter Abilla to Interview Mary Poppendieck]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/peter_abilla_to_interview_mary_poppendieck.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Peter Abilla is conducting an interview with Mary Poppendieck, a thought leader in the Agile/Lean for software development space, over at his blog.  Pete has invited all interested to submit their own questions to Mary via the comments section of his post, Interview with Mary Poppendieck.
This is your chance to ask a guru your questions about Lean as it is applied to software development--and get guru answers.  Don’t miss the opportunity.
UPDATE: The interview has been posted. ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Methodology]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 25 Aug 2006 08:35:12 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma News Roundup: August 21, 2006]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_news_roundup_august_21_2006.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Noteworthy Six Sigma news this week...
Even Six Sigma couldn’t save Sony or Dell from the recent battery recall.  A handful of exploding batteries out of more than 4 million manufactured is better than Six Sigma…but some products just require perfection.  Flights, medical procedures, and now laptop batteries…
The Six Sigma methodology is credited with helping DuPont triple its automotive coatings revenue in Brazil.
Minitab is at it again, helping the Six Sigma community analyze their data more efficiently.  The launch of the Quality Companion 2 will surely make using Minitab even more fun than it already is.  
Six Sigma continues to mow through the city of Fort Wayne, Indiana.  Apparently, city-owned grounds were caught in violation of their own mowing ordinance.  No fear, Six Sigma will trim down the overgrown process….  The Property Management department is now participating in a Lean Six Sigma project to improve the lawn mowing process for city owned grounds. 
And finally, more pharma companies are coming on board with Six Sigma. The Farmingdale State University of New York’s Center for Innovation in Lean and Six Sigma is teaching pharmaceutical execs the Lean and Mean of Six Sigma.  Executives from pharmaceuticals firm Altana Inc. are currently in study.  Senior managers from Forest Laboratories previously went through the training program, and employees from Brookhaven National Laboratory will begin training this fall.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Six Sigma Articles &amp; News]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 21 Aug 2006 15:51:14 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma Proliferates CEO to CEO]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_proliferates_ceo_to_ceo.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[So why did Jack implement Six Sigma?  Larry Bossidy.  Why do thousands of other companies use the methodology?  They’ve seen it work and they want to emulate successful companies.  
Such is the case with Lopez Foods.  They are on a quest for growth, and how do they plan to achieve it?  They benchmark the best and follow.  Ed Snachez, president of Lopez Foods met with Paula Marshall-Chapman, CEO of The Bama Companies, to learn how Six Sigma was working there:

“I was impressed with her results so a group of us went to see her facility.  They are now helping us achieve good results in our plants. 
“In August, Lopez Foods began its first six sigma project with the goal of improving the yield by one percent on the beef line. The beef line was picked first since they understand it the best. According to Sanchez, a one percent increase on this line represents close to $300,000 to $400,000 in annual savings. ‘We used to do total quality management, but I like six sigma because it focuses on implementation, not theory,’ says Sanchez.”
And here’s the quote of the day, from Snachez, for all the low margin industries out there thinking Six Sigma will not help them:

“You must chase the pennies because you are making pennies.”
Source: A Better Bite, The Manufacturer.com, September 26, 2005]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 14 Aug 2006 11:51:45 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Podcast: Regulatory Compliance and Six Sigma]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/podcast_regulatory_compliance_and_six_sigma.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The latest podcast is ready to download. This podcast includes highlights from the "Compliance and Six Sigma" survey, published in the July/August issue of iSixSigma Magazine.   
This survey looked into how Six Sigma is helping companies "play by the rules" of regulatory compliance requirements including Sarbanes-Oxley, OSHA, EPA, and the SEC. Listen for the highlights, get a copy of the magazine for the full results.  Also, for a quick overiew of the results read the press release.





 

 

 


 XML Feed for Podcast Receivers 

 RSS Feed of Latest Podcasts  

 Subscribe to iTunes Feed]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Podcasts]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 07 Aug 2006 13:07:51 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma and Information Technology Interview]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_and_information_technology_interview.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[IT Business Edge interviewed me last month regarding the results of the survey “Information Technology and Six Sigma” published in the 2006 May/June issue of iSixSigma Magazine.  The interview was only three questions but that was enough to elaborate on a few key findings in the research.  
For those of you who do not receive iSixSigma Magazine, the interview plus the executive summary of the research provide a good overview of the findings. Below is one of the questions from the interview dealing with the relationship between Six Sigma and IT management:

Question: Your survey found that 86 percent of respondents who "always" use Six Sigma to improve IT processes were companies that see IT as a key part of corporate strategy. What does this tell us about Six Sigma and its relationship to IT management?
Marx: Six Sigma and IT management are closely related. The management principles that define a successful Six Sigma initiative also define a successful IT initiative. Six Sigma is most effective — in terms of results, buy-in, lasting change — when it is linked to a company’s strategic priorities and goals. The same is true with IT. If you are an IT manager in a company for which IT is central to the business strategy, you’ll want to be a champion of Six Sigma. Six Sigma and IT are both means for executing business strategy. IT management can be influential in both the development and the execution of strategy.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press&nbsp;,&nbsp;Six Sigma Articles &amp; News]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 03 Aug 2006 11:17:03 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Cox-Box Calendar]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/cox_box_calendar.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[
iSixSigma is proud to announce the upcoming release of the Cox-Box Calendar. 
The 2007 wall calendar will feature brand new, never before seen Cox-Box cartoons. This calendar will make a perfect holiday gift for your data-minded friends and co-workers.  
Visit http://www.isixsigma.com/calendar/ to learn more and place your advance order online.
Tell a friend: Get the word out!  Tell your friends, family, co-workers, even your boss.  Maybe someone will send you one for the holidays...  ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;The Cox-Box]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 28 Jul 2006 11:13:43 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma News Roundup: July 28, 2006]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_news_roundup_july_28_2006.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[This week there was quite a bit of Six Sigma chatter in the headlines…The U.S. Army regularly makes the news these days touting their success with Lean Six Sigma.  This latest article, Lean Six Sigma Eases Fiscal Constraint Challenges, from Military.com mentions that the Army saved $30 million last year from applying Lean Six Sigma to the Humvee line.  Read more about the Army’s business transformation efforts in Army Continues to Make Progress in Business Transformation. 
More from the government sector… King County in Washington, USA, is working  towards Six Sigma with their mail-in ballot collection and reporting process.  An article that ran in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in 2004 urged government to hold election standards to Six Sigma.  Looks like they got the message in King County.
Invistics released the results from a survey of more than 1,500 pharmaceutical manufacturers.  Notable findings include, “more than half of the respondents said their companies have implemented lean, Six Sigma or Operational Excellence” but “less than half of those lean initiatives have produced satisfactory results.”  The article goes on to state the reason success is limited in the pharma industry, “…fundamental complexities of the pharmaceutical manufacturing process…”  
Here’s my question…So the “less than half” that are successful with their initiatives, are their fundamental processes less complex or do they just know how to improve a process, complex or not?  I don’t think you can blame a complex process for a Lean or Six Sigma initiative failing to produce satisfactory results.  There’s got to be more to it than that. 
3M, a well-known Six Sigma company, recently launched the ePassport Reader.  A “rigorous and extensive Six Sigma launch process” is credited to making ePassport Reader flexible, reliable and robust.
And last but not least, a big shout out to Travis Eck, Manager of Operations for Trinity Real Estate Solutions Inspections division, for earning his Black Belt.  His project involved reducing the cycle time of inspections.  Congrats on earning your Black Belt Travis! (And kudos to Trinity for their unique way of recognizing Travis’ Six Sigma achievement by issuing a press release.)]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Six Sigma Articles &amp; News]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 28 Jul 2006 11:10:43 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Sam Decker on Six Sigma in Marketing]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/sam_decker_on_six_sigma_in_marketing.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[This week Sam Decker gives a beginners course on Six Sigma and marketing over at his blog Decker Marketing.  I’ve been reading Sam Decker for about a year and a half now. He never fails to share the insights he’s learned from his work experiences from start-ups to managing Dell’s eBusiness.  As for marketing blogs, his is top-notch.  If you are in marketing, you’ve got no excuse for not reading his blog.
His latest post Marketing Bullseye 2: Think Six Sigma is part of a series where he gives tips for marketers to get the most out of their efforts.  In “Think Six Sigma,” he explains the concept of Six Sigma and its value in marketing:

“I think 80% of Six Sigma/BPI value in marketing is simply understanding the measures of your marketing process and executing continuous improvement projects on processes that effect these measures.”
He calls out two concepts that changed his way of thinking.  The DMAIC methodology and the Y=f(x) formula.  He goes on to carefully explain how Six Sigma can be applied to marketing and gives four steps, followed by a simple example.  Read Marketing Bullseye 2: Think Six Sigma and make a difference in your marketing efforts today.
(Sam has written a few earlier posts about Six Sigma and marketing as well.  Read Six Sigma Marketing...Made Simple and 7 Tips for "Getting" Six Sigma Marketing.)]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Methodology&nbsp;,&nbsp;Six Sigma Articles &amp; News]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 25 Jul 2006 14:14:25 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma News Roundup: July 14, 2006]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_news_roundup_july_14_2006.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Six Sigma news this week…
Fortune Magazine has decided to pick on Jack on the cover of their latest issue.  The article, Tearing Up the Jack Welch Playbook, is an attempts to throw out the old and bring in the new…way of thinking that is.  Fortune senior writer Betsy Morris, lists seven of the “old rules” (some attributed to Jack’s teachings) and seven replacement rules.  The article has stirred up quite a bit of debate.  Be sure to join the others who have made comments, from ranting their frustrations with Jack (and Six Sigma) as well as singing praises to the both.  Jack himself fired back and defended the "old" rules.  
Kevin Meyer at Evolving Excellence has written his thoughts on the article particularly pointing out the faults of new rule number 4. The Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog also has a few things to say about the article.
In other news, companies with Six Sigma headlines this week include CIGNA, PACCAR, and Black &amp; Decker.  
CIGNA is planning to use Six Sigma to design new services for their customers.  To do this they are launching an Innovation Lab, where a Six Sigma MBB will guide the design ensuring a metrics driven environment.
PACCAR attributes its excellent shareholder return to Six Sigma. Helene Mawyer, vice president, noted, “PACCAR’s use of six sigma in all facets of its business, with over 5,000 completed projects, has contributed to exemplary operational results.”
Black &amp; Decker is using a supply chain software suite that complements their Lean Six Sigma initiative and according to Dan Harmeyer is like “Lean/Six Sigma on steroids.”  I sure hope this news  doesn’t get B&amp;D banned from competing in the Six Sigma awards next year…
And finally, PlantServices.com brings us an interesting report on the state of Lean Six Sigma in China as compared to the U.S.  “In six-sigma and lean practices, as well as innovation and quality, the U.S. is clearly ahead.”  The article goes into more detail around the HR practices of Chinese companies and how they relate to manufacturing performance. ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Six Sigma Articles &amp; News]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 14 Jul 2006 09:49:33 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Podcast: Six Sigma and IT]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/podcast_six_sigma_and_it.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The latest podcast is ready to download. This podcast includes highlights from the Six Sigma and Information Technology survey, published in the May/June issue of iSixSigma Magazine.   
This survey takes a look at the relationship between Six Sigma and IT and answers questions such as: How often is Six Sigma used to improve IT processes? How often are technology based solutions to Six Sigma projects implemented?  Is there a difference in the integration level of Six Sigma and IT between companies that have been deploying Six Sigma for a while and those still only a few years in?  Listen for the highlights, get a copy of the magazine for the full results.  For a quick review of the results included in the podcast you can also read the press release.  





 

 

 


 XML Feed for Podcast Receivers 

 RSS Feed of Latest Podcasts  

 Subscribe to iTunes Feed]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Podcasts]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 10 Jul 2006 08:40:31 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma News Roundup: July 7, 2006]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_news_roundup_july_7_2006.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Lean and Six Sigma make their rounds through the media this week surfacing in publications around the world including Time Magazine…
The article in Time entitled “Lean and Mean” is the story of the Army’s implementation of Lean Six Sigma.  It is a fantastic article full of Six Sigma war stories from streamlining procurement to leaning out the shop floor in Army facilities.
Also along the US military front, Textron shares the story of how Six Sigma led the Katrina recovery efforts at the Marine &amp; Land facility (makers of the Armored Security Vehicle used in Iraq) in East New Orleans.  Following the Six Sigma rigor, teams began repairing the facility as soon as a week after the hurricane and have brought it up to 125% pre-Katrina capacity.
Pharmaceutical Processing held a webcast to discuss the implementation of Lean and Six Sigma in a regulatory compliance environment.   Participants included, Bill Fitch, Vice President of Life Sciences, Dr. Pankaj Mohan, Manager of Global Process Engineering at Eli Lily &amp; Company, Dennis Constantinou, Senior Director of Life Science Industry Strategy at Oracle Corporation, moderated by Mike Auerbach, Editor-In-Chief of Pharmaceutical Processing.  The transcription reveals several nuggets of wisdom for pharma companies just starting out on their Lean Six Sigma journey.
The Nation in Pakistan showcased an article about the characteristics of companies of the future…Six Sigma playing a big part of the makeup.  
That’s all for this week. To read more stories and keep up with Six Sigma news as it happens, visit http://www.isixsigma.com/ne/news/ or subscribe to the Six Sigma News RSS feed. ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Six Sigma Articles &amp; News]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 06 Jul 2006 22:15:00 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Independence Day Six Sigma]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/independence_day_six_sigma.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[For a Fourth of July Six Sigma post, I’ll pay tribute to the Lean Six Sigma efforts in the United States Military operations.  Read success stories from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines. ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Government/Non-Profit&nbsp;,&nbsp;Military]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 03 Jul 2006 11:54:09 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma News Roundup]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_news_roundup.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[This week in Six Sigma related news around the globe…
Read about the new weighing and traceability system, Trac-IT MES, which Maple Leaf Bakeries in the UK is using to reduce waste in their bagel making process.  Now let’s head down under to Linde Australia to read about how Six Sigma in the service division is delivering results.
If you’re having trouble breathing, St. Anthony's Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, can help.  They are using Six Sigma to improve care for ventilator patients.  Read how they have decreased ventilator days, length of stay in hospitals, and infections.  
If you think someone’s following you, wait till you see what Unipart Group in the UK is doing to follow their trucks…They are implementing a web-based vehicle tracking system that utilizes GPS to let them know where their vehicles are at all times.  The data collected will go right into Six Sigma projects.  
Is Six Sigma going to Vegas? Well, Tom Peck is, and he’s got Six Sigma in his bags as he heads to MGM MIRAGE as Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer.  Tom is a Master Black Belt and has held management position at GE and NBC Universal.  My bet is he deals Six Sigma cards soon.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Six Sigma Articles &amp; News]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 30 Jun 2006 10:33:53 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma at Hess]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_at_hess.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Hess, the energy company formerly know as Amerada Hess, got its first taste of Six Sigma from GE back in the year 2000.  GE came in and gave a presentation but Six Sigma didn’t stick.  Four years later it was introduced in the Marketing &amp; Refining division of the company as a CEO driven initiative. Since 2005 the program has been expanding globally to other divisions such as the Refining joint venture with HOVENSA, and Exploration &amp; Production.  
Noteworthy is the internal Six Sigma certification requirement at Hess.  It is one of the most rigorous I have seen.  Black Belts must complete a five-week training course in DMAIC, complete at least three projects, and score at least a 75 percent on a qualifying exam.  With those certification guidelines there is no doubt that Hess Black Belts know their Sigma.  For Master Black Belts the certification requirement is set to a high standard as well.  The MBBs must complete nine-weeks of training, score better than 90 percent on a test, and they must have led numerous Six Sigma projects as Black Belts.  
While Six Sigma is still early in deployment at Hess, senior leadership believes that Six Sigma will have a considerable impact on all aspects of the company:

“It’s important for employees to know that Six Sigma is more than a quality-improvement program – we’ve all seen a lot of those.  It’s far more than that.  Six Sigma will become the way we work.  It has the power to significantly impact our financial performance, enable employees to learn new skills that will help their personal and professional development, and change the culture of our company.” – John Douglas, VP Process Excellence.  (From the Hess LEAN Six Sigma Report)]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Oil &amp; Gas]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 26 Jun 2006 13:17:49 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: David Silverstein on TRIZ]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/david_silverstein_on_triz.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Innovate Forum has posted an interview with David Silverstein, President and CEO of Breakthrough Management Group and co-author of INsourcing Innovation.  In the interview, Silverstein talks about the TRIZ methodology for innovative problem solving.   

“Innovate Forum: TRIZ is a methodology that has traditionally been employed in product design. What prompted you to consider applying TRIZ to business innovation?
“Silverstein: Well, you just used the key word – methodology. TRIZ caught my eye initially because it involved such a methodical approach to problem-solving – which is something that is very palatable to people who are accustomed to Six Sigma. Furthermore, when people are talking about Six Sigma today, they’re not just talking about process optimization – they’re talking about things like design for Six Sigma and structured approaches to strategic planning. So TRIZ offers a very structured approach to innovation, and makes a lot of sense to Six Sigma folks.”
TRIZ has always fascinated me since I learned about it in course taught by Ellen Domb, editor of the TRIZ Journal and President of the PQR Group.  I have found principles of TRIZ creep into my everyday problem solving thought process (along with a few Lean principles as well). The TRIZ principles of abstraction and “ideal final result” are two that I have found quite easy to grasp and applicable to any kind of problem.  In the interview, Silverstein talks about these principles and gives solid real-world examples of each.  
If you haven’t heard of TRIZ, this interview will give you a taste.  If you’re a TRIZ advocate, please share a story (in the comments section) where you applied TRIZ principles to come up with an innovative solution to a problem - either in business or everyday life.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Methodology&nbsp;,&nbsp;Six Sigma Articles &amp; News]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 15 Jun 2006 10:42:56 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma Electronics]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_electronics.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[A recent article in Electronic Business Online talks about Lean Six Sigma at four companies in the electronics industry: Celestica, ON Semiconductor, Solectron and Xerox.  All have seen an improvement in profitability over the past five years and each agree that Lean Six Sigma has contributed to the gains.  Here are a few snippets of information from each company:

"ON Semiconductor is using Lean Six on a more limited scale but nevertheless is experimenting in areas besides manufacturing. About a year ago, the company started training 24 people to be Lean Six "black belts" —12 in manufacturing and 12 in other areas of the company, says John Mallon, director of supply chain management at ON Semiconductor. Among the nonmanufacturing projects is one involving forecasting."
"’Three years ago, we had 16 quarters of losses, but we now have nine quarters of gain behind us,’ says Marc Onetto, Solectron’s executive vice president, worldwide operations. ’There are many other factors, but Lean Six Sigma is a big contributor.’"
"’We don’t try to separate out the monetary gain we get with Lean Six, because it’s incorporated into the management process,’ says Arthur C. Fornari, vice president and corporate deployment officer for Xerox Lean Six Sigma."
"’People start seeing the results and want to apply it to their own processes,’ says Robert Hemmant, global lean architect at Celestica, which adopted Lean Six in 2001. ’We see that as we improve manufacturing, a lot of other processes will need to change; otherwise, they’ll limit the rate of improvement.’ The company has Lean Six projects in human resources, finance and purchasing, he says."
Lean, mean, Six Sigma machines, Electronic Business Online, June 1, 2006]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Computers &amp; Electronics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Six Sigma Articles &amp; News]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 01 Jun 2006 08:44:11 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma at Cardinal Health]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_at_cardinal_health.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Cardinal Health has been busy with Lean Six Sigma.  Their second quarter earnings release highlighted their progress to date:

“Initiating more than 100 operational excellence projects, bringing the total number of ongoing projects to 200.  The company is on-track to train nearly 300 “black belts” during 2006 to manage company-wide lean six-sigma initiatives within manufacturing, distribution, administration, sales and marketing.”
The 2005 Annual Report states: “Across more than 50 manufacturing locations, we’re gaining efficiency through the implementation of lean six-sigma processes, common quality systems and shared sourcing initiatives.”
Information Week recently published an article that describes how Cardinal’s operational excellence initiative (that includes Lean and Six Sigma) is transforming the Information Technology organization:  

“These multiple requirements led us to an operational excellence initiative designed to build new skills among our 55,000 employees and improve quality and management practices across the business. They also resulted in a redesign and overhaul of our IT operations away from a business-unit focus and toward an integrated group servicing the entire company.
“Managing change wasn’t a foreign concept: Cardinal Health had grown enormously from just a decade earlier, when it was a regional pharmaceutical distributor with less than $8 billion in revenue. However, tackling operational excellence required different thinking and discipline-- namely, an investment in black-belt leaders, a commitment to the principles of Lean and Six Sigma improvements, and new training for employees. We’re still early in this process, and like other managers, I’ve taken several days of training in these practices to begin implementing them in IT. We’ve also hired and trained black belts to roll out these practices enterprisewide.”
Articles and Links
Cardinal Health’s Second Quarter, January 26, 2006
Cardinal Health Revamps IT Organization, InformationWeek, May 22, 2006
2005 Summary Annual Report]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Fortune 500&nbsp;,&nbsp;Healthcare]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 25 May 2006 16:42:42 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Penske, Beyond Six Sigma for Indy 500]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/penske_beyond_six_sigma_for_indy_500.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[
Roger Penske expects and gets – perfection, IRL-Live.com, May 23, 2006
Roger Penske talks about preparation for the Indianapolis 500 this weekend.  Penske is a Six Sigma company when it comes to business, but as for racing, Six Sigma just isn’t enough:

“After qualifying, Penske gave an overview of his preparation plan. “We’ll go back, rebuild our gearboxes, suspensions, etc. This is not a ‘Six Sigma’ situation; it’s a zero defects (situation) when it comes to race day on Sunday.” 
Just to put into perspective how much Indy means to Penske, Six Sigma Quality is a process that produces a maximum of 3.4 defects per million opportunities. But that is not good enough for race day - Penske expects perfection.”
Lance Armstrong, cancer survivor and seven-time Tour de France Champion, is an athlete that performs beyond Six Sigma as well.  He’ll have to slow down this year to drive the Indy 500 pace car. 
Articles and Links
Penske Racing
An Interview With 2006 Indianapolis 500 Pace Car Driver Lance Armstrong, indycar.com, April 4, 2006
 ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Six Sigma Articles &amp; News&nbsp;,&nbsp;Transportation &amp; Logistics]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 24 May 2006 09:56:38 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: ISSSP Leadership Conference: Recap]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/isssp_leadership_conference_recap.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Last week Michael Cyger and I attended the 7th Annual ISSSP Leadership Conference.  I blogged a few of the presentations, but was unable to capture the aura of the event through regular blog entries.  Call it not-enough-time-in-the-given-day syndrome or too much wonderful food to eat (which really slowed down my presentation to blog entry cycle time), I did manage to write a few, but most importantly I gathered some great Six Sigma company deployment info that will be sure to show up in future blog entries. 
If you’ve never attended an ISSSP Leadership conference you are missing out on some good instruction.  The CEO Keynote, this year by Chad Holliday of DuPont, is the chance to listen to a seasoned business leader share personal stories about the successes and “key learning points” of Six Sigma.  
The Valuable Connections Reception (party) held in the Outback Oasis (sweet backyard) of the president of ISSSP’s (Roxanne’s) home is the best Six Sigma networking event you could possibly attend.  This year’s VIP list included Mikel Harry (everybody knows Mikel), Tim Tyson (CEO Valeant Pharmaceuticals), and Mike Carnell (the infamous iSixSigma discussion forum poster).  I talked with Mikel Harry for less than a minute before someone more important than me needed him…never even came close to Tim Tyson, but spent a good while talking with Mike Carnell about the Six Sigma success stories at his client Lonmin.  
The rest of the week was a balance of Six Sigma workshops and leadership training. The one drawback, there’s just not enough time to sit in on all the shows.  It’s hard to choose which session will bring the most reward. My advice – follow your bliss, don’t try to soak up too much, get to know the people that are there.  Attend the leadership and soft skills training workshops.  As I’ve heard at each of the conferences I’ve been to, Six Sigma is the easy stuff…it’s the people thing that's the hardest.  ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 22 May 2006 15:58:38 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Lance Secretan, ONE]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/lance_secretan_one.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[At an event where the most common number mentioned is SIX, it was really nice to hear a presentation where being ONE was more important than being SIX.  Lance Secretan is inspiring.  His presentation, ONE, The Art and Practice of Conscious Leadership, delivered at the ISSSP Leadership Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA, was a welcome deviation from the Six Sigma mean.  
He created a room of trust with his voice while he shared stories of real people consciously changing their lives for the better.  

