Blogs

Exploring the Potential of AI in Process Improvement

A think-piece from Bill Hathaway about the explosion of AI's popularity and where AI can be integrated into the world of process improvement.

Lies, Damned Lies, and...Checklists

Continuous improvement should be a process of discovery. Tools like checklists and roadmaps should support and guide, but not overshadow, critical thinking.

An Unobstructed View of Customer Requirements

MoreSteam Founder and CEO Bill Hathaway gives his two cents on the formula for good design: empathy and a profound knowledge of the customer.

What is Lean Six Sigma?

Discover the basics of Lean Six Sigma in MoreSteam's beginner's guide. Learn how this powerful methodology combines efficiency (Lean) with quality improvement (Six Sigma) to streamline processes and drive excellence in any industry.

Modeling OEE: Reality is Rarely Well Behaved

This blog piece, the second in our OEE series, goes more in-depth on how to model overall equipment effectiveness (or perhaps more accurately, OPE, overall process effectiveness), using the same SigmaBrew coffee shop example as the first one.

Hoshin Kanri: At a Glance

What is Hoshin Planning? Hoshin Planning, or Hoshin Kanri, is a comprehensive planning method that aims to align strategic goals and initiatives across all levels of an organization.

How to Have Your Cake (and Eat it Too)

Optimizing for two response variables in multiple regression involves a process of finding the best combination of predictor variables to predict and enhance the two responses simultaneously. See how in these easy to follow baking example!

What is Overall Equipment Effectiveness and Why Does it Matter?

OEE, or Overall Equipment Effectiveness, is a classic performance metric used to score the overall efficiency of a process. It is good and necessary, but it’s not sufficient by itself.

An Introduction to CAPA

Corrective actions and preventive actions, or CAPA, is a popular quality management approach that organizations use to identify, investigate, and address the root causes of defects, deviations, or failures in their processes, products, or services.

Lean Thinking: The Most Important Leadership Skill

Alan Goodman, the instructional chair/instructor for Quality Engineering and Technology at Milwaukee Area Technical College, partnered with MoreSteam to create the first-ever lean summer camp for middle and high school students.

Moving Lean Simulations to a Virtual Setting

With the COVID-19 lockdown happening just over three years ago, I've been thinking back on a significant hurdle we had to overcome, and fast. How did we plan on moving our Lean simulations, intended to be taught in person, to a virtual setting?

Reflections on How Far Process Modeling Has Come

Process modeling is more important than ever because it allows us to perfect our operations without wasting resources in this rapidly-changing time.

Problem-Solving Roadmaps: Definitions, Examinations, and Common Myths Explained

Problem-solving roadmaps add value to your continuous improvement projects and can act as a thought exercise and a results-driven mechanism for process improvement projects. But there are a lot of myths and “rules” surrounding these roadmaps that are important to dispel.

Using Visual Management to Improve My Workouts

Visual Management, one of the four elements that make up the Lean Management System, is critical to help recognize trends, spot problems, and set targets to continuously improve. See how I used visual management and daily accountability to improve my workouts.

Making the Case for Organized Process Improvement

All too often, quality engineers are left defending the importance of process improvement initiatives like Lean Six Sigma. But if you want a competitive edge, deploying a robust program simply isn't optional.

Should I Become a Master Black Belt?

If you are passionate about OpEx and aligning your organization's strategic goals with improvement efforts, an MBB certification may be right for you.

What is the DMAIC Methodology?

Whether you’re quite familiar with the DMAIC methodology, or have only recently heard that acronym, let’s break down what it is and the best time to use it in practice.

Applying Lean to Six Sigma Training

Lean encourages you to only use tools that are necessary to solve a problem. But many practitioners forget that concept when blending Lean and Six Sigma together.

What Would You Do for 15 More Points of IQ?

Multitasking in the workplace has proven to slow down productivity. But the labor shortage is leaving employees with no choice. Can we use lean methods like SMED to help mitigate this issue?

Global Supply Chain Disruptions - The Revenge of Variation

Understanding why the global supply chain is experiencing so much turmoil is critical to structuring your business' response.

Why the Most Critical Phase is Often the Most Overlooked

What is the Control Phase? Why is it important? Learn this and the 5Cs that make up a successful Control Phase in the DMAIC process.

The Great Retirement & The Five Lean Principles

MoreSteam discusses why lean methods are more important than ever when key inputs like labor are constrained because eliminating waste frees up capacity.

