Ceptara

Harness the power of your workforce by working smarter, not harder.

In business since 2002, Ceptara has helped product and services companies find and implement creative solutions that control costs and drive higher revenues. Let our seasoned managers, lean six sigma experts and certified project managers help you hone your focus and create stronger ROI for your company.

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Because customer focus has been a hallmark in the creation of a successful business, we often don't recognize and embrace disruptive technologies because we are trapped in our current system.  We are stuck and stifled by our own success.

The definition of S.M.A.R.T. is:

Specific...Measurable...Attainable...Relevant (or Realistic) and...Time-bound

Most of us have seen this mnemonic many times and know it to be a simple and effective decision making tool.  Occasionally having the definitions as a handy reminder helps with better planning and goal setting.  By utilizing this simple one page handout you can:

• ASQ announces a Quality Body of Knowledge (QBOK®)
• QBOK Embraces Personal Excellence
• QBOK declares Pursuit of Personal Excellence as, Personal Mastery, Quality Fit, Interpersonal Skills, Leadership, and Personal Quality Philosophy
• How will it be integrated into certifications?

Process management is at the heart of an excellent quality system.  If you're interested in reducing defects and waste, and building an organization that can scale as you're successful, process management needs to be a tool embraced and practiced by everyone in the organization. 

This presentation is used as part of the Process Management Introduction class which provides a summary and introduction to the Process Management Workshop.  The deck covers an introduction to a quality system, why process management is important and an introduction to managing processes.

When kicking off a cross organizational event such as a Kaizen event, Six Sigma initiative, QI Story, or other improvement program certain challenges are inherent. People can have competing agendas, team members have various degrees of capabilities and skills, and everyone has their own way of doing things. Since none of the members of the team 'work' for the program owner, relying on an organizational hierarchy is out of the question.

On several occasions, we've had the chance to present how to use six sigma to individuals whose role included managing a company's supply line.  Included in the Supply Line Management processes are; supply strategy management, qualification, selection, purchasing (transactional processing), performance monitoring, supplier auditing & review, and supplier recognition.  The attached resource provides an overview of each process, the six sigma tools that can help to perform the process more efficiently and effectively, and case studies that provide examples of how the six sigma tools were used.

Summary

• Focusing solely on your customer can stifle growth and innovation
• Leading your customer is possible through a consultative relationship which can help find mutually beneficial ways of increasing profit margin
• Creating a new market for your products or harnessing a new technology can take a completely different business model that the one that made you successful in the first place

There are a huge number of tools used to improve processes and quality.  Having worked in or with the military, nuclear, manufacturing, aviation, service, and medical industries, I have seen many different approaches and views on what is needed. In this article I am introducing what might be considered a thumbnail of the different approaches.