I've been following Forrest Breyfogle for some time. You may know that he came out with a couple of the definitive text books for the Six Sigma DMAIC process several years ago. I have a couple of them on my shelf. In the last few months, I've bumped into Breyfogle at a couple of conferences [...]
A couple weeks ago I published an audio interview with Jay Bronec about his 'Ah-Ha' Moment when he realized that he was spending valuable company time doing non-value-added work. In that interview he described how he is automating his company's (QualiFine) KPIs by integrating our CRM and Web data using GainSeeker. Today I followed up [...]
Recently Larry Coburn, the Sr. VP of Operations at Crown Audio, gave a presentation at the Aberdeen Manufacturing Excellence Summit. We recorded his talk, and you can watch it online. I really enjoyed Larry's talk because he doesn't pull any punches. He understands how manufacturing drives the economy, and he has a powerful antidote to [...]
In my last post I described an interesting conversation with a customer about his company's pilot deployment of GainSeeker Suite. You may recall that because of staff turnover, this plant was collecting data but not doing anything with it. The company was feeling pressure from a significant increase in raw material costs, and because nobody [...]
"As we talked it became clear that material costs were going through the roof, and the company needed to find ways to control and reduce those costs. .. Eventually we went back to the QM's office and her computer where we spent about 10 minutes digging into the data that they were already collecting. We used GainSeeker's Analysis Wizard to find underlying causes. What I found surprised all three of us. . . . "
Data is a wild river that holds some great fish that you can eat, but essentially it is blocking you from your next destination. . . . If you're an Act II Settler, that same data river is something that can help drive subsequent cycles of the DMAIC process. In Settler terms you can use it to water your crops, drive a new sawmill, and (once you've invented them) power electric lights and a toaster. . .
This morning I opened my weekly update from LinkedIn and saw the following note: Jay Bronec is working on automating QualiFine's KPIs by integrating our CRM and Web data using GainSeeker. I fired off an email and asked Jay to fill me in. He called my a few minutes later from his car. In the [...]
We've been working on an OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) project for a new client. Once this customer puts his OPC factory network in place, we'll automate the data collection piece. . . .
What is clear from our experience, and is now supported by research from the Aberdeen Group, is that one of the best ways to do more with less is to empower your people with ready access to accurate, actionable, real-time data. Real-time data helps you respond to problems faster and reduce material costs and scrap and rework costs, and it frees staff for more productive work.. . .
Recently a colleague forwarded this email from a friend of his and asked me for my comments: Please let me know what lean/6sigma book you would recommend. I've read a couple over the years but they are a bit dull and won't fire up our management - is there one that is simple but convincing? [...]