Lean Six Sigma Belt Levels Explained

What are the Lean Six Sigma Belt levels? Discover what each belt level means and how they contribute to achieving Operational Excellence.

Sustainable Training Routines for Operational Excellence

Understand the science behind routines and design management systems to drive process improvement across your organization.

The Possibilities of Process Modeling in Automotive

Tesla and GM are slashing years out of the product development process by discarding old practices and using virtual models to test and validate changes.

4 Keys to Making Your Virtual Study Halls a Success

Three experienced Master Black Belt coaches discuss the keys to leading successful study halls in a virtual environment.

Making recertification work for, not against, your organization

In a recent blog post, we explored the perils of "one‐and‐done syndrome," a trap into which too many organizations fall as initial Lean/Six Sigma project success fails to materialize into long‐term gains. One powerful tool to drive organizational sustainability with projects and a broader problem‐solving culture can be in recertification requirements for trained employees — but this is a delicate dance.

EngineRoom Software Validation: Calculate with Confidence

It's helpful to know the numbers you're crunching during a Six Sigma project are accurate, but in some industries, it's more than about simply peace of mind. Companies subject to U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations are required to show that the calculations produced in programs like MoreSteam's EngineRoom software are accurate, precise, and reliable, a process known as validation. This summer, MoreSteam has rolled out all the necessary resources to drastically simplify this process in the form of a validation kit.

Finding a cure for “one-and-done syndrome”

Perhaps the easiest step in the continuous improvement process is celebrating the success of a project with measurable improvements and the collective sense that the struggles, even failures, along the way were worth it. Who doesn't love an excuse for an offsite lunch or happy hour?

Lean Six Sigma Nutrition

If there were any doubt that summer is in full swing in the northern hemisphere, I collected this evidence a week ago. The Human Cannon Ball attraction is once again traveling the land to amuse and delight. For those of you who are using Failure Mode & Effects Analysis (FMEA) for risk evaluation, this might be a good case study for training purposes, assuming that there might be a few things that could go wrong.

"Return to Work" and pandemic lessons learned

As companies begin to negotiate their paths back to pre-pandemic operations this summer, I've been hearing the term "return to work" a lot. The problem with that term: we never left work. We just brought work home, some of us while supervising children learning virtually; others while grappling with the isolation, illness, and loss the pandemic has brought; and all of us while looking for flickers of normalcy in a stretch of history that has been anything but.

Teaching the next generation of Lean Six Sigma problem-solvers

Alan Goodman uses his experience as a certified Black Belt to teach students the value and benefit of Lean Six Sigma principles.

Retirement leads to life-changing adventure

Lean Six Sigma consultant on the MoreSteam Client Services Team isn't slowing down after a productive career. In addition to global adventures, he also stays busy by sharing his expertise with students and leaders around the world.

Culture can never be Compromised

"Your culture is your brand." That quote, often attributed to the CEO of Zappos.com, is the most succinct way I've found to sum up my feelings on the importance of creating a strong work culture. We place an enormous emphasis on team culture at MoreSteam.com, promoting a fun and employee‐friendly work environment built around teamwork and respect.

Finding innovation during a pandemic

A colleague recently mentioned to me that his organization has experienced an innovation bump during the pandemic. During this year of constant change, ideas that had previously been ignored or discarded were, out of necessity, now being embraced. Speed trumped lengthy testing for accuracy.

Why students prefer the Blended Learning model

Blended Learning is the future of education. The stats show it's more effective than a traditional classroom, teachers appreciate it because it frees up more of their time to focus on what matters most, and students love its flexibility.

Teaching Students the Basics of Lean Management

Milwaukee Area Technical College uses MoreSteam's interactive games and simulations to educate students during summer camp

Five keys to coaching Lean virtually

Amita Sherwood coaches Lean Six Sigma practitioners at some of the biggest companies in the world.

Developing solutions & team camaraderie at the same time

Like many of you, we've been working from home the past few weeks. Our temporary new workspaces come equipped with plenty of distractions — often including kids, pets and a fully‐stocked refrigerator just a few steps away. This period of social distancing has reminded us how great it can be to sit in the same room with a few team members, bouncing ideas off one another and working together to solve a problem. There's power in face‐to‐face, collaborative teamwork, and it's a power we feel fortunate to have witnessed firsthand shortly before this stay‐at‐home order went into effect.

Engaged Workforce Leads to Reduced Wait Times

The Lean-based Arizona Management System empowers employees to be part of the solution, leading to big changes at the Motor Vehicle Division.

