Tips and Techniques for Statistics and Quality Improvement

Why do so many improvement programs ultimately end up on the chopping block? Company leaders often sponsor these efforts in the first place, so what happens between the day a deployment kicks off with the C-suite's enthusiastic support and the day the plug is pulled?

Even projects that result in marked improvements often fail to make an impression on decision-makers.

Were you one of the 300+ lucky practitioners, data analysts, statisticians, improvement advisers, program managers, engineers, clinical directors, coordinators and quality professionals who attended the 2019 Minitab Insights Global Conference this past fall? 

Don’t worry if you were unable to join — with the help of our expert Jenn Atlas, we’ve rounded up the 5 Key Challenges and Learnings you need to know.

As the vice president of quality for a $1.5 billion-dollar industrial corporation, Hermann Miskelly is responsible for leading its continuous improvement effort. Now in his 10th year of a Lean Six Sigma deployment, he has overseen the execution of more than 4,000 major improvement projects and another 6,000 small improvement projects. Here are three key insights he shared about managing continuous improvement...

With Minitab Statistical Software, you have an easy-to-use interface and all the tools at your fingertips to quickly analyze data and make decisions on your most challenging business problems ... but where do you start if you have never used it before?

It can be daunting without a proper introduction.

Organizations take on countless projects in the name of process improvement. Whether reducing defects or ensuring call centers are best equipped to solve issues, they’re ultimately looking to meet customers’ needs and help their business succeed. But with limited time and resources, they can only turn so many ideas into fully fledged projects. That’s where project steering committees come in.

Did you know that over 790 million gallons of wine were consumed in the US in 2016? That's a lot of wine — roughly 3,950 million bottles of wine to be exact! Wine production shows no signs of slowing down either with the number of US wineries increasing by over 50% since 2009 to a total of 10,043 wineries in 2019, however Italy, France and Spain still take the title of top three wine producing countries globally....

In hospital and clinic settings, making the right decisions doesn’t just reduce costs from duplicative work and process inefficiencies — it results in better outcomes for patients. Think about needing to take an extra X-ray because the first captured the wrong foot. Even if it’s the right limb, what if they captured it from the wrong angle?

When first learning about Six Sigma, it can be a little overwhelming to familiarize yourself with all the different terminology, methodologies, frameworks and acronyms included. From FMEA, C&E Matrix, to Gage R&R, SIPOC, and DMAIC…the list goes on and on!

The acronyms of DMAIC, DMADV, and DFSS can be some of the trickiest to keep straight though since they sound the most similar; however we can help you with that!

Did you know this past spring both Walgreens and CVS announced they would begin selling CBD products in hundreds of stores across select US states? From creams, salves and patches to sprays, oils and candies, CBD is the three-letter word popping up on all kinds of packaging as it continues to become one of the hottest ingredients in consumer products.