SigmaWay Blog

The 25-bed critical access Monadnock Community Hospital faced a huge deficit as a direct result of an unexpected ice-storm that hit the state of New Hampshire in December 2008, causing a two-week power outage. The hospital was in deep financial trouble.Fortunately for the hospital and the region, the hospital management had decided to look into various options to bail the hospital out of this crisis. The hospital's lab department had some success following a lean Six Sigma model, so the hospital authority pursued the strategy hospital-wide. Mr. Peter L. Gosline, president and CEO of Monadnock Community Hospital, had highlighted the success of the hospital's five-year "lean" journey during the American College of Healthcare Executive's 2014 Congress in Chicago, a model that he estimates has saved the organization $1 million a year!

To read more, visit the link address given below:

http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/how-lean-strategies-saved-nh-critical-access-hospital-financial-ruin/2014-04-07

Tired of hearing about Big Data? Accept it or not, you have to get used to it. Hundreds of companies are ready to offer impressive remuneration to hire people with quantitative skills. Ms. Linda Burtch, with her 3 decades of experience in recruitment, has tracked the rising demand for workers who can understand and manipulate data. In a recent interview, Chicago-based Ms. Burch talked about what companies want, how midcareer professionals can compete and why workers who are left behind could face a "permanent pink slip."

To read more, visit the following link:

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304819004579489541746990638?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702304819004579489541746990638.html

Big Data! While you are reading the two words and also this blog, you may be not aware that you already have Big Data right in front of you.

Many small businesses think Big Data to be very expensive to analyze. But, let me tell you one thing – we are analyzing Big Data freely for years! Sounds unbelievable right? Okay, so here’s the thing.

Nowadays, social media has become a great means of communication for every business. Many of them have their page on Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Plus, profiles on Twitter, etc. The social media platform can provide valuable insights about their products or services and also about their target customers. With low investments, you can get to know your customers’ behavior, know their demographics and much more. But seeing large volumes of data can make you puzzled.

Nicole Fallon from Business News Daily writes about some tips to get you started. Read them at http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/6190-smb-big-data-tips.html

A successful human capital management plays a significant role in achieving organizational goals. Nowadays, information technology plays an important role in human resource management, evolving from the automation of repetitive tasks such as payroll, to bottom-line driven processes aimed at aligning human capital with corporate strategy. Human capital management (HCM) software solutions offer a framework to manage the abilities, skills and experience of employees. Studies have shown that human capital management (HCM) practices explain over 50 percent of job satisfaction levels. Ultimately, the effects of HCM solution will extend beyond job satisfaction to customer satisfaction and revenue.

Read more to know the factors and elements of a high performing HCM system, at http://www.cmicglobal.com/human-capital-management.html

Most retail companies today operate in the master franchisee model where master franchisee manages the operations of the different stores of the brand. In such cases, it is important to understand the difference between what the company sells to its franchise stores and what the stores in-turn sell to the consumer. This metric is where the insights are hidden. Hence it is very important that companies track &understand this metric to optimally manage stocks and avoid costly stock-out or over-stock situations. Important decisions like the number of new stores that should be opened, best location & size of each store in different cities are not a straightforward choice! Data analytics usage in this space has proved to solve this dilemma. It helps companies to decide the optimal size of each new store they open, while ensuring that these decisions takes into account key parameters like real estate rental costs, catchment area, average incomes in the geographical area, presence of competition etc. Therefore, data analytics is simplifying complex business problems.

Arvind Nagpal wrote about this aspect in his recent article. To read more, please visit the following link:

http://www.informationweek.in/informationweek/perspective/288161/analytics-helping-retail-outlets-critical-decision

According to a new survey conducted by Deloitte, it is found that as complexity in global supply chain networks continues to increase, less than one-third (26 percent) of business executives are using data analytics tools and processes to help manage third party relationship risks.Thirteen percent of those surveyed are still learning how to use analytics software and 22 percent use no data analytics at all. Few market leading companies leverage advanced data analytics tools and forensic accounting to identify anomalies in their transactional data & getting astonishing benefits while rest are lagging far behind in this issue. Nearly one-third (31 percent) of business executives surveyed, said that their organization has faced supply chain fraud, waste or abuse in the past 12 months.

