Quality Improvements for Life

Binomial Distributions

Wed, 12 Apr 2023 15:17:25 GMT

Reviewing your toolbox

Welcome to the first of our quarterly newsletters for 2023!

You may recall, the blog posts in 2022 followed the Six Sigma DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) methodology therefore for 2023, we wanted to dive a bit deeper into some select tools from both the Six Sigma and Lean toolboxes. If there are any specific tools you would like highlighted in a post this year please email lstuart@ezsigmagroup.com and we will be sure to include it.

Without further ado, we shale begin our discussion with Binomial Distributions .

In normal distributions, we could calculate probabilities using the table of “areas under the curve”. The normal distribution, however, is a representation of continuous type data. The binomial distribution results from trials where there are only two possible outcomes .

Since these types of trials characterize discrete (attribute) data , such as “defect versus no defect”, we can apply binomial probability. If the binomial distribution approximates the (bell-shape) normal distribution, we can then calculate probabilities using the table of areas under the normal curve.

What does that mean?

As suggested by the prefix “bi” which signifies “two”, the binomial distribution describes the possible number of times a particular event or outcome will occur in a sequence of observations or trials.

This type of event is binary, in that it may or may not occur. Common examples of this would be the tossing of a coin to see how many times it lands “heads-up” or rolling a die to see how often the “number 4” appears. These are success\failure, yes\no, pass\fail responses. In our work, either a defect is present, or it is not.

Now, this may seem quite simple to you right now... I flip a coin once and I can know that either heads will turn up, or it won’t... it has a 50% chance... or does it?

What if you flipped the coin ten times? Would you always see 5 heads out of each set of 10 tries? Conduct you own test right now by repeating this experiment 4 times, each trial consisting of 10 tosses of the coin. Each occurrence of “heads” can be represented by the value 1.

What if you were to repeat a trial, but this time flip the coin 100 times. How would the results change? How does probability figure in something as simple as the toss of a coin, and what should we understand about this concept when conducting our six sigma projects, (or when you are attending a casino).

What is important is to understand how probability is reflected in the binomial distribution therefore, our focus is not on memorizing the math, but understanding the concept and application.

The “Heart” of the Calculation

When a coin is tossed, a card drawn from a deck, (or a student guesses on a multiple-choice test), they all have something in common.

In each case, the events;

can only have one of two possible results (we could say “dichotomous”, but that would be pretentious!).
are independent (a preceding event does not influence the subsequent event(s).
are randomly selected (there is no bias in the outcome or selection)
are mutually exclusive (the occurrence of one event excludes the possibility of the other event – can’t be both)

With this in mind, we can now have a quick look at the binomial probability of observing r outcomes in n number of trials:

Where p(r) is the probability of exactly r successes or outcomes, n is the number of events, and p is the probability of success for any one trial.

Don’t be intimidated by this expression. You do not have to memorize it, only understand how it works.

Let’s take our example of the coin toss. What would be the probability of observing exactly 3 heads if a fair coin is flipped 6 times?

A fair coin (or test) has no bias – that is, either result has equal chance of being selected. There is no influence on the outcome.

Let’s do an example with the following number from a coin toss…

n = 6 (number of events)

r = 3 (the exact number of successful outcomes we want to see)

p = .5 (the coin is fair, so heads has a 50% chance of being observed)

Now, let’s complete the formula…

We’ve seen th is formula before except for the exclamation marks – what do they mean?

The exclamation mark indicates factorial notation. 6! means 6 x 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1. Your calculator should have a factorial notation button that will make this easier. 6! = 720.

So, let’s simplify this one more time...

The Binomial Distribution

The results can be illustrated in graphical form, presenting a distribution curve whose shape may not be that unfamiliar to you.

The first distribution represents that same trial we have just calculated the probability on: p = .5, n = 6, r = 3

Notice that t he probability indicated for observing three heads out of six tosses of the coin is .3125. In addition, you may be thinking that this looks a lot like the normal distribution. We’ll address that further on in this post.

What if we were to change the probability estimate from .5 to something else. The results of this change are shown below.

Notice how th e distribution is skewed positively to the right, and that the probability of observing 3 heads has been reduced from .3125 to .18522. The highest probability for the occurrence of “heads” is now 2 out of six, since the probability for 2 is .32413.

The distribution no longer resembles the normal curve.

In real life, we may need to make probability estimates using large numbers. While not always possible, it is advantageous to use the normal distribution to approximate a binomial distribution.

Applications of the Binomial Distribution

In this post we have mentioned coin tosses and students guessing at multiple-choice tests, but the binomial distribution has practical applications. It is commonly used in quality control (estimating defects), public opinion surveys, medical research, and estimating insurance casualty claims.

Another situation you may relate to is the reservation process for the airline industry. If, on average, 7% of reservations are “no-shows”, you may want to take more reservations than there are available seats. That way, after netting out the “no-shows”, you will still have a full flight. If you are willing to take a 5% risk of not having enough seats for those who show up, how many reservations can you take in excess of the 200 seats to stay within that allowable risk?

Sampling Without Replacement

Before concluding this post, we will touch briefly on the issue of sampling with or without replacement. As suggested at the start of this post, the binomial distribution requires that you sample with replacement.

To sample without replacement is handled by what is referred to as the hypergeometric distribution . However, as long as the population size is much larger (20 x or more) than the sample size, we can use the binomial distribution. In this instance, we would be approximating the hypergeometric distribution with the binomial distribution.

