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Latest "Six Sigma" Posts
Traditional Lean Six Sigma wisdom says to start top down, but that’s a sure fire way to fail. Here’s why:
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma For Hospitals” and the QI Macros [software].
“I think there’s a lot of conventional wisdom in in Six Sigma and Lean and Six Sigma that says, “Oh, you must start with the leadership team.” Well, I was reading this book that was recommended to me, “Creating A Lean Culture.” This was used by Virginia Mason up in Seattle to transform how they deliver health care. I thought this was interesting about how Lean typically starts and grows.
Continue Reading "Lean Six Sigma Implementation – Top Down or Middle Out?"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Agile Lean Six Sigma, Improvement Insights, Jay Arthur Blog, Lean, Six Sigma.
People make 30,000 decisions a day! Too many choices makes decisions even more difficult. Knowing too much about Lean Six Sigma can hinder your success at problem solving. Here’s why:
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].
“You know, you probably have experienced this, but we all make something like 30,000 decisions a day… a day! Oh my gosh, right? My friend Bob Wendover wrote a book called “Beating Burnout,” how top thinkers overcome overwhelm. He talks about what he calls “decision fatigue,” when you start making poor choices because your brain is overloaded due to the overwhelming demands of modern life.
Continue Reading "Is Decision Fatigue Hindering Your Improvement Projects?"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights, Jay Arthur Blog, Lean, QI Macros, Six Sigma.
I found a discussion on MyASQ’s Website about Cpk formulas. Why is anyone talking about how to calculate formulas by hand? It’s a waste of time. Here’s why:
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].
“This morning I was out on the myASQ website, and there was a question about Cp and Cpk and Ppk formulas and stuff like that. And there was, you know, “Well, standard deviation” and “Why do we have to do R Bar over D2?” or whatever it was, you know. The answers were like, “Well, you know, standard deviation is pretty close to whatever…”
“I was [thinking], “What is the question here?
Continue Reading "Why Are We Still Talking about Cp/Cpk and Pp/Ppk Formulas?"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights, Jay Arthur Blog, QI Macros, Six Sigma, Statistics.
Absence blindness means that you can’t see what isn’t there. The tools of quality can help you see the invisible so that you can do something about it. Here’s how:
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].
“There’s a concept called “absence blindness,” and basically what that says is you can’t see what isn’t there. That’s why it’s kind of difficult to see things that are working well, because they just work well, but a defect or some sort of complication or issue raises this ugly head and you can see that one.
Continue Reading "Seeing the Invisible"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Data Mining, Improvement Insights, Jay Arthur Blog, Six Sigma.
Over 130 people signed up for this webinar, with Jay Arthur demonstrating how to implement Healthcare Data Analytics to save time, save money, and (most importantly) save lives.
https://www.qimacros.com/pdf/Zero-Harm-Trillion-Dollar-Prescription.pdf If you saw a feature demonstrated in the webinar that might have been added to QI Macros after the version you’re using (for instance, the Templates Wizard, the Fixed Limit indicator or the automated Process Change Wizard), you may need to purchase an upgrade to bring your QI Macros to the current version. Send an email to support@qimacros.com and we can help to generate a quote to upgrade all the users at your organization or by just guiding you through the purchasing process.
Continue Reading "11/29/22 Healthcare Data Analytics Webinar"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Data Mining, Excel, Healthcare, Lean, QI Macros, Six Sigma, Webinar.
One hour, just-in-time trainings get students to results faster than week-long, in-depth trainings. Here’s why:
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma For Hospitals” and the QI Macros [software].
“Back when I got started, we had week-long trainings for teams and team leaders and everything else, and I found that it was a problem. People took this long training and then they decided, “Well, Quality Improvement takes a long time.”
“Over the years I started shifting, and back in the late 90s I went to one-hour, just-in-time trainings. I actually have a little booklet which you can download from our website which is my Agile Lean Six Sigma Money Belt Action Plan.
Continue Reading "Use Just-In-Time Training to Accelerate Lean Six Sigma Results"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Agile Lean Six Sigma, Improvement Insights, Lean, Six Sigma.
Have you ever made a judgement and discarded an idea before you realize how valuable it could be? Here’s how it applies to Lean Six Sigma and ukuleles:
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma For Hospitals” and QI Macros [software].
“This is an ukulele, and most of you probably think, “Well, that’s for Hawaiian music, isn’t it?” I’ll tell you; no, it’s a very versatile instrument. You can do lots with it. If you don’t believe me, go watch Jake Shimabukuro do Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen; it’s on YouTube.
“You know, with this this instrument we can do lots of things.
Continue Reading "Is Lean Six Sigma Just an Ukulele?"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights, Lean, Six Sigma.
Sometimes your data seems to be telling you something counterintuitive. Here’s a healthcare example using Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) and Code Blues. What is your data telling you?
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma For Hospitals” and QI Macros [software].
“Last week I got a call from a customer and they said, “Here’s some data and we need your help a little bit.” (This is rare, okay, but they did ask for help.) So anyway, the issue is in a hospital when patients’ respiratory [numbers] and everything else drops to zero, that’s what they call a Code Blue, right?
Continue Reading "RRTs vs Code Blues – What is Your Data Telling You?"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights, QI Macros, Six Sigma.
Top Gun: Maverick holds a powerful lesson and insight. Here’s how it applies to Lean Six Sigma:
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].
“My wife and I recently went and saw “Top Gun: Maverick.” Maverick’s now this old “test pilot” kind of guy, but he’s called in to help train the best of the best for a special mission. These young hot shots think that he’s an old guy, right? He can’t possibly know anything. It’s kind of funny to watch: they get up and he’s trying to evaluate them and he says, “Let’s get up and we’ll do combat,” and they make a challenge.
Continue Reading "Top Gun: Maverick and the OODA Loop"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights, Lean, Six Sigma.
Over 65 people signed up for this webinar, with Jay Arthur demonstrating how to achieve both the goal of “zero harm” as well as IHI’s goal of cutting healthcare waste by 50% by 2025.
https://www.qimacros.com/pdf/Zero-Harm-Trillion-Dollar-Prescription.pdf
If you saw a feature demonstrated in the webinar that might have been added to QI Macros after the version you’re using (for instance, the Templates Wizard, the Fixed Limit indicator or the automated Process Change Wizard), you may need to purchase an upgrade to bring your QI Macros to the current version. Send an email to support@qimacros.com and we can help to generate a quote to upgrade all the users at your organization or by just guiding you through the purchasing process.
Continue Reading "6/14/22 Healthcare Zero Harm / Trillion Dollar Prescription Webinar"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Agile Lean Six Sigma, Healthcare, Lean, QI Macros, Six Sigma, Webinar.