Mark Pearson, principal, Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP, speaks about why organizations need data analytics to tackle supply chain fraud. To read more, please visit the following link:

http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=16641

The visual data discovery (VDD) approach increases the probability that business managers will find the information they need in time to make effective decisions. This is the main reason behind VDD’s rapidly growing fan base. While traditional BI solutions can be invaluable, they do have limitations. Dashboards come in handy in few cases, but there is still a fundamental problem – the dashboard designer must have anticipated the need for that line of questioning or train of thought when the dashboard was originally built.  So, if unexpected questions arise, business managers end up making decisions without data, operating on gut feel alone.  And that means they end up operating without real answers at all! So, here’s the key question:  Do you ever get questions in your logistics operations that are unexpected and hard to answer? This is where visual data discovery tools excel.Visual data discovery tools provide a rich, visual environment that enables business users to easily interact with, and manipulate, information directly, hands-on.  They provide a compelling solution to help business managers explore data, without the assistance of skilled IT staff.

To know more, visit David White’s article by clicking on the following link:

http://logisticsviewpoints.com/2014/04/07/new-approaches-analytics-revolutionize-logistics/

Lean Six Sigma is a managerial concept combining Lean and Six Sigma that results in the elimination of eight kinds of wastes / muda (classified as Defects, Overproduction, Waiting, Non-Utilized Talent, Transportation, Inventory, Motion, Extra-Processing) and an improved capability of performance. The term Six Sigma is statistically based on the provision of goods and service at a rate of 3.4 defects per million opportunities (DPMO). A mnemonic for the wastes is "DOWNTIME”.

Over the years, this methodology has helped many firms to achieve process & output improvement. However, how about implementing lean six sigma concept to improve operating a city? That’s interesting! That was beyond our imagination. However, Tyler, a city located in Texas, United States, implemented Lean Six Sigma concepts to manage various projects and of course, with a saving of 5 Million US dollars, it can be said that the result was in its favour! Tyler Senior Public Relations Specialist Serena Butcher said the idea behind Lean Six Sigma is to identify waste and variation, so the city can save time and money and overall be more efficient. Mayor Barbara Bass also addressed attendees in a recent gathering to celebrate their success, saying, “In five short years, we’ve changed the culture of how we look at our jobs at city hall.”

To read more about how implementing Lean Six Sigma concepts actually worked for the City of Tyler, visit the following link address:

http://www.tylerpaper.com/TP-News+Local/197509/lean-six-sigma-city-of-tyler-celebrates-over-5-million-in-savings-with-program#.U0I6iqhgXgw

David Waterman, expert in search engine optimization, talks about how marketers can take advantage of social media to spy on their customers and target audience to gather better insights. He also discussed about the five different steps to be followed for enhancing the process.

To know more about the steps follow http://marketingland.com/social-media-perfect-tool-spying-customers-76595

An article by Devin Redmond, Co-founder and CEO of Nexgate, talks about how social media spam can damage a brand name and how it affects social media marketing ROI. He also spoke about different steps that social media marketers can adopt to stop social spam and mitigate loss.

For more information visit http://socialmediatoday.com/1865971/state-social-media-spam-social-media-spam-rise

Lean and Six Sigma are popular techniques used in production industries to improve efficiency and quality. Now these process improvement techniques are also applied in healthcare and in software development. To read more about how Lean and Six Sigma can be applied in clinical and translational research, visit Sharon A. Schweikhart (Ph.D.) and Allard E Dembe (Sc.D.)’s, article link as given below

For more please visit: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2835466/

A recent research by Fast Company revealed that 93% of marketers use social media to promote their business.  It is the number one daily activity among Americans. Social media sites, email providers and the Google are eating up the largest chunk of the time spent over the internet. Social media is reaching beyond our traditional perception; it’s getting bigger and bigger with time. From a marketer’s Point of view, if you are not marketing on it, you are likely missing a large chunk of your target consumers. As a product of the Mark Zuckerberg generation, it is easy to understand why people are so obsessed with social media. For marketers, the potential to grow their business via these networks is endless. The following base strategies will help you take control of your social channels and give them a much needed facelift.

·         Create a game plan & stick to it.

·         Treat each channel as an individual entity.

·         Go above & beyond in Customer Service.

·         Embrace any kind of mishaps.

·         Track & talk.

·         Stay active on Google+.

To read more, see Margot da Cunha’s blog by visiting the following link address:

http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2014/01/09/social-media-marketing-strategies

Before choosing a Professional Employer Organization (PEO), it is very important to know what we want from a PEO. PEOs vary widely, in their size, focuses, and concentrations.  A PEO that works fine for one company may not be suitable for another.