Summary

We have discussed that the binomial distribution describes the possible number of times that a given event will occur over a series of observations. It uses discrete (attribute) data where there can only be two possible outcomes , yes\no, pass\fail, good\bad, etc.

Our review identified the fact that for a binomial distribution to be applied, the events must also be independent, randomly selected, and mutually exclusive .

We understand that the shape of the binomial distribution is described by two parameters, the number of values for N and the probability assigned to a specific outcome being observed ( p ).

We can now use this knowledge to estimate the probability of a specific number of events occurring, but to determine the cumulative probability of a range of events, we can use the normal distribution to approximate the binomial distribution, and using the resultant Z value and assign a probability estimate based on the area under the normal curve .

For further information on Binomial Distribution or other Lean Six Sigma tools feel free to reach out to info@ezsigmagroup.com

" I believe that the Binomial Theorem and a Bach Fugue are, in the long run, more important than all the battles in history" - James Hilton (English novelist 1900-1954)

"Life is good for only two things, discovering mathematics and teaching mathematics" - Simeon-Denis Poisson (French scientist 1781-1840)

Sticky Improvements and Closing the Project

ejamischak@yahoo.ca (Elizabeth Jamischak) — Wed, 21 Dec 2022 22:11:06 GMT

This year we have been posting about the DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) methodology which is the hallmark of Six Sigma theory and execution. Since this is the final blog for 2022 we decided to include both ‘Improve’ and ‘Control’ within this post.

So far we have discussed the importance of defining the problem that we want to fix or area we want to improve and the value of spending time on developing a robust Project Charter, how to protect our project from scope creep by using tools such as a Data Collection Plan and how to uncover the actual Root Cause of the problem we are wanting to resolve or area we are planning to improve.

In this post we will list common tools which will aid in collating all the information we have gathered thus far in our project and interpreting that information into potential solutions. However, our primary focus will be on how to actually implement change and then how to monitor / control those changes.

To jump right in, some of the most common tools within the Improve phase to identify potential solutions include:

Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
Stakeholder Analysis
Kaizen Event
Poka-Yoke
Cost-Benefit Analysis
Matrix Diagram

Once you have a list of possible solutions, selecting the best one AND implementing often brings with it stress and anxiety therefore putting a plan in place is essential for successful change.

There are many templates and resources available online for developing an Implementation Plan. We recommend including the following elements:

Strategy
Process
Action

Each of these elements can be broken down by applying the 5W2H Method. For example,

Strategy

Who is managing the implementation of the change(s)?
What is our ultimate goal with this project?
When does the change(s) need to be completed?
Where does this project tie into our mission & vision?
Why have we selected ______ solution instead of _______ solution?
How will the changes be monitored?
How much will it cost to implement the changes?

Process

Who will be involved in implementing the changes?
What is the process and timelines for implementing this change?
When do we need to set our milestones to ensure success?
Where does the majority of our focus need to be to successfully implement the changes?
How will we communicate the change(s) to the staff / department / organization?
How much effort is required from the team to implement this change(s)?

Action

Who is doing _______ [list specific role]?
What do we need to accomplish this week / month / quarter to hit our next milestone?
When do we need to test the process to verify our changes have been fully adopted?
Where will we keep the documentation for implementing the change(s)?
How will daily activities for ____ need to be adjusted due to these change(s)?
How much time will __________ require to work on implementing the change(s)?

By answering these questions, you and your team will have a clear picture of the time, human resources, financial resources and most importantly, the communication which will be required for a successful implementation of the improvements / solution you have selected for your project.

The final element in a Six Sigma DMAIC project is ‘Control’. This is the phase that makes all the others worth the time and energy because in the Control phase we focus on maintaining the change(s) / improvement(s) that have been implemented.

Oftentimes, the greatest challenge at this point is maintaining the cultural / psychological change that occurred therefore it is important to review your organizations infrastructure (is it technically possible to maintain the change?), the policies and procedures (do these support the change(s)?) and the culture of your organization (is everyone on board with the change(s) / improvement(s) and intentionally incorporating the change(s) / improvement(s) into their daily activities and conversations?)

Some tools and activities which typically occur within the Control Phase include…

Control Plan
Statistical Process Control
Control Charts (ex. Xbar, run chart, X-MR chart, p chart, np chart, c chart, u chart)
Cost Benefit Analysis
Formal Project Closure
Celebration of success and team recognition

As Six Sigma practitioners it is easy to remain focused on the technical aspects of a project such as collecting and analyzing the data. Therefore, in this series we wanted to highlight some key activities and soft skills which can have a dramatic impact on the success of your project.

We trust you will continue to thrive and learn from each experience and that you will allocate additional time and energy to developing your plans at each stage of the DMAIC process and that you will focus on how your project will and is, impacting the culture of your organization.

Thank you for joining us on this journey and we look forward to connecting in 2023!

Uncovering the Root Cause

ejamischak@yahoo.ca (Elizabeth Jamischak) — Wed, 08 Jun 2022 16:41:59 GMT

Are you focused on the causes

or the symptoms ?

The third phase in the DMAIC project lifecycle is ‘Analyze’. This is where we take the data we have collected during the ‘Measure’ phase and turn it into a cohesive story which will then inform how and where we will make improvements. More specifically, we discover the actual Root Cause of the problem we are trying to solve.

Over the past five years we have noticed that ‘data-analytics’ have increasingly become more popular as has ‘data story-telling’. This has been great for marketing the importance of collecting data within organizations however these courses and articles tend to take a broader approach to data (evaluate, clean, summarize) compared to how we analyze data within the DMAIC/Six Sigma framework.

