Measuring productivity in manufacturing isn’t that difficult. It starts with some basic knowledge of the inputs: Machinery, Manpower, and Materials! Individual Resource Productivity, or IRP, is a basic ratio of the output per individual resource. It is the calculation of the output per machinery, manpower, and material resources. The Output is a quantity of units […]
Cause and Effect Problem Solving – Start by Describing the Effect
Cause and effect problem solving starts with an accurate description of the problem. And the people who experience the problem often know most about how to describe the problem. Recently, I have worked with a client to help them solve a problem that has plagued them for months. One of their manufacturing operations is spending […]
Constant Sum Paired Comparison – Assigning a Quantitative Value to a Visual Attribute
Constant Sum Paired Comparison Procedure In the Constant Sum Paired Comparison procedure, a study administrator will gather two objects to form a pair. This pair of objects gets presented, at the same time, to an observer. The observer must decide if there is a difference between the two objects. He or she does so by […]
Attribute Data vs Variable Data – Which Do You Prefer?
Attribute data vs variable data. If you had a choice, I’m sure you’d pick variable data! I often find Six Sigma practitioners shy away from projects that try to reduce non-conformances. They’d rather work on projects that have a well-defined output variable instead of an attribute. I don’t blame them; I’d rather have a precise […]
The 5 Ways to Improve Business Productivity
The cost of any product is the sum of the resource costs used to produce it. By manipulating the resources and/or improving the work process the lower the unit cost to produce a product will be. By lowering the unit cost, demand will increase and drive more sales. More sales will generate more profit and […]
Why is Business Productivity Important? Learn Why!
Why is business productivity important? The simple answer is productivity benefits everyone! When productivity increases, the cost to produce the output decreases. This widens the margin between the cost to produce a product and the price it’s sold at. Wider margins mean higher profits for a company. Profits lead to investment in R&D, dividends to […]
Process Capability, Do You Really Want to Improve It?
Process Capability – What is It? Process capability indices can be misleading. For instance, let’s consider the Cp Index. This process capability index compares the process spread to the tolerance spread. It provides a measure of how well the process can meet a tolerance expectation under certain conditions. Let’s review this in greater detail. Process […]
Measure Productivity in the Workplace – It’s Simple!
Measure productivity in the workplace today. All you need to understand are a few key terms and concepts! The goal for any organization is to produce products or services that meet the needs of the customer at the lowest possible cost. To meet this goal, you first need to know how to measure productivity in […]