“Whenever we are happy or inspired we are one with what and whom we love. Whenever we are not, we are separate from what and whom we love. This explains all our lives adventures.”  
Simplistic yet true.  So our journey towards becoming ONE is stepped in practicing the CASTLE principles.  “All the castle principles are in us already.  We do not need to learn anything new but we do need to rediscover them.”
C.A.S.T.L.E. Principles: Courage, Authenticity, Service, Truthfulness, Love, and Effectiveness.  Lance explained each CASTLE principle with a story, a real story about real people who exemplified each principle.  As the session ended and we all started shuffling off to lunch, “One” by U2 proudly played like an anthem in the background.  
The entire presentation including the stories accompanying the slides can be downloaded from Lance’s blog.  This isn’t the exact presentation (the graphics were much more professional in his live presentation) but the same stories are all in the notes section).  
I also attended the detailed workshop with Lance, where he took us out of the typical classroom lecture structure.  We formed small circles of groups and talked about the Courage principle.  Sharing stories from our lives where we used courage to get through a difficult time or event.   Lance then asked us to think about a current event or problem we are having, personal or work related, and then use the same level of courage we had shown earlier, to get through it and to commit to an action that will get us started.  
Thank you Lance for inspiring us to become ONE on our journey towards being SIX.  ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences&nbsp;,&nbsp;Leadership]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 22 May 2006 13:36:57 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: ISSSP Leadership Conference: Charles Holliday, DuPont]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/isssp_leadership_conference_charles_holliday_dupont.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The general session opened with Chad Holliday, CEO of DuPont.  His presentation was titled “Six Sigma from the 9th Floor” (the ninth floor being his office).  He spoke with confidence, wisdom, energy, and humor.  I’m sure it takes all that and more to be a CEO.  
The main takeaways of his message (two pieces of learning as he called them) that I’ve heard reiterated in several other presentations over the past two days, are these:
First, don’t dishonor what is already going on at the company.  Meaning, do not put down the previous quality and improvement efforts.  Build upon them.  Second, you’ve got to keep renewing the Six Sigma energy.  
Chad Holliday leads by example.  He spoke about his own Green Belt project that involved the communication to investors process and when asked if he plans another one he said he is thinking about it.  He is currently involved in three other Green Belt projects as a team member.  
Five additional points he spoke to that enable the success of a Six Sigma initiative:

Commitment of senior leadership
Full-time Six Sigma resources as project leaders and change agents 
Visible data, tracking and results
Six Sigma must be integrated into vision, strategy, and tactics
People!  
Chad Holliday was also honored with the ISSSP Six Sigma premier leadership award.   ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 19 May 2006 08:51:36 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: ISSSP Leadership Conference: Six Sigma and Innovation Workshop]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/isssp_leadership_conference_six_sigma_and_innovation_workshop.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I’m here at the ISSSP Leadership conference in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA.  Not a far trip for me as I live in Phoenix, but to beat the traffic I’m staying at the hotel.  The Westin Kierland Resort and Spa is spectacular.  I brought my family along with me to enjoy the pool (since I sure wasn’t going to have any time to swim).  
Day one was the warm up.  I sat in on two workshops.  The first run by George Byrne and Monica Painter of IBM Global Services.  Their presentation titled, “Using Lean Sigma to Expand the Innovation and Growth Horizon” was based on the study they conducted this year called “Global CEO Study 2006: Expanding the Innovation Horizon”. We discussed what innovation is and how Lean Sigma can help get us there.  
First, the definition of innovation according to IBM: “New ideas or current thinking applied in fundamentally different ways resulting in significant change.”  As groups we collaborated to refine or expand this definition and decided that the result of “significant change” was not enough.  The new thinking needs to add significant value as well!  
The Myths and Realities around innovation:  

Myth: Innovation means developing new products and services…Reality: Business model innovation matters.
Myth: Innovation is too critical and propriety to involve outsiders…Reality: collaboration is indispensable to innovation.
Myth: Innovation should be delegated…Reality: Innovation must be orchestrated from the top.
The workshop was very interactive.  Not a lot of lecture, but facilitation.  Getting companies to share their stories was a great way to learn.  ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 18 May 2006 18:14:03 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma at the Army Reserve's 96th Regional Readiness Command]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_at_the_army_reserves_96th_regional_readiness_command.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[In God We Trust, Everyone Else Bring Data
This is a nine and a half minute audio excerpt of the KCPW show The Bottom Line, moderated by Lara Jones of KCPW News.  Lara speaks with a panel of Army Colonels and gets to the bottom of Six Sigma at the Army Reserve’s 96th Regional Readiness Command.  If you can make it through the definition of Six Sigma training at the beginning of the show you’ll find the interviews with Colonel Mike Petrash and Colonel Adele Connell to be enlightening and entertaining.  
It’s a peak into how this Army Command is making the most of Six Sigma...applying it to personnel, logistics, awards and even leadership.  Colonel Petrash talks about the culture change at the Command and Colonel Adele Connell shares a short story of how Six Sigma has helped the Army send battle ready front-line leaders to Iraq.  
If you are pressed for time, download the show and just listen from about the three minute mark on for the Six Sigma in action war stories.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Government/Non-Profit&nbsp;,&nbsp;Military]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 09 May 2006 08:21:48 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: ISSSP Leadership Conference]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/isssp_leadership_conference.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Later this month (May 16-19) the International Society of Six Sigma Professionals will host the 7th Annual Six Sigma Leadership Conference in warm and sunny Scottsdale, Arizona, USA.  I attended the event last year and had a great time.  You can read my blog entries from last year here.  
This year Chad Holliday, Chairman and CEO of DuPont, will be the keynote.  DuPon’t Six Sigma program is exemplar.  His words will no doubt inspire.  
I’m also looking forward to Joseph Grenny of VitalSmarts teach about managing those “crucial conversations,” which often get in the way of Six Sigma success.  His presentation and workshop last year were outstanding.  This year Lance Secretan will share the practice of Conscious Leadership through living the CASTLE Principles -- Courage, Authenticity, Service, Truthfulness, Love and Effectiveness.  (To learn more about Lance and his work read his blog).  Dave Timmons will also entertain and educate us with his ensemble "Six String Leadership Meets Six Sigma."
What I really enjoy about the ISSSP Leadership Conferences is that they really are less about the nitty-gritty of Six Sigma more about learning the secrets of effective leadership, which are applicable far beyond managing a Six Sigma deployment.  Hope to see you there. ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 03 May 2006 17:32:53 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: MagnaChip Knows Six Sigma]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/magnachip_knows_six_sigma.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[For companies considering a Six Sigma initiative, read what Robert Krakauer, executive VP of strategic operations and CFO of MagnaChip had to say about their new initiative in their Q1 results release: 

“During the quarter, we initiated a Six Sigma management system that is expected to result in improved product quality, substantial cost savings, and enhance our industry leading profile. This initiative specifically focuses on three areas within MagnaChip: sales &amp; marketing, R&amp;D, and production. Our Six Sigma initiatives will allow us to more effectively deliver industry-leading solutions to our consumer electronics and communications customers worldwide and place us on the same corporate development path as recognized global industry leaders. This program is not only limited to enhancing cost savings and quality but will be actively used to improve overall business management, innovation and execution.”
He first gives three reasons for Six Sigma at MagnaChip:
1)  To improve product quality2)  To reap the benefits of substantial cost savings3)  To enhance their industry leading profile
Next he tells us what business areas Six Sigma is focused (which is quite a change from the traditional manufacturing mindset):
1)  Sales &amp; marketing2)  Research &amp; Development3)  Production
Finally, he closes with additional benefits the company expects Six Sigma to deliver, namely:
1)  Allow them to deliver solutions to their customer more effectively2)  Will put them on the same corporate development path as recognized global industry leaders3)  Improve overall business management, innovation and execution 
This one paragraph alone embodies the essence of Six Sigma.  Either Robert Krakauer really knows his Six Sigma or he’s got an awesome speech writer.  I’d like to see more companies make public announcements like this.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Computers &amp; Electronics]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 02 May 2006 01:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_at_newyork_presbyterian_hospital.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (NYP) began their Six Sigma initiative in 2003.  Today they are ranked 7th in U.S. News &amp; World Report’s Best Hospitals Honor Roll.  Before implementing Six Sigma they were ranked 14th.  Ed Craven, Director of Innovation Strategy at NYP said Six Sigma deserves some of the credit for jump in the ranks. 
Ed gave a detailed overview of Six Sigma at NYP at the IQPC DFSS conference in Chicago last April.  Their program, Performance Excellence, is dedicated to improving quality, efficiency and service through the execution of Six Sigma and Design for Six Sigma.  Project examples included many cycle-time reduction projects (e.g., blood delivery, medication delivery, patient wait, and MRI wait), efficiency projects (e.g., outpatient transplant room utilization, inpatient efficiency, and Cardiac Cath Lab Revenue Enhancement), and my favorite project -- use of abbreviations in medical records.  
In their first year NYP completed 130 Six Sigma projects and saw over 50 million dollars in savings.  They have trained 50 Black Belts, 300 Green Belts, and 4 Master Black Belts.  Being a Black Belt for NYP has its advantages; 25 percent of Black Belts returning to the workforce after their service received higher salaries than before and many returned to lead their departments.  This kind of recognition has made the Black Belt selection process very competitive.  There were nearly 100 internal applicants this year to fill 10 positions.      
Six Sigma is continuing to grow and evolve at NYP.  As a non-profit, NYP sees the quality of life a motivator to continuously improve operations for their patients.  In non-profit healthcare, the bottom line isn’t always about money, sometimes it’s really about the care.  
Articles and Links
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Partners With GE Medical Systems To Deliver Excellence In Patient Care And Performance, GE Healthcare, September 8, 2003]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Healthcare]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 01 May 2006 13:16:19 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: No Crash and Burn at Dow with Six Sigma]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/no_crash_and_burn_at_dow_with_six_sigma.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Dow Chemical is a Six Sigma giant.  A recent news item from CCH reported that they have been using Six Sigma to reduce the number of vehicle accidents at the Hydrocarbons and Energy business unit (HC&amp;E).  

"The study was conducted in 2002 and improvements and a control plan were put into place beginning January 2003. For 2001 and 2002, HC&amp;E experienced 23 MVAs each year (46 total). In 2003 and 2004, HC&amp;E experienced 32 total MVAs, 15 and 17, respectively, for a 30 percent reduction. This number exceeded the 20 percent reduction established as a project goal and placed the Dow HC&amp;E business unit even closer to its 2005 goal of 50 percent fewer MVAs than it anticipated."
The applications of Six Sigma never cease to amaze me.  Have you heard of any unique applications of Six Sigma?  Let's hear about them.  ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 28 Apr 2006 08:12:12 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Day Two: IQPC DFSS Conference, Chicago]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/day_two_iqpc_dfss_conference_chicago.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Over the last two days many of the presenters have all touched upon a common theme:  The hardest part of a Design for Six Sigma implementation is not the technical aspects of DFSS, but the organizational challengers, the soft side of the equation. Success is more about influencing the people than using the methodology.  
Today’s presentations included, Raytheon, Boston Scientific, AMETEK, CSC, Ansell Healthcare, and NewYork-Presbyterian.  A highlight for me today was the presentation by Ed Craven of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.  He outlined their Six Sigma program in great detail, which I will no doubt post to the blog.  
In speaking with many of the conference attendees, they all agreed that the conference was very helpful.  From networking to learning new techniques, the attentive attendee takes away a bit of knowledge to steer their DFSS implementation towards greater success.  ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 22 Apr 2006 20:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Day One: IQPC DFSS Conference, Chicago]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/day_one_iqpc_dfss_conference_chicago.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I’m in Chicago attending the IQPC 8th annual Design for Six Sigma conference.  Today’s events included presentations from HP, Bank of America, Bechtel Nevada and Motorola.  Joe Ficalora, of SBTI, chaired the day.  For the DFSS enthusiast today was a feast.  To anyone else it probably sounded like an acronym convention.  
I really enjoyed the presentations by CMC Electronics, Bank of America and Motorola. Alexandre Boussetta, Director of Six Sigma at CMC Electronics quoted someone at his company who said “The hard stuff is the soft stuff”.  Meaning it is the soft skills, it is the people management, change management that is the hard part of DFSS, not DFSS itself.  Tom Judd of Motorola agreed, and said to the effect, “the tools part is the easy part, it’s the people that are tough.”  
I enjoyed the practical illustrations of DFSS at Bank of America.  Richard Paxton called them “real world applications of DFSS” where voice of the customer drove the projects.  They included a project to simplify account moves from state to state, one that enabled real-time online banking, and a project that created senior citizen friendly banking centers.
The real value in attending these conferences is the people side of the equation -- networking with others.  There is a lot to be learned in the conference room as well as outside.  
I’ll have more tomorrow.  Stay tuned.  (Day Two)]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 20 Apr 2006 20:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Podcast: iSixSigma Salary Survey]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/podcast_isixsigma_salary_survey.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The latest podcast is ready to download. This podcast includes highlights from the Third Annual Global Six Sigma Salary Survey, published in the March/April issue of iSixSigma Magazine.   
Nearly 2,500 Black Belts, Master Black Belts, Champions and Deployment Leaders worldwide took part in the survey.  The data is broken down by Six Sigma role, geographic location, educational level, years of experience and industry.  Listen on to benchmark your pay against your Six Sigma peers worldwide and find out if your salary stacks up or falls behind.  Feel free to forward to your boss.





 

 

 


 XML Feed for Podcast Receivers 

 RSS Feed of Latest Podcasts  

 Subscribe to iTunes Feed]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Podcasts]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 17 Apr 2006 08:44:20 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma at Intuit]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_at_intuit.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[It’s nearing the end of tax season in the U.S. and chances are you’re probably using Intuit’s Turbo Tax software to figure out how much you owe, or better yet how much your return will be... Intuit is an innovative company that has revolutionized the way we do our taxes and keep our books.  From pencil and paper to keystrokes and clicks, accounting has never been easier.  
Intuit’s operating value No. 8, adopted August 1993 states: “The customer is the most important judge of the quality of a product or process. Therefore, we gauge the success of a product, service or internal process based upon how well it delights the customer.”  
Intuit didn’t need Six Sigma to teach them that delighting customers is important, but Six Sigma has played a part in helping them deliver delight to customers. Six Sigma came to Intuit when Steve Bennett took over as CEO in 2000.  With all his years at GE, Bennett brought Six Sigma with him in his back pocket and quickly put the methodology to work cleaning up the payroll outsourcing business.  
Today Intuit applies the methodology across the organization including software development and leadership development. The September/October 2005 issue of iSixSigma Magazine featured a corporate leadership profile of Intuit.  The article entitled, “The Inside Track: Intuit’s Leadership Training Process,” details how organizational and process excellence (O&amp;PE) play a role in shaping leaders at Intuit.  The training includes the tenets of Six Sigma and Design for Six Sigma.  Regarding Six Sigma at Intuit, Michael Lipps, a leader in training at Intuit, said, “We have morphed our Six Sigma into more of an operation and process excellence role.  It’s much more about organizational excellence and leadership than methodology.”
As Intuit improves processes and reduces cycle times hopefully some of that improvement wears off on their customers...April 15th is closing in, and if you don’t have your taxes done yet, Turbo Tax is sure to be the critical x in reducing the cycle time of your personal tax filing process.  
Annual Reports/Press Releases

“We hired a new vice president dedicated to process excellence and are implementing Six Sigma quality pilot programs in selected parts of the company.” 
2000 Annual Report

“…We’ve implemented Six Sigma process excellence programs to deliver better service to our customers at lower costs; and we’ve dramatically improved our procurement processes.
“The best news is that we haven’t yet seen the full operational and financial benefits of these new initiatives. Intuit made great progress at improving pro forma operating margins in fiscal 2001—up 3.3 points to 17.4 percent. But I think there’s significant room for improvement, especially when you compare our margins with those of the companies we benchmark ourselves against—software and service companies with leading market positions.”  
2001 Annual Report

“We have completed a number of Six Sigma/Process Excellence projects in our customer service and technical support operations to improve our call capacity forecasting, develop more flexible approaches to staffing and reduce support call volumes and handling times.” 
2002 Annual Report
“Under the leadership of Bennett and Hensler’s predecessor, Dennis Adsit, Intuit has completed 17 process excellence projects that have resulted in annualized bottom line benefits of more than $10 million. An additional 80 projects are in process, with estimated annual benefits of more than $20 million.”
Press Release: Intuit Names Bill Hensler As Vice President Of Process Excellence, June 12, 2002
Articles and Links
Better, Cheaper, Faster: Pick All Three, Call Center Magazine, August 5, 2003
Six Sigma: The Myth, The Mystery, The Magic, Call Center Magazine, February 4, 2005
The Hottest CEO in Tech, Business 2.0, June 1, 2003
Why Techies Don’t Get Six Sigma, Business 2.0, June 1, 2003
The Only Question That Matters, Business 2.0, September 1, 2005 
New Horizons for Intuit Customer focus, Information Week, November 22, 2004
QuickBase Solutions, quickbase.com]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Computers &amp; Electronics]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 10 Apr 2006 15:14:40 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: iSixSigma Discussion Forum Humor]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/isixsigma_discussion_forum_humor.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Here's a gem of a post buried in an old thread I've been following that saw some activity today.  Thanks for the laughs Linus.
Re: Six Sigma Companies by Linus Barrymore
Three one-sigma companies board a train in Cleveland traveling southwest at 92 mph.  At the same time, six two-sigma companies board another train in Cincinnati traveling northeast on the same track at 34 mph.  Where will the two trains collide and what will be the result?
A.  Detroit, one 15-sigma company
B.  Columbus, one 9-sigma company
C.  Columbus, 9 1.25-sigma companies
D.  Delaware, one corporation having multiple divisions each performing barely over budget
E.  Columbus, 9 original companies and one less railroad]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 29 Mar 2006 20:03:34 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Podcast: Interview With Gianna Clark]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/podcast_interview_with_gianna_clark.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Our latest podcast is ready to download. This podcast features an interview with Gianna Clark, Managing Director of Six Sigma at Dominion, and our very own iSixSigma Blogger.  
Gianna has been blogging with iSixSigma since September, 2005.  She has developed a continuous theme to her blog...the "nayisms".  In this podcast I talk with Gianna about her nayisms and her experience blogging.  





 

 

 


 XML Feed for Podcast Receivers 

 RSS Feed of Latest Podcasts  

 Subscribe to iTunes Feed
    ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Podcasts]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 24 Mar 2006 06:28:58 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma at the Library]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_at_the_library.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Xerox is working with the Houston Public Library to improve services with Lean Six Sigma.  As part of the Xerox Global Services consulting offering, they have deployed a team of Lean Six Sigma experts to search through library operations and find areas for improvement.

"Lean Six Sigma is typically used by large enterprises to eliminate waste, reduce redundancies and ensure quality," said Craig Haskins, vice president, Public Sector, Xerox Global Services. "But we’re applying the same guiding principles to help public institutions, like Houston Public Library, expand operations, improve processes and increase both employee and patron satisfaction." 
More and more of the Fortune 500 companies that have internalized Six Sigma have also taken it to the next level.  GE pioneered customer targeted Six Sigma efforts with "at the customer, for the customer" where helping their customers improve processes is equally as important as improving their own.  3M, Xerox, DuPont and others have all realized that they are in a position to teach their customers the same principles that they learned years ago, and by doing so, their customers appreciate them even more -- which ultimately translates into growth for both parties. 
This generation of Six Sigma consulting, the corporate giants teaching their  customers, can be a very effective way for smaller companies to embrace the methodology.  How else would a small public organization be able to tap in to the skill set of a team of Lean Six Sigma consultants? That kind of knowledge just can’t be gleaned off the shelves of your public library.  
Xerox Services Help Houston Library Solve Staffing Issues]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Six Sigma Articles &amp; News]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 21 Mar 2006 11:52:53 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: St. Patty’s Day Green Sigma]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/st_pattys_day_green_sigma.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[As a tribute to St. Patrick’s Day here are a few examples of green Six Sigma projects.  Now, I’m not talking about projects that have saved a lot of “green” but projects that are good for the environment.  
Dominion: Water Conservation

"Dominion is also using the Six Sigma process to address water use reduction projects such as the reduction of city water use, the reduction of water used in Dominion plant systems, and the reduction of river water used in the clarified water system at Dominion facilities. With the Six Sigma process, Dominion has produced significant results:
"Dominion has reduced city water consumption at various facilities by approximately 115 million gallons per year by tightening seals, valving out redundant equipment, installing flow meters and current detectors."
W. R. Grace: Plant Uses Six Sigma Methodology and Traditional Heat Balance Analysis to Identify Energy Conservation Opportunities at Curtis Bay Works (PDF)

“The assessment was based on Six Sigma methodology combined with traditional heat balance analysis to identify, quantify, and rank potential energy conservation projects. The assessment team initially identified 23 projects, some competing for the same energy source or application. Using a process map and cause-and-effect matrix, followed by a traditional cost-benefit analysis, and finally by a detailed engineering analysis, the list was reduced to three desirable projects.” 
LG Chem: Innovation and Environmental Management System

“Noteworthy cases among the Six Sigma initiatives carried out in 2004 are 10 projects involved with environmental management, including the construction of non-point pollution sources management system, and 6 projects involved with health and safety management, including a program to prevent the development of joint and bone diseases.”
American Standard: Environmental Success Stories
Dow Energy Saving Six Sigma Projects (PDF)
Target Corporation: Six Sigma Increases Recycling Rates (PDF) pg 39]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Six Sigma Articles &amp; News]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 17 Mar 2006 08:41:21 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Army-wide Lean Six Sigma]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/army_wide_lean_six_sigma.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[According to an article in the Belvoir Eagle, the U.S. Army received orders this week to advance the implementation of Lean Six Sigma Army-wide.  