Within Six Sigma, the Analyze activities which take place may include:

Graphical Analysis (ex. Box Plots, scatter, etc)
Normality Tests, Distribution ID & Data Transformation
Process Control Study (control charts)
Capability Study (Yield, TPY, RTY, DPMO, Z)
Failure Mode & Effects Analysis (Update RPN)
Hypothesis Testing, Y=f(x), (Parametric & Non-Parametric)
Test of Central Tendency (Mean, Median)
Test of Variance (Dispersion, Standard Deviation)
Test of Proportion (%)
Test of Frequency (count, occurrence, Chi-Square)
Regression Analysis (simple linear, multiple)
Analysis of Variance (ANOVA & ANOM)
Validate Findings and Conclusions
Phase review and approval

As previously mentioned, all of the above listed activities are completed with the objective of finding and validating the Root Cause(s) of the problem and ensuring that any improvement in the next phase is focused on causes rather than symptoms.

Therefore, the first step is to understand the difference between causality and correlation. Causality is the study of how things influence one other, how causes lead to effects (1). Correlation is a statistical measure or connection between two or more things – especially when one influences the other (2). It is important to keep in mind that “correlation does not imply causation” therefore taking sufficient time in your Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is imperative to avoid jumping to conclusions based on observations of correlation.

How do we differentiate between causation and correlation? Some key tools which will aid us in our RCA are:

5W2H
This is an interrogative technique which asks the question ‘Why’ five times and ‘How’ two times to explore the cause of a problem and to expose weaknesses in a system or process. Each ‘Why’ generally forms the basis of the next ‘Why’ question to encourage the team to dig deeper into the problem.
Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA)
This tool is to recognize and evaluate the potential failure of a product or process, the effects of each failure, and to identify actions that could eliminate or reduce the risk of failure as well as document the process.
Fault Tree Analysis (FTA)
This is a visualization tool which provides a convenient, symbolic representation of the combination of events that result in a specific outcome or top event. These events or gates are represented by symbols, similar to those in flow charts and follow a binary logic structure of ‘AND/OR’ branch points. In the FTA, the entire system as well as human interactions are analyzed.
Fishbone Diagram
This is a visualization tool for identifying and categorizing many potential causes of a problem.
Pareto Charts
Commonly referred to as the ‘80/20 Rule’, it is a chart to help identify the vital few from the trivial many and it illustrates dominant ‘before and after’ results.
Scatter Plot Diagram (aka Dispersion Diagram)
This is a diagram which illustrates a summary of two sets of data/variables. The Y axis represents the dependent variable and the X axis represents the independent variable. This diagram shows the relationship between the two data sets/variables and aids in the interpretation of the correlation coefficient or regression model.

One observation we have had after reviewing hundreds of projects over the years is that the Root Cause is often smaller and simpler than originally anticipated at the beginning of the project. This has reinforced our conviction that it is very important to not rush through the Analyze phase, to take the time to use the tools listed above so that you are confident that you have identified the actual root cause. Once this has happened you are ready to take action and move to the next phase of your project which is ‘Improve’.

If you have any questions about the tools listed above or would like a refresher on how to use them, please contact us at info@ezsigmagroup.com .

1. https://www.newscientist.com/definition/causality/

2. https://www.jmp.com/en_ca/statistics-knowledge-portal/what-is-correlation.html

What Are You Measuring?

ejamischak@yahoo.ca (Elizabeth Jamischak) — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 17:36:33 GMT

“You can’t improve what you don’t measure.”

- Tony Robbins

KPIs: without the careful creation of key performance indicators/metrics, zeroing in on the most effective business strategies and process improvements becomes little more than a guessing game.

The second phase in the DMAIC project lifecycle is the ‘Measure’ phase. This phase is often considered the ‘easiest’, especially when there is a well-defined Problem Statement and Project Charter. However, relaxing our focus during the Measure phase can open the door to project scope creep even when we have guardrails in place.

To refresh, we discussed in our last blog post that we recommend beginning your project with the Voice of the Customer. The purpose of this is to ensure you are aligned with the actual need and/or pain points felt by your customers. We recommended activities such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, live chat, online reviews, emails, website behaviour, social media and net promoter score. Once this information has been gathered and the need/pain points have been identified, we recommended doing a SIPOC Diagram to gain a bird’s eye view of the elements impacting your process and lastly, preparing your Project Charter.

Moving forward from the Define phase, the next objective is to collect and collate data. This begs the question of ‘Do we only collect data on the process identified in the Define phase or do we also collect data on the elements identified in the SIPOC Diagram?'

Our recommendation is to begin with a robust Data Collection Plan . A Data Collection Plan is a great tool which outlines the 5W2H of your data collection…

• What data will be collected,

• Who will collect the data (team assignments),

• When will the data be collected – what is the sequence of the data collection,

• Where will the data come from,

• Why is the team focusing on data from these sources,

• How will the data be collected,

• How much data will be collected

This plan will also guard against wasting resources, it will guide where the information is distributed among your team and/or stakeholders involved in the process and it will assist in ensuring that the data collected is meaningful and can help your team to determine the root cause of the issue you are trying to improve.

A sample Data Collection Plan resembles this:

Once you have your plan prepared and assignments delegated to your team you are ready to execute your data collection.

Some of the tools you may want to consider for collecting your data are:

• Process Mapping

• Value Stream Mapping

• Root Cause Analysis

• Capability Analysis

• Pareto Charts

• Histograms

• FMEA (Failure Mode & Effects Analysis)

• Process Capability Study

• Scatter Plots

• Measurement System Analysis

A key takeaway is to remember that the more time you spend planning and preparing at each phase of the DMAIC process the less time and resources will be wasted as you dig into your project.

