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Most problems have already been solved. Find best practices and current topics of interest in today’s business and economic climate.


 Featured Articles

Getting Hosed by Lean?
Alex Sugimoto Alex Sugimoto

Getting Hosed by Lean?

A couple of weeks ago I taught a two-day introduction to Lean Six Sigma at one of our hubs. It brought me back to the confusion participants experience when they entertain the topic of process lead time versus process throughput.

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Decoding Gage R&R Output
Alex Sugimoto Alex Sugimoto

Decoding Gage R&R Output

Removing measurement system error from total observed error can be what I call a “quick win”. Who couldn’t use a quick win these days? If you look at a process distribution, we ask ourselves, what percent of this variation is assigned to measurement system variation?

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Is Your Process at Best or at Rest?
Alex Sugimoto Alex Sugimoto

Is Your Process at Best or at Rest?

The purpose of this article is to provide readers with some insight to the shape of two common process distributions and to quickly understand whether their target process is currently at "Best" (close to entitlement) or at "Rest" (much room for improvement). This is especially important for operational leaders.

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Data Collection Blind Spots
Alex Sugimoto Alex Sugimoto

Data Collection Blind Spots

In a previous article, “Are You Ready for AI?”, I posed the question if organizations were ready for Artificial Intelligence or Data Analytics based on how they would sequence the 5 Post-Its in figure 1 below.

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Data: The Chicken or The Egg?
Alex Sugimoto Alex Sugimoto

Data: The Chicken or The Egg?

If you can pass this five Post-It quiz 100%, then you “may be ready” for Lean Six Sigma or Process Analytics. Most people I’ve taught and coached in the Lean Six Sigma and Data Science world do not pass this 100%.

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What is Rational Sampling?
Alex Sugimoto Alex Sugimoto

What is Rational Sampling?

In my years in operations and consulting, I've seen varying successes in the implementation of statistical process control topics. The Shewhart Chart or more commonly referred to "Process Control Chart" is a particular challenge.

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