Shmula Pro members can watch the History of Six Sigma and Lean video for more information. In this video, we go through the various contributors of Six Sigma, their contribution, and why it’s important in the practice of modern Six Sigma. We also go into the history of the Toyota Production System and how the term “lean” was coined. Video is 7:36 long.

Download this Evolution of Six Sigma infographic and learn more about our practice.

The post Infographic: A Timeline of the Six Sigma Evolution appeared first on 6sigma.

The data shows the clear difference between service and manufacturing.

Now, while it’s great for JetBlue, there are clearly several problems with the ACSI methodology:

1. The Customer Satisfaction scores are released yearly. This is a problem because, at most, it’s a lagging indicator and a poor diagnostic – that is, the score doesn’t lead to any timely or relevant action or efforts around improvement. In sum, it’s just a score.
2. Satisfaction, as a measure, is very, very broad. It actually doesn’t tell us much. What, exactly, does “Satisfaction” tell us anyway? Exactly – that’s my point.

Nevertheless, here are the results of the ACSI Customer Satisfaction scores for the Airline Industry, broken down by airline carrier, in a nice little infographic I created for you. Enjoy.

While the ACSI is not perfect, it does give us some insight into how the consumer perceives the airline carrier. But, in terms of a true and helpful diagnostic, the ACSI isn’t very helpful at all.

The post Airline Customer Satisfaction Infographic appeared first on 6sigma.

From my experience, what I show below are typical perceptions that come with a lean transformation, turnarounds, or deployment of continuous improvement or process improvement. The Infographic below also reveals stereotypes, some of which is funny, some of which needs to be dealt with in a more serious way.

Here are some examples:

• We see the Toyota Production System, they see another Japanese Quality Movement or some “Asian Thing”.
• We see 5S as a method for stabilizing a process and introducing a systematic way to remove physical waste; they see a housecleaning effort.
• We see the 7 Wastes; they see a workforce reduction or a layoff – which is not usually the case.
• We see a process to be improved or a value stream to be improved; they see the process or value stream as their baby and us calling their “baby ugly”.

Does what I show ring true from your experience? What is your lean transformation experience?

Interested in placing this Lean Transformation Infographic on your website? Use this code:

<img class="size-full wp-image-8520 aligncenter" title="lean-transformation-perception" src="https://assets.6sigma.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/lean-transformation-perception.jpg?x97426" alt="lean transformation-roadmap-consulting" width="610" height="1503">

The post Lean Transformation Journey: Infographic of Perceptions appeared first on 6sigma.

How stuff gets produced, transported, and consumed by the end-customer is fascinating to me. Supply Chain Management is a deceptively simple concept, but in practice it is quite complex.

Every once in a while, tracing the supply chain of a product or a good is instructive. Take the White Truffle Mushroom as an example.

The White Truffle is a very rare mushroom, primarily grown in Alba, Italy. A pound of White Truffle can go for $3,000 USD – very expensive. I’ve never seen or tasted a White Truffle, but apparently the White Truffle is in heavy demand, with the likes of Jay-Z (Shawn Corey Carter) and Sean John Combs (Diddy, P. Diddy, Puff Daddy) love them and request White Truffle on their meals often (according to Time Magazine).

White Truffle is harvested and different products are produced from it, other than food, such as White Truffle Shampoo, White Truffle Oil, and others.

So, how does the White Truffle go from being harvested to being served on a plate at a 5 star restaurant?

The White Truffle Supply Chain Infographic shows us how the White Truffle travels from one part of the world to somebody’s plate at a fancy restaurant.

History of White Truffle

The “white truffle” or “Alba madonna” (Tuber magnatum) comes from the Langhe area of the Piedmont region in northern Italy and, most famously, in the countryside around the city of Alba. It is also found in Croatia, on the Istria peninsula in the Motovun forest alongside Mirna river. Growing symbiotically with oak, hazel, poplar and beech and fruiting in autumn, they can reach 12 cm diameter and 500 g, though are usually much smaller. The flesh is pale cream or brown with white marbling. Like the French black truffles, Italian white truffles are very highly esteemed. The white truffle market in Alba is busiest in the months of October and November, where a 1.6-pound white truffle sold to “The Cody” of southern California for $150,000 on Nov 8, 2009 during the 79th White Truffle Festival. In 2001, the Tuber magnatum truffles sold for between US$1,000 and $2,200 per pound; as of December 2009 they were being sold at €10,200 per kilogram.

Giancarlo Zigante and his dog Diana found one of the largest truffles in the world near Buje, Croatia. The truffle weighed 1.31 kilograms (2 lb 14 oz) and has entered the Guinness Book of Records.

The record price paid for a single white truffle was set in December 2007, when Macau casino owner Stanley Ho paid US$330,000 (£165,000) for a specimen weighing 1.5 kilograms (3.3 lb), discovered by Luciano Savini and his dog Rocco. One of the largest truffles found in decades, it was unearthed near Pisa and sold at an auction held simultaneously in Macau, Hong Kong and Florence.

The Tuber magnatum pico white truffle is found mostly in northern and central Italy, while the Tuber borchii, or whitish truffle, is found in Tuscany, Romagna, the Marche and Molise. Neither of these is as aromatic as those from Piedmont.

Black Truffle

The “black truffle” or “black Périgord truffle” (Tuber melanosporum) is named after the Périgord region in France and grows exclusively with oak. Specimens can be found in late autumn and winter, reaching 7 cm in diameter and weighing up to 100 g. Production is almost exclusively European, with France accounting for 45%, Spain 35%, Italy 20%, and small amounts from Slovenia, Croatia and the Australian states of Tasmania and Western Australia (see below). In 1900, France produced around 1,000 metric tonnes (1,100 short tons) of Tuber melanosporum. Production has considerably diminished in the past century, and is now around 20 metric tonnes (22 short tons) per year, with peaks at 46 metric tonnes (50 short tons) in the best years. About 80% of the French production comes from southeast France: upper Provence (départements of Vaucluse and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence), part of Dauphiné (département of Drôme), and part of Languedoc (département of Gard); 20% of the production comes from southwest France: Quercy (département of Lot) and Périgord. The largest truffle market in France (and probably also in the world) is at Richerenches in Vaucluse. The largest truffle market in southwest France is at Lalbenque in Quercy. These markets are busiest in the month of January, when the black truffles have their highest perfume. As of December 2009, black truffles were sold for about €1,000 per kilo in a farmer’s market and €3,940 per kilo in a retail saler.

The post White Truffle Oil Supply Chain: How Does This Fancy Mushroom Get Around? appeared first on 6sigma.

Meg Whitman Election, the former eBay CEO, lost her run for Governor of the State of California last week. She spent an astounding $175 Million and lost.

That kind of money can buy a lot of stuff. What else could she have bought with $175 Million?

The post Meg Whitman Election Fail: 10 Things She Could Have Bought with $175 Million appeared first on 6sigma.

Similar to a previous Snoop Dogg post where we created a Pareto Chart of his famous “Gin ‘n’ Juice”, a flow chart and a regression analysis of his infamous “Nuthin’ But a G Thang”, my Sarah Palin Wardrobe Break Even Analysis, and my Sarah Palin Pareto Chart.  This post isn’t as entertaining or fun, but it might be educational.

If anything else, you’ll now know the calories, calories from fat, and total fat of every item at McDonald’s.

Enjoy.

The table below shows the nutrition facts for all the McDonald’s Menu Items.  This table is taken directly from the McDonald’s Nutrition Facts Page (http://goo.gl/aAVU):

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