President John F. Kennedy famously said, “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” This was his challenge to every American citizen to contribute in some way to the public good.

It was summer camp and I was 12 years old. The game was called “Capture the Flag.” The goal is for one of two teams to capture the enemy’s flag, and return it to their base. Our battlefield was spread over a huge forest with rolling hills.

As a Master Black Belt I teach Lean Six Sigma courses and often provide definitions of common terms. One such term is “value” which I define as the ratio between quality and price (value = quality/price).

It has happened to all of us. We are inspired by a compelling idea that will drive gains in quality, only to have our bubble burst by peers that don’t share our enthusiasm. 

Successful Six Sigma organizations create a culture of participation by giving their staff a compelling mission, then giving them the support, resources, and flexibility to achieve that mission—and seek other opportunities for improvement.

Pursuing the lofty goal of Zero Defects delivers undeniable benefits in the form of reduced waste and cost, happier customers, bigger sales, and higher revenue. But that implied level of perfection is not always realistic. Instead, establish a culture of continuous improvement.

Pass/fail quality testing is the de facto standard for many manufacturers. But when you use only these basic tests, you miss out on some of the greatest opportunities for continuous improvement in your business. 

Statistical process control (SPC) charts are used in quality-focused facilities to monitor process output on a continual basis and alert process operators, managers and the support staff in real-time when the process is shifting towards an undesirable condition.

Discovering the underlying factors that influence compliance, product quality, production efficiency and your performance as a supplier requires greater accuracy and precision than many manufacturing metrics provide.