If you would like more information on any of the tools listed in this post please reach out to us at info@ezsigmagroup.com

Let's Start From the Very Beginning...

ejamischak@yahoo.ca (Elizabeth Jamischak) — Wed, 16 Feb 2022 16:21:31 GMT

Do the necessary due diligence and get teams to the point where everyone is clear on the objective of the project with guardrails in place so that you are properly balancing a rapid agile environment without accidently running off the cliff.

The key to getting a clear picture of where we want to be, starts with where we are right now. The same is true when embarking on a business mandate, project, assignment or process improvement strategy. In the world of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) we call this the ‘Define’ phase.

Many argue that the ‘Define’ phase is the most critical step for achieving project success . However, it’s common that an inadequate amount of time and attention is spent on the ‘Define’ phase, since we often think we know what the issues are already and we’re anxious to solve the problem. Which isn’t to be criticized, however, a proper project definition will undoubtedly increase our likelihood for identifying and improving the key issues.

Therefore, over the next several months we will be sharing a series of blogs whereby we will break down the LSS DMAIC methodology; (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) and highlight some of the important aspects of each of the phases. Today, we’re starting with Define phase and it’s vital role in a LSS project.

The Define Phase begins by asking crucial questions such as “what is the problem", "what impact does it currently have on our product and services, our productivity and performance, our costs, and most importantly our customers?” These questions help us to understand in broad terms which areas / methods / processes could be improved. However, we must not stop there and continue to outline and define our objectives and purpose for our project.

A quick google search will reveal in simple terms that 'Define', in a LSS context, is a statement of what our project is all about. More specifically we may think about it in terms of what’s needed ‘to improve the process’, ‘to produce a better widget, to understand the root cause, and so on.

The challenge remains that questions of this nature are still too broad and offer no parameters for the project, which often leads to scope creep and undesirable outcomes. As you know, scope creep can also cause time delays, and higher costs, exceeding the overall budget in people resources and financially.

So where does this leave us?

We suggest that you need to dedicate adequate attention to the Define phase. Do the necessary due diligence and get teams to the point where everyone is clear on the objective of the project with guardrails in place so that you are properly balancing a rapid agile environment without accidently running off the cliff.

This all begins with the Voice of the Customer (VOC). However, to complicate things further, we may need to first ask ‘Who is our customer? Are they happy or upset? What do they tell us, do we already know? Is our priority to ensure that our project objectives and outcomes result in a better customer experience? Are we aligned as a project team?’

We have discovered that the most effective way of getting to the true VOC and engaging thoughts and ideas from the broader team, is to use a variety of fact finding methods and techniques.

These techniques include:

Surveys
Interviews
Focus groups
Live chat
Online reviews
Emails
Website behaviour
Social media
Net promoter score

Analyzing the results obtained from the VOC will confirm whether the project idea is aligned with the actual need as defined by our customer or whether our project objectives need to be shifted.

Next, we recommend conducting a SIPOC Diagram of our project. This tool will identify the relevant elements and provide insight into where we may be tempted with scope creep (hint: Inputs). Image source: https://powerslides.com/powerpoint-industry/apparel-retail-food-beverage-templates/sipoc-template/

Lastly we recommend preparing a Project Charter as the final element in the Define phase to guard against confirmation bias.

Image source: https://project-management.com/what-is-a-project-charter/

As stated at the beginning of this post, when embarking on a new project it is easy to make broad statements, reasoning that as you gain more information and discover insights into a project you can narrow the scope.

The reality is that more often than not, the opposite happens. Therefore, taking extra time to listen to the Voice of the Customer and creating SIPOC diagrams PRIOR to outlining the Project Charter will provide for a more focused objective and purpose.

Is Your Culture Impacting Your Processes?

ejamischak@yahoo.ca (Elizabeth Jamischak) — Wed, 22 Dec 2021 15:55:48 GMT

"If you can't describe what you are doing as a process, you don't know what you're doing."

-W. Edwards Deming

As another year comes to a close it is often a time for reflecting on what went well throughout the year, what could be improved upon and predictions for what the new year will bring.

We thought about the various tools that organizations often use for the exercises listed above and one which came to the top of our list was process maps .

This is a great tool which graphically represents the steps involved in a process, showing how inputs are transformed into outputs .

Process Maps shows who is doing what steps in a process, with whom, when and they allow you to dig down into the type of activities . Are those activities bringing value? How long do they take? Does the process move between teams and/or departments? The amount of information gleaned from these diagrams can be incredible and incredibly satisfying to analysts and data gatherers alike.

However, over the years we have come to recognize that they do fall short in one area – they do not reveal to us how the culture of the organization/team/department impacts the process.

There are 3 areas where culture can impact a process:

Embracing a continuous improvement mindset
Willingness to change
Confidence to speak up

Embracing a Continuous Improvement (CI) Mindset

A CI mindset can be summarized as a growth mindset and can be applied to personal growth and professional growth. It is one where failures or flaws are viewed through a positive lens as an opportunity to improve. Organizations who do not actively promote this type of culture can find themselves with a team of people who may be very high performing (because a failure / breakdown / flaw / error is a negative) and who may be prone to burn-out and high turnover rates thus making it more difficult for the organization to grow as a whole.

