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Latest "Improvement Insights" Posts
Just because you don’t know how to fix something, doesn’t mean that it can’t be fixed. It’s possible to mistake-proof anything. Fix that leaky faucet.
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma for Hospitals” and QI Macros [software].
“If you have a leaky faucet, you don’t say, “Well, I can’t fix that” just because you don’t know how to fix a leaky faucet. You might hire somebody to do it, you might watch a YouTube video and you might go out and then figure out how to fix it and replace whatever the gizmo inside that’s causing it to leak.
Continue Reading "Fix that Leaky Faucet"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.
Is your customer bothering you? Do they make you angry sometimes because they won’t do what you want them to do? Here’s how to think about it:
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].
“My friend Shelle Rose Charvet wrote a book called “The Customer Is Bothering Me” and I thought that that was kind of a good thought to think about for a little bit. Do you ever get kind of angry with your customer for not doing what your customer needs to do to make life easier for you?
Continue Reading "Is Your Customer Bothering You?"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights, Service.
Many improvement projects fail after a few months because teams forget to put the C in DMAIC. Here’s what’s missing and what to do about it:
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].
“I normally talk to you about improvement stuff, but today I want to talk to you about something I keep seeing, which is: People make improvements and then six months later they’re gone. Make an improvement, six months later they they’re gone.
“We need to put the C back in DMAIC: the Control phase. Now, why don’t people do this piece?
Continue Reading "Put the C back in DMAIC"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights, QI Macros, Six Sigma.
Theory of Constraints (TOC) can give us insights into how to accelerate Lean Six Sigma and get results in a day. Here’s how:
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].
“You know, I’ve been around Quality for almost 30 years now; 30 years exactly, almost. If I think about it, it’s super cool… but why is it so slow and so unsticky? Why is it taking so long for it to get everywhere? I’ve come up with some theories about that.
“If you’re familiar with a technique called “Theory of Constraints,” there’s a whole process to figure out why things aren’t running as quickly as they should.
Continue Reading "Using Theory of Constraints to Accelerate Lean Six Sigma"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights, Six Sigma.
The pandemic has created a lot of anxiety and panic. There’s a simple way to relieve the stress. Here’s how:
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma for Hospitals” and QI Macros [software].
“Some years ago I actually saw a presentation about people having panic attacks, and they had actually MRIed or something the brain to see what’s going on. It turns out that the left hemisphere was all lit up: everything was going on. The left side was going crazy and the right side was dark: there wasn’t much going on at all.
“Well, that’s a panic attack.
Continue Reading "Brain Gym for Pandemic Anxiety"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.
Learning any new skill requires the tenacity to break through the frustration barrier. What is it and how do you overcome it? Watch now:
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and the QI Macros [software].
“One of the things I’ve noticed is sometimes people will download the QI Macros software and then they’d get stuck. Well, we have a tutorial that you can use right in the software and we have an online workshop you can use to practice, but most people have a frustration barrier.
“You have to get through the frustration barrier to get comfortable with things no matter how easy they are to use.
Continue Reading "Overcoming the Frustration Barrier"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights, QI Macros.
Vaccine development companies aren’t taking shortcuts; they are using Lean to accelerate delivery of a safe effective vaccine. Here’s how:
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma for Hospitals” and QI Macros [software].
“There’s been a lot of anxiety about vaccine development, like, “Oh, they’re short-cutting.” Uh, no. No, okay.
“If you know anything about Lean, you know that the original process was they did phase one trials. Then they evaluated the phase one trial and then they set up a phase two trial. So the phase two trial [is going] and and then they would evaluate all of that and then they would say, “Well, was that okay?”
Continue Reading "Lean Vaccine Development"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Healthcare, Improvement Insights, Lean.
I learned to drive on a stick shift. Then automatic transmissions came along. What have you learned the hard way that has been simplified and automated? How much time and suffering could you save by embracing the automatic transmissions available in Quality Improvement?
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and the QI Macros [software].
“Now way back in the 60s when I was learning to drive (yes, I’m that old) they had the student [car], but it had a “three on the column” manual shift – an old Chevy Caprice or something like that.
Continue Reading "Embrace the Automatic Transmission"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights, Lean.
Leaders, managers and programmers sometimes get frustrated with software systems and try to rewrite them. This usually fails. It is possible to use Six Sigma and the 4-50 rule to find and fix the few code modules that have the most bugs and require the most enhancements. This delivers software quality without the high cost and risk. Here’s how:
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and the QI Macros [software].
“Today I want to talk to you about software. Now, some of you may work in software, some of you may use software… (If you have a phone, you’re using software) There’s lots of software around, and sometimes there’s bugs and stuff like that, and sometimes we’re enhancing things.
Continue Reading "Accelerating Software Quality Using the 4-50 Rule"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights, Lean, QI Macros, Six Sigma.
Six Sigma isn’t just for business. You can use it to make your life more hassle-free. Here’s how: Become the CIO of Your Life.
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and the QI Macros [software].
“I used to walk my dog Coco on the High Line Canal that runs for about 73 miles throughout Denver. I’d take her for a walk and she’d go running around, but she’d pick up these cockleburs. A cocklebur plant stands about waist-high, has big broad leaves and it produces these little spiny things about the size of the top of my thumb that has little hooky things all around it.
Continue Reading "Cut The Cockleburs for Hassle-Free Living"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights, Lean.
