lean – Business Performance Improvement (BPI)

Data Makes a Better Business

June 16, 2022June 16, 2022 bizpi

They might say that ignorance is bliss, but your business is one area where this is decidedly not true. In

kaizen burst kaizen event lean

Where to Focus Improvements for Employee Engagement

March 7, 2020March 7, 2020 bizpi employee engagement, Gemba, Kaizen, Masaaki Imai, Productivity, Safety

I am re-reading the book, Gemba Kaizen: A Commonsense Approach to a Continuous Improvement Strategy by Masaaki Imai (founder of

5-s 5s lean sustainability value stream map value stream mapping

Rise Against Hunger Awarded Inaugural IISE Excellence in Sustainable Development

June 9, 2019March 25, 2020 bizpi California, Central Distribution Warehouse, Florida, IISE, Lean Six Sigma for Good, Rise Against Hunger, Sustainable Development Division, Sustainable Development Goals

Rise Against Hunger is an international hunger relief nonprofit organization founded in 1998 that distributes food and life-changing aid to

lean process waste

Why I like using the Ideal State Mapping approach

October 10, 2018October 6, 2021 bizpi Current State, facilitation, Future State, Ideal State, kaizen event, lean event, process map, value stream mapping, VSM

During Value Stream Mapping or Process Mapping events, I facilitate a team through the current state map of the process,

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Combining DMAIC and lean events to maximize process improvements

March 29, 2015November 11, 2019 bizpi analyze, control, define, dmaic, dmaic projects, improve, measure, six sigma projects

The DMAIC approach for process improvement is the foundation for Six Sigma, and I have grown to appreciate it more

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8 ways why batching is bad for your business

August 23, 2013March 10, 2021 bizpi batching process, cost of inventory, inventory waste, one piece flow, problems with inventory, single piece flow, why is batching bad, why is inventory bad

One of the most common questions we get when reviewing a process: “What’s wrong with batching? I can produce so

50 assessment benchmarking best practices book company comparison excellence improvement lean pollock process qmss score Six Sigma waste

How many of the 50 Best Practices for Process Excellence has your company implemented?

November 29, 2012October 13, 2022 bizpi 50, assessment, benchmarking, best practices, book, company, comparison, excellence, improvement, lean, pollock, process, qmss, score, Six Sigma, waste

Lee Pollock and Mark Kiemele are authors of a new book, Reversing the Culture of Waste – 50 Best Practices to

business customers data document efficiency employees improvement lean optimization problems reduce report satisfaction Six Sigma sub time upset value waste

Reducing your time might seem like lean, but you can easily anger your customers

August 18, 2012November 11, 2019 bizpi business, customers, data, document, efficiency, employees, improvement, lean, optimization, problems, reduce, report, satisfaction, Six Sigma, sub, time, upset, value, waste

Lean is about increasing value to your customer. Often times, this requires you to eliminate waste in the process. However,

cycle time deliver employees errors improvement lean manufacturing measure multitasking office process quality reviews Six Sigma templates throughput transactional value wip workplace

We don’t need any help, we are already lean!

July 25, 2012October 13, 2022 bizpi cycle time, deliver, employees, errors, improvement, lean, manufacturing, measure, multitasking, office, process, quality, reviews, Six Sigma, templates, throughput, transactional, value, wip, workplace

“Lean and Six Sigma are only for manufacturing organizations!” “Our processes/company is unique, so that won’t work here!” “We’re already

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Cost savings from process improvements can be misleading

April 25, 2011November 11, 2019 bizpi bottom line, chart, completions, cycle time, event, excel, financials, improvement, lean, process, project, reductions, savings, Six Sigma, variation, waste, wip

I’ve been to many conferences, and have seen lots of companies claim cost savings and metric improvements that are very

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Lean Six Sigma Bursts

We share our takes and thoughts on a variety of topics related to process improvement (specifically Lean and Six Sigma methods), Bursts are rapid improvement activities, so this sounded like a good word to use for these short audio clips. We’ll try to keep them under 5 minutes each.

In this episode, I discuss a project I’m really excited about, the 2nd book release in the Lean Six Sigma for Good book series.

This is the 2nd collection of real-life experiences and stories from Lean and Six Sigma practitioners who have spent time at the “gemba” with not-for-profit organizations. They have generously offered to write a chapter about lessons learned and tools they have applied. There are 8 chapters in total.

Joe Wojniak and Lynn McCullough: Improving Thrift Shop Donations (interview with authors) – Proceeds donated to TRU Community Care
Tim Turner: Helping Others By Following The Toyota Way (podcast interview with Tim) – Proceeds donated to Center for Quality People and Organizations (CQPO)
Douglas Cooper: Lessons from Liberia – Standard Work as the Foundation for Lean Practices – Proceeds donated to Mercy Corps
Anita Havemann: Reducing Time and Complexity in Nonprofit Accounting – Proceeds donated to Relay Resources
Steve Bell: Simple Framework for Complex Problems – Proceeds donated to Lean4NGO.org
lisabeth Swan: Leaning into the Mission of Childcare (podcast interview with Elisabeth) – Proceeds donated to Cape Cod Children’s Place
Tracy O’Rourke: Increasing Meals Per Hour with Kitchens for Good (podcast interview with Tracy) – Proceeds donated to Kitchens for Good
Joy E. Mason: Using Six Sigma to Address Racial Equity (podcast interview with Joy) – Proceeds donated to The Six Sigma Racial Equity Institute

I think this is a great book to share with potential volunteers, or nonprofits or public service agencies wanting to learn more about how Lean or Six Sigma can be applied to their organizations.

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