Willingness to Change

We believe it’s safe to say that at some point, we have all been resistant to change either personally or professionally. However, being resistant to the point where we are unwilling to make ANY change can be detrimental to an organizations’ survival. We have all been forced to experience a large amount of change over the past two years which has caused some to have ‘change fatigue’. Therefore, ensuring your team understands the reasons for further change, and presenting change in a positive light can make a big impact on how it is received and to build confidence in making future changes.

Confidence to Speak Up

This final point is a crucial one. We have worked with organizations where the team is fully aware that a process is not functioning as it should be, they know where the bottlenecks are, they have insight into how to fix/improve the process but no one says a word and they continue with a frustrating and time-consuming process. Why does this occur? We believe a big factor is how psychologically safe the team feels. Believing that I may be reprimanded, passed by for a promotion or shunned because I pointed out an issue can be a huge deterrent. Therefore, taking the time to educate the team (not just the leaders) on how to create a psychologically safe environment can help build your teams confidence to speak up when they detect an issue.

As you approach the new year we encourage you to continue the exercise of reflection and prediction and recommend adding in some consideration to your culture by asking 'how is your culture impacting your processes as well as your employee satisfaction and retention rates?'.

Have a wonderful and safe holiday season!

Where Did The Time Go?

ejamischak@yahoo.ca (Elizabeth Jamischak) — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 21:18:47 GMT

20% of our time produces 80% of our results thus implying that we are typically highly productive for only 20% of our time.

We went through our fall Daylight Savings Time to change our clocks this month. This ‘Fall back’ change is always my personal favorite because I gain an extra hours’ sleep and this year, the change got me thinking about time and how we manage it.

Time Management is one of those skills which is often spoken of in a way that implies that by applying a couple of easy tips you will magically free up several hours in your day and will become far more productive in your work than previously imagined.

Unfortunately, the reality is that this is not the case for the majority of us.

Therefore, we would like to propose a different approach to Time Management, one that understands the 80/20 phenomenon and which takes the idea of ‘ enlightened leadership ’ into consideration.

Let’s begin with the 80/20 rule which is the Pareto principle. This principle states that 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes (aka the law of the Vital Few and the principle of Factor Sparcity ). If we apply this to our time, it means that 20% of our time produces 80% of our results thus implying that we are typically highly productive for only 20% of our time.

What are the implications if this is indeed the case?

The first would be to understand what time of day produces the highest amount of concentration and productivity . Many highly respected professionals claim that the best time for getting things done or for work which requires concentration, is in the morning. This may be true for some or even the majority, however we recommend taking a week to track your personal work rhythm to determine what time of day (or evening) you produce 80% of your results .

Some tools to consider for doing this are…

1. Time Motion Study – understanding where you time is currently being spent is the first step to finding ways to optimize your schedule.

2. Time tracking software such as Toggl – there are lots of great tools to automate your time tracking in case you don’t have time to track your time ��

3. Gantt Chart – a good tool for comparing your work effort and impact vs other tasks that produce little value in comparison to their complexity and effort.

The second consideration would be to approach time management from an Enlightened Leadership perspective .

An ‘Enlighted Leader’ is someone who exhibits high emotional intelligence, compassion and focus. They also value the people they work with and demonstrate it by empowering others, by the way they communicate and how they interact with everyone.

Viewing your time through this lens can help to put your various activities into perspective – how they impact the organization, their part in moving the strategic plan forward, how your activities impact your team and how your time impacts the internal supply chain of your organization.

A few favorite tools for understanding how my time should be prioritized are

1. Balanced scorecard – this reporting tool is great for helping to understand how my specific activities are tied into the Strategic Plan and how they move the strategy forward

2. SIPOC – this tool is often applied to external suppliers and customers however can easily be used to understand who I need to receive information/activities from in order to complete my work and who is waiting on information/activities from me to finish their work.

3. Business Model Canvas – this tool provides a summary view of the entire organization which allows me to see where my specific responsibilities impact the organization.

The bottom line is that there isn’t a quick fix or 3-step recipe for managing time which works for everyone.

Therefore, we recommend analyzing your personal work rhythms, identifying when you have the greatest concentration and productivity, schedule the 20% of work that produces 80% of your results during those peak times and doing all of this through the lens of enlightened leadership.

Conflict Resolution

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Wed, 13 Oct 2021 17:44:02 GMT

"There will be times that simply listening to concerns will be the positive outcome you are looking to achieve, in other situations listening will be one of the steps which needs to be taken towards achieving a positive outcome."

Post by Mike Ewing

In today’s work environment we are often faced with differing points of view which may lead to conflict which can derail our ability to get things done and work together effectively.

Wikipedia defines “Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of conflict and retribution. Committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively communicating information about their conflicting motives or ideologies to the rest of the group (e.g., intentions; reasons for holding certain beliefs) and by engaging in collective negotiation.”

Some people seem to be able to say the right thing no matter what the situation or choose the right medium for their message.

Simply stated, conflict management is the process of limiting the negative aspects of conflict while increasing the positive aspects of conflict. The question therefore becomes how do we convert negative energy into positive energy? It starts with effective communication.

Anytime communication takes place there is an opportunity for conflict to arise. In the workplace this is most often due to misunderstandings and/or a lack of information. In either case, providing an opportunity for discussion and questions can go a long way to mitigate conflict before it rears its head. During these discussions, discovering the source of the conflict is key as this will determine how to move forward to turn the negative conflict into a positive opportunity.

Taking this a step further, creating psychological safety will enable you to receive the feedback and questions you need to determine the true source of conflict. Creating a safe environment for discussion will also provide you with a solid foundation for achieving a positive outcome.

