I recently had the opportunity to talk with Ken Jones, professor of operations and supply chain management at Indiana State University, about a business process improvement course he teaches at the university. The course covers a variety of Lean Six Sigma tools and techniques and gives students the opportunity to team with local businesses to complete real quality improvement projects. Upon successful completion of the class, students even become certified green belts.

One item we talked about was how valuable the experiential component of the projects can be for students, especially...

by Alex Orlov, guest blogger

While it has been called the "million-dollar methodology" for the significant investment sometimes required to deliver results, Six Sigma has a wealth of practices that can be adapted to small and medium industries, home businesses and even personal finances. 

Organizations have used Six Sigma as a reliable part of the quality improvement process since 1986. And while a large Six Sigma project could cost anything from $1,000 to $1 million in work-hours and other resources, the results of such projects often far outweigh the investment. In addition to the direct...

Failure to properly calibrate this machine will result in defective rock and roll. 

In my last post, I imagined using the example of a rock and roll band -- the Zero Sigmas -- to explain Pareto charts to my music-loving but statistically-challenged boss. I showed him how easy it was to use a Pareto chart to visualize defects or problems that occur most often, using the example of various incidents that occurred on the Zero Sigmas last tour.  

The Pareto chart revealed that starting performances late was far and away the Zero Sigmas' most frequent "defect," one that occurred every single night of...

Normally, I tell you about ways to practice with Minitab Statistical Software so that you can boost your confidence with statistical analysis. But over the last few days in my house, we’ve been planning some activities for the family. That planning has given me a chance to have some fun with Quality Companion.

Quality Companion is a substantial piece of software: everything that you need to manage a quality improvement project in one application. Quality Companion provides project management tools so that you can make and communicate decisions.

My favorite tools in Quality Companion, with...

Unless you’re 3 years old, you probably can’t have things just the way you want them all the time.  

You can’t always have peanut butter and ranch dressing on your toast. Or ketchup on your pineapple. Or sugar sprinkles on your peas.

But there is one small arena in life over which you can still exert your control. 

Tools > Options in Minitab's statistical software allows you to change selected default settings in the software, without having to throw a temper tantrum first.

This powerful, underutilized feature in Minitab may save you from the inconvenience of having to change a default setting...

I once had a boss who had difficulty understanding many, many things. When I need to discuss statistical concepts with people who don't have a statistical background, I like to think about how I could explain things so even my old boss would get it. 

My boss and I shared a common interest in rock and roll, so that's the device I'll use to explain one of the workhorses of quality statistics, the Pareto chart. I'd tell my boss to imagine that instead of managing a surly gang of teenaged restaurant employees, he's managing a surly rock and roll band, the Zero Sigmas. The band did a 100-date tour...

Marlowe the Stats Cat here. Earlier, I showed you how easy it was to set up my statistical software with a personalized menu of statistical tools I use most often. 

The problem is that I share a computer with one of the humans who live in my house, and the statistical tools I use most may not be the ones he needs to use. And I don't want to clutter myinterface with a "Human" menu.    I'm trying to be kind, but I should just be direct about this: as a cat, I have abilities that far oustrip those of my human. That extends to the range of statistical tools I can use effectively.   What I need to...

The Minitab Fan section of the Minitab blog is your chance to share with our readers! We always love to hear how you are using Minitab products for quality improvement projects, Lean Six Sigma initiatives, research and data analysis, and more. If our software has helped you, please share your Minitab story, too!

Throughout my 15 years as a Six Sigma Initiative Leader, Consultant, Trainer, Black Belt and master Black Belt I have been enthusiastic about Minitab Statistical Software, starting from release 11 to now.

Minitab's graphics are outstanding in their ability to present messages and...

Do you celebrate Thanksgiving or other major holidays at work? Maybe you have a potluck lunch a few days before the actual event, with your department or team?

At Minitab Inc. we celebrate Turkey Day with our annual “Minitab Thanksgiving” potluck lunch. But this just isn’t any old potluck—it’s like a potluck lunch on steroids! Employees volunteer weeks in advance to the plan the event, which needs to feed more than 200 Minitab employees during the 12-1 p.m. lunch hour.

The turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, and stuffing are catered, but all of the side dishes and desserts are cooked and brought...

We got the opportunity a few weeks back to sit in on one of the preliminary round judging events that make up ASQ’s International Team Excellence Award Process (ITEA). I wrote about the ITEA in a previous post, but the process is an annual event that celebrates the accomplishments of quality improvement teams from a broad spectrum of industries.

Estonand I traveled to Charlotte, N.C., to attend the first of seven rounds of preliminary judging that take place each year throughout October and early November. Judges working in the quality improvement field from around the world are selected by...

