Root cause analysis (RCA) is a tool designed to help identify not only what and how an event occurred, but also why it happened. Only when
Thoughts on the Application of Root Cause Analysis
A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor. • Franklin D. Roosevelt. Human nature can easily slip into any root cause analysis (RCA) process. We want
5 Key Lean Six Sigma Tools Used in Improving Healthcare Wait Times
Healthcare is a field that can always benefit from more optimizations and improvements, and long wait times are probably the most common complaint
Guidelines for Conducting a Gage R&R Study
The gage R&R study (repeatability and reproducibility) is a powerful technique for analyzing certain aspects of your business, especially if you
Applying PDCA to Plant Maintenance: An Overview
The PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) method can be extremely useful in a variety of environments, and its flexibility is one of the main drawing factors for
Applying PDSA to Patient Safety
The PDSA (Plan-Do-Study-Act) cycle can be of great use in the medical environment, particularly in the context of improving patient safety and
[VIDEO] Consider the 3 Categories of Waste
Muda is the direct obstacle of flow. There are 7 distinctive types of Muda which all lead to waiting times, and therefore longer lead times in a
Waste Reduction and Muda, Mura and Muri
Most definitions of lean manufacturing refer to the reduction of the Muda (7 wastes) as the main focus. Few definitions of lean differentiate between
How to Use the Histogram as a Quality Improvement Tool
The histogram is a popular tool with many applications, and it's commonly seen in various environments. It's not directly related to lean or Six