“‘This is the largest deployment of management science since the beginning of the science,’ said Mike Kirby, deputy undersecretary of the Army for business transformation. This position was created to oversee the deployment of Lean Six Sigma across the Army. Kirby emphasized the need for both leaders and workers to embrace the principles. 
“‘The increased focus on measuring results brought about by personal leadership,’ said Secretary of the Army Francis Harvey, ‘will ensure that the Army realizes evolutionary transformation in all its processes, and ultimately benefits from revolutionary outcomes.’"
Several Army depots including the Army Materiel Command have already been using Six Sigma to improve quality and speed while eliminating waste. Last year the Army Materiel Command realized $110 million in savings and cost avoidance from their Lean Six Sigma initiative.  This year Secretary of the Army Francis Harvey plans to apply Six Sigma to more areas outside the “shop floor” including administrative services, military construction, medical capabilities and civilian human resources.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Government/Non-Profit]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 10 Mar 2006 10:43:19 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Article Spotlight: Helping Your Customer Improve Processes]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/article_spotlight_helping_your_customer_improve_processes.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[This month, Surface Mount Technology (SMT) published an article written by Evelyn Baldwin, a sales manager for 3M Electronics.  3M has been taking Six Sigma to their customers for years and Evelyn’s knowledge of the subject shines through in this article, which reads like a perfect blog entry.  She offers some solid advice for helping your customers improve their process.

“If you’ve been successful with business process improvements internally, the next logical step is to bring what you have learned and apply it to your customers’ processes. In the rush to launch process-improvement efforts with customers however, it is important to remain focused on some important criteria.”
She goes on to explain four ways to do this: Understand customer processes and problems, identify meaningful projects, introduce concepts carefully, and help customers own the project and follow through.  An excellent primer if your company is considering sharing Six Sigma with customers.  
Four Ways to Help Customers Improve Global Processes, SMT, March 2006]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Six Sigma Articles &amp; News]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 09 Mar 2006 06:59:01 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma for Sports]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_for_sports.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Here is a very unique application of Six Sigma from Bank of America.  Ray Bednar, BofA’s new sports sponsorship executive, will use the methodology to improve the banks sports sponsorship process:

"Now Bednar says his job is to make sure the bank is getting the most out of its sports deals using ’Six Sigma’ techniques that can monitor whether sponsorships are worth the investment. One of his first tasks will be to examine whether the company should continue its U.S. Olympic team sponsorship after 2008."  BofA Executive Examines Sports Role
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Six Sigma can have such a broad reach, applicapable in any situation where there is a process that yields some kind of result.  Here lies more proof that Bank of America is not only mature in their Six Sigma deployment, but so confident in the expected returns that even a processs such as sporting event sponsorship is seen through data driven spectacles.  Six Sigma doesn’t sit in the cheap seats at Bank of America.  Six Sigma is on the coaching staff, calling the plays and winning games.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Six Sigma Articles &amp; News]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 08 Mar 2006 08:25:16 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma at Lex]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_at_lex.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Lex Vehicle Leasing, one of the UK’s premier company car suppliers, published a press release today touting their fifth successive year of growth.  Lex has been using the Six Sigma methodology for the past four years.  They call it Q6 internally and it has produced substantial results:

“Contributing to this outstanding year were £4 million of annual benefits generated from Lex’s implementation of a business transformation programme called Six Sigma - and a move to a world class operational centre at Cheadle, near Stockport.
“Six Sigma generated an 11% improvement in the key processes that affect customer service, while the move to Cheadle underpinned a significant improvement in colleague satisfaction.”
While the dollar savings are worthy of note, it’s not always about the money.  John Walden, Lex’s Managing Director, shares additional benefits:

"Six Sigma has enabled us to improve service to customers, develop lasting relationships with key suppliers and improve the internal processes that are so crucial to making the business work effectively. It has been an enlightening process."
Articles and Links
Lex Grows Again, itv, March 3, 2006
Reducing Daily Rental Costs, Lex Website, February 23, 2006
Two New Board Members for Lex, Lex Website, April 14, 2004]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 03 Mar 2006 11:38:16 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Third Annual iSixSigma Global Salary Survey]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/third_annual_isixsigma_global_salary_survey.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[For a sneak peak into the third annual iSixSigma Global Six Sigma Salary Survey, published in the March/April 2006 issue of iSixSigma Magazine, read today’s press release: No Change in Six Sigma Salaries Worldwide, Survey Shows; Certification Apparently Not a Factor.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 01 Mar 2006 04:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: MeadWestvaco Six Sigma]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/meadwestvaco_six_sigma.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[A couple of MeadWestvaco’s Six Sigma Safety Projects are featured in Compliance Magazine’s 2006 Safety Industry Forecast.  James E. Roughton, a Safety Health and Environmental Manager and Six Sigma Black Belt at MeadWestVaco shares several project examples in “Closing the Safety ‘Gap’ Through Six Sigma.”

“Six Sigma projects at MeadWestVaco have already provided valuable learning. One site created a gage study to calibrate observers in their behavior-based safety process, minimizing inter-observer variability that is common in such processes and causes data to often be unreliable. Another site has used Six Sigma tools to improve the effectiveness of employee hazard recognition and job-specific training in a statistically validated manner.”
Articles and Links
Quality, MeadWestvaco Website
MeadWestvaco Packaging Systems Overview, 2005
Damaged Goods, Material Handling Management, December 2005]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Forest &amp; Paper Products]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 24 Feb 2006 06:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Happy Birthday to SixSigmaCompanies.com!]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/happy_birthday_to_sixsigmacompaniescom.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[SixSigmaCompanies.com celebrates its first birthday today.  I made my first post on this day last year. To celebrate I’d like to pay tribute to the short list of Six Sigma blogs and podcasts out there. There are only a handful of good Six Sigma blogs outside the iSixSigma Blogosphere.  My definition of “good” is, written by a Six Sigma professional, a consultant or industry practitioner and contains relevant information that teaches and entertains.  
David Silverstein, CEO of Breakthrough Management Group has a blog called Leadership and Business.  He updates just about every month and always writes around a hot topic in the industry.  Bill Hathaway, President of MoreSteam.com, writes the Lean Six Sigma Blog.  Bill’s blog entries are well written and very insightful.  And finally, The Six Sigma Coach is written by Russ Russo.  His blog explores the issues around successfully coaching Six Sigma practitioners.  When I said short list, I meant it.  
The podcast list is even shorter.  If you are not listening to the iSixSigma Magazine podcast, subscribe now.  There are also two other podcasts worthy of your mp3 player.  Sigma Breakthrough Technologies (SBTI) puts on the SBTI Lean Six Sigma Podcast.  They regularly feature interviews and Six Sigma deployment how-to’s for the Six Sigma listener. A recent find is Keith Bower’s Six Sigma Show.  Keith answers questions that readers/listeners send him via his website (which is a gold mine of info for statisticians and Six Sigma learners alike).  His new Six Sigma Show podcast is very entertaining, even through detailed explanations of statistical concepts, Keith held my ear with his stories.  
I can’t talk about the Six Sigma blogs without mentioning the Lean blogs too.  There are many more Lean blogs to choose from, but I will list three to keep this post Lean…I’ve been reading Superfactory’s Evolving Excellence blog, and Mark Graban’s Lean Manufacturing Blog for close to a year now.  Each offer stories and opinions along with insight into current issues facing the Lean Manufacturing community.  I’ve also been following a relatively new Lean blogger, Mike Wroblewski.  His blog Got Boondoggle? is packed with useful and entertaining stories from the trenches.  
That’s it for Six Sigma blogs and podcasts.  Thanks for joining my little party.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Six Sigma Articles &amp; News&nbsp;,&nbsp;Six Sigma Companies]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 17 Feb 2006 08:20:53 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Podcast: Interview with Steve Walter]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/podcast_interview_with_steve_walter.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[We’re at it again.  Our latest podcast is ready to download. This podcast features an interview with Steve Walter, Global Talent Director for Ingersoll Rand, and might I dare say the Seinfeld of Six Sigma.  He emceed the Six Sigma Excellence Awards in Miami last month and brought some serious laughter to the Six Sigma crowd.  
I really enjoyed his Six Sigma jokes so I asked him if he wouldn’t mind a short interview for our podcast.  Join us as we chat about making Six Sigma fun and whether or not to bring Six Sigma "home" with you.  
 ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Podcasts]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 14 Feb 2006 14:24:51 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Valentine's Day DOE]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/valentines_day_doe.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Here is a Valentine’s Day Design of Experiments that is sure to make lovely conversation over dinner with your loved one.  
Written by Ravindra Khare, Three Romeos And A Juliet, is a story about the quest of three young men in search of the meaning behind the wink and the smile of a beautiful woman...
Happy Valentine’s Day.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Six Sigma Articles &amp; News]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 14 Feb 2006 09:36:29 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma at Baxter Healthcare]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_at_baxter_healthcare.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The article Six Sigma, the Baxter Way at PharmaManufacturing.com features an interview with Allen Harmon, the director of operations at Baxter’s Biologics facility in Hayward, California.  The question/answer session reveals details on how this Baxter facility is using Six Sigma and Lean in their operational excellence program.
Noted in the interview, Harmon states that Baxter corporate treats each facility as if it were an independent small business, responsible for its own strategic plan and profit and loss.  Each facility receives support for continuous improvement and corporate holds forums each year for plant managers to share best practices.  This hands-off approach empowers employees and is a contributing factor in the success of their initiative.
Particularly take note of the phrase “top down” in the quote below.  Traditionally top down is used to express executive support for a Six Sigma initiative, but here, top down means their business objectives identify the areas of the business they will improve:

"PhM: How did you approach establishing the operational excellence program at Hayward?
"A.H.: We took a “top down” approach, starting with strategic objectives. We then figured out what organizational structure we’d need, and did some value-stream mapping to determine the gap between where we are and where we want to be. The next step was staffing cross-functional teams with representation from key areas, including manufacturing and operations, mechanics, quality, engineering. Finally, we determined which products we needed to focus on, and used elements from Six Sigma, Kaizen and Lean to analyze where improvements could be made, and which improvements would have the most significant impact on quality. These efforts involved team members as well as Green and Black Belt specialists."
Article and Links
Six Sigma, the Baxter Way, PharmaManufacturing.com, October 11, 2005
Baxter Looks to “Lean” Tools to Improve Safety Performance, Baxter Website, July 2005
Baxter Integrates “Lean” and “Clean" into Environmental Program, Baxter Website, July 2005]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Fortune 500&nbsp;,&nbsp;Healthcare]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 10 Feb 2006 15:44:22 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Second iSixSigma Magazine Podcast Now Available]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/second_isixsigma_magazine_podcast_now_available.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[We just released the second iSixSigma Magazine podcast.  This episode reveals a few of our findings from the "Knowing the Customer" research in the January/February issue.  Visit http://www.isixsigma-magazine.com/podcast/ to download or subscribe to the iTunes feed for automatic updates.
 
 ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Podcasts&nbsp;,&nbsp;Six Sigma Articles &amp; News]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 03 Feb 2006 09:26:24 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Rudy Giuliani, Lessons on Leadership]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/rudy_giuliani_lessons_on_leadership.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Rudolf Giuliani, former Mayor of New York City, spoke to a large audience of Six Sigma professionals on Wednesday, January 25 at the IQPC 7th Annual Six Sigma Summit in Miami, Florida.  He gave the group sound advice for developing leadership skills through six principles, each explained through stories from his own experiences.  I’ve summarized a few key points from each principle.
Rudy’s Leadership Principles: The most important lessons in developing leadership.  
One:  The single most important thing that a leader must be is a person of conviction. To be a leader you have to have convictions, set of rules, ideas, know what you stand for, know what is important to you.  There is nothing more powerful than ideas.  Rudy’s role model for this principle was Ronald Reagan.  He also spoke about Martin Luther King and Jack Welch as men of ideas.  
Two:  It is critically important to know how to use accountability, normally defined as what you require of other people.  Rudy defined accountability further: the ability to take that goal, that vision, and make it quantifiable, or in other words, accountability is figuring out how to measure what you are trying to achieve.  Rudy used two examples from NYC; Comstat, the program he instituted to reduce crime, and Jobstat, the program to decrease the number of people on welfare.
Three:  Leaders must have courage, the courage to take risks.  He asked this question: Does fear immobilize you or do you use it to become more productive and more effective?  You should only let fear motivate you to prepare.  
Four:  To be a leader you have to understand ethics, both work ethics and moral ethics.  “Work ethics means you cannot accomplish anything without preparation and hard work” and he noted this is especially true of the person in charge. You cannot get people to work hard if you don’t work hard.  Also, you have to have a sense of right and wrong and you have to deliver it to your organization.  Messages of ethics have to be given from the top.  
Five:  Surround yourself with very effective people.  Leadership is a team sport.  Biggest illusion that happens sometimes with leaders is that they begin to believe that it is all about them.  It’s not, it’s just the opposite.  If they can identify their weaknesses and surround themselves with other people to help, they’ll be successful.  A leader has to be self-analytical.  
Six:  Have a positive attitude.  A leader must be an optimist.  Example of optimists:  Ronald Reagan, Dr. King, and Winston Churchill.  If you can’t see your organization improved, or your vision realized, how can you expect to get it there?  You have got to envision success.  He said this principle has worked for him in every situation except for one, playing golf.  
The standing ovation proved that the audience enjoyed his words.  I was proud to stand and show my thanks to Rudy, not only for his lessons on leadership but for his inspiration.  He truly embodies the leadership principles he taught.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences&nbsp;,&nbsp;Leadership]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 30 Jan 2006 12:42:17 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Premiere iSixSigma Podcast Released]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/premiere_isixsigma_podcast_released.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[
iSixSigma invites you to listen to the first iSixSigma Magazine Podcast, downloadable at http://www.isixsigma-magazine.com/podcast/.  The iSixSigma Magazine podcasts feature notable results from the research study in each issue as well as interviews with Six Sigma practitioners and commentary on Six Sigma.  
For those new to podcasting, a podcast is an audio file published to the internet and usually accessed by an RSS feed.  For those new to RSS, an RSS feed is similar to an email, only you receive it through an RSS reader and you only receive notification when a new podcast is ready for download.  
If you’ve got an iPod, the easiest way to subscribe is through iTunes.  Download the first podcast "Starting-up Six Sigma" and listen to it at your desk, in the car or during your next flight.  Thanks for lending us your ear!  ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Podcasts&nbsp;,&nbsp;Six Sigma Articles &amp; News]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 27 Jan 2006 12:06:57 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Baking with Gianna Clark]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/baking_with_gianna_clark.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[IQPC Six Sigma Summit 2006: Day 2
Gianna Clark, Managing Director Six Sigma, Dominion
Gianna Clark is full of energy! Her presentation entitled “Maintaining Six Sigma Momentum, Recipe for Success” was indeed a recipe with real ingredients and instructions to baking up Six Sigma success.
The staple ingredients are: Projects, Engagement, Metrics, and Sponsorship.  With the right mix of each, throw the secret ingredient, Passion into the bowl, and BAM!, you’re baking a Six Sigma masterpiece. (Gianna was excited to use Emeril’s BAM! in her presentation).  Passion is the secret ingredient because the more passion you have, the less time it takes to bake.
One quality take-away is what Gianna said at the end of the presentation; if you don’t have all the ingredients, just do what all Mom’s do, improvise.  It is clear that Gianna has plenty of the “secret ingredient” to share.  To read more advice from Gianna on implementing Six Sigma, read her blog! ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences&nbsp;,&nbsp;General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 27 Jan 2006 12:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Bank of America, Milton Jones]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/bank_of_america_milton_jones.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[IQPC Six Sigma Summit 2006: Day 1
Milton Jones, Global Quality and Productivity Executive, Bank of America
Mr. Jones speaks often at the Six Sigma conferences.  Bank of America is one of the most vocal Six Sigma companies, updating their continuing story of Six Sigma every step of the way.  He started off with their numbers: 5000 Green Belts, 400 Black Belts, and 100 MBBs (as well as over a billion dollars in savings).
Bank of America has two goals over the next 12 months.  They will focus on execution, and game changers.  Three examples where they are using Six Sigma to “change the game”: 

Universal bank, becoming a financial supermarket, creating value for customers.
New product introduction (NPI): Keep the Change™ product.
SiteKey™: two way identification for information security.   
What’s next at Bank of America? 

Six Sigma for enterprise wide staffing and recruiting process.
Six Sigma engineers have world class business acumen, training and coaching.
Streamlining of internal Green Belt certification to increase the yield of those trained to those certified.
Focus on intellectual capital.
Overall, a positive outlook for Bank of America.  Six Sigma is helping them reach their goal, to become the most admired company in America.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences&nbsp;,&nbsp;General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 24 Jan 2006 21:01:46 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Interview: Pitney Bowes by Jennifer Tower]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/interview_pitney_bowes_by_jennifer_tower.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[An iSixSigma reader submitted the following article for publication on iSixSigma.com.  From time to time we receive excellent submissions such as this one, but they are just a bit too short for publishing to the website.  The iSixSigma Blogosphere, however, is the perfect place for these "mini" articles.  
What is a Six Sigma Mindset? Interview with Dan Brakewood, Director of Quality at Pitney Bowes By Jennifer Tower
While Six Sigma has its foundation in statistical process improvement, its power is in helping employees drive change in their organization. Six Sigma provides a framework and rigor for breaking down problems, evaluating alternatives, and sustaining ongoing process improvements. At companies like GE where Six Sigma is part of the culture, teams naturally progress through a problem solving process that moves through the phases of define, measure, analyze, improve, and control.   
According to Dan Brakewood, Ph.D., the Director of Quality and a Master Black Belt at Pitney Bowes, Six Sigma empowers people and helps them to see the possibilities. “Through Six Sigma, people learn that they can document processes that haven’t been documented, quantify work activities that haven’t been quantified, and measure results that haven’t been measured. They also learn that it’s OK to challenge assumptions and think creatively about how to get work done,” says Brakewood.      
As a Six Sigma champion or practitioner, one of your most important jobs is to keep a clear picture of the end in mind, and avoid getting caught up in measurement myopia. Data can help your team crystallize a problem or demonstrate the impact of different solutions, but it cannot sell a product or change a process.  As Brakewood points out, “Change management is absolutely critical to the success of any Six Sigma initiative. You can come up with great ideas, but you need a strong leader to make them happen.”     
Jennifer Tower is a Vice President at Korn Consulting Group and has worked with numerous companies on performance improvement initiatives.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Six Sigma Articles &amp; News]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 20 Jan 2006 23:00:42 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Lean Plus at Boeing]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/lean_plus_at_boeing.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The Seattle Post-Intelligencer ran an article last week called "Putting ’lean’ processes into all of Boeing".  The article summarizes the four initiatives that James McNerney recently announced at an executive retreat in Orlando, Florida, and contains excerpts from a summary of the events posted on Boeing’s internal website.  Of the four initiatives that will will help drive organic growth and productivity at Boeing, the Lean Plus initiative is one I will be watching:

"Lean Plus, sponsored by (Alan) Mulally and to be led by Bill Schnettgoecke from Quality, Integrated Defense Systems. The goal of this initiative is to ’continue existing lean practices and move them beyond the factory floor and into offices and back shops.’"
Goodbye Lean Manufacturing, hello lean business services.  Boeing has long been known for their application of Lean Manufacturing principles to the building of planes.  Now McNerney plans to leverage that history of excellence to other processes outside manufacturing.  If they can do for their business processes what they have done for their 747s, Boeing should be clear for take-off. ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Six Sigma Articles &amp; News]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 16 Jan 2006 12:51:59 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: iSixSigma Sponsors Two IQPC Six Sigma Excellence Awards]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/isixsigma_sponsors_two_iqpc_six_sigma_excellence_awards.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Later this month, IQPC will host the 7th Annual Six Sigma Summit in Miami.  At the conference will be keynote speaker Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of New York.  I am excited to attend the event and am looking forward to hearing him teach his lessons on leadership through the worst of times.  Other speakers include Don Linsenmann, Corporate Champion at Dupont and Gianna Clark (our very own iSixSigma blogger!), Managing Director of Six Sigma at Dominion. 
The presentation of the Six Sigma Excellence awards is one of the highlights of the event and iSixSigma is proud to sponsor two awards new to the line-up this year. iSixSigma Magazine will present the award for best Lean Six Sigma project and the iSixSigma Blogosphere will present the award for best Six Sigma Project in Healthcare. We are very pleased to recognize the achievements of business professionals who strive to achieve the best for their organizations.  
The IQPC Six Sigma Summit is the largest gathering of Six Sigma professionals in the United States.  There is no better place to meet new people, share ideas, and enjoy the associations of a respected business community.  To learn more about the conference and register, please visit: http://www.isixsigma.com/sixsigmasummit2006.    ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press&nbsp;,&nbsp;Conferences&nbsp;,&nbsp;General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 11 Jan 2006 07:57:56 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma at Starwood Hotels &amp; Resorts]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_at_starwood_hotels_amp_resorts.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[From Indonesia to Malta, Six Sigma is a welcome guest at Starwood hotels.  Launched early in 2001, Six Sigma is entering it’s sixth year at the hotel, which still holds the acclaim of being the only hotel with a corporate-wide Six Sigma initiative.
Starwood properties each have a Six Sigma Council that organize and prioritize projects.  Successful projects are then leveraged across additional properties. Six Sigma is emphasized in Career Paths at Starwood as reporting to divisional leadership and aligned with that division’s goals and priorities. 
A Starwood Six Sigma team received recognition at the IQPC 2004 European Six Sigma Excellence Awards with the Best DFSS Project.
Annual reports continually tout the initiative and although no hard savings figures have been released Six Sigma is given credit for improving margins: 

"Our emphasis on productivity initiatives, powered by our Six Sigma learnings, have had a major impact and delivered healthy margin improvements, which we expect can be continued into 2005." 
2004 Annual Report 

"We trained more than one thousand executives in Six Sigma which connects our far-flung hotels with a human network of more than 300 Black Belt experts capable of sharing best practices and implementing change processes quickly and efficiently.  
“This strategic, multi-year program will sustain and build new momentum, strengthen Starwood’s global brands, enhance the company’s ability to share best practices around the world, improve feedback throughout the organization, enable the enterprise to embrace and implement new technologies that drive revenue and lower costs, and create a consistently superior guest experience at all Starwood properties while dramatically improving the bottom line.
“While Starwood incurred $17 million in training costs to launch Six Sigma in 2001, the company reaped tangible EBITDA increases of more than $17 million. Training costs will be significantly reduced in 2002 and Starwood expects a substantial increase (perhaps double) in the EBIDTA improvement achieved by Six Sigma-related programs.” 
2001 Annual Report
Articles and Links
Starwood Announces Global Launch of Six Sigma - First in Hospitality Industry, February 5, 2001
Green Belts Galore at Starwood Hotels &amp; Resorts, Starwood Press Club, July 14, 2004
The Six Sigma Syndrome, Express Hospitality, November 2005
Client Customer Story, Newmarket International
Where Is the Hotel Manager?, BBT Online]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Fortune 500&nbsp;,&nbsp;Travel &amp; Leisure]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 09 Jan 2006 15:48:18 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Lean Six Sigma at Xerox and Young &amp; Rubicam]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/lean_six_sigma_at_xerox_and_young_amp_rubicam.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The January 2006 issue of CMO Magazine has two excellent articles highlighting the use of Lean Six Sigma at Xerox and their ad agency Young &amp; Rubicam.  
The article Lean Machine specifically goes into detail on how Xerox’s corporate marketing group came on board with Six Sigma and is seeing some outstanding results.  For those still wondering if Lean Six Sigma can be used in marketing, this article shouts a definitive, YES! 
Most interesting is the additional article Creative Thinking, a powerful example of Lean Six Sigma applied in the creative environment of an ad agency.  Young &amp; Rubicam are not into Lean Six Sigma for the savings, they are in it for the efficiencies gained that free up resources:  

“‘Our currency is not money, it’s our creative,’ says Nicholson, executive VP and managing director of Y&amp;R Brands. ‘This is all about enabling our creative and account people to do the best work while eliminating all the waste and the processes that don’t add any value. That’s where we’ve seen the biggest benefit.’
“‘Have we saved money? Sure,’ Nicholson adds. ‘But that’s not what we’re in it for. We haven’t gone crazy trying to do ROI on a lot of projects. In some cases there will be no pure dollar value. But we’re freeing people up to really add value for the client. And that’s been huge to us.’”
See also Lean Six Sigma at Xerox]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Six Sigma Articles &amp; News]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 04 Jan 2006 10:54:05 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma Milkshakes from Red Robin]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_milkshakes_from_red_robin.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[This has got to be my all-time favorite example of the use of Six Sigma in the restaurant business.  Red Robin restaurants teamed with GE Commercial Finance in an "At the Customer, For the Customer" (ACFC) project to tackle a major customer service issue: the timely delivery of milkshakes.  