In my last post, I discussed how quality professional Bill Howell chose to manage his diabetes diagnosis by treating it as a Six Sigma project. Since a key metric in controlling his disease was keeping his blood glucose levels below 125 mg/dL, he tested his blood using a meter three times per day and then charted his data to see how his levels changed over time. He ensured his measurement systems were producing reliable data, and assessed the potential causes for his increased blood glucose levels. He then chose to focus on the causes he could control and analyze himself.

Tracking Daily...

According to the American Diabetes Association, nearly 26 million children and adults in the U.S. have diabetes, and another 79 million Americans are at risk for developing Type 2 Diabetes.

Type 2 Diabetes is the most common form of the disease, and it occurs when either the body does not produce enough insulin or the cells ignore the insulin. Insulin is important because it allows the body to use glucose (which the body makes by converting sugars and starches in foods) for energy, and it actually moves the sugar from the blood into the cells to be used. When glucose builds up in the...

I have been riding my bike to work lately instead of taking my car. I figured I could use the exercise. I figured it would be good for my health. I figured it might help stave off global warming. I figured wrong.  

I’ve noticed lately that the sky seems to get darker a little earlier every day. I asked my wife if she had noticed the same thing and she said, “When are going to take out that garbage like I asked?” I wasn’t sure I could tackle her garbage question, but I was reasonably confident that with the help of Minitab Statistical Software, I could get to the bottom of this darkness thing.

Tur...

Below you’ll find some of our favorite lesser-known features in Minitab that can save time and effort when you’re analyzing data. In fact, when members of our sales team demonstrate these shortcuts and tools at tradeshows and events, they've found that even manylongtime users weren’t aware of some of them!

Take a look at these “hidden” helpers in Minitab:

1. Return and Repeat

If you need to modify or re-run part of an analysis you conducted, return to your last dialog box by typing CTRL+E. You can also create new graphs using different variables (while retaining all of your graph edits)...

I’m relatively new to the world of quality improvement and the various terms and acronyms that are often thrown about in writing and conversation. It’s easy to become overwhelmed with jargon like LSS, GR&R, MSA, MBB, SIPOC, FMEA, kaizen, kanban, poka yoke, and others flying around when you’re starting a project.

Define Your Problem First

If you’re new to the discipline, I’ve found that it helps to ignore all the jargon in the beginning and resist the temptation to start filling out any tables/forms or completing any data analysis until you’ve thoroughly defined your problem and scoped the...

Oh, the joys of planning a wedding! Between all the information to keep track of, the meetings with a variety of people, and all the tasks to complete, it’s almost like running a Six Sigma Project. In fact, my fellow blogger Carly Barry gave an example of a quality improvement tool that she used to plan her wedding last year. And since I just had my wedding last month, I thought I would share how I was able to use Minitab to make my wedding planning easier! If you want to follow along, you can get the worksheet I used here.

The Meal Choice Head Count

If you’re doing a buffet, you don’t have...

Have you ever found yourself switching back and forth between a Microsoft Excel file and Minitab Statistical Software just to complete a single analysis? Which software will give me the accurate results I need quickly?

I decided to put a few important factors to the test—workflow, organization, quality focus, and help. The review below provides my own two cents on which software seems to work best in a different situations.

Creating Graphs with Raw Data Easily

Microsoft Excel is a general spreadsheet software program. It is great for compiling, sorting, and highlighting large amounts of data....

Mark Twain said, “Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.”  But when weather-related delays caused construction costs to soar, people I spoke with at one energy company did do something about it, by using weather data and making it part of their agreements with contractors.

The company needed to nearly double capacity at one of its facilities to better serve customers in several states. Keeping the project on time and on budget was critical. But the facility’s location was prone to extreme weather, including hurricanes.    Every time poor weather...

The Minitab Fan section of the Minitab blog is your chance to share with our readers! We always love to hear how you are using Minitab products for quality improvement projects, Lean Six Sigma initiatives, research and data analysis, and more. If our software has helped you, please share your Minitab story, too!

Yes, I am married to Minitab...

In your professional life, you have to be married to many tools at the same time. Your success depends on whom you marry and what for.

For statistical decisions, I am married to Minitab Statistical Software. Minitab has helped me make many critical...

Every so often I get to interview someone who applies quality methodology in ways I wouldn't have imagined before I began working at Minitab. For instance, I spoke with the quality manager for a world-renowned medical center not long ago. This facility is consistently included in U.S. News and World Report's list of America’s Best Hospitals, but even the best hospitals occasionally have “sentinel events,” incidents that result in death or serious injury unrelated to the natural course of a patient’s illness. 

Health care providers are required to determine what went wrong in a sentinel event...