Jack Welch: Final Thoughts

Jack Welch, former GE CEO, was famous for his laser focus on eliminating waste and searching for better ideas. What other lessons did "Neutron Jack" leave us?

900 Project Charters and Counting

MoreSteam's Maria Fry discusses current trends in the project work she sees from Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and Green Belt certification candidates.

Schedule Time for Deep Work

Apply Cal Newport's concept of deep work to the operational excellence framework: balance time spent in the business with time spent on the business.

Pull, Don't Push, Your Way to a Continuous Improvement Culture

CI the Southwest Way

Is Continuous Improvement in our DNA?

The Evolution from Time and Motion Studies

It's Not Brain Surgery

Training problem solvers takes more than a few instructional videos - it requires in-depth training that offers robust practice.

Building Resiliency into our Products, Processes, and Systems

You are likely well acquainted with the story of the Challenger space shuttle disaster. We use it regularly in our classes on data analysis. On Jan 27, 1986 the Challenger blew apart seconds after takeoff. An investigation found that low temperatures had prevented an O‐ring from sealing, causing a gas leak.

KonMari: 5S Goes Mainstream

If you’re reading this blog, you are already in the MoreSteam Enterprise Process Improvement orbit. I love it when our CI path intersects with wider mass-culture. It makes it easier to explain to others what we do for a living! Twelve years ago when I joined MoreSteam, I struggled to find mainstream examples so I could explain to my mom what I do. Sometimes, it’s felt like I’ve been cast as Kelso’s dad in the "Career Day" episode of That 70’s Show.

Data-Driven Coaching to Develop Problem Solvers

Metrics matter. MoreSteam has developed dashboards that offer both students and coaches a variety of progress metrics to facilitate better learning and instruction.

Building a Strategy for Problem Solving

Major takeaways from Habitat for Humanity's data driven mission to change housing

How an Uber Driver Error-Proofs Frequent Travelers

My recent travels have given me the opportunity to converse with many Uber drivers. These chats typically start with a few casual questions: "How long have you been driving?" "Do you like it?" "Where should I go for dinner?" Most riders might stop there, but if I detect their engagement in the conversation, I bring a little Dr. Deming into the mix. Drivers linked up with ride‐sharing services are a treasure trove of operations data who, as independent contractors, have developed their own revenue‐maximizing heuristics. They know which office park they should wait in at 3 p.m., when to stop driving at night, and — my favorite — the number of cars in the airport queue that signals it's not worth waiting around.

Complex Solutions May be the Leanest Ones

When Lean methods lack a broader process perspective, continuous improvement practitioners shouldn't shy away from blending Lean and Six Sigma methods.

A Few Words of Timeless Advice

The power of shutting up and really listening to the voice of the customer.

Better Methods to Learn Better Methods

Some Recent Research on Learning Methods

Beyond Chicken-fried Chicken

Providing Seamless Service

Fertilizing the Grass Roots

An Uber Driver Provides an Unexpected Testimonial to Process Excellence in the State of Arizona

A-3 Thinking and Non-Thinking

When it comes to continuous improvement tools like the A3, function is more relevant than form.

Top Ten Problems Reported by Process Improvement Leaders

The 'M' in DMAIC does not tand for 'Months,' don't train without projects, and other relevant insights into process improvment training deployments.

Coaching Apprentice Process Improvement Leaders

Football and Lean Six Sigma: How to Coach Apprentice Process Improvement Leaders

From Aspirations to Achievements

Organizations with successful process improvement initiatives are united in their pragmatism, perseverance, and fusion of Lean and Six Sigma methods.

Descriptive Statistics Don't Tell the Whole Story

Same Data, Different Graphs: Descriptive Statistics Don't Tell the Whole Story

Leadership on the Sidewalk

Some time ago I attended a Lean Six Sigma conference in Florida, where many of the presentations were about the importance of senior management commitment (the subject of at least 30% of all six sigma conference presentations, or so it seems).

Closing the Gaps

A roadmap for selecting a process improvement project that considers strategic imperatives, performance metrics, and other relevant factors.

The Next Big Thing

Thoughtful analysis of small data, paired with a results-focused methodology (DMAIC), can yield greater success than clumsy attempts to analyze big data.

Some Help is No Help at All

Visual aids should be visual, error-proofing should reduce errors, and other underrated, underutilized ideas

Leaning, But Not Running, Toward Six Sigma

A case study in the pitfalls of processes that are Lean, but not Six Sigma.