Read more about what to consider when choosing the right PEO, at http://www.nextep.com/peo-goals/

Different financial services suffer high operational risks when there is market failure and industry transformation. In order to reduce the cost of risk management operations, financial organizations are seeking new models and methodologies. FMEA (Failure Mode and Effect Analysis) and Control charts are two very powerful Six Sigma tools which not only help to identify and prioritize risks but also monitor the risks. To know how FMEA and Control charts help in risk management, please go through the following article written by Abhishek Soni, a certified Six Sigma Black Belt and Project Management Professional.

http://www.isixsigma.com/industries/financial-services/leverage-six-sigma-to-manage-operational-risk-in-financial-services/

Legal firms are adopting Continuous Process Improvement as a part of their excellence program.

Yes, you have read it right.

Though Continuous Improvement, Lean and Six Sigma tools have touched almost every industry, legal firms are new ones to join. In fact, global giant Clifford Chance has rolled out training in Continuous Improvement methodologies as it is bringing up the concept of law in a more process oriented approach. The company is already reaping benefits from it. Their efficiencies have improved in several areas of operation – ranging from document review to reducing the cost of customary asset disposals for a client.

Sounds interesting? Read more at http://www.processexcellencenetwork.com/lean-six-sigma-business-transformation/articles/lawyers-jump-into-process-improvement.

An article written by Mike Bailey, owner of Grey Kite Resources, talks about how social media can play an important role in becoming an advocate for the organisation you work for. He mentioned that when employees share anything with their social networks, they reach 20 times more people than a typical brand sharing with the same number of followers. He also discussed about different guidelines to be followed for employee advocacy.

To know in details read the article on http://socialmediatoday.com/Beyond_Engagement/unleashing-power-employee-advocacy

The trend towards larger data sets is due to the additional information that can be derived from analysis of a single large set of related data, as compared to separate smaller sets with the same total amount of data. This is allowing better correlations to be found to spot business trends, determine the quality of research, prevent diseases, link legal citations, combat crime, and determines real-time roadway traffic conditions. Today, the applicability of Big Data analytics is not limited to only organizations. Big Data wings have established a longer reach beyond that sphere. Many apps are already in place to help people find the cheapest flights, improve their diets, even suggests how to become better drivers! From travel to shopping to health to civic life, big data got a role to play. Embracing Big Data analytics has already started paying dividends to the consumers. With more explorations, Big Data analytics is going to help each and every curve of consumer lifestyle in not so distant future!

A recent article posted in wall street journal by famous author Lora Kolodny, gives a detailed view on this subject. To read, click on the following link:

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303369904579423383203100794

Six Sigma is not just a toolbox. It is a way of thinking about business, about processes and about cause-and-effect relationships. To ensure success, the application of Six Sigma relies on traditional scientific methods to examine processes, remove undesirable causes and their effects. Six Sigma also seeks to innovate through the discovery of truth with refined, rational cognitive skills and the objective analysis of empirical data. It is a collection of tools. It is a methodology. It is a thought process that dissects the large picture into smaller parts and reassembles it into a more efficient configuration.

Many of the tools used for Six Sigma also proved useful in conjunction with TQM and other process improvement methodologies. While some of the tools are new to process improvement activities, it is important to note that Six Sigma also provides a new way to use existing tools. This leads to a debate about whether Six Sigma is something new or a new way to employ existing tools!

An article by Robert Tripp, Scot Shank and Mike Carnell, emphasizes on this debate and speaks about DMAIC phases of six sigma methodology. Visit the following link to access the article:

http://www.isixsigma.com/new-to-six-sigma/dmaic/six-sigma-toolbox/

Can enterprise IT learn some best practices from Industrial Engineering? Not so obvious? Yes. It can. Heavy engineering companies like automobile manufacturing or aerospace manufacturing, make use of process flow maps intensively to analyze steps, identify and eliminate wastes and more importantly get an accurate description of the process. Now, it is not that IT program managers do not use process flow maps at all, but a more holistic approach towards process flow mapping can give an idea of which steps can be automated to reduce cycle time. Well experienced program managers can implement this approach resulting in a more efficient and cost effective process.

Stephanie C. Hill, Vice President and General Manager of Lockheed Martin's Information Systems & Global Solutions Civil business, writes about how enterprise IT can learn best practices from Industrial Engineering. Read more at http://www.informationweek.com/government/leadership/what-enterprise-it-can-learn-from-industrial-engineering/d/d-id/1141589?piddl_msgid=207611.

To help your Enterprise IT team create detailed process flow maps, or to conduct Value Stream Mapping exercise or Lean Action Work Out to identify wastes and reduce Cycle Time, contact SigmaWay at contact@gosigmaway.com. We have experienced Black Belts and Master Black Belts who can chart out an operational excellence plan for you.