"In 2005, we will produce more than five million milkshakes. Because we focus on serving the highest quality food and beverages, it’s extremely important our milkshakes are delivered as soon as they’re made," says Mike Woods, senior vice president at Red Robin. "Before ACFC, we were delivering milkshakes on-time only 36 percent of the time in one particular region. This meant our guests weren’t receiving milkshakes as soon as they were made and, potentially, received partially melted milkshakes when they were delivered. After ACFC, on-time delivery of milkshakes jumped to 77 percent. The project was a huge success, with on-time delivery more than doubling!" Press Release
This delicious example is just one way restaurants can use the Six Sigma methodology to increase customer satisfaction.  Red Robin saw an additional benefit from the project as well.  It introduced the language of Six Sigma to those departments involved in continuous improvement at Red Robin.  ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Six Sigma Articles &amp; News]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 21 Dec 2005 04:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma at The Home Depot]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_at_the_home_depot.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[What do Bob Nardelli, Larry Johnston, James McNerney, and Matthew Espe all have in common?  Aside from all being former GE executives trained and tutored under the hand of Jack Welch, they each speak the Six Sigma dialect of business language and have introduced the corporations they lead to the methodology.
In 2001 The Home Depot announced a three part strategy for growth: enhancing the core business, extending the business, and expanding the business.  The 2001 annual report states:

“We are investing in ‘game-changing’ opportunities, for example, by tripling our investment in new systems initiatives, by applying Six Sigma business process improvement practices across the enterprise, and by rolling out efficient crossdock transit facilities.”
Although mentioned in 2001 as being applied across the enterprise, it was not until 2003 that Six Sigma started to gain momentum.  That was the year Nardelli brought in Carl Liebert to lead operations.  Liebert is a seasoned Master Black Belt with a GE pedigree who led Circuit City’s Six Sigma implementation.  
At the 2005 Investor and Analyst Conference in January, 2005, Liebert described Six Sigma as an enabler to the elements that make up the “Enhance the Core” piece of the strategy.  These include customer satisfaction, productivity, and supply chain transformation.  Other key people involved in Six Sigma at Home Depot include Jose Lopez, VP, Business Process Improvement and Tony Weeks, Director, Six Sigma.  Each have spoken at public conferences about Home Depot’s Six Sigma program.  In January 2006, Tony Weeks will speak at the IQPC 7th Annual Six Sigma Summit in Miami, Florida, USA.  I will catch up with him there and post an update of their deployment then.  
Articles and Links
Winning Hearts and Minds at Home Depot, strategy+business Case Study, Spring 2005
Growing the Business, The Home Depot Website
Robert L. Nardelli, Biography
Home Depot, Something to Prove, Fortune, June 27, 2002
Check Out These Numbers, Chain Store Age, October  1, 2003
The Depot Goes Digital, Chief Executive, October 24, 2004]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Fortune 500&nbsp;,&nbsp;Retail]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 19 Dec 2005 16:40:33 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Standard Register Receives Award]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/standard_register_receives_award.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Standard Register received the Top Medical Surgical Vendor for 2005 award from Shared Services Healthcare, Inc.  What I like about the press release (beyond the recognition of a remarkable Six Sigma company) is the "About Standard Register" paragraph at the end.  The description of how Lean Six Sigma fits in the organization is perfect.  

"Relying on nearly 100 years of industry expertise, Lean Six Sigma methodologies and leading technologies, the company helps organizations increase efficiency, reduce costs, mitigate risks, grow revenue and meet the challenges of a changing business landscape."
It’s not just Lean Six Sigma that differentiates Standard Register; it’s also the 100 years of experience and the innovative use of leading technologies that drive their business.  Lesson learned: Six Sigma can help your business become more successful, but it can’t make up for deficiencies in your organization.   
Bob Crescenzi sums up Six Sigma at Standard Register perfectly in the May/June issue of iSixSigma Magazine:

"It’s easy to drive Six Sigma with an internal perspective, but your customers can’t see that...You can affect cost with productivity, but customers won’t see improvements in service.  We wanted to make sure we focused on what was important to our customers."
This award recognition clearly shows Standard Register is doing just that.  ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Six Sigma Articles &amp; News]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 14 Dec 2005 12:07:10 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: U.S. Army Lean Six Sigma]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/us_army_lean_six_sigma.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The U.S. Army Materiel Command has a website dedicated to information about the Lean Six Sigma efforts currently underway.  There is even an entire page devoted to Lean Six Sigma project case studies and results. Over 20 success stories are shared including a video that highlights the ways Lean Six Sigma is directly impacting U.S. troops overseas.  The video is about 5 minutes long and worth every minute.  
One project at the Fort Knox Unit Maintenance Activity increased the number of M1 tanks serviced by 40 percent. The increase throughput allowed the team annihilate the service backlog (from 85 tanks to zero in only  6 months).  Another Lean Six Sigma project ensures that HMMWV armor plated door kits are shipped mistake-free.
Read more success stories]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Government/Non-Profit]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 12 Dec 2005 15:05:05 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma at Amazon.com]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_at_amazoncom.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[It’s holiday time and Amazon is just about as busy as Santa. This year at Amazon.com you’ll see the Holiday Delight-O-Meter, which shows real-time data for the number of items ordered worldwide since November 21st.  My calculations estimate about 2,000 items ordered per minute.  Not much room for error.  It’s good to know that instead of Gremlins wreaking havoc in their distribution centers, they’ve got Six Sigma elves on the shelves. 
Six Sigma is rarely mentioned by name in Amazon’s annual reports and press releases, yet the methodology is entrenched in the culture of company.  Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing principles are part of the Operational Excellence program that began in 1999 when Jeff Wilke joined Amazon as VP of Operations.  He came from AlliedSignal and his background in Six Sigma made him the perfect choice to drive efficiencies in operations.    

“Operational excellence: To us, operational excellence implies two things: delivering continuous improvement in customer experience and driving productivity, margin, efficiency, and asset velocity across all our businesses.” 1999 Annual Report
The Six Sigma tenet of selecting the “best and brightest” employees as Black Belts is taken one step further at Amazon.  For operations positions they only recruit the best and brightest employees, period. Top schools such as LFM program at MIT, Carnegie-Mellon, and the University of Chicago are where Amazon finds their thinkers.  Jeff Wilke, an MIT-LFM graduate, is no exception. 
Annual reports, press releases, and news articles often mention the improvements Amazon is making. These improvements no doubt stem from the Operational Excellence program:

“Fulfillment costs as a percentage of net sales decreased due to improvements in productivity and accuracy…a decline in customer service contacts per unit resulting from improvements in our operations…” 2004 Annual Report
“The operating efficiencies helped Amazon triple its earnings in the third quarter of the current year, while still being able to offer consumers incentives, including free shipping.” Record Numbers Go Online Shopping, CNN International, January 4, 2005
Below are excerpts from articles that specifically mention Six Sigma at Amazon: 

“Over the past year he (Jeff Bezos) has walked the walk: He has put Amazon through a massive overhaul by slashing spending, revamping the culture, laying people off, and hiring old-economy whizzes to teach him Six Sigma and inventory management. The result is a leaner, more efficient retailer, one that most analysts believe will turn a profit by the end of 2002.  Beautiful Dreamer, Fortune, December 18, 2000 
“At Amazon’s massive fulfillment centers, Wilke teaches his staff to use Six Sigma DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve, and control) reviews to ferret out inefficiency. Bezos points to the operations team’s improvements in Amazon’s inventory-record accuracy as a favorite example of the success of these efforts.” Amazon Gets the Last Laugh, Business 2.0, September 2002
“Q: You’ve said you can make rapid progress on this in 2000. How rapid?Jeff Wilke: The processes are mappable. It’s the classic "measure, analyze, improve, control." In the world I came from, I had to worry about chemistry, physics, and electronic interaction. All we have to worry about here is the flow of stuff. We understand what to measure. It’s complex, but it doesn’t require the same amount of mathematical rigor. We can reduce the variability with some basic tools, and we can link that all together into a process that everyone understands, and then you lock in the gains by controlling what you’ve created.” Jeff Bezos: There’s No "Shift in the Model", BusinessWeek online, February 21, 2000
“The 35-year-old engineer (Wilke) employs a team of a half-dozen mathematicians who devise models for, say, the best way to spread book inventories throughout Amazon’s six warehouses in the U.S. Mr. Wilke is a devotee of "six sigma," a method for using data analysis to reduce errors in manufacturing and service industries. He assigns "black belts" and "green belts" to workers, a six-sigma award system that honors the most creative problem-solvers at its warehouses.
“His crusade is helping. Fulfillment costs -- charges incurred to process orders, but not to ship them -- are Amazon’s single biggest operating expense. These costs fell to 12% of revenue last year from 15% in 2000. Fulfillment costs in the most recent quarter were $90.3 million, or 10.6% or revenue.” Amazon Prospers on the Web By Following Wal-Mart’s Lead, The Wall street Journal, November 22, 2002
Additional Articles and Links
Operations, Amazon.com
Amazon Perfects New Process of Packaging Multiple Orders, San Francisco Chronicle, December 21, 2004
Pick, Pack and Ship ... and Deliver Profit, The Seattle Times, December 21, 2004
Jeff Bezos Takes Everything Personally, CIO.com, August 1, 2000]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Fortune 500&nbsp;,&nbsp;Retail]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 09 Dec 2005 10:43:27 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma Contributing to Productivity at Lilly]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_contributing_to_productivity_at_lilly.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[A Press Release issued today by Eli Lilly and Company credits Six Sigma as a significant contributor to the 15% productivity increase they experienced in 2005:

"Lilly is utilizing several tools to increase productivity and lower its cost structure, including applying Six Sigma across its global operations, which is expected to free up resources, accelerate R&amp;D output, enhance customer satisfaction, and improve earnings with a portion of the overall benefit; expanding the use of biomarkers to more than 90 percent of the company’s clinical candidates to facilitate earlier development decisions; maintaining the July 2004 hiring limits that have already reduced headcount by 3,100 or nearly 7 percent, without using disruptive layoffs; and leveraging outsourcing when the work represents non-core business or can be done at a lower cost and similar quality. Lilly’s initial efforts have resulted in productivity increasing about 15 percent in 2005 compared with 2004 as measured by adjusted operating income per Lilly employee." 
The presentation delivered during the webcast gives the outlook for Six Sigma at Lilly in 2006.  They will have 200 additional Black Belts, 1,600 new projects, and approximately $250 million in benefits.  Other benefits Lilly expects to see from Six Sigma are faster R&amp;D cycle times, enhanced customer interactions, improved earnings, and re-deployed resources in critical capabilities.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Fortune 500&nbsp;,&nbsp;Pharmaceuticals&nbsp;,&nbsp;Six Sigma Articles &amp; News]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 09 Dec 2005 09:45:00 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma at Target Corporation]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_at_target_corporation.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Target Corporation began a unique Six Sigma initiative and rightly named it “6SIGMA@Target” to identify it as their own.  Six Sigma is helping Target achieve their mantra “design, innovation, and continuous improvement” a philosophy aimed at delighting guests.  In addition to Six Sigma, Target trains employees in a wide array of skills under the continuous improvement umbrella including change management, process improvement, problem solving, setting business goals and objectives, and teambuilding.  The 2004 annual report outlines several areas of Target where Six Sigma is benefiting the company:

“Target has also adopted Six Sigma, a disciplined data-driven methodology for measuring performance and improving processes.  During 2004, we utilized this approach to drive sales, generate cost savings, increase productivity and improve guest satisfaction.  Reflecting our success to-date, we are committed to gaining further efficiencies and improvements in our processes and continue to integrate our Six Sigma approach across the company.”
Target has remained true to growing and integrating Six Sigma across the company.  Six Sigma has made its way into many of their business operations including Finance and Accounting, Information Technology, Distribution/Logistics/Supply Chain, and Property Management.  In fact, the 2004 Corporate Responsibility Report showcased an environmentally friendly Six Sigma project that identified factors influencing recycle rates, improved upon them, and rolled the project out to additional stores and distribution centers.  Leverage is especially powerful in retail where projects at the store level can be rolled out and the savings/income has the potential to be multiplied by the number of stores in the chain.
During the Q &amp; A of the Q3 2005 Target Corporation Earnings Conference Call, Bear Stearns analyst Christine Augustine asked executives for an update on where Target is with some of their supply chain initiatives and specifically mentioned Six Sigma.  Gregg W. Steinhafel, President of Target, responded: 

“As it relates to supply chain, we have been very focused and continue to be very focused on making supply chain improvements that will improve our overall in-stock rates and improve our speed to market by lowering our lead times…We have been focusing on other initiatives like transitions and rain checks all year.  We’ve seen great improvements in both of those areas using Six Sigma tools and methodologies to more carefully analyze and measure our business and make sure that we’re making good sustainable process improvements.  So in total it’s about speed to market, in-stocks, and looking at all the aspects of our supply chain to try and become more efficient and deliver better in-stocks on a consistent basis.”
Target is also making improvements that directly impact their guests experience at checkout: 

“During 2004, we also implemented improvements in our checkout process to speed guest payment and complete transactions more quickly.  In 2005, we will help guests quickly find what they are looking for and will continue to focus on improving our speed at checkout by reducing time spent waiting in line and by assigning every fourth cashier to open another express lane.”
2004 Annual Report
 ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Fortune 500&nbsp;,&nbsp;Retail]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 05 Dec 2005 12:49:07 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Thanksgiving Design of Experiments]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/thanksgiving_design_of_experiments.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[This week I bring you two delicious DOE’s (Design of Experiments) as a Thanksgiving treat. The First, Applying DOE to Microwave Popcorn, is a real favorite of mine.  Mark Anderson and Hank Anderson share a Design of Experiments that identifies what really matters when making microwave popcorn. 
In the second, Recipe for Pound Cake Experiment, Mark Anderson and Patrick Whitcomb experiment to give us the optimal recipe for pound cake derived by DOE.  Thanks to Stat-Ease Inc. for these case studies.  
So now all you Green Belts and Black Belts have something to share over Thanksgiving dinner when someone asks you, "What do you do for a living?"  Bon Appetit.
 
 ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Methodology&nbsp;,&nbsp;Six Sigma Articles &amp; News]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 21 Nov 2005 19:38:04 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma at Volkswagen]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_at_volkswagen.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Although Volkswagen AG shows no external signs of a Six Sigma program (annual reports, press releases), they did recently start the ForMotion initiative aimed at cutting costs and improving processes. 

“In March 2004 we launched the ForMotion performance enhancement program across the Group. The program includes seven focus areas in which all Group activities and projects are subjected to rigorous examination. Each area is assigned a ForMotion target and a defined savings potential. The core concept underlying the targets is to exploit market opportunities more effectively, optimize processes and reduce product costs, overheads and one-time expenditures. In this way, the Volkswagen Group aims to tap into a potential of &#8364;3.1 billion in 2005. In order to meet this ambitious target, members of the Group’s Board of Management have personally assumed responsibility for these focus areas.”
2004 Annual Report
I’ve found no references that Six Sigma is a part of the ForMotion program, but there is evidence of Lean Six Sigma activity at the VW operations in Mexico.  They recently began Six Sigma training through UC Irvine:

“It’s not just Southland companies that are seeking out the strategies taught on the Irvine campus. The university’s extension program scored a coup last year when Volkswagen’s operations in Mexico, the employer of 20,000 people, signed up for Lean Six Sigma training, an approach that emphasizes making all business processes as consistent as possible ("Remove Variations" is the mantra), and eliminating excessive, unnecessary steps in operations procedures.
“The instructor, Hank Rogers, who speaks fluent Spanish, traveled to Volkswagen’s manufacturing plant in Pueblo, Mexico, where he worked onsite, conducting regular sessions with dozens of employees, and studying the company’s production processes stamping, painting and assembling automotive parts. “Volkswagen subsequently made a series of changes to its business operations and manufacturing processes. The company says those steps led to a savings of about $600,000 over a few months ¬ and likely much more than that by now, Rogers notes. Volkswagen was so pleased with the results that it has already enlisted Rogers and his UCI cohorts to return to Pueblo for three more sessions.” 
Lean and Mean Profit Machines, UCIrvine, July 21, 2005]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Global 500]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 11 Nov 2005 11:59:01 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: IQPC Summit, Day Two, Mayor Graham Richard]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/iqpc_summit_day_two_mayor_graham_richard.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Mayor Graham Richard, City of Fort Wayne Indiana, delivered a non-partisan view of why Six Sigma is important for the public sector.  He began by sharing what he wanted each of us to get out of the presentation:

“One hope is that you will think about what you can do in your community, even if it is just inviting an elected official to lunch and sharing with them your passion about Lean Six Sigma and how it can help the government do a better job.”
The Mayor has taken a strategic focus, just like a corporation, to reach the goals and objectives of the City of Fort Wayne.  He shared his campaign story and why he believes “performance is the best politics”.  He won the election in 1999 by a mere 76 votes (he jokes about a Floridian recount) and during his re-election campaign in 2003 he ran performance campaign ads, not negative ads and won by 7,562 votes.  (If only the US government shared his view on performance politics…)
He shared projects and success stories a plenty: 

More than $10 Million saved from Six Sigma
Building permit cycle time reduction for 47 to 12 days
$1.7 Million cost avoidance at wastewater plant
Pothole repair cycle time reduction from 48 hours to 3.5 hours
Lost work days due to accidents from 1841 in 2000, to 346 in 2004
Increase in property damage claims collected
Reduction in street lighting inventory
He closed with the challenge: “What have you done in your community to promote high performance government?”  His suggestion was simple.  We (the Lean Six Sigma advocates) should partner with companies in our cities that are engaged in Lean Six Sigma thinking. Let them help us, by offering plant tours, lending Black Belts, and hosting other awareness events so that the elected officials take notice.
It is clearly up to the public to push quality and systems thinking up to the government table.  With the help and influence of companies that understand the power of Six Sigma, we just might muster up enough excitement that the government can hear us through the political noise, which is most likely much louder than corporate noise.    
Links
Six Sigma, City of Fort Wayne, Indiana
Best Practice: Fort Wayne Adopts Six Sigma Methodology to Improve City Services, The United States Conference of Mayors]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 02 Nov 2005 11:58:36 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Day Two, IQPC Summit, Gillian Mann, Air Canada]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/day_two_iqpc_summit_gillian_mann_air_canada.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Gillian Mann, Master Black Belt at Air Canada, gave a very enthusiastic presentation at the IQPC Lean Six Sigma Summit West.  Air Canada began their corporate-wide Six Sigma flight in 2002 with GE captains at the helm of their training.  Since then they have been very successful internalizing the program and making it their own.  Gillian gave a quick overview of their deployment:

Today they have 11 Master Black Belts, 51 Black Belts, and over 1,200 Green Belts
Training is done in-house
Over 1200 projects in project database and more than 700 closed projects
They have realized more than $450M in benefits of which over $400M is hard benefits
Best Demonstrated Practices (BDP) is a program used in connection with Six Sigma to leverage best practices across the organization.  To explain the program Gillian said, “In school it is called plagiarism, in business it is called not reinventing the wheel.”  The true definition of a BDP is, “A proven technique or strategy that effectively delivers results and achieves business objectives.”  One example of a BDP at Air Canada is the Six Sigma Express program that helps Green Belts close projects quicker without “short-cutting” the Six Sigma methodology.  
In January, Rita Toporowski of Air Canada will be speaking more about Six Sigma Express at the IQPC 7th Annual Six Sigma Summit in Miami, Florida, USA.  
Articles and Links
Air Canada hopes system spawns savings, July 7, 2003
Six Sigma in the Airline Industry]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Airline&nbsp;,&nbsp;Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 01 Nov 2005 16:57:54 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: IQPC Summit Keynote Speaker, Jack Welch]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/iqpc_summit_keynote_speaker_jack_welch.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I have to admit that I didn’t think that a satellite session with Jack would be all that great, but I was dead wrong.  The question and answer format suits his leadership style and seeing him up on two giant screens made the grandeur of Jack all the better.  My fellow colleagues Michael Cyger and Dian Schaffhauser have already written excellent blog entries about the session and I will follow with my thoughts on two of his remarks.
First, Roxanne O’Brasky, President of ISSSP, asked a question about choosing a mentor and Jack replied, “If you’re looking for a mentor you might end up with a turkey! Do not fixate on a mentor.  You should be looking everywhere for mentors, taking the best of everyone.”  That reminded me of something my father-in-law has always said. Simply, "you can learn something from everyone.  There is not a person in the world that can’t teach you something."  What Jack and my father-in-law are saying is that you don’t need to look to the big shots, the successful gurus for advice on leadership or business.  You should look for the mentorship qualities in everyone.  Don’t limit yourself to one mentor, open yourself up to learning and you will find that anyone can be your teacher.   
Second, Roger Hoerl asked Jack, “Would you have done anything differently if you had to do over again?” (speaking of GE’s Six Sigma implementation). Jack responded he would have gone right on to Lean Six Sigma.  He also said he would have liked less “puffery” and that there wasn’t anything he couldn’t improve…but was happy about the results.  Interestingly Jack threw the question right back at Roger, “What would you have done differently?”  Roger replied along the lines of slower planning so they could hit the ground running.  This is where Jack emphasized the need for over-the-edge fanatical commitment on the fringe of lunacy: “Without all the proclamations and hype you don’t get above the noise level in the organization. If you pet this thing just right, do you get through the noise?”  According to Jack, slower planning and special care doesn’t put out the decibels required to get through the corporate noise.  Jack knows how to push the needle, and as he suggests, there’s no such thing as pushing the needle too far.   ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences&nbsp;,&nbsp;Leadership]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 31 Oct 2005 13:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: IQPC Summit: Day One, Roger Cockroft, Constellation Energy]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/iqpc_summit_day_one_roger_cockroft_constellation_energy.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Roger Cockroft, Corporate VP, Business Performance Improvement, spoke brilliantly about the way Constellation energy is using Six Sigma to manage change in their organization.  Constellation Energy is the oldest utility company in the United States and also one of the largest.  Cockroft said that post 911 there were a lot of changes in the organization and they knew they had to change their culture. The company culture was steady as you go and it had been going steady for a long time.  Constellation chose a blended methodology of Six Sigma, change management, project management, and problem solving to effectively address the need for change in the organization.  
The most interesting point he made was the method they used to deliver the value proposition of Six Sigma to business leaders.  They did not say “we are doing Six Sigma to get xx dollars in savings...”  Instead they said this: “Let me help you streamline you getting your goals and objective achieved.  This (Six Sigma) is a process that will help you with your objectives.”  (Gianna Clark recently wrote about this exact theme in her blog entry, Selecting Black Belts.)  Once business leaders understood that Six Sigma was going to deliver on their goals and objectives, they caught on.  
Constellation Energy gets it. They understand that Six Sigma is not about a set of tools used to save money or reduces costs.  It’s about effectively managing change.  It’s about solving business problems. It’s about creating a culture that thrives on improvement.  Cockroft said that whenever they are changing anything in the organization, they use Six Sigma.  It’s always nice to see companies effectively utilize Six Sigma.  They make it their own, and they let the business results speak for themselves.  Constellation Energy is on their way to becoming a Fortune 100 company and Six Sigma is helping them get there.   ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences&nbsp;,&nbsp;Energy&nbsp;,&nbsp;Fortune 500]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 28 Oct 2005 18:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: IQPC Summit: Day One, Roger Hoerl]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/iqpc_summit_day_one_roger_hoerl.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Roger Hoerl, of GE Global Research, kicked off the conference with a presentation titled, “A fresh approach to integrating Lean and Six Sigma”.  His presentation was quite “Lean” at only 12 slides, but the message was clear…The way Lean and Six Sigma have been integrated in the past is based on faulty assumptions and he suggests a better way. Below are the three faulty assumptions and their correct counterparts:
Faulty Assumption 1: There are “Lean tools” and “Six Sigma tools”Correct Assumption: Neither Six Sigma nor Lean has "invented" tools – Therefore, there are no such things as Lean or Six Sigma tools: each can steal whatever tools it likes
Faulty Assumption 2: Six Sigma works for quality CTQs, but not for waste or cycle timeCorrect Assumption: Roger said that half of his Six Sigma projects at GE focused on reducing waste or cycle time.  Reducing waste and cycle time are CTQ’s
Faulty Assumption 3: Lean is an improvement methodology, comparable in nature to Six SigmaCorrect Assumption: Lean is not an improvement methodology.  It is fundamentally a set of principles (as quoted my Michael George)
He then defined what Lean and Six Sigma truly are, stating that understanding how they are different is key to integrating them: 


“Fundamentally, Lean is a documentation of the key attributes of the Toyota production system.”

