Business901

Lean Six Sigma is a major Xerox initiative for driving new levels of business performance, product offerings, and results based on the customer-centered, industry-recognized methodologies. Jeffrey M. Koff, the Director of Lean Six Sigma Learning and Corporate Lean Six Sigma Operations for Xerox Corporation was a guest on the Business901 podcast. Our podcast centered on the use of Design for Lean Six Sigma strategies, and related product delivery improvement initiatives.

There is not a lot of fluff in this conversation; Jeff is direct and to the point about the uses of Lean Six Sigma. In industry today, there is a fair amount of discussion on Design for Six Sigma but very little if any on Design for Lean Six Sigma. Jeff is sold on the DFLSS process and the customization that Xerox has done with the methodology.

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Michael Ballé is the co-author of, The Gold Mine, a bestselling business novel of lean turnaround, and recently, The Lean Manager, a novel of lean transformation, both published by the Lean Enterprise Institute. For the past 15 years, he has studied lean transformations, helping companies develop a lean culture. He is an engaging and colorful public speaker and I think you will find in the podcast, he lives up to his reputation. Micheal joined me on the Business901 Podcast and we had a spirited discussion about Lean Cultures and how the tools of Lean apply.

As a managing partner of ESG Consultants, Michael coaches executives in obtaining exceptional performance through using the lean tools, principles, and management attitudes. His main coaching technique is the “Real Place Visit,” where he helps senior executives to learn to see their own operational shop floors, teach their people the spirit of Kaizen and draw the right conclusions for their business as a whole. He has assisted companies in their lean transformations in various fields such as manufacturing, engineering, construction, services, and healthcare.

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Glenn Whitfield serves as Director of Dean Dorton Ford’s Process Improvement Services group based out of the Louisville office. Glenn was my guest on the Business901 Podcast and we had the opportunity to discuss DDF’s methodology for improvement within an organization. Their methodology concentrates on a Value stream Analysis to determine their clients individual needs. It was a discussion around practical hands on implementation and the role middle managers play.

Glenn has over twenty years of professional experience, he has managed and assisted organizations through a variety of improvement strategies and tactics, ranging from organization-wide Performance Improvement eff orts to facilitation of Value Stream Mapping or Kaizen events. A Six Sigma Black Belt, he utilizes tools and methodologies from Lean, Six Sigma, Theory of Constraints, and traditional process improvement techniques to improve operations.

Related Information: Value Stream Mapping

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This week podcast guest was Aqua Porter, a Vice President of the Corporate Lean Six Sigma Strategy at Xerox Corporation. She is an advocate for Lean Six Sigma at Xerox and has led many Black Belt projects including the nomination of Black Belt candidates and the growth of Xerox Team Accelerator. Team Accelerator is a workshop program that utilizes the Belbin Team Role system to help teams draw on the strengths of each team member and work together. I seldom find the enthusiasm that Aqua brings to the Lean Six Sigma world. If you need your Six Sigma team to get pumped up about their next Six Sigma project this might be the podcast for them.

Aqua Porter has been with Xerox since 1984 and has held a variety of positions including Engineering, Marketing, Product Development, Purchasing, and Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management. She is a senior manager with extensive experience in all phases of product development and delivery, and is adept in building strong teams who deliver exceptional business results.

Xerox has made a major commitment to using Lean Six Sigma tools and methodology - both to drive improvements in our own business and to deliver measurable results for customers. Our unique, disciplined approach involves analyzing business processes and identifying ways to eliminate both errors and unnecessary steps. Xerox Global Services looks for ways to deliver improvements quickly and focus on leveraging your existing IT investments. From streamlining paper-choked workflows to automating labor-intensive functions, the results can be remarkable.

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Bob Sproull was my guest on the Business901 podcast. Bob is an experienced manufacturing executive with a distinguished track record of achieving improvement goals in Manufacturing, MRO, Quality, Product Development, and Engineering. His experience base ranges from low-volume custom products (truck bodies) to process industries (tires) to service industries (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul). He is a nationally known speaker and author on problem-solving and statistical techniques, as well as his latest book on implementing an integrated Lean, Six Sigma and the Theory of Constraints.

Our discussion centered around The Ultimate Improvement Cycle: Maximizing Profits through the Integration of Lean, Six Sigma, and the Theory of Constraints show you how to draw the best from Lean and Six Sigma by employing principles drawn from the Theory of Constraints. He says, this approach will ensure that your effort is focused in the right place, at the right time, using the right tools, and the right amount of resources. This multi-pronged approach addresses cost accounting, variation, waste, and performance measurements. But most importantly, it focuses your organization on the right areas to optimize.

I enjoyed many of his thoughts, especially on Value Stream Mapping and his description of focusing on the matter at hand, the constraint.