When dealing with conflict it is also important to remember to listen. There will be times that simply listening to concerns will be the positive outcome you are looking to achieve, in other situations listening will be one of the steps which needs to be taken towards achieving a positive outcome.

For the situations that require you to go beyond listening, we recommend investigating the conflict from different perspectives. An important element to remember at this stage is to keep your own bias in check so that you can be as objective as possible in reviewing and understanding the source of the conflict.

Once your investigation is complete determine whether there is an option for a common goal and how that might be achieved . This step may require further discussions therefore it’s important to continue to create a safe environment for all parties involved.

If a consensus can be achieved for a common goal that’s fantastic. However, this is not always possible and you may need to work towards gaining a commitment to the goal simply because at this time it is the best option to support the overall vision, mission and/or strategy. In this instance, shift the focus to where there is the greatest unity .

Lastly, remain diligent in monitoring the progress of the goal and/or resolution and learn from the experience . Conflict Management is a skill set that we can, and should, be constantly improving because this will help us in both our professional and personal relationships.

We will delve into this topic more deeply at our webinar on October 20 ^th @ 12:15pm, covering topics such as effective communication, including building personal credibility, delivering positive and negative messages, improving active listening skills, rephrasing for better relationships, dealing with difficult people, handling negative situations, and constructively resolving conflicts and problem solving.

To register for this FREE webinar please follow this link: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/webinar-handling-conflict-in-a-conflicting-world-tickets-191206001297

Holidays from Work

ejamischak@yahoo.ca (Elizabeth Jamischak) — Wed, 11 Aug 2021 16:28:34 GMT

Why is there still a stigma around taking holidays?

This blog post is an opinion piece written by Elizabeth Jamischak.

I just returned from a holiday and have been going through ‘holiday withdrawal’ since returning to work. It was the first time in years that it felt as though I had a true summer break, reminiscent of when I was growing up, which provided a much-needed reprieve from daily work and life decisions. (I realize that not everyone is in a position to take time off and I’m very grateful that I’ve been allowed this opportunity.)

Since returning and responding to the ‘how was your holiday’ question, I couldn’t help reflecting on two things:

Taking time out to slow down, unplug, de-stress and allow my mind to wander and dream is not valued or promoted enough in our North American work obsessed culture.
I’m grateful for the privilege of being able to take a holiday, however I’ve noticed that I tend to downplay its importance in fear it may be used against me.

Therefore, I wanted to share some 'food for thought' as it relates to time off to refresh and renew your mind, body and soul. (I know that may sound corny!)

Over the past decade awareness around mental health has come to the forefront, however there still remains a stigma associated with needing or wanting a break from work – especially if it's for more than one week.

This is occurring despite the many studies that confirm the following benefits from time away from work:

Reduced stress
Improved focus
Heart health
Improved sleep
Increased happiness & well-bring
Increased productivity
Increased job satisfaction
Boost energy reserves
Increased life expectancy
Improved relationships
Increased creativity
Increased analytical skills

Sources: https://osg.ca/importance-of-taking-holiday-time/ , https://www.corporatewellnessmagazine.com/article/power-holiday-employee-wellness , https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/60627/11-hidden-benefits-taking-more-holiday , https://www.allinahealth.org/healthysetgo/thrive/importance-of-taking-holiday https://hbr.org/2016/07/the-data-driven-case-for-vacation

Not surprisingly we also see that the top 10 happiest countries in the world have a government mandated ‘minimum’ number of paid holiday days ranging from 20-25 days NOT including public holidays or weekends.

*https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurabegleybloom/2021/03/19/the-20-happiest-countries-in-the-world-in-2021/?sh=443b00bd70a0

**https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minimum_annual_leave_by_country

Therefore, how can we take advantage of the benefits of holiday time? Here are a few important considerations:

Prioritize taking time off. Often, the first step to taking a holiday is realizing it’s necessary and believing that you deserve it. In our increasingly fast-paced world it is very easy to think we will fall behind, the work won’t get done as efficiently or effectively without me, and the business will fail. Additionally, our own insecurity about our dispensability at work or the worry of holiday-shaming may creep in. Don’t let this dissuade you from taking the necessary time to refresh.
Plan for your time off. Proper planning and preparation is an important element in ensuring you are able to fully relax and unwind (regardless of whether you stay in your backyard or travel the world). This includes looking at your personal and work calendars to determine the ideal time for vacation. For instance, is there a slow period at work where you won’t be overwhelmed when you return? We have found that allocating double the time of your holiday to prepping colleagues and/or clients prior to your leave will go a long way to making your time away, and the time you return, less stressful. (1 week holiday = 2 weeks prep / 4 weeks holiday = 8 weeks prep)
Take a full break from work while on holiday. Taking a full break can be the most difficult, yet likely the most important for ensuring you get the full benefit of your time away from work. If you find yourself unable to go to bed without checking your emails (or social media) one last time – try moving your device to another room. You could also consider choosing holiday locations where internet and phone service are unavailable forcing you to fully unplug. I realize these sound like extreme measures but for some of us (myself included) they are necessary in order to fully reset, slow down and re-energize.

The bottom line is that studies have shown that taking a fulsome holiday has real benefits for us - mentally, physically and emotionally. Holidays help us to be better in our jobs and careers, have better relationships with others and they increase our level of satisfaction and happiness with our lives. In my circumstance, I am confident that the organization I work with will benefit from my holiday time because I’ve returned feeling refreshed, energized and ready to renew my commitment to my family and job.

Our desire is that one day soon we will all be in a position to take the time we need (whether that's a couple of days or several weeks) to slow down and take a break.