"Fundamentally, Six Sigma is an improvement methodology (with a dynamic tool set).”
And finally the better way: Hoerl suggests that applying each initiative according to its strengths – “Six Sigma for its deployment methodology and infrastructure, and Lean for the universal validity of its time-tested principles”, is the best way to integrate them.  
You can bet the next time someone asks me how to use Six Sigma and Lean together, I’m going to refer them to Hoerl.  He’s got more than the answer, he’s got vision. ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 27 Oct 2005 09:30:00 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: IQPC Lean Six Sigma Summit West]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/iqpc_lean_six_sigma_summit_west.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Today was my first full day at the IQPC Lean Six Sigma Summit West, in Las Vegas.  I attended as many events as I could and have met some great people in and out of the Six Sigma world.  
I briefly spoke with Roger Hoerl (still hoping for a more in depth conversation later), joined a conversation between Frank Ducceschi, editor of isixsigma.com, and Mayor Graham Richard of Fort Wayne, Indiana. The Mayor is a serious Six Sigma zealot for the public sector.  After listening to him explain how desperately the public sector needs Six Sigma, Frank and I both wondered…just when is he going to run for President of the United States? 
Over the next few days I’ll be posting my thoughts and reviews of the events I have attended, including Roger Hoerl’s presentation on Lean and Six Sigma integration, Roger Cockroft’s overview of Six Sigma at Constellation Energy, and how could I not say anything about the keynote satellite speaker Jack Welch.  It was my first time listening to him speak live.  He was funny, witty, and really engaged the audience with his drilling questions.  He has that CEO legend aura about him.  He gave some great advice not only for Six Sigma implementation, but also for selecting mentors, and what managers should be doing to help their teams excel.  Thanks for the advise Jack.
Conference Post Links
IQPC Summit: Day One, Roger Hoerl
IQPC Summit: Day One, Roger Cockroft, Constellation Energy
IQPC Summit Keynote Speaker, Jack Welch
Day Two, IQPC Summit, Gillian Mann, Air Canada
IQPC Summit, Day Two, Mayor Graham Richard]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 26 Oct 2005 21:50:10 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma at Quest Diagnostics]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_at_quest_diagnostics.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Quest Diagnostics are early pioneers of Six Sigma in the healthcare industry, implementing the methodology in May, 2000. Since then they have supplemented the program with a healthy dose of Lean and DFSS.  Their progress to date is well documented on their website and in annual reports:  

“Since May 2000, with the launch of the first "wave" of 15 Black Belts, Quest Diagnostics has built a powerful force of skilled Six Sigma project leaders. Today, the company has 20 Master Black Belts, 140 Black Belts (full time dedicated project leaders) and over 1,000 Green Belts (business leaders who have been trained to lead Six Sigma improvement projects part time within the context of their jobs). Business leaders throughout Quest Diagnostics have been pulled out of their operating positions to become Black Belts or full-time, Six Sigma project leaders. The company has Black Belts deployed in every Quest Diagnostics business unit across the US. 
“Over 1,300 projects have been completed to date. 75% of these projects have reduced defects by &amp;gt; 50% and nearly 40% of projects have reduced defects by &amp;gt; 70%. In 2002 Quest Diagnostics achieved historic highs in its customer satisfaction index and in 2003 the company sustained &amp; improved these scores. 
“Six Sigma is also delivering on the Business Imperative. Our Six Sigma initiative has achieved a greater than 300% return on investment.” 
Quest Diagnostics Website

“We have significantly reduced bad debt expenses as a percentage of net revenues from about 7% in 1996 to 4.4% in 2004 by using Six Sigma and implementing our standardization initiatives and billing ‘Best Practices’.”
“Net income for the year ended December 31, 2004 increased to $499 million from $437 million for the prior year period.  This increase in earnings was primary attributable to revenue growth and efficiencies generated from our Six Sigma and standardization initiatives…”
2004 10-K
Articles and Links
What is Six Sigma Quality?, Quest Diagnostics Website
Our Commitment to Quality, Quest Diagnostics Website
Six Sigma Revisited, Quest Diagonostics News, Winter 2004
Interview with a Black Belt (Kathleen Truitt, Quest Diagnostics Black Belt), Westgard QC
The Power of Six Sigma Quality, CDC – Quality Institute, April 14, 2003]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Fortune 500&nbsp;,&nbsp;Healthcare]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 21 Oct 2005 15:28:19 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: IQPC Lean Six Sigma Summit West, Las Vegas]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/iqpc_lean_six_sigma_summit_west_las_vegas.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The International Quality and Productivity Center (IQPC) is hosting the Lean Six Sigma Summit West, October 26 - 27, 2005 at the Venetian in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.  I’m looking forward to attending the conference, soaking up the Six Sigma sun, and blogging the events.  Jack Welch will be there via satellite and will take questions…so if you’ve got a question for Jack, bring it. 
Just a few events on my “must attend” list:

Roger Hoerl from GE Global Research is a Six Sigma guru in my opinion.  He will be presenting a fresh and simple approach to integrating Lean and Six Sigma.
Zafar Khan of Coca-Cola will be speaking about their Business Process Excellence program.
Mayor Graham Richard will take us on a virtual tour of Six Sigma at Fort Wayne, Indiana.  Six Sigma made Fort Wayne famous, and Fort Wayne made Six Sigma famous in the private sector.
Roger Cockroft of Constellation Energy will be speaking about the cultural transformation the company has achieved through Six Sigma and Lean.  His remarks will be just what I need for a deployment review of this Fortune 500 company…
As always, it’s great talking to the folks at Minitab, meeting with the Six Sigma consultancies, and networking with the many Six Sigma leaders, Black Belts and Master Black Belts that attend these conferences.  Hope to see you there! ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 12 Oct 2005 10:52:09 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma at Lilly]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_at_lilly.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Eli Lilly may be new to using Six Sigma but they put so much research into the methodology before deployment you would have thought it was a new drug.  And in fact Six Sigma is the drug to which 200 Black Belts are currently addicted.  Once you start up the hellacious hills of hypotheses and down the slippery slopes of statistics towards the marvelous mecca of metrics, it’s hard to stop. 
A recent article by Jeff Swiatek in The Indianapolis Star revealed the secrets of Six Sigma at Lilly.  Here is the overview:

Six Sigma savings goal: two to three percent of annual revenue.
Black Belt count goal: one percent of employee population or around 400 Black Belts.  (They will reach this goal in 2006 when 200 more employees are trained in the “good stuff”:  Six Sigma.)
60 projects completed of the several hundred launched.
Project Examples

“Making the Lilly Cares drug discount program for low- income patients easier to use. One change: reducing by half the number of questions a patient must answer on the application.
“Decreasing by about 40 percent the time Lilly sales representatives in Mexico, Canada, Brazil and Japan spent on administrative tasks. A similar project is aimed at the U.S. sales force.”
The Indianapolis Star
The 2004 Annual Report speaks very highly of Six Sigma and suggests that the company will use the money saved to do more for their customers such as funding clinical trials or broadening their reach so more people can benefit from their products.  

“This year, we will launch a corporate-wide effort to identify and pursue further productivity gains, using the well-established toolkit of the Six Sigma process. We will apply these tools across our operations, looking for every opportunity to cut waste, reduce variability, shorten cycle times and boost efficiency. The dollars gained can be harvested to deliver more—to fund a clinical trial that supports a new indication, or a new market research effort to bring our solutions to more patients who may be helped by them.”
2004 Annual Report
Lilly’s deployment of Six Sigma will be one to watch.  Their decision to go with Six Sigma was based on years of research from the Six Sigma efforts of a dozen other companies.  The financial benefit to the company and shareholders is one thing, but the application of Six Sigma in the pharmaceutical industry has a greater potential to make the world a healthier place.  
Articles and Links
Lilly Breaks Out the Black Belts, Indystar.com, October 10, 2005
Elizabeth H. Klimes, Vice President. Six Sigma, Lilly Website]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Fortune 500&nbsp;,&nbsp;Pharmaceuticals]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 11 Oct 2005 13:38:23 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Carnival of Lean from Evolving Excellence]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/carnival_of_lean_from_evolving_excellence.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Kevin Meyer from the Evolving Excellence blog has put together a nice post called Carnival of Lean Leadership.  In it he includes links to posts from other blogs around the topic of "Lean leadership", the iSixSigma Blogosphere included:

"Losing and winning are topics in two of our favorites.  The Common Sense Guy shows how leadership lessons from a baseball team can transform a culture of losing by creating a plan, communicating the plan, and executing the plan.  The Lean Manufacturing Blog discusses the same Wall Street Journal article from a factory perspective.
"Quality is the focus of one of the newest blogs, Mike Wroblewski’s Got Boondoggle.  This particular post compares Catholic sins to defects... an interesting and thought-provoking perspective.  Mike’s blog has several other top-notch articles on root cause and other topics.  iSixSigma has a very active blog focusing on... six sigma.  Many of the posts describe six sigma successes at various companies, but others discuss issues such as the impact of six sigma on innovation."
Thanks Kevin for putting together this Carnival of Lean Leadership.  What a great way to introduce readers to new blogs.  I’ll put on my carnival hat and work on a Six Sigma post in the coming weeks...]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 10 Oct 2005 16:25:52 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: 100th Post to SixSigmaCompanies.com]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/100th_post_to_sixsigmacompaniescom.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[It seems to be a tradition for bloggers to make their 100th post about...the 100th post.  Well, as a Six Sigma nut why should I introduce variation into the ritual?  So here is my century post to SixSigmaCompanies.com…For those new to this blog the following is a rundown of what has gone on since I made my first post February 17, 2005…  

I started as a lone blogger with the desire to create a space where people could find an answer to that popular question, “Who is doing Six Sigma?” 
In May I was recruited to join the iSixSigma team and SixSigmaCompanies.com became part of the iSixSigma Blogosphere. 
In July the iSixSigma Blogosphere started to recruit Six Sigma deployment leaders as contributing bloggers.  Currently, Gary Cone and Gianna Clark are sharing their experiences from the trenches and you can still count on Gary Cox to make you laugh and Michael Cyger to make you think while I give you the scoop on Six Sigma companies around the world. 
I have reviewed a total of 61 companies from the Fortune 500 and Global 500 lists. 
The remainder of the blog entries consist of industry lists and commentary on Six Sigma articles in the news.  
Today the iSixSigma Blogosphere continues to grow.  We receive thousands of visitors each week eager to read something new and exciting.  If you have something you would like to contribute send me an email.  That concludes my 100th post.  I hope you join me for the next milestone...the year mark!]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Six Sigma Companies]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 05 Oct 2005 16:33:38 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Newell Rubbermaid Operational Excellence, Six Sigma]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/newell_rubbermaid_operational_excellence_six_sigma.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Newell Rubbermaid, famous for their storage containers and Sharpie pens, launched the Newell Operational Excellence program in 2002 to reduce costs, inventory and lead times, and to improve service and quality levels.  The 2004 Annual Report sums up the Newell Operational Excellence program to date:

“It is critical to have a process for achieving cost savings on an ongoing basis in facilities we continue to operate. Newell Operational Excellence (NWL OPEX) is the process we have developed using best practices from methodologies such as Six Sigma, Kaizen, Kanban and other lean manufacturing principles. Our rollout of this program in 2002 introduced a new mindset of continuous improvement in manufacturing. In 2004, we further improved our prospects for this program with the in-depth training of more than 5,000 employees in our processes, metrics and targets, and by dedicating additional resources to drive accountability at all levels of the organization. This further implementation of NWL OPEX allowed us to realize $123 million in productivity savings.”
2004 Annual Report
On September 22, 2005, Joseph Galli, Jr., CEO Newell Rubbermaid, spoke to analysts about the company strategy and included an overview of the OPEX program.  Below is a transcription excerpt from the archived webcast:

“We have to, once we complete our restructuring initiative part of our supply chain, we have to be relentless about becoming world class when it comes to what we call Newell Operational Excellence.  Very simply this is our version of GE Six Sigma.  This is our quest to reduce/eliminate scrap/waste/the cost of failure, and to improve productivity in our manufacturing facilities throughout our supply chain, our distribution network, and our sourcing network worldwide.  We have an internal target, (it’s not in the model we are sharing today), we have an internal target of reducing our cost 5 percent every year in our manufacturing facilities and in our sourcing operations worldwide.  That is an end result of a successful deployment of Newell OPEX.  
“This chart shows you that we started this program in Jim Roberts’ group, the Rubbermaid/IRWIN group, where it was very successfully deployed.  We’ve now expanded it throughout the rest of the company, in our Home &amp; Family group, and in our Sanford brands group, and in fact we’ve appointed a czar of Operational Excellence, Ray Johnson, who launched this program together with Jim in the IRWIN/Rubbermaid group and now Ray is taking this program corporate-wide.  
“There is a lot of potential here for the company, long term.  We have to recognize that over the next three years we will be though quite busy on the restructuring process. We will achieve progress in OPEX and it’s a priority for us, but we’ve got to get the restructuring behind us, and then zero back in on OPEX.  That’s what Ray Johnson’s focus is in his role.”   
Strategy Review Presentation, Joe Galli, 2005 Newell Rubbermaid Analyst Day, September 22, 2005]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Consumer Products&nbsp;,&nbsp;Fortune 500]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 29 Sep 2005 12:02:53 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma at W.R. Grace &amp; Co.]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_at_wr_grace_amp_co.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Six Sigma stories have graced the pages of this specialty chemical company’s annual reports since 1999.  Six Sigma at Grace has been a corporate-wide initiative from the start and has spread outside of the manufacturing processes to other functions including administration, sales, service, and R&amp;D.  Lean manufacturing and Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) methodologies are part of the productivity initiative as well. 

“Our productivity results for 2004 were equally positive. Through a combination of strategic sourcing and Six Sigma initiatives, Grace generated nearly $80 million in productivity improvements. We continue to conduct different levels of Six Sigma training across the organization and have added additional black belt support. During 2004, we conducted Kaizen or Lean events at several Grace sites and have more scheduled in 2005. As our Six Sigma capabilities mature, advanced tools included in Six Sigma Lean will drive our productivity improvement.”
2004 Annual Report

“We have been successful in our productivity initiatives, generating over $31 million in 2003 and over $100 million since 1999 of cost savings from Six Sigma alone.”
2003 Annual Report 

“Our productivity results were important contributors to our performance again last year. The gains we made through Six Sigma and materials management initiatives generated savings sufficient to offset basic inflation. Six Sigma, through its improved methodology, was employed in some way in almost all of this contribution. Grace continues to make progress on our journey to become a Six Sigma-based culture. Currently, we have more than 60 active black belts and 400 green belts driving improvement projects around the world. We have made tremendous progress in Six Sigma since our first training class in the summer of 1999.
“We will continue to drive Six Sigma across the Company with additional manufacturing projects, but also are putting these tools to work in core functions beyond manufacturing. We are already realizing benefits in Sales, Technical Service and Research and Development that are allowing us to accelerate commercialization of new products and better serve our customers. Six Sigma is also giving us a fresh look at administrative processes and helping uncover opportunities to improve their efficiency and effectiveness. Through these efforts, we are seeing reduction in time devoted to non-value-added transactional work and improvement in the timeliness and quality of information overall.” 
2002 Annual Report 

“Our productivity initiative was key to offsetting the economic slowdown and the steep price increases we experienced in energy and raw materials. The impact of increased prices for raw materials and energy was almost $29 million above 2000. The foundation of continuous productivity at Grace is Six Sigma. In 2001, we trained 55 new black belts, 285 green belts and 456 yellow belts. They completed 150 revenue enhancement and cost reduction projects, evenly distributed across the businesses. The contribution to our earnings from Six Sigma was $50 million in 2001, almost double the previous year and a significant improvement over our forecast. For 2002, we will have more tools in the hands of more people, and we expect another significant increase in the contribution to Grace’s bottom line from Six Sigma.”
2001 Annual Report

"Grace launched its Six Sigma program in October 1999 and during 2000 saw $26 million in EBIT contribution, plus $7 million in non-income impact over 120 projects. Forty-one employees were trained as Black Belts and 80 as Green Belts, spreading the Six Sigma philosophy of continuous improvement throughout the organization." 
2000 Annual Report 
Projects

“Grace Davison’s Porvoo, Finland facility manufactures catalysts for the high-growth polypropylene market. Porvoo, although considered optimized, was far short of the capacity needed to meet our customers’ demands. The Six Sigma process allowed a cross-regional team to increase Porvoo’s existing capacity to nearly triple and enable us to meet our customers’ requirements in 2004 and 2005.”
2004 Annual Report
“Line 4 at the Chicago Performance Chemicals plant, which produces Ice and Water Shield®, had become a bottleneck due to its ineffective design. Two Six Sigma projects increased the production of the line, first to 80% of entitlement and later, to 90%. Then, the GPC Six Sigma team pushed the line even further by modifying it to produce  Bituthene 3000 during its down time. Today, Line 4 runs at 90+% efficiency, producing both products and delivering a cost savings of nearly $1.25 million annually.”
2000 Annual Report 
Articles and Links
W. R. Grace: Plant Uses Six Sigma Methodology and Traditional Heat Balance Analysis to Identify Energy Conservation Opportunities at Curtis Bay Works, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Dec 2003
Six Sigma for Managers, ASQ Baltimore, Mar 2004 (PowerPoint Presentation)
Six Sigma at W.R.Grace, ASQ Baltimore, Sep 2003
Advanced Refining Technologies to Expand Catalyst Production Capacity, Business Wire, September 12, 2005
 ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Chemicals&nbsp;,&nbsp;Fortune 500]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 22 Sep 2005 11:30:31 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Air Products and Chemicals]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/air_products_and_chemicals.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Six Sigma at Air Products and Chemicals is doing more than just blowing hot air.  The 7.4 billion dollar chemical company is a worldwide supplier of industrial gases and equipment, specialty and intermediate chemicals, and environmental and energy systems.  They piloted Six Sigma in the Polyurethane Chemicals division in 2000, and the initiative grew into a structured corporate deployment.  Today the Six Sigma and Lean initiatives are shaping a culture of continuous improvement at the company.