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I had Chad H. Pollitt on the Business901 podcast discussing the effects of Social Media on SEO and what it can do for you. Chad has a unique view on what he terms successful SEO. He is not after achieving #1 or #2 ranking on Google for his customers, he is after achieving the entire 1st page for his customer. Listen to the podcast and find out some SEO tips on how you might be able to start on this path. Also we discussed, Chad’s upcoming workshop on September 24th, 2009. Chad will be holding the Fort Wayne Chamber Business Brown Bag on “Cost Effective Marketing Using Social Media.” If you are thinking of participating in a workshop on social media, this podcast is a good listen on how to evaluate Social Media workshops.

Chad H. Pollitt list of accomplishments include Internet Marketing Masters Certification from the University of San Francisco’s prestigious School of Business and Management, BS in Entrepreneurship from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business.  He has won multiple awards in sales/marketing and sales management while working and residing in Fort Wayne, IN.  Chad is also a Lieutenant in the Indiana Army National Guard and a decorated veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Chad currently works for Digital Hill Multimedia, Inc. as a Web Technology Consultant and Internet Marketing Manager and will be featured in The Wall Street Journal Sept. 16th.

Digital Hill Multimedia, Inc. was founded in 1997 as a web design agency with a focus on providing professional website solutions for businesses while helping them promote their business to the vast global audience on the Internet. Now with a more diverse clientele and with clients nationwide, Digital Hill Multimedia has grown to become a full-service Internet Marketing Agency.

Disclaimer: I do not employ or have any affiliation with Digital Hill Multimedia but thought that their ideas about Social Media and SEO were interesting. By the way, if you do not think you can own an entire page on Google, do a search for “Fort Wayne Marketing Coach.”

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Mark Woeppel is a master of organizational transformation with a lengthy track record of successful turnarounds.  He is a recognized expert in the Theory of Constraints, Supply Chain Management, Project Management, and Continuous Improvement.  He has earned the founder’s implementer certification from the TOC-ICO.

He is an internationally known author, speaker and lecturer on the topics of Theory of Constraints, Drum Buffer Rope, Cost Accounting, Organizational Measurement, and Critical Chain Project Management.  He is the author of The Manufacturer’s Guide to Implementing the Theory of Constraints, published by APICS/St. Lucie Press, in English, Spanish and Japanese and Projects in Less Time, published by BookSurge in English & Japanese.

Mark discussed the integration of Theory of Constraints, Lean and Six Sigma and how they significantly improve bottom line results. Mark is the president of Pinnacle Strategies and is located in Dallas, Texas.

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Tom DeForge discusses the disciplined approach and analysis tools taught to him during his 8 year tenure

by the Shingijutsu consulting group, who are considered 2nd tier consultants to the father of The Toyota Production System, Taiichi Ohno . Tom has been implement these Lean Principles for over 20 years and is currently a Principal Partner in Lean Value Solutions International, he has built a successful practice over the past 11 years by leading several organizations to a lean enterprise Implementation strategy. Tom was also instrumental in forging relationships with other providers which assist in bringing his clients the latest in technology in terms of operational shop floor analytics, which assist in accelerating the Lean improvement efforts. One of his most proudest moments, was that LVSI now has one of the original founding members of the Shingijutsu consulting group, Sensai Akira Takenaka, as a LVSI Senior Consultant.

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On the Business901 podcast, I had the pleasure of interviewing Nancy Riebling, Director of Operational Performance Solutions and a Master Black Belt for the North Shore- LIJ Health System. Operational Performance Solutions is a division of the Health System’s Corporate University located at the Center for Learning & Innovation. North Shore-LIJ Health System headquartered in Great Neck, NY is the third largest nonsectarian health system in the country

Change acceleration process is a philosophy & tool set designed to help overcome cultural barriers to change by creating a shared need, shaping a vision, & mobilizing commitment.  Fast track decision making (North Shore’s version of GE work-out) is a rapid problem solving approach with team involvement and in-meeting decisions.  It is a catalyst for change focusing on the process to drive improvement and empowering the people closest to the process to develop & implement appropriate solutions.

Nancy will be presenting Taking Six Sigma and Lean beyond projects in Healthcare at The Global Lean, Six Sigma and Business Improvement Summit. This summit represents the largest gathering of leading experts and senior executives across various industries who are passionate about achieving process and business excellence.

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Robert(Bob) Weiner, Chief Executive Officer of PAS Technologies Inc, visited the Business901 podcast. Bob is renowned as an expert in implementing Lean and Six Sigma on a global scale with incredible speed and remarkable sustained results. PAS was one of the bottom rung players in providing cost-effective repair and overhaul solutions for the aerospace, oilfield and industrial markets. In the first week of taking over, Bob implemented Lean training and started weekly Kaizan events with the key metric of turnaround time. PAS moved to the top of their field by installing a Lean culture and the use of innovative and proprietary high-technology repair processes. His description of this process is nothing short of a testimonial to building a Lean Culture. As Bob said: “If Lean is not at the core of your business, you are missing the boat.”

PAS Technologies was selected as the winner for the Global Six Sigma & Business Improvement Awards in the category of “Best Emerging Business Improvement Deployment.” The award was accepted on behalf of all PAS Technologies’ employees by Robert Weiner, President and CEO at the WCBF 2008 Gala Awards Dinner and Ceremony on Wednesday, October 15th at The Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.

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