A Likert Scale is the sequenced set of responses we frequently see on surveys. There are several common applications, such as how strongly you agree with a statement, or how satisfied you were with service. The latter is common in phone surveys after a customer service call. Example Likert Scale: Not that the responses must result in ordinal data, meaning that it has a clearly delineated sequence to it. Each response is assigned a number, Read more…
Six Sigma is based on the DMAIC cycle. DMAIC stands for Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control, and is a step-by-step approach to solving large problems. Six Sigma refers to the standard deviations and is geared primarily towards reducing variation, so the output of a process fits within six standard deviations of the mean. With such a numbers-oriented approach to improvement, it is no surprise that one of the major phases is Measure. Now, most companies Read more…
Discrete data is data that is countable, quantitative data. It is numerical in data, stemming from a physical count or measurement, and has a limited number of possible values. The number of wheels on a vehicle would be discrete data. Discrete data has the advantage of being easy to collect. It also has the drawback of being limited in its use. Discrete data can be collected by direct observation or can be truncated continuous data. Read more…
In logistics, a milk run is where a customer has a single vehicle visit a series of suppliers to pick up materials. In traditional shipping, the reverse is true. Vendors deliver to their customers. The name comes from the dairy industry, in which a single tanker from a processing facility visits a series of dairies and collects their milk for the day. The alternative would be each dairy having to arrange shipping on their own Read more…
Gut feel is the immediate response you come to about something, based on intuition. It is formed nearly instantly due to the sum of your experience and training, based upon the available information you have. The degree of accuracy varies from person to person, but the common aspect for everyone is that there is no way to tell whether the gut feel is accurate or not until after action is taken. In continuous improvement, we Read more…
Half-life is generally a scientific term that denotes the time it takes for half of something to decay, or otherwise degrade. It is commonly used to describe the time it takes for half of the unstable atoms in radioactive material to decay. It also used in the drug industry to indicate the time it takes for the concentration of a drug in the body to drop to half of the starting dose. In this article, Read more…
The term “firefighting” is often used to describe solving problems in a mad scramble during a crisis. It generally means that someone comes in and handles a problem in an emergency mode. The result is normally just enough to rescue the team from its predicament, but seldom actually solves the problem. Using the term ‘firefighter’ to describe implementing emergency stopgap measures is wrong on three fronts. The first problem is that firefighters actually spend the Read more…
There’s and old joke. There are two types of people in the world. Those that know what extrapolation is, and those… If you know what extrapolation is, you get the joke. Extrapolation is the process of making an estimate of what data will look like based on the current trend. It is ‘filling in the blanks’ of data at the end of a series of observed values. This contrasts with interpolation, which is when you Read more…
The exact origin of the term ‘Good Idea Fairy’ is unknown, but it is generally thought to be in the US military. It is a derogatory term for leaders who come up with what is considered by the team to be crazy ideas that are seemingly plucked out of thin air. That lack of clear understanding of where the idea came from reinforces the idea that somehow, they were magically provided to the leader, hence Read more…
Co-location describes dissimilar processes being placed near each other to facilitate flow. This typically happens when you are creating a product-oriented work cell on the shop floor, or when you use value stream management and have administrative teams assigned to specific product groups in the office. Like all things, there are tradeoffs to co-location. The first is that it can create balancing problems. If you have three Widgematic machines in your fabrication side and organize Read more…
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is a is a repetitive stress injury (RSI) of the median nerve in the carpal tunnel as it passes through the wrist area. This nerve controls the feeling and movement of the thumb and first three fingers. It causes a variety of symptoms that range from tingling on up to weakness and tingling. Eventually, it causes more severe weakness and pain. DISCLAIMER: This article should not be considered medical advice! If Read more…
The concept of an order backlog is pretty simple. It is the queue of orders that are waiting to be fulfilled. This queue occurs when customer demand exceeds the ability to immediately supply items to the customer. Backlogs tend to be dynamic. That simply means that they grow and shrink as orders are placed. Backlogs also tend to be larger when there is customization or a lot of variety in the finished product. Continuous improvement, Read more…