“In addition, continuous improvement is becoming a way of life at Air Products. By the end of 2005, our goal is to have about two percent of our employees devoted full-time to lead these activities. We are using Six Sigma/Lean tools and already have more than 500 productivity initiatives under way. This is only the beginning. As we train and engage increasing numbers of our employees in these activities, we will deliver even more.” 
2004 Annual Report

"Our Lean Enterprise efforts have generated significant productivity gains in packaged and specialty gases and impressive cycle time and cost reductions in equipment manufacturing. Our Polyurethane Chemicals group successfully piloted Six Sigma for new product development. We’ll apply both of these tools on an enterprise-wide basis, with customer-focused Six Sigma as the primary methodology for planning and prioritizing continuous improvement efforts."
“Six Sigma is a highly disciplined process for developing and delivering near-perfect products and services. We are now applying Six Sigma to certain supply chain and manufacturing processes.” 
2000 Annual Report
Articles and Links
Air Products Strips Out Inefficiencies, InformationWeek, September 19, 2005]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Chemicals&nbsp;,&nbsp;Fortune 500]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 21 Sep 2005 13:03:59 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Does Six Sigma Stifle Innovation?]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/does_six_sigma_stifle_innovation.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The Wall Street Journal article “Rethinking Quality Improvement”, published this morning, raises the question of whether Six Sigma and new product development, research, and innovation can work together: 

“The critics say process management helps improve existing products and routines, but can hinder a company’s ability to innovate. ‘For stuff you’re already good at, you get better and better,’ says Michael Tushman, a management professor at Harvard Business School. ‘But it can actually get in the way of things that are more exploratory.’”
Mr. Tushman obviously did not read “Designing for Perfection: Six Stories of Innovation with Six Sigma” published in iSixSigma Magazine (July/August 2005).  I believe the answer lies in the stories of the companies that have used Six Sigma to innovate new products.  Just ask, 3M, LG, Cummins, POSCO, Standard Register, or Bank of America…They will all tell you Six Sigma is at the heart of innovation, not the blade cuts its throat.  If there is anything that stifles creative thinking most, it is negative thinking.  
I invite you to make your comments and tell your stories of Six Sigma and innovation. Has it helped your company, or hindered it?  There are always two sides to the story.  ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Six Sigma Articles &amp; News]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 19 Sep 2005 12:10:07 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: ArvinMeritor: AMPS, Lean and Six Sigma]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/arvinmeritor_amps_lean_and_six_sigma.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[ArvinMeritor is a global supplier of integrated systems, modules and components to the automotive industry.  They began their lean journey in 2000 with a pilot initiative at the Asheville, North Carolina (USA) plant.  Then only a year later the senior leadership team deployed the “ArvinMeritor Performance System” (AMPS) and “S3” (S-cubed) throughout the company:  

“AMPS is a combination of lean manufacturing principles and best practices designed to empower teams of employees to drive out waste, eliminate non-value-added tasks and improve production and administrative processes.
“The ArvinMeritor 'S3' program, which stands for Six Sigma, Shainin and Solutions, was also launched this year. S-Cubed thinking is helping us to create a problem-solving culture that is not only focused on customer needs, but also on delivering products on time, at lower costs. To date, the application of S-Cubed programs have resulted in approximately $100,000 in savings per project.” 
2001 Annual Report
Six Sigma and Lean continue to be successful driving improvements at ArvinMeritor.  In the 2004 Annual Report, Charles McClure, Chairman, CEO and President stated:

“We are also proud to say we reduced costs and improved quality, achievements that were recognized with an impressive list of customer and industry awards. One of those awards was the coveted Shingo Prize bestowed on our exhaust systems facility in Columbus, Indiana (USA), for reaching world-class lean manufacturing status. Another was the Nissan Quality Master Award, which honored ArvinMeritor’s Queretaro, Mexico, facility for commitment to quality and continuous improvement.”
Articles and Links
ArvinMeritor: A Lean Culture, InformationWeek, April 19, 2004
Lean at ArvinMeritor, Manufacturing Engineering,  Sep 2004
The Struggle to Get Lean, Fortune, December 29, 2003
ArvinMeritor’s Quality Initiatives Lead to Competitive Excellence, ArvinMeritor Website, November 8, 2001 ArvinMeritor Elects Debra Shumar to Senior Vice President, Continuous Improvement and Quality, ArvinMeritor Website, July 17, 2002 
ArvinMeritor Motion Control Systems Uses Continuous Improvement Tools to Drive Production Excellence, Higher Quality, ArvinMeritor Website, May 31, 2002About ArvinMeritor, ArvinMeritor Website]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Automotive&nbsp;,&nbsp;Fortune 500]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 16 Sep 2005 14:49:52 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: POSCO, Process Innovation and Six Sigma]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/posco_process_innovation_and_six_sigma.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[




  


 Six Sigma Slogan: Pleasant and Happy ChangesFor POSCO, Six Sigma is not merely a series of projects to be completed, but a potent tool for management reform designed to help reach business objectives, change corporate culture, and present the most ideal solutions for every business issue. 2004 Annual Report
POSCO, the South Korean steel giant, has a solid history of successfully competing in the global steel market.  Since 1973 POSCO employees have been engaged in “quality team improvement activities” aimed at improving the business.  In 1999 POSCO introduced the Process Innovation (PI) initiative designed to realign business processes around the customer and create an integrated enterprise management information system.  Six Sigma became a part of the second phase of Process Innovation (PI 2) in May 2002.  With the term “Six Sigma” mentioned 42 times in the 2004 annual report alone, no one can question POSCO’s level of commitment to the methodology. 

“We have successfully established the Six Sigma on top of the PI foundation, and will do our best to make POSCO the ‘Best Six Sigma Practicing Corporation’ in the world.”
Chairman Yoo, May 3, 2002
 
Savings and Benefits

"DNA of Posco’s Innovation, Six Sigma: As a result of the active implementation of the Six Sigma Process Initiative in 2004, POSCO completed a total of 1,800 projects, including 693 Black Belt and 1,120 Green Belt projects. The estimated financial gain of these successful initiatives totaled KRW 490 billion. (Approximately 450 million USD)
 

"The majority of the Black Belt initiatives were related to POSCO’S strategic objectives, including producing 5 million tons of automotive steel and overhauling small lot production. 
 

"POSCO stepped up its efforts to nurture talented workers and in turn, certified an additional 39 Master Black Belts, 90 Black Belts, and 1,250 Green Belts, totaling 63 Master Black Belts, 240 Black Belts, and 2,054 Green Belts.
 

"Our new benefit-sharing system was launched in July to foster cooperation within the supply chain, allowing POSCO and its partners to share the profits from joint Six Sigma projects. Together with 12 suppliers, we undertook 36 reform projects. In the process, we provided the employees of those suppliers the same Six Sigma training that POSCO employees receive.
 

"In 2005, we will operate a progressive, reorganized Innovation Strategy Planning Department to inject Six Sigma methodologies into the very DNA of POSCO. The department will be the strategic core for POSCO’s business and sustainable development activities, integrating all projects from different departments under one ‘central command.’ 
 

"POSCO’s Champions, Master Black Belt candidates, and all executive officers completed the global leadership training program at Arizona State University’s Mikel Harry Six Sigma Management Institute in the U.S., immersing in Six-Sigma methodologies at the source and nurturing an innovative Six Sigma mentality."
2004 Annual Report
 

"Our Six Sigma program began generating significant savings in 2003, the first full fiscal year of its existence. The calculated savings amounted to KRW 204.6 billion, up from KRW 10.7 billion in 2002. We also continued to improve our on-time performance as we reduced inventories from 6.8 days to 4.6 days."
2003 Annual Report
 

"Unlike most Six Sigma programs that focus exclusively on manufacturing or business processes, our comprehensive program simultaneously covers both. Our first aim was to increase our capacity for growth. We launched Six Sigma with a broad range of practical educational and training opportunities, creating a work environment conducive to self-development and program participation. Our second aim was to set the stage for a fundamental change in our work processes, applying the Six Sigma scientific and statistical methodology to reengineer real-world work and problem-solving processes. Our final aim was to set in motion a process of continuous improvement, maximizing customer satisfaction and generating real-world savings."
2002 Annual Report
 
Articles and Links
 
Six Sigma Performance, POSCO Website
 
Process Innovation Initiative, POSCO Website
 
Digital POSCO, An overview of PI and PI 2, POSCO Website
 
6 Sigma, POSCO Website
 
POSCO Pursues Continuous Business Innovation Through Six Sigma, POSCO Website, May 3, 2002
 
Six Sigma Replaces Quality Improvement Team Activities, POSCO Website, June 20, 2002
 
Moving the World in Silence, SAS Website
 
Six Sigma - The Next Generation, Machine Design, February 17, 2005]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Global 500]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 14 Sep 2005 18:12:07 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Burlington Northern Santa Fe, World Class Maintenance]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/burlington_northern_santa_fe_world_class_maintenance.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Burlington Northern Santa Fe, one of the largest Railroads in the United States, has developed a system called World Class Maintenance (WCM) which includes several methodologies including Six Sigma and Lean Process.  In September 2002 BNSF CEO, Matthew Rose, spoke at the AREMA conference in Washington D.C.  In his address he reviewed the WCM system and how it is helping BNSF achieve their goals:

"Our World Class Maintenance (WCM) System is, in many ways, the process that pulls everything together. Our goal with WCM is to provide a comprehensive planning and scheduling process that eliminates waste and idle time and improves manpower and asset utilization, work process flow, material handling, and physical plant reliability."
Savings and Benefits

"We’ve had tremendous success in our Engineering and Mechanical groups with the Lean Process, Six Sigma, Condition-Based Maintenance and other tools that reduce waste and improve efficiency. 
"Encouraged by these results, we’ve extended these processes to other parts of BNSF. Our Value Engineering and Strategic Analysis group, formed in spring 2002, is reducing costs and improving business processes across the company."
2002 Annual Report

"Our Mechanical and Engineering groups also improved productivity through their Six Sigma, Lean and other processes that remove "waste" from maintenance procedures associated with locomotives, freight cars, track, signals and bridges. These savings amounted to well in excess of $100 million in 2001."  
2001 Annual Report

"The Lean Process, another WCM tool, focuses on eliminating waste and creating value. Employees from all levels of a work team help review their work processes, identify bottlenecks and implement corrective action. We’ve used the Lean Process to significantly improve our work gang procedures, eliminate unnecessary steps and reconsider the sequence of work and placement of materials, improving their productivity by about 20 percent. Interestingly, our most efficient gangs are also our safest.
"Finally, we use Six Sigma techniques when the problem to be resolved is variation, and the source of variation is unknown. Six Sigma furthers quality and consistency with the goal of zero defects. In 2001, we applied Six Sigma techniques to improve rail lubrication, a process difficult to manage though crucial to extend rail life.
"We found a lubrication product that was not meeting our standards, and also figured out a way to calculate the amount of rail lubrication needed from site to site and to measure lubricator output. We’ve also used Six Sigma to examine subgrade issues and understand the failures of certain field welds."
BNSF CEO Matt Rose Addresses AREMA Today, BNSF Website, September 24, 2002
 
Articles and Links
Track Maintenance Strategy on Burlington Northern Santa Fe, ÖVG (Österreichische Verkehrswissenschaftliche Gesellschaft), May 14, 2002
The Magnificent 7: BNSF: First in a Series, Railway Age,  Feb, 2004]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Fortune 500&nbsp;,&nbsp;Transportation &amp; Logistics]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:20:52 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma at CSX Corporation]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_at_csx_corporation.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Six Sigma at CSX is a GE success story.  What started out as a GE “At the Customer for the Customer” engagement, turned into a corporate-wide deployment of Six Sigma at one of the leading transportation companies in the United States.  Bill Smith, National Account Executive at GE Transportation Systems, tells the story best in GE’s 2001 Annual Report:

“For the past two years, we’ve had a team working literally "At the Customer, For the Customer" with CSX Transportation at their offices in Jacksonville, Florida. The original idea was to work on a few joint Six Sigma projects together, but it evolved into a full-fledged company-wide initiative, training program and culture change at CSX.
“One of the first things we learned is that the customer’s culture is different from ours, and your way of doing things may not be the most effective way for your customer. Understanding CSX’s motivations and what really matters to them made all the difference. 
“CSX has strong corporate values, including putting the customer first and using fact-based management, that makes Six Sigma a good fit for them. One year into their initiative, more than 25% of CSX’s employees have gone through some level of Six Sigma training and they have 69 full-time Black Belts and 5 Master Black Belts among them. CSX has realized $17 million in annual savings from projects on service delivery, industrial work orders, locomotive fueling, demurrage billing, crew taxis and legal expenditures. Six Sigma has become part of CSX’s strategic plan and part of their culture.”
Savings and Benefits

"We are responding with initiatives designed to produce sustainable, responsible solutions. Foremost among them is a detailed analysis of our cost structure under the keen eye of Chief Financial Officer Oscar Munoz, who joined CSX in May 2003. This is a full evaluation of fundamental business processes to identify opportunities for Six Sigma and other improvements that go far deeper – and will affect our financial performance far longer – than incremental cost cutting."
2003 Annual Report

"We expect to continue to realize labor savings through attrition and productivity improvements, but also important to our cost structure is the work being done by our employees through Six Sigma. Using fact-based techniques for identifying and eliminating waste by improving processes, we have permanently taken out costs."
2002 Annual Report

"Six Sigma Successes saved more than $20 million in 2001, and CSXT is in the process of expanding this program.
"The Six Sigma methodology for analyzing and improving work processes has been adopted wholeheartedly at the railroad.  Taking the lead from a number of America’s great companies practicing Six Sigma extensively, including General Electric, Motorola, and Johnson &amp; Johnson, Michael Ward formed a high level group to lead the organization to make CSXT a Six Sigma company."  
2001 Annual Report

"But there is still more to be done to deliver the optimum service customers deserve and, in the process, increase shareholder value. Providing consistent, reliable service while lowering operating costs are central goals for 2001. To achieve them, CSXT is implementing specific action plans to increase productivity, introduce new service initiatives and lower costs through revitalized Performance Improvement Teams and the Six Sigma initiative - a fact-based methodology used by major companies to improve processes and drive out costs." 
2000 Annual Report

"’Our out-of-service rate is the lowest in the industry [5.2 percent],’ Wall said. Partly, that statistic comes because of a good preventative maintenance program. In addition, several ’Six Sigma’ projects have shown the way to better locomotive upkeep."
Big Engines, Big Power at CSX, Destination:Freedom,  April 7, 2003]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Fortune 500&nbsp;,&nbsp;Transportation &amp; Logistics]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 09 Sep 2005 17:07:43 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Transportation and Logistics Industry]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/transportation_and_logistics_industry.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Fortune 1000 and Global 500 companies in the Transportation and Logistics industry that are practicing Six Sigma:
Burlington Northern Santa FeCNFCSX CorporationFedExNorfolk SouthernSirvaUnion PacificUnited Parcel ServiceUnited States Postal Service]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Industry Lists&nbsp;,&nbsp;Transportation &amp; Logistics]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 09 Sep 2005 17:06:52 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Norfolk Southern Six Sigma]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/norfolk_southern_six_sigma.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[In October 2000 Norfolk Southern began an initiative called “Norfolk Southern for the 21st Century” (NS21).  NS21 is an internal effort to improve performance, focus on customer service, and reduce costs.  Six Sigma is used in conjunction with NS21 and has helped the railroad giant become one data-driven locomotive!  
In 2003 Norfolk Southern refocused the initiative, called it NS21 Version 2.0, and set new targets and goals for improving track structure and density, employee productivity, G&amp;A expenses, equipment costs, yard rationalization, and top-line growth.  The company has also implemented the "Thoroughbred Operation Plan" (TOP), which optimizes the way they operate their rail network by improving on-time performance, reducing car handling, shortening routes, accelerating train speeds, and boosting asset utilization.
Savings and Benefits

"We have successfully completed the first three rounds of projects under the NS21 program. Over the last two years, we have realized $110 million of benefits including $45 million in recurring cost savings. These benefits are net of implementation costs. Our first round focused on ’non-core’ areas while our operating department focused its efforts on implementation of our successful TOP program."
Kathryn B. McQuade, Senior Vice President Financial PlanningNorfolk Southern CorporationFinancial Analysts’ MeetingJanuary 29, 2003

"’At the end of the day, Six Sigma is all about project completion and taking money to the bottom line,’ Yates said. ’Of the 17 projects completed to date, benefits of $36 million have been recognized, including revenue growth, revenue retention and cost avoidance. There also have been projects that specifically address customer satisfaction. We expect an additional $29 million in benefits once we complete current projects.’"
NS NewsBreak, January 2003

"We have achieved better scheduling and consistent execution of our Thoroughbred Operation Plan. On-time performance has improved measurably, and all of our key service metrics have improved, exceeding our goals. This month, we achieved new highs in on-time train operations. Our measurement systems for customer service have improved markedly. As we know more about our service, we can - and do - drive improvement."
David R. Goode, Chairman, President and Chief Executive OfficerNorfolk Southern CorporationAnnual Meeting of StockholdersMay 8, 2003

"Process analysis of work functions and our ongoing Six Sigma initiatives produced better asset utilization and work force productivity during 2003."  
2003 Annual Report

"We focused on process improvement, using our own NS21 process and the discipline of Six Sigma. Our operating ratio improved 2.2 points. Productivity improvement is a constant necessity, and we continue to devote ourselves to it." 
2002 Annual Report

"More than 100 NS employees received Six Sigma training in the past year and a half. Using Six Sigma methods, NS reduced end-of-train device battery failures, which resulted in fewer train delays, and improved the locomotive overhaul process, which resulted in fewer in-service locomotive delays. Other projects are expected to result in improved customer service and cost savings. 
"’Six Sigma builds on what we’ve accomplished,’ said Yates. ’One day it will simply be ‘the way we work.’" 
2001 Annual Report
Articles and Links
NS NewsBreak, Jan 2003
Norfolk Southern Presentation to Analysts, Norfolk Southern Website, 2003
Remarks by Kathryn B. McQuade, Senior Vice President Financial Planning, Norfolk Southern Corporation, at the Financial Analysts’ Meeting, January 29, 2003
NS Adopts Tougher Quality Standards, May 2001
Continual Improvement Assured with Six Sigma, NS NewsBreak, Apr 2002
All Aboard, Recycling Today, May 16, 2002]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Fortune 500&nbsp;,&nbsp;Transportation &amp; Logistics]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 02 Sep 2005 11:37:41 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Lockheed Martin LM21, Six Sigma, and Lean]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/lockheed_martin_lm21_six_sigma_and_lean.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Lockheed Martin has been using Six Sigma and Lean since the late 90s.  Like many other companies the early use of the methodologies took place in small pockets around the company without a centralized effort.  Then in 1999 Lockheed Martin started the LM21 initiative.  LM21 stands for Lockheed Martin in the 21st Century and is the premier program for implementing Lean and Six Sigma concepts to achieve operating excellence throughout the entire organization.  The LM21 initiative has tallied up some impressive results over the years.
Savings and Benefits

“LM21 acts as a catalyst for facilitating improvements in every aspect of the design and manufacturing process.  At last count, the LM21 process was responsible for more than $5 Billion in net savings across our corporation.  Those savings not only hold down costs - which, by the way, are mostly passed through to our customers - but they also accrue over time, resulting in streamlined operations, reduced overhead, better quality, less re-work, improved productivity and enhanced overall performance.”
Vance D. Coffman(Former) Chairman and CEO, Lockheed Martin CorporationMarch 23, 2004Lockheed Martin Website

“We continue to tap the enormous talent of our workforce through our LM21 Operating Excellence. In fact, LM21 initiatives in lean manufacturing and Six Sigma were instrumental in demonstrating cost and cycle time savings opportunities as we developed the winning bid for Joint Strike Fighter.” 
2001 Annual Report
“Not just for the factory floor, Lockheed Martin applies Lean Six Sigma concepts to purchasing, sales and marketing, order processing, product development, human resources management and other administrative functions. Improving quality and speed in all of our transactional areas allows us to realize tremendous value-creation across the organization as a whole.”
Lockheed Website
Articles and Links
The Lean Enterprise - A Management Philosophy at Lockheed Martin, Defense AR Journal, August to November 2004
Meeting the Challenge of Integrating Cost, Performance, Quality and Schedule Demands in Missile Defense, Lockheed Martin Website, March 23, 2004
LM21, Lockheed Martin Website
Lean Manufacturing and the Environment – Lockheed Martin, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Firms Aim for Six Sigma Efficiency, USA Today, 1998 
Process Design and Management Overview, Lockheed Martin Website
Creating Employee Excitement – Case Study, Lockheed Martin, L.M. Dulye &amp; Co.
Rutgers University, Six Sigma Training by Lockheed Martin Trainers]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Aerospace and Defense&nbsp;,&nbsp;Fortune 500]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 30 Aug 2005 16:17:31 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma at Union Pacific]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_at_union_pacific.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Union Pacific (UP) has been using the Six Sigma methodology for a number of years to increase customer satisfaction, reduce failures, and conserve energy.  Last year Thomas A. Myers, Michael Carver, and Dr. Michael Echols wrote a case study describing how UP reduced the cost of training Six Sigma Black Belts by partnering with Bellevue University (a local college) to deliver training. Not only did UP realize tremendous cost savings, but the quality of learning, training delivery, and project execution all improved as a result.  
Savings and Benefits

“The company’s Total Quality Management System provides an unrelenting focus on customers. The 15-year relationship between managing quality and improving customer service is proven – as costs linked to failures and rework go down, customer satisfaction goes up. Total Quality Management incorporates Six Sigma tools to reduce failures. A recent Six Sigma project resolved a rail car ride problem affecting auto parts. Working through the customer satisfaction issue won Union Pacific additional business.”
2002 Annual Report
“Intelligent Solutions was a key catchphrase for UP in 2000, as the Railroad discovered new ways to leverage its expansive rail network, technology and understanding of its customers’ business needs. The commitment to quality, including management training and the use of Six Sigma tools, was the underpinning of UP’s efforts.” 
2000 Annual Report
“‘Fuel for Fuel’ is more than a dollar saving program, it’s also an important conservation initiative for the railroad," said Wayne Kennedy, director of Union Pacific’s Six Sigma program. "Whether finding new ways to stretch a gallon of diesel fuel or employing the latest technology to cut locomotive emissions, we are working very hard to protect the environment and our natural resources."
Union Pacific Engineers Rewarded for Saving Fuel
Articles and Links
Partnership in Educating Black Belts - A Case Study, isixsigma.com, June 14, 2004
Bellevue University, Six Sigma Program
Union Pacific Engineers Rewarded for Saving Fuel, Globeinvestor.com, May 2, 2005
Professional Profile: Hillary Parker, Union Pacific Railroad, Purchasing.com, July 18, 2002]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Fortune 500&nbsp;,&nbsp;Transportation &amp; Logistics]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 26 Aug 2005 07:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma at Merrill Lynch]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_at_merrill_lynch.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Patricia Collins wrote an article in the September/October 2005 issue of iSixSigma Magazine titled, “Better Business Leaders."  Patricia is the senior deployment champion for Merrill Lynch’s enterprise-wide Six Sigma program.  The article details Merrill Lynch’s unique approach to leadership development through Six Sigma.  

“The goal is not only to give the company’s future business leaders Six Sigma expertise, but also to ensure that the Six Sigma program develops better business leaders.”
The article also includes a nice snapshot of their Six Sigma efforts to date:

Started in April, 2001
Trained 874 Green Belts, 406 Black Belts, and 20 Master Black Belts
Annualized financial project benefit (completed projects): $663 million
Number of projects per Black Belt at any given time: two to five
Average savings per completed project: $435,000  
CallCenter Magazine published a Six Sigma case study on the Merrill Lynch Service Ownership project:  

“Service Ownership is a Six Sigma initiative in Merrill Lynch’s call centers that gives agents more responsibility — and more tools — to ensure that every caller is satisfied with their service. Here’s the process that a Six Sigma team followed to develop and implement just one aspect of Service Ownership…” Read more
In 2002 Merrill Lynch won Gold and Bronze at the AQP National Team Excellence Awards for two outstanding projects: 

"Merrill Lynch’s Partnering Team consists of Merrill Lynch and its five major suppliers that were tasked with improving equipment efficiencies. Its mission consisted of increasing equipment processing throughput, reducing rework, and driving down cost. The team exceeded all of its goals. Merrill Lynch achieved an annualized cost savings of $1,088,000 while simultaneously strengthening its supplier partnerships.
"Merrill Lynch Statement Efficiency, led by Jim Friscia, focused on decreasing the length of the statement without impacting client data. A 15% page reduction was achieved, with significant savings in postage and improvements in customer satisfaction."
News for a Change, Apr 2002
Articles and Links
Better Business Leaders, iSixSigma Magazine, September/October 2005
Six Sigma: The Myth, The Mystery, The Magic, CallCenter Magazine, Febrary 4, 2005]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Financial Services&nbsp;,&nbsp;Fortune 500]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 25 Aug 2005 14:29:52 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma at EMC Corporation]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_at_emc_corporation.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Recently EMC began an initiative called Total Customer Experience (TCE) and Six Sigma is at the heart of it.  Six Sigma at EMC is driven from the top as an enterprise-wide initiative.  EMC President, CEO, and Green Belt candidate, Joe Tucci, recently spoke about TCE and Six Sigma at the EMC Technology Summit in New Orleans: 

"It is the No. 1 program I am driving from my office throughout this year.   
"We’ve not been a good company or an easy company to partner with … this is an important step forward in the rejuvenation of EMC." 
SearchStorage.com
I recently spoke with Jim Pearson, Vice President of Corporate Quality and Six Sigma at EMC, and he was kind enough to tell me more about their Six Sigma program.  Throughout our conversation he reiterated the support Joe Tucci and the leadership team give to Six Sigma saying, “It’s a 100 percent tops down initiative.”
Six Sigma was introduced to EMC when they acquired Data General Corporation in 2000.  Lee Pollock implemented Six Sigma at Data General while he was the Director of Quality and was instrumental, along with Pearson, in formally bringing Six Sigma to EMC in the fall of 2002.  Today, Six Sigma is fully integrated into the company and has become the key enabler in launching EMC’s TCE initiative.  

