george what is sigma six and what makes a black belt - we seem to be hiring a LOT of these people even though they don;t seem to be adding any value

 

Let me Google that for you: Six Sigma

OK, no more posts on the NE Forum tonight!

 

Six Sigma is about reducing variation, variation in a process/product are defects. Blackbelts are the folks trained to define the problem, measure how bad the problem/variation is, then analyze what causes the problem. Most get that far but then fail to implement lasting improvement that self corrects. Its a great tool if done right and with the involvement of all the people that process/product touches.

 

Thanks

 

you can spend a boatload of money in it.

one sigma refers to one standard deviation in statistics.
on a bell curve the first standard deviation covers about 2/3 of the whole.



six sigma covers 5 nines or 99.999 % reliability.

but companies frequently become crippled by analysis trying to get there.

remember the scene in blazing saddles when the governor is saying "work, work, work"?
substitute "process, process, process " and you get the idea.

I've seen companies refuse business becuase they didn't have process in place to enter the field where the opportunity was.

 

^ huh what

 

Somehow I don't think that's the direction Scott wanted this thread to go,
isn't he trying to get AWAY from work????

 

Or if you're like most companies, "Six Sigma" and "Black Belts" become nothing but buzzwords. My company makes nuclear submarines. Hardly anything we do is repetitive. But we have black belt programs and six sigma people. They're useless and have no added value besides the superficial appearance to outsiders that we have a quality improvement program.

 

you forgot bloating the budget by 10%

 

Scott,

For short trips, DC is a great weekend get a way. I consider DC to be disney world for adults. May is the perfect month for DC. The Museums and memorials are incredible and there is plenty of night life. Why not visit the place where all your money is being spent?

San Francisco is a must see city. I could easily live in San Francisco. The flight is not much longer than the flight to Vegas.