Life Lessons

ejamischak@yahoo.ca (Elizabeth Jamischak) — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 15:14:28 GMT

How To Recognize Life Lessons

This month our monthly webinar was a ‘Lessons learned….’ webinar. This led to some discussion among our team about experiences and some reflection on the entire concept of how and what we define as being a ‘lesson’.

The Cambridge dictionary defines a lesson as

a. period of time in which a person is taught about a subject or how to do something and,

b. an experience that teaches you how to behave better in a similar situation in the future.

I don’t disagree with this definition however I believe there is an opportunity to dive deeper into what defines a ‘lesson’. Every day we learn things in our job, about ourselves, about other people, the world etc. and we also have multiple experiences every day which teaches and/or impacts us. However, the majority of these learnings and experiences are not classified as ‘lessons’ in our mind.

Therefore, how do we determine what to classify as a ‘lesson’ when we are not speaking of a formal and/or intentional setting?

I found one author who recommends asking 8 questions to determine whether you were taught a lesson and another who makes a case that we don’t recognize many life lessons because we haven’t been taught to think critically and do not take the time to allow ourselves to think. William Deresiewicz makes a very good point when he states ‘Thinking means concentrating on one thing long enough to develop an idea about it’ in his Solitude and Leadership lecture.

For me, the statement that we need time to develop an idea was a lightbulb moment. Let me explain… I’m writing to you from the Greater Toronto Area and am around the mid-point of my career. Until Covid-19 caused a forced slow down it felt as though life was a massive treadmill that we needed to continually push faster which is perfectly defined in Alabama’s song ‘I’m in a hurry’. This kind of mindset and lifestyle does not allow time for quiet and slow reflection which is necessary to consider past experiences, actions, motivations, words, behaviours and how they can be improved upon when similar situations and opportunities present themselves in the future.

This leads me to conclude that time is the key to recognizing, acknowledging, learning and applying life’s lessons . However, this conclusion leads to a follow-up question of how do we gain the time to reflect without falling behind in our responsibilities and obligations?

There are hundreds of articles, books, posts, podcasts and courses which can help to deal with this question including our own Lean Six Sigma courses which provide people with a standard approach to reducing and removing wasted time when completing tasks.

However, before you dive into a time management frenzy, I would like to challenge you to begin by taking just 5 mins a day to allow your mind to wander and see where it ends up. I will hazard a guess that in the beginning the wandering will mostly go to the things you should be doing instead of letting your mind wander, but I encourage you to persevere and make this a daily habit because I can almost guarantee that you will soon start to reflect and gain valuable insights and lessons. An added benefit is that allowing your mind to wander aids in problem solving , creativity and focus thus reducing time spent on problems and giving you MORE time to let your mind wander!

In conclusion, when we allow ourselves time to reflect we learn more about ourselves and the world around us which can then help us to become better contributors in our circle of influence and stewards of our world. Additionally, by taking the time to allow our mind to wander and reflect, we end up saving time overall because our ability to problem-solve, think critically and creatively is enhanced.

We would love to hear your thoughts on this post and any of the articles referenced so please join the conversation below!

If you would like to learn more about our Lean Six Sigma courses please reach out to us at info@ezsigmagroup.com .

Are you prepared for a WFH workforce?

ejamischak@yahoo.ca (Elizabeth Jamischak) — Wed, 05 May 2021 15:00:01 GMT

Five Things to Consider When Switching to WFH Permanently

Welcome to our second issue in our relaunched newsletter! We trust that you found something that piqued your interest or caused you to consider a different perspective last month.

One of our goals with this newsletter (and our blog) is to provide you with relevant, applicable and thought-provoking information & insights. Therefore, as we considered what to write about this month we landed on the topic of Working from Home (WFH).

As some of you are aware, EZSigma Group has conducted business as a virtual organization since 2001 therefore everyone associated with us has been able to WFH from the beginning. For the first decade there was an underlying perception that functioning virtually would hinder growth and be perceived negatively by our clients however, we began to notice a shift around a decade ago. Clients began to appreciate that our agility and flexibility was directly tied to our organization being virtual and what was once thought of as a hindrance became a competitive advantage. This was made even more evident last year when organizations were forced to shift to a WFH business model.

Fast forward 14 months and we are seeing the WFH discussions in the public forum revolve around whether organizations will continue to allow their staff to WFH when our economy fully opens up again.

With this in mind we wanted to provide you with five areas to consider and some questions to ask before moving to a permanent WFH workforce.