“TCE begins with internal processes associated with product development, manufacturing, and customer service. By applying Six Sigma discipline to these processes—Six Sigma is the analytical structure that promotes consistency by minimizing deviations from quality standards—we build customer-related metrics into our standards of performance and success.”
EMC Website 
Pearson elaborated on many of the benefits Six Sigma has brought to the organization.  While he said the CFO likes to see bottom-line savings, Six Sigma has enabled top-line growth through efficiencies which have freed up engineers and allowed them to work on additional revenue generating projects.  
One of the unexpected competencies of Black Belts at EMC has been their success in roles as facilitators on cross functional teams.  The Black Belts are perceived as “boundaryless” and act as mediators and facilitators across functions departments.  EMC has maximized this advantage by including additional soft skills and facilitation training into the traditional Green Belt and Black Belt curricula. 
EMC has not only customized the content of the training, but they have also customized the length of the classes to allow more managers hands-on training with the tools without requiring them to spend too much time away from their responsibilities.   
In 2004 EMC met and surpassed their Six Sigma financial targets and this year have set even higher goals.  EMC has proven they are a strong company by transforming quickly in a constantly changing market.  Pearson said, “Six Sigma is the catalyst that is helping EMC transform faster.”  His only wish is they could evolve even faster still.
Articles and Links
Quality, Responsiveness, Service, EMC’s company-wide commitment to exceed customer expectations, EMC Website, Jun 2005
EMC Works on Customer Satisfaction, SearchStorage.com, May 18, 2005]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 24 Aug 2005 08:50:55 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Xerox Lean Six Sigma]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/xerox_lean_six_sigma.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Xerox has a successful history applying Lean Manufacturing techniques in their operations since the early 90s.  In 1998 Six Sigma was introduced in various manufacturing and supply chain operations.  Although these operations achieved efficiencies, the scope of the deployment was limited.  In 2002, Six Sigma and Lean were integrated and driven as a corporate-wide strategy.  For a complete history Six Sigma at Xerox, read Xerox Lean Six Sigma.
Forbes.com recently published an interview with Lawrence Zimmerman, CFO of Xerox. When asked how Xerox keeps its prices competitive, Zimmerman responded:

"Xerox has become a Lean Six Sigma company. We’re focused on efficiencies in our operations and in the ways we deliver value for our customers. Lean Six Sigma projects have already contributed hundreds of millions of dollars in cost savings, cost avoidance and revenue to the company. More than 1,500 projects have been completed or are under way with the assistance of more than 600 Xerox Black Belts and Master Black Belts." 
Forbes.com, Aug 12, 2005
Savings and Benefits

“Internally, we’ve generated more than $150 million in economic profit during 2004. These are reductions in our operational costs and driving our revenue.”
Dave Rowlands, VP Quality, Xeroxnextslm.org 

"In 2000 the company rededicated itself to quality—long a core value at Xerox—and updated its set of quality principles and resources to be faster and more focused. “New Quality” integrated components of Xerox’s traditional “Leadership Through Quality” strategy and was strengthened with Six Sigma concepts. Building on that experience, in 2002 Xerox began an enterprise-wide effort integrating Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing tools and processes into a comprehensive strategy called Xerox Lean Six Sigma. It is a disciplined, data-driven method of reducing waste and variation in processes so they consistently deliver products and services at the quality levels, speeds and prices that customers value—and therefore improve Xerox business results. Dedicated Xerox Lean Six Sigma deployment managers and “Black Belt”-led projects now exist in every business throughout the company." 
Xerox Online Fact Book for 2003-2004
“Using Xerox Lean Six Sigma methodology, we analyze in detail all of the document intensive processes our customers use to run their businesses. We identify the exact costs of the way our customers manage printing, copying, faxing and scanning functions. Perhaps even more importantly, we analyze the way real people work with real documents in the real world.”
2004 Annual Report

"Office Document Assessments – a Six Sigma-based consulting tool – evaluate a company’s entire document environment to identify areas where operating costs can be reduced, processes simplified and productivity improved." 
2003 Annual Report

“We will continue to introduce competitive technology, to drive costs down, to streamline our business, and to execute against our business model. To ensure that we are best in class in every aspect of our business, we have introduced Xerox Lean Six Sigma – a powerful set of tools that will drive improved results.”  
2002 Annual Report
Customer Case Study: Sun Microsystems

“The call to action from Sun Microsystems was to reduce its overall document management costs in Europe and South Africa where Sun operates 190 sites in 31 countries. Xerox Global Services conducted an audit of Sun’s document devices from printers and copiers to fax machines and scanners. The Xerox Office Document Assessment(SM) tool studied Sun employees’ use of devices, such as the number of pages printed in individual workgroups, why certain groups needed full-color printing more than others and why some employees depended heavily on scanning and faxing. Armed with data and a clear understanding of work practices in Sun’s offices, Xerox applied Lean Six Sigma practices to develop a more efficient document management infrastructure, guaranteeing a 25-percent reduction in Sun’s document costs. Through a multi-million dollar contract, Xerox is now responsible for Sun’s entire fleet of document devices in Europe and South Africa, managing the maintenance and supplies contracts not only for Xerox systems but also for products from other vendors. And, Xerox people serve as the frontline of support when Sun employees need assistance with any document system.” 
2004 Annual Report
Articles and Links
Xerox Lean Six Sigma, Xerox Website
Lean Six Sigma Leads Xerox, Xerox Website
Xerox Lean Six Sigma and Quality Go Hand in Hand, Xerox Website
Xerox Global Services Drives Quality with Six Sigma, Chief Learning Officer, July 3, 2003
How Xerox Got Up To Speed, BusinessWeek Online, May 3, 2004
Six Sigma Performs for Xerox, Search Takes a Bath, BtoB, Oct 27, 2004
Author Tells How to Put IT Costs on a Diet With Lean Six Sigma, nextslm.org]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Computers &amp; Electronics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Fortune 500]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 16 Aug 2005 10:37:07 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Autoliv - Autoliv Production System, Kaizen and Six Sigma]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/autoliv_autoliv_production_system_kaizen_and_six_sigma.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Autoliv makes the world a safer place.  Simply put, their products save lives. They are a leading manufacturer of auto safety products, and supply all the leading auto makers throughout the world.  Quality is vital when it comes to life and Autoliv is living up to their name.  
Modeled after the Toyota Production System (TPS), Autoliv developed their own system called the Autoliv Production System (APS) to drive improvements in cost, quality, delivery, safety, and productivity.  APS relies heavily upon Lean manufacturing principles including Kaizen, 5S, and Total Productive Maintenance (TPM).  In addition to APS, in 2001 Autoliv introduced Six Sigma to Autoliv North America and in 2002 they expanded the program across the enterprise.  Black Belts are called “Mentors” and “Kaptain Kaizen” has been seen greeting employees in the Columbia City Steering Wheel Plant.
Savings and Benefits

“Autoliv uses Kaizen, Six Sigma and other tools for continuous quality improvements. Applying the corporate-wide Six Sigma initiative, which was started in 2001, Autoliv trains mentors to employ various methods for finding root causes to complex problems and to take corrective actions. Already, 200 projects have been completed, yielding significant quality improvements and cost reductions."
Quality, Autoliv Website

“Our target is to improve labor productivity by at least 5% per year to offset higher labor costs. For this we rely on Kaizen, Six-Sigma, Autoliv’s own production system (APS) and many other manufacturing principles and methods.
“We use Kaizen, Six-Sigma and other tools for continuous quality improvements. All of our main facilities have Six-Sigma mentors who have been trained to employ various methods for finding root causes to complex problems and to take corrective action. Since the start in 2001, over 170 Six-Sigma projects have been completed, yielding significant quality improvements and cost reductions.” 
2003 Annual Report
“Already, 35 facilities have Six Sigma mentors and over 60 projects have been completed, yielding significant quality improvements and cost reductions.” 
2002 Annual Report
“To introduce Six Sigma, Autoliv has started to apply it to some 20 projects. In addition to higher quality and delivery precision and other results that are difficult to measure, these initial projects are expected to generate cost savings of several millions annually.” 
2001 Annual Report
Articles and Links
Safe and Sound, The Manufacturer, June 10, 2005
Autoliv Receives Shingo Prize – Again, Autoliv Press Release,  March 2, 2005
How the Winners Keep Winning, Assembly Magazine, March 1, 2004
Two Autoliv Facilities Win Prestigious Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing, Autoliv Press Release, March 11, 2003
Taking The High Road, Best Plant Winners 2003, Industry Week ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Automotive&nbsp;,&nbsp;Fortune 500]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 12 Aug 2005 13:27:56 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Avery Dennison]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/avery_dennison.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Avery Dennison began using Six Sigma in the Fasson Roll operation in 1998.  It didn’t take long for the initiative to stick, and it soon spread throughout the company.  Today, Six Sigma and Lean manufacturing are the foundation for driving productivity improvements across the company.  The annual reports and press releases continually highlight the impact Six Sigma has on the company, their suppliers, and their customers.  
Six Sigma is front page news in their most recent annual report.  Along with the vital company stats (revenue, employees, and number of operational facilities), the number of Six Sigma trained personnel throughout the company stands tall at 1,600 Green Belts, Black Belts, and Master Black Belts.  
To drive top-line growth, Avery Dennison began an initiative in 2003 called “Horizon 1”.  To date the company has undertaken 1000 growth projects.

“Our Horizons growth program is our premier initiative for achieving top-line growth. Horizons is a disciplined process for accelerating sales growth by developing a steady pipeline of new products and services, as well as identifying new business ideas.”  
2004 Annual Report
Savings and Benefits

"After several years of relatively heavy acquisition and divestiture activity, we now have the right portfolio of businesses to drive long-term value creation, we have the right assets in place globally to maintain our competitive advantage in our businesses, we have the proven tools in our Horizons and Six Sigma programs to execute our growth and productivity improvement strategies and we have the right people to make it all happen."
Philip M. Neal, Chairman and CEO, Annual Security Analysts Meeting, March 16, 2004

“Six Sigma continues to be the foundation of productivity improvement at Avery Dennison. With thousands of Six Sigma-trained employees throughout the Company, we have extended the program into virtually every facet of our business, making continuous productivity improvement a way of life. By aligning our Six Sigma activities with lean manufacturing concepts, we are able to more accurately assess where our greatest opportunities for savings, productivity improvement and enhanced customer satisfaction lie, as well as more effectively manage our total supply chain. In addition, we are increasingly reaping the benefits of applying this methodology to our internal business process improvement initiatives.” 
2003 Annual Report
“Our Six Sigma program continues to be the cornerstone of our Company-wide productivity improvement efforts. The cost savings we are achieving enable us to redeploy resources to invest in growth initiatives.
“In fact, the benefits we have realized from Six Sigma, and the productivity improvement expertise that we have gained as a result, are now being offered to our key customers. Our Fasson Roll North America business has created a new service called ’Avery Dennison Optimum Performance . . . Six Sigma Working for You’, which involves consulting with our customers on their toughest business issues and using Six Sigma tools to help improve their operations.”  
2002 Annual Report
“The Six Sigma program has resulted in improved productivity throughout the Fasson Roll operation, leading to lower costs and increased production capacity at a number of facilities.  In total, the Six Sigma program generated more than $10 million in savings in 1999, with an additional $10 million in savings projected for 2000.” 
4th-Quarter and Year-End Results, Jan. 25, 2000
Articles and Links
Never Ending Story, British Industry, May 2005
Sticking to Quality Goals, Chemical Week, March 01, 2000]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Chemicals&nbsp;,&nbsp;Fortune 500]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 11 Aug 2005 10:58:31 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma in the Consumer Products Industry]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_in_the_consumer_products_industry.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The Consumer Products industry sector contains a wide array of industries:  Apparel, Home Equipment and Furnishings, Household and Personal Products, Textiles, Tobacco, Toys and Sporting Goods.  Listed below are Fortune 1000 companies in these industries (broadly labeled "Consumer Products") that are using Six Sigma.
3MAlberto-CulverCloroxColgate-PalmoliveEstée LauderKimberly-ClarkMascoNewell RubbermaidProcter &amp; GambleStanley Works]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Consumer Products&nbsp;,&nbsp;Industry Lists]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 08 Aug 2005 21:39:03 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Barclays]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/barclays.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Barclays is just starting out on their Six Sigma journey.  They began their initiative just over a year ago and were recently recognized with a Six Sigma Excellence award in the category “Best Defect Elimination in a Service &amp; Transaction Project".  Chris Lorimer, Head of Supplier and Service Improvement at Barclays International and Private Bank, accepted the award and said:

"It is a terrific honour to receive this award in the presence of such exalted company, and to achieve this level of recognition in the first year of our deployment of Six Sigma in the bank.
"Using Lean and Six Sigma we were able to implement sustainable improvements where several previous attempts had only had short-term effects."
Venturehaus News, May 2005
Venturehaus, the consulting firm brought in by Barclays to pilot and then lead the deployment, also commented on the project: 

"This is indeed a great achievement so early on in a deployment, but it demonstrates that if you take a selective approach by choosing the right projects and providing the appropriate levels of training and support you can obtain very fast and very impressive results.
"This was a fantastic result, and very richly deserved. The project delivered not only significant immediate economic benefits. It also positioned the bank well in its chosen markets to provide superior client experience in what has traditionally been regarded as an area in which it is difficult for a bank to differentiate itself."
Venturehaus News, May 2005
Chris Lorimer and Alan Nobel of Venturehaus will present a workshop detailing the award winning project at the IQPC European Six Sigma Summit in September.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Global 500]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 04 Aug 2005 13:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: LG Electronics]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/lg_electronics.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[LG Electronics (LGE), part of South Korea’s LG Group, was the first LG company to embrace Six Sigma back in 1996 (about the same time as GE).  As shown in the timeline below (2000 Annual Report), LGE has a solid history of innovation activities and quality improvement activities dating back to 1989.

Since 2000, LGE has launched additional initiatives such as Digital Manufacturing System (DMS) and Tear Down &amp; Redesign (TDR).  The TDR initiative is based on Six Sigma and is used throughout all areas of the company including R&amp;D, marketing, production, and design.    

"Since 1996, LG Electronics has been pushing 6-sigma innovation campaigns in all divisions including product development and manufacturing. All employees are encouraged to carry out one or more projects each year to accomplish the 6-sigma objectives (reducing defective products to below 3.4 per 1 million) in their respective fields. This project is extended to parts suppliers to ensure consistent quality standards." 
About LG
Savings and Benefits

"Driven by the strong growth of premium products, including popular washing machine and refrigerator models, LGE sales of digital appliances in 2002 were up a sharp 21.7% over the previous year, totaling 6.04 trillion won. This impressive performance, augmented by vigorous cost-saving 6 Sigma activities launched in and out of Korea, enabled the Digital Appliance Division to attain a remarkable 10% operating profit margin." 
2002 Annual Report

"Intelligent selection of production sites, six sigma efficiency strategies, and proven quality all contributed to overseas sales increases of 36% for air conditioners and 22% for refrigerators."
2001 Annual Report
Articles and Links
Global CEO S.S. Kim (An excellent resource for news and information about S.S. Kim and LGE)
LG Electronics to Push Up Productivity, Global CEO S.S. Kim, January 8, 2004 
Six Sigma Based Management at LG, Bon-Moo Koo Website (Brief descriptions of the LG companies that are using Six Sigma)
Business Activities - Six Sigma, Bon-Moo Koo Website
LG and the Six Sigma Sense, Business Line, November 10, 2001]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Global 500]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 03 Aug 2005 13:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: McKesson Corporation]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/mckesson_corporation.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[McKesson is the largest pharmaceuticals distributor in the United States.  While they do not manufacture drugs or supply healthcare services, they are the leading provider of supply, information, and care management products to the entire healthcare industry.  In the words of McKesson’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, John Hammergren, “McKesson is helping transform healthcare into a modern, efficient, and quality-driven system.”  One way they are accomplishing this is through their corporate-wide, customer-focused Six Sigma initiative that began early in 1999.  
Savings and Benefits

“We have completed Six Sigma projects in our distribution center operations, contracts management, accounts receivable, accounts payable, dock to dock, drop ship, and returns areas. Recent results for customers include: 

“Streamlined recall notification processes. Upon receipt of a recall notification from a manufacturer or the FDA, we now take a series of actions to notify customers and our DC network. FDA inspections at McKesson distribution centers prove that the new recall notification process meets or exceeds federal requirements. 
“Contracting process improvements. We have secured agreement from suppliers to accept responsibility for the timeliness and accuracy of contract pricing. This collaboration has yielded industry-leading accuracy and timely pricing for our valued customers, reducing operating costs across the supply chain.” 
McKesson Website

“As a result of systematic and strategic programs such as the Six Sigma approach we have implemented to improve our processes the past six years, our quality measures are much improved. Our customers tell us that McKesson has the best service in the industry. For example, in mid-April, we accepted an award from Wal-Mart as Supplier of the Year, the second time in four years we have been singled out for quality performance by a customer known for its demanding standards. In Fiscal 2005, we renewed all of our large accounts that were due to expire and we are beginning to see signs of sell margin stabilization.”
2005 Letter to Stockholders

“We have used an approach called Six Sigma to analyze and improve our processes and quality. Over the past three years, Six Sigma has achieved $40 million in net operating savings in our Pharmaceutical Solutions segment. We are now expanding its application broadly across McKesson.” 
2003 Letter to Stockholders

“McKesson’s success depends ultimately on the loyalty and commitment of our customers and employees. We are using a series of Business Scorecards across the company to measure annual financial, customer, employee and operating process performance compared to pre-set objectives. Hundreds of employees trained in Six Sigma methodologies are applying them to drive process improvements that lower our costs while increasing quality for our customers. Across McKesson, we adhere to a set of principles to make decisions and guide our behavior, which we call "I CARE’’: Integrity, Customer-centered, Accountability, Respect and Excellence. Over the past two years, as a result of our focus on product quality and responsiveness, customer satisfaction has increased significantly, as measured by a number of independent, third party measures. Employee satisfaction has also increased. Even more importantly, employee turnover has been reduced and is now substantially lower than industry averages.” 
2002 Letter to Stockholders
Articles and Links 
Six Sigma, McKesson Canada
Simplicity is Key to Corporate Strategies, Drug Store News,  July 19, 2004
John Hammergren Oral History, Computerworld Honors Foundation International Archives, April 6, 2004 (Google cache)
Six Sigma Is a Way of Life, Building frameworks for Six Sigma success - Case Studies - Quality Management Philosophy, Workforce, May 2003
Energized!, repertoire, Jun 2001
Jeff Reinke, Six Sigma Academy Client Video
Instantis Customer Case Study, McKesson]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Fortune 500&nbsp;,&nbsp;Healthcare]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 01 Aug 2005 16:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma in the Healthcare Industry]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_in_the_healthcare_industry.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The Healthcare Sector includes the following Fortune 1000 industries: Medical Products &amp; Equipment, Pharmacy and Other Services, Healthcare-Medical Facilities, and Wholesalers-Healthcare.  The Healthcare-Insurance industry is included in the Insurance Industry List.
Fortune 1000 Healthcare Companies practicing Six Sigma:




Bausch &amp; LombBaxter InternationalBecton DickinsonBoston ScientificCardinal Health
McKessonMedtronicQuest DiagnosticsSt. Jude MedicalUniversal Health Services
Although relatively few Fortune 1000 healthcare companies have implemented a formal Six Sigma program, many other companies in the Healthcare industry have embraced the methodology:




Adirondack Oral &amp; Maxillofacial Alexandria HospitalAnthemAspen Healthcare MetricsBay Medical Center in Panama City, FLBerger HospitalBJC HealthcareBlood Systems LaboratoriesBon Secours Health SystemsBryn Mawr HospitalCardinal HealthCarle Foundation Hospital Catheter and Disposables Technology (CDT)Catholic Healthcare WestCharleston Area Medical CenterCNA InsuranceCNH GlobalCommonwealth Health CorporationCreative Healthcare SolutionsCyMedDade BehringDecatur Memorial HospitalFairview Health ServicesFHP Health CareFroedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital in MilwaukeeGood Samaritan Health SystemHealth AllianceHeartland HealthJohns HopkinsLuthern MemorialMayo ClinicMcleod Regional Medical Center MedCathMedrad Inc.MEDTOX Scientific, Inc.Morton Plant Mease Health 
Mount Carmel HealthNational Board of Medical ExaminersNew England Medical Center in BostonNewYork-Presbyterian HospitalNorth Shore Long Island Jewish Health System            Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics Park Nicollet Medical CenterParkview HospitalPullman Memorial Hospital Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital At HamiltonRoche DiagnosticsScottsdale HealthcareSeton Medical CenterSource Medical SolutionsSpacelabs MedicalSt Francis Medical Center St. John Health (SJH)St. Jude MedicalStanford University Medical Center-Department of RadiologyThe Nemours Foundation Children’s Hospital Thibodaux Regional Medical CenterTrinity HealthUniversity of Virginia (UVA) Medical CenterUT M. D. Anderson Cancer CenterVarian Medical Systems Veterans Affairs Medical CenterVirtua HealthVytra Health PlansWellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Women &amp; Infants Hospital of Rhode Island (a Care New England hospital)Yale-New Haven Hospital
 
For more information on Six Sigma in Healthcare visit: iSixSigma Healthcare 
 ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Healthcare&nbsp;,&nbsp;Industry Lists]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 01 Aug 2005 12:34:16 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: McNerney Talks Process Improvement at Boeing]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/mcnerney_talks_process_improvement_at_boeing.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[James McNerney hints at what’s to come at Boeing during yesterday’s Second Quarter 2005 Earnings conference call with analysts and journalists:  

"Boeing has very strong pockets of process improvement, quality, technology sharing and leverage, sourcing, management development and more. We plan to take those that have the most company-wide impact on growth and company productivity and drive them across the enterprise.  Stay tuned."
During the question answer session at the close of the call Jim had this to say when asked to give specifics on areas with the greatest opportunity for improvement: 

"There’s some terrific Lean work done throughout this company.  I can see ways to expand some of that, add some additional process improvement thinking to it, to strengthen it, revitalize it over time."
These statements clearly compliment Boeing’s current process improvement efforts, but also point out that they are merely "pockets" and could stand to be strengthened and driven across the enterprise. I think it is pretty safe to assume that Jim McNerney’s plan to "expand" and "revitalize" the Lean program will include the methodology that he learned at GE, practiced at 3M, and is now seriously considering at Boeing...Six Sigma.  
Documents and Links
Archived Webcast (registration required), News Release, Financial Presentation
Boeing Flies Higher on Commercial Jets, The Seattle Times, July 28, 2005
 
 ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Six Sigma Articles &amp; News]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 28 Jul 2005 08:33:43 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Countrywide Financial - FASTER]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/countrywide_financial_faster.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[In 2001 Countrywide Financial launched an internally developed, proprietary program called FASTER.  The six step methodology (Flow, Analyze, Solve, Target, Execute, and Review) is modeled after Six Sigma and specifically designed for the financial services environment.  FASTER as well as the customer satisfaction program PACE (Proudly Achieving Customer Expectations) are both helping Countrywide improve all aspects of the business from boosting efficiency and enhancing cost effectiveness to improving customer service.  Their annual reports have consistently reported their progress to date.
Savings and Benefits

“Since the program’s inception in 2001, FASTER has delivered $76 million in operating profit and has identified potential future savings of $560 million. Although FASTER continues to benefit the Company financially, the true benefit of the program is cultural —every employee can improve Countrywide’s processes, and FASTER gives them the tools and the recognition to do so. At the same time, the PACE group facilitated the gathering of customer service feedback from over 2 million consumers, business partners and employees during 2004.” 
2004 Annual Report

“Since the program’s inception in 2001, roughly 6,000 employees have been trained, at various levels of certification, in the FASTER performance management methodology which has resulted in approximately $244 million in productivity gains.” 
2003 Annual Report 

"Our Passion for excellence was epitomized by the increasing employee utilization of FASTER, a productivity program customized CULTURE for Countrywide. Similar to Six Sigma used in other industries, FASTER is aimed at making every aspect of our operation better. To date, nearly 5,000 employees have been trained in this discipline. We have over 800 users of FASTER software, and approximately 350 registered FASTER projects under way. The cultural impact has been significant: FASTER has been made accessible to all employees, encouraging a continuous improvement mindset at every level of the Company. In 2002, the first full year of the program, FASTER delivered nearly $11 million in operating profit and identified potential future savings of close to $84 million. Given the high degree of employee buy-in, we expect to see substantially increased results for 2003 — including a strong return on investment and thousands more training certifications among our 30,000-person workforce."
2002 Annual Report

“Our latest innovation comes from our Performance Management Group that has implemented a proprietary continuous improvement program called FASTER. Expertise in process management is the cornerstone of our global operation where we are contracted by international third-parties as a fee-based mortgage processor.” 
2001 Annual Report
Articles and Links
Faster Than Six Sigma - Countrywide’s Experience, IQPC Financial Services Conference, July 27 - 28, 2004
Countrywide Implements Alternative to Six Sigma, Press Release, February 20, 2003
Fire in the Belly, Mortgage Banking, Jan 2002]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Financial Services&nbsp;,&nbsp;Fortune 500]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 27 Jul 2005 11:40:32 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Alstom]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/alstom.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[In an interview in 2004 with Alsom’s Cindy Kortebein, VP of Business Processes, Environmental Control Systems (ECS), James Works, President, George Group, learns how Six Sigma is working its way through Alstom: 

"JW: Tell me about Six Sigma deployment at Alstom. 
"CK: Alstom has really made a concerted effort to step up the deployment especially in our business segment. We don’t have a central person in charge of deployment, each sector is doing their own thing - things are generally going well but we may lose out on communication. In ECS we’ve been very successful, out of 250 employees we have trained 10 Black Belts, 64 Green Belts and we’ve started training our suppliers to improve that interface - we have 8 supplier GBs. This is one of 60 projects that have been started and closed in ECS. Our net benefit in this office, taking all annualised benefits and subtracting costs, we’re gaining about $4 million dollars a year. 
"CK: Alstom-wide we have 700 GBs and 160 BBs. It’s become a very important aspect of improving the business results. One of advantages is that BBs have been dedicated full-time, one of lessons we’ve learned is that part-time doesn’t work as well for us. In terms of senior management, Patrick Crone supports the deployment, in this office we definitely have the support which is why we have been so successful. Even within ECS, where there is less direct support, it’s very difficult to maintain the momentum." 
IQPC
Savings and Benefits

"In the context of the decline in the global power market, we plan to accelerate our industrial restructuring and overhead reduction initiatives in order to adapt our capacity to market conditions and to increase our profitability. In all Sectors, we will continue to focus on measures to improve operational efficiency, enhance cash management and drive quality and process improvements. Implementation of our cross-Sector Quality Focus 6 Sigma programme continues, with the aim of enhancing the quality of our products and services to customers.
"ALSTOM’s umbrella quality and operational improvement programme, Quality Focus Six Sigma, covers all Company functions and operations. It aims to modify the way we work in order to enhance customer satisfaction and improve our results.
"On a comparable basis, selling and administrative expenses decreased by &#8364;62 million compared with fiscal year 2002. As a percentage of sales, they decreased from 10.0% to 9.6%. This reduction resulted from synergies, the impact of restructuring and from actions launched to reduce costs under our Quality Focus 6-Sigma programme. We expect these savings will be amplified by the introduction of further restructuring programmes in the years to come."
2003/2004 Annual Report

"Restore Value lays out how we will improve our profitability through a four-point action plan: improving our business mix to focus on the higher margin, higher growth segments of our markets; continuous restructuring for productivity improvement and, in particular, administrative overhead reduction; accelerating implementation of excellence programmes, of which Quality Focus 6 Sigma and Cash for Growth are the most important; and rapidly fixing the three operational issues referred to previously."
2002/2003 Annual Report

"A major achievement during fiscal year 2002 was the tangible increase in 6 Sigma momentum across the entire organisation. Employees were trained at all levels, from the President to shop floor operators.  By the end of February 2002, one-third of ALSTOM’s top managers had attended an executive session, 290 employees were active as Quality Focus 6 Sigma Black Belts and 670 were active as Quality Focus 6 Sigma Green Belts."
2001/2002 Annual Report
Articles and Links
Dedicated to Six Sigma to Better Serve Our Customers, Alstom Environmental Control Systems
Use Customer Feedback To Choose Six Sigma Projects, Six Sigma Forum Magazine, Nov 2003]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Global 500]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 25 Jul 2005 16:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: The 2005 Global 500]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/the_2005_global_500.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[SixSigmaCompanies.com is going global! With the release of Fortune’s 2005 Global 500 list, I am now posting reviews of Six Sigma companies world-wide.  
As Six Sigma deployment models differ from company to company and corporate culture to corporate culture, they also differ country to country, culture to culture.  Steve Crom has written two articles on the cultural nuances that influence Six Sigma deployments.  He touches upon this aspect of culture and its effect on Six Sigma teams in “Pace of Six Sigma Teams Differs Dramatically by Culture”.  In “Using Six Sigma in Europe: A Cross-Cultural Perspective” he illustrates the influence national culture has on organizational change citing Six Sigma examples.
SixSigmaCompanies.com is now taking a closer look at companies around the world and sharing their Six Sigma success stories.  Please take this virtual journey with me as I cover the globe bringing you the Six Sigma scoop on the world’s largest companies. 
Notable Six Sigma companies ranked in the Global 500 include BHP Billiton, Bombardier, Alstom, AXA, Allianz, Siemens, Sony, Toshiba, Royal Dutch/Shell Group, LG Electronics, Samsung, HSBC, Lloyds TSB Group, and Marks &amp; Spencer (just to name a few).]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Global 500&nbsp;,&nbsp;Six Sigma Companies]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 19 Jul 2005 19:55:38 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: HSBC]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/hsbc.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Six Sigma has been growing slowly but surely over the years at HSBC . The Six Sigma deployment model of the United Kingdom based banking corporation is best described as the “middle-out” approach in Michael Cyger’s blog entry, “Are All Six Sigma Deployment Models Created Equal”.      
Recently, HSBC won the Six Sigma Excellence award for “Most Innovative Six Sigma Project" presented at the IQPC Six Sigma Summit 2005.  Charlotte Nutt, Head of Business Development at six sigma IQ, interviewed Daniel Stusnick, Senior Vice President, Global Transaction Banking at HSBC, at the event and asked him questions about the scope of their Six Sigma deployment:

“Charlotte: How does your programme fit into HSBC’s company wide Six Sigma objectives? 
Dan: That’s a complicated one. Six Sigma in HSBC, our current state is that there are probably a dozen grass roots Six Sigma initiatives throughout HSBC. It wasn’t a top down mandate in any business, but rather many businesses within the HSBC group have concluded it is something they want and have said lets just go and do it. Only this year we are finally starting to look at it from a top down perspective, and are implementing Six Sigma globally in our Global Transaction Banking business. This project was one of the bigger ones that went on under the guise of the quality programme in HSBC bank USA. I think as a group we are starting to finally realise the benefits that Six Sigma brings and we are considering a standardised approach. If anything this Award is helping make the case that this is worthwhile doing.”
IQPC
Charlotte’s interview is well worth the read.  Dan gives further details on the success HSBC has seen from Six Sigma projects and emphasizes the teamwork that led to those successes.  As Six Sigma continues to gain momentum, recognition, and corporate support at HSBC we are sure to hear more and more about it.
Savings and Benefits
US futures at HSBC Securities

"Ultimately, projects must show results, and the futures quality initiative is no exception. When the project started, net income stood at $1.9m, and had been more or less unchanged for several years. Furthermore, the business was in jeopardy due to the changing dynamics of the markets as electronic trading became a factor. As a result of the project: 

net income climbed to an all time high of $3m during 2003 as many of the improvements were being implemented 
for 2004, futures net income is projected to climb to $7.1m, a 274 per cent increase since the project began 
project results were achieved with a ten per cent reduction in headcount and in a declining commission environment 
while not measured, the improvement in morale was noticeable
"After the execution of the improve phase projects, the transformation of the futures business was apparent. The entire business had been mobilised to address problems, and each of the core team have achieved green belt certification."
Back to the Future, Institute of Quality Assurance, Jul 2005
Articles and Links
Six Sigma Propelling HSBC, thestar, May 15, 2005
Kung Fu Fighter, Institute of Quality Assurance, Jul 2005 (available in print only)
Project Identification, Prioritisation and Selection, Institute of Quality Assurance, April 12, 2005 (presentation by Jon Theuerkauf, Head of Best Practice, Global Transaction Banking, HSBC Bank Plc) 
What’s Wrong with Six Sigma, Quality Progress, Jan 2005]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Global 500]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 19 Jul 2005 18:55:00 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma Helps Columnist Hesh Reinfeld Improve Writing…]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/six_sigma_helps_columnist_hesh_reinfeld_improve_writing.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Hesh Reinfeld, a Pittsburgh-based business columnist and humorist wrote a column yesterday about improving the quality of his columns:  

"When my readers question the quality of my columns, I don’t look to the subjective evaluations of an editor. No, I call my six sigma black belt, Harry, for help.
"Harry has worked on process improvement at GE, Toyota and has an advanced degree in industrial engineering from Cal Tech. Most importantly, he does not have a sense of humor. He lets the data drive the solution. As a matter of fact, Harry told me that he has never actually read one of my columns.   "Harry's analysis is based upon video taping readers as they read my columns. This time his analysis showed that the number of laughs per column had decreased dramatically from 3.7 to a paltry 1.9. And more importantly, few of the laughs were true vocal outbursts..." Read more
This column is something Six Sigma and Lean followers will get a kick out of.  To read more Hesh Reinfeld, visit his website. ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Six Sigma Articles &amp; News]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 19 Jul 2005 17:54:43 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Brunswick Corporation - Lean Six Sigma]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/brunswick_corporation_lean_six_sigma.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Lean Six Sigma surfaced at Brunswick in 2003.  Since then it has not merely been sailing along but is powering throughout the company like a Maxum 2400SR3 cruising atop a pristine body of blue. The boating, billiards and bowling industries are very competitive.  With no room to scratch or throw a gutter ball, Brunswick is using Lean Six Sigma to improve product quality, eliminate variability, and reduce costs.
In February of this year, George W. Buckley, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, delivered a presentation at the Miami International Boat Show titled, Brunswick – Becoming the “Toyota of Boating”. In it he revealed Lean Six Sigma as part of the Brunswick growth strategy to drive bottom-line earnings. 
Savings and Benefits

“We have developed and widely deployed new technologies to bring unequaled quality and innovation to our products, while relentlessly driving out costs and inefficiencies, most recently introducing and applying Lean Six Sigma principles to achieve better quality and productivity. 
“As for Lean Six Sigma, the methodology that seeks to eliminate unnecessary steps and simplify processes to improve quality and productivity, it has gained tremendous momentum throughout Brunswick during 2004. 
“For example, the benefits of our global supply chain management and the application of Lean Six Sigma with cost-containment efforts have sparked a turnaround at US Marine, home to our Bayliner, Trophy and Maxum brands.”
2004 Annual Report

“We believe that cost will continue to be the ultimate competitive deadly weapon for any company in any industry. In 2003, we added potent weapons to our arsenal to attack costs. These included a Company-wide commitment to implement Lean Six Sigma, a statistical control process aimed at improving product quality by eliminating variability and reducing costs. 
“We’ve bolstered these efforts with great processes such as Lean Six Sigma that we can use, over time, to deliver superior results.” 
2003 Annual Report

“Already, Lean Six Sigma has led to ‘more than $300,000 in cost savings, 62% reduction in crankcase defects, 15% productivity improvement, 6.5 day lead time reduction, a decrease in missed shipments per month from 13 to none, a decrease in the distance a part travels through the production process from the length of five football fields to just one, and a 21% reduction in floor space.’ And this is just in one small segment of the Brunswick Corporation (Mercury Castings)!” 
University of Oregon Investment Group, Brunswick, Mat 13, 2005
“Building on our ISO 9001 success, we are currently well underway in a company-wide Lean Six Sigma venture that is taking us ‘the next step’ towards total customer satisfaction and continuous improvement.” 
Mercury Marine Website
Articles and Links
Breaking News: ITC ruling a ‘major blow’ to Mercury?, Boating Industry, February 2, 2005
The Mercury Installation Quality Certification Program, Mercury Marine Website
ISO and Lean Six Sigma, Mercury Marine Website
Mercury Racing Opens Horsepower Highway, Boating Industry, Aug 2004]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Automotive&nbsp;,&nbsp;Fortune 500]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 14 Jul 2005 00:37:22 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Bank of America Celebrates Six Sigma Success]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/bank_of_america_celebrates_six_sigma_success.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Yesterday, Bank of America employees gathered for the third annual "Best of Six Sigma Expo" to celebrate and recognize the teams that completed the best Six Sigma projects in 2004.  

"This was how Bank of America praised employees who last year carried out its 15 best 'Six Sigma' projects, designed to increase revenue and cut costs at the No. 2 U.S. bank by assets."
"So far, Six Sigma has helped Bank of America reap about $2 billion in revenue gains and cost savings, said Milton Jones, quality and productivity executive. The goal is to contribute about $1 billion per year toward the company's revenue growth and expense reduction efforts."
B of A Praises Workers for Achievements, Times Leader, July 13, 2005
Bank of America is very involved in the Six Sigma community.  Attending conferences, sharing best practices, and telling the world about Six Sigma are just a few of their contributions.  Last month, Milton Jones gave a presentation during one of the general sessions the ISSSP Leadership Conference and two Bank of America Six Sigma leaders, a Deployment Leader and a Master Black Belt, facilitated a breakout group. In the group we talked about emerging trends in Six Sigma and how companies share best practices within their organizations.  Holding these "reward, recognize and share" events on an annual basis was a common practice revealed by several of the companies in the group including Raytheon and Seagate.  
Hats off to companies that reward and recognize the people behind the projects.  This kind of recognition is just plain good business. 
Additional Links
Bank of America Second Annual Best of Six Sigma Expo, The State, July 22, 2004
Six Sigma with Energy and Enthusiasm at Cummins, Inc., iSixSigma.com, Apr 2005]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Six Sigma Articles &amp; News]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 13 Jul 2005 11:27:21 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Guest Blog: Decker Marketing]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/guest_blog_decker_marketing.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Each week the iSixSigma Blogosphere newsletter will feature a blog entry from a guest blog.  I read several different business related blogs each day and I am constantly searching for new ones.  I have been visiting Decker Marketing for over a year now and always enjoy reading what Sam Decker has to say.  He is insightful, understands businesses from start-ups to corporate, and even writes about Six Sigma from time to time.  In fact, after reading his blog last year I was inspired start blogging on my own.
His nuggets of business wisdom are most presently displayed in his latest post, 3 Principles of Tributary Leadership, where he draws out the parallels between nature, man, and business.  Not surprisingly, each of his Leadership Parallels has a Six Sigma parallel as well.      

"TRIBUTARY PRINCIPLE: There is a solid foundation from which the depth, breadth and strength of the branches are determined.
LEADERSHIP PARALLEL: Culture is driven from the top. The stronger the winning culture, the bigger, larger, wider, and more prevalent the branches of growth."
SIX SIGMA PARALLEL: As with culture, a successful Six Sigma initiative is driven from the top.  The strength of the Six Sigma branches is determined by the foundation of leadership commitment.  
 ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Leadership&nbsp;,&nbsp;Six Sigma Companies]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 12 Jul 2005 02:59:00 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Boeing]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/boeing.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[…We are now accepting all boarding passes for flight 777 departing 3M and arriving at Boeing… Jim McNerney’s recent travels have caught the attention of many including the Six Sigma community.  The question we are asking ourselves is, “can he do for Boeing what he did for 3M?”  Michael Cyger, CEO and Publisher of iSixSigma, recently commented on the magnitude of McNerney’s move:

“The most significant issue facing the airline industry today is bankruptcy. The airline business model just doesn’t work (with the notable exceptions of a few low cost carriers) and airlines are being forced to reorganize under Chapter 11 – if they can’t, liquidation is the next step. McNerney and Boeing have a unique opportunity to assist airlines in their reorganization and return to profitability through the use of Lean Six Sigma -- which hopefully McNerney will bring to Boeing with the fervor he had at 3M.”
Six Sigma is not the most prominent buzzword flying around Boeing...it’s Lean.  Boeing has been heavily involved in applying Lean Manufacturing principles since the early 90s.  It wasn’t until the late 90s that they began to complement their Lean initiatives with Six Sigma.  Six Sigma at Boeing is not a corporate mandate.  It began as a grassroots effort in 1999 and is now part of the Boeing Production System.  Although annual reports do not mention Six Sigma by name they do call out Lean enterprise.  The 2004 Annual Report states that Lean initiatives reduced costs by $210 million.  Six Sigma does get press in the monthly newsletter, Boeing Frontiers, which has featured Six Sigma articles and success stories.
With Boeing’s solid foundation in Lean and experience using Six Sigma over the years, McNerney has a full deck ready to play.  As his tenure at Boeing unfolds, we’ll soon see if he plays the Six Sigma card in an effort to step things up.  
Overview

“The Boeing Production System is composed of several elements that work in concert to ensure an output of the highest-quality cost-effective products in the least amount of time. The Boeing Production System principles—Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, value streams, global manufacturing and managing supplier relationships—are all elements that are critical to the company’s competitiveness.
“Since 1999, Boeing Commercial Airplanes has participated in numerous pilot projects using Six Sigma principles. Focusing intently on the customer, this data-driven way to manage variation in manufacturing and managing business processes also is relentlessly focused on business metrics and cultural change. Specially selected experts undergo extensive training and become certified as "green belts" or "black belts" depending on the degree of training and projects completed. Currently there are dozens of projects in work across Commercial Airplanes, with more than 300 trained as green belts and nearly 60 trained as black belts.” 
Boeing Frontiers

“Six Sigma and the highly trained practitioners "complement Lean principles and employee involvement practices by enabling teams to solve their problems using data and not conjecture," said Dan Allison, Boeing Huntsville Safety, Reliability and Quality Assurance director.”
Boeing Frontiers
Articles and Links
Randy’s Journal, Randy Baseler is vice president of marketing for Boeing Commercial Airplanes and regurlaly blogs for Boeing.  In a recent post titled  It’s in our hands he wrote about Jim McNerney taking over at the helm.
Six Sigma and OR at Boeing, Led by Dr. Shobbo Basu, INFORMS Roundtable Meeting at Cambridge, MA, April 25, 2004
Fans of Six Sigma, Boeing Frontiers, March 2005
CEO pick is Boeing’s latest tribute to GE, The Seattle Times, July 1, 2005
A lean defense, theManufacturer.com, January 31, 2005
Boeing knows lean, MRO Today, February/March 2002
Production Initiatives, Boeing Website
Integrated Defense Systems Key Contributor To Boeing Lean Enterprise, Boeing Website]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Aerospace and Defense&nbsp;,&nbsp;Fortune 500]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 11 Jul 2005 19:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Cummins Inc. - Six Sigma]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/cummins_inc_six_sigma.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Cummins Inc. began using Six Sigma and Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) in 2000.  In April 2004 they completed their 2,000th Six Sigma project and in the same year began working on Six Sigma projects with customers.  Cummins is featured in the Corporate Leadership section of the July/August issue of iSixSigma Magazine.  In the article, Ernest Lifferth, DFSS Leader for Cummins, details the progress they have made since deploying DFSS and describes the ways Cummins is using DFSS to develop new products and “solve those production problems that just won’t go away”.
Savings and Benefits

“Our successful Six Sigma program will continue to drive cost savings and quality improvements, while serving as a leadership development tool for employees.
“In 2004, we began to do Six Sigma projects with customers to jointly focus on the improvements that mattered to them.” 
2004 Annual Report
“In the second half of the year, our businesses were generating a profit largely due to increased sales and ongoing cost-reduction efforts, especially our Six Sigma initiatives.” 
2003 Annual Report
“Our ongoing use of Six Sigma, a disciplined approach to drive rapid process improvement, has resulted in approximately $400 million in cost savings since January 2000 when we launched this program. In addition, we have trained 1,300 employees in Six Sigma practices and processes. These initiatives to improve quality, manage spending and relentlessly cut costs will continue even as our markets begin to trend upward after a three-year recession.”  
2002 Annual Report 
“Our focus in 2001 remained on cost reduction and cash management. The cornerstone of our cost reduction effort is Six Sigma, a quality improvement program that uses statistical tools and a disciplined approach to drive rapid process improvement. Since the program began in 2000, more than 700 Cummins employees trained as “belts” have delivered $100 million of savings with substantial improvements in product and service quality.” 
2001 Annual Report 
“Reducing the amount we pay for quality issues associated with some of our new products is also a focus, and we have implemented a quality improvement program called Six Sigma. Led by project leaders called Black Belts and Green Belts, Six Sigma uses statistical tools and a disciplined, logical approach to drive rapid process improvement. We now have more than 100 Black Belts and 170 Green Belts working on improvement projects. The completed projects have already resulted in an additional $27 million to the bottom line, exceeding our first-year goal by $2 million.” 
2000 Annual Report
Articles and Links
The 14 Million Dollar Woman, Quality Digest, May 2005
Six Sigma with Energy and Enthusiasm at Cummins, Inc., iSixSigma.com, Apr 2005
Top Six Sigma Projects on Display at Cummins Expo, Forbes, March 31, 2005
Quality Time, Minnesota Technology Magazine, Spring 2005
Six Sigma helps marketing improve design, save money, B to B, November 8, 2004
Cummins Case Study, The Times 100, Jan 2003
Case Studies: Cummins Witnesses Savings, Quality Magazine, May 9, 2003]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Marx]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Fortu