Infrastructure. We recognize that by this point most organizations have figured out how to technically function with a WFH staff. However, when considering permanent and/or long-term staff working from home, how will your organization support them? Will you be responsible for all of their equipment (computers, tables, chairs, headphones, internet connection etc.)? Will the expectation be that your staff pay for all of this on their own and the organization reimburses them? If your organization is using productivity tracking software will that continue? Will your staff need to sign additional disclosure agreements in case they are working on sensitive documents and a spouse/partner/friend/family member visits their home office space and can see that information?
Communication. For the last several months we have been hearing about zoom fatigue and/or online meeting fatigue. Therefore, what will be the primary mode of communication for permanent WFH staff? Will management make themselves more available for staff to respond quickly to questions? Has your organization developed a ‘Communication Schedule’ to ensure everyone is receiving updated information and people aren’t feeling siloed or stranded because they WFH?
Expectations. There is a large potential for expectations to be misaligned between management and staff as to what WFH will look like on a permanent basis. Therefore, has your management team and HR sat down to discuss managing expectations for your WFH staff? Has there been consideration of the articles and social media posts touting the benefits of WFH because you can take a yoga class in the middle of the day? What type of lifestyle will your WFH staff expect? How will your organization manage and maintain trust between management and staff without infringing on personal rights & freedoms? Will the option to WFH be offered to everyone in your organization? Will you manage WFH staff who have never had a FT job differently than those who are in the middle or towards the end of their career differently?
Culture. There has been a lot of discussion about culture over the last year. In fact, we hosted a webinar last month on the topic of ‘Business Organizational Culture through Governance and Strategic Planning’. Therefore, does a WFH culture align with your organization’s values and Strategic Plan? How will permanent WFH staff impact or shift the culture of your organization? Is your organization prepared for people to potentially shift their focus from work being their #1 priority to their personal life being their #1 priority? Has your organization revisited their succession planning process so that staff who WFH are not excluded from the opportunity to advance?
Engagement. There is an inherent feeling of freedom with WFH and the potential (in a lot of cases a guarantee) for distractions. Therefore, how will your organization continue to engage your staff who WFH? Will more freedom for projects be offered? If so, how will this impact your staff who don’t WFH & how will this impact your culture? Is there a risk that your organization will be perceived as enabling privilege by offering actual or perceived ‘perks’ to those who WFH? Will staff be allowed to work based on their personal peak performance levels throughout the day? (ex. can ‘night owls’ begin working later in the day?)

These are many of the questions which we at EZSigma Group have dealt with over the last 20 years as a virtual organization and we have no doubt that many organizations have dealt with these questions over the past year as well.

In closing, we encourage organizations that are considering a permanent WFH staff to revisit these questions through a long-term lens and to seriously consider whether a WFH workforce aligns with the purpose, values and reputation of your organization.

We are also happy to chat with you about our lessons learned so feel free to reach out to Mike Ewing at mewing@ezsigmagroup.com or you can contact me at lstuart@ezsigmagroup.com .

Written by Elizabeth Jamischak

May 5, 2021 Blog Post

Newsletter Relaunch

ejamischak@yahoo.ca (Elizabeth Jamischak) — Mon, 12 Apr 2021 20:06:23 GMT

Welcome to the updated Newsletter!

With all of the challenges we have faced over this past year, we have taken the opportunity to step back and review our purpose and what that means for you, our clients, friends, partners and subscribers. A couple of outcomes of this process was to give our website a makeover to better reflect our values and passions and to relaunch this newsletter to provide you with curated content on a monthly basis.

This newsletter has been structured into 4 sections:

1x blog post

2x articles of interest

3x upcoming events

4x Survey questions

We trust you will find this newsletter to be a valued addition to your inbox and we are always happy to receive your feedback on ways we can improve.

Have a wonderful April and enjoy this month’s content!

In Conversation With....

ejamischak@yahoo.ca (Elizabeth Jamischak) — Thu, 25 Feb 2021 21:31:37 GMT

Conversation with Darryl Tooley, Lean Green Belt & Lean Black Belt Alumni

Lean Six Sigma sometimes receive a bad rap - that it's outdated and/or only applicable to manufacturing. Therefore, we thought it would be worthwhile to share some thoughts from one of our Alumni on their experience and whether Lean has in fact been beneficial for their career.

The conversation below is with Darryl Tooley from SE LHIN. At the time his role was Senior Consultant, Performance Optimization.

What program did you complete?
Both Lean Green Belt and Lean Black Belt

How have you been able to apply the tools and skills on the job?
My role within healthcare focuses on performance optimization which has benefited greatly from Lean training. By looking at things through the Lean lens I am better able to identify waste, quality issues, and processes that need an overhaul. In healthcare it was often a case of if it isn’t broke it doesn’t require change; however as the economic environment has changed a greater focus has been placed on ensuring care is provided in the most economical way possible. Using lean tools, I am able to lead health service providers through robust reviews of their existing processes with the goal of reducing waste and more efficiently utilizing limited resources.

Have you seen tangible cost saving results from LSS projects?
Through both internal and external projects I have seen tangible cost savings through more efficient utilization of resources, in one case reducing a 3 week process to 1 week with a corresponding reduction in staff time and effort.

How has this designation impacted your career?
It has provided a level of respect and comfort with others when I am leading performance optimization and quality improvement initiatives that I am very skilled and knowledgeable in the ability to lead them through a process to identify waste. Personally it has added a number of additional skills to my repertoire and increased my ability to take on more complicated projects.

How would you recommend presenting a case for implementing LSS?
In many businesses, including healthcare, the bottom line is often the only thing that matters. Through Lean a lot of savings are not “money in the hand” type savings, instead savings are seen through more efficient use of scarce resources and reduction in wasted effort. If someone were to put together a case for LSS training it would be best to focus on quality and waste as many don’t realize how costly waste and low quality can be because they don’t see the direct link on their budget statements.

For more information on EZSigma services or course please visit our website.

This post was written by Elizabeth Jamischak

In Conversation With...

ejamischak@yahoo.ca (Elizabeth Jamischak) — Tue, 23 Feb 2021 23:45:43 GMT

Discussion with Mike Norman, Lean Initiative Specialist

What is your experience with Lean and/or Six Sigma?

In 2005 I was introduced to Lean while in the automotive sector. The company trained Leadership on Lean and the theory of constraints while facilitating small Kaizens throughout the plant to improve throughput. In 2009 I moved to Healthcare and our organization had the opportunity to participate in a Ministry funded Emergency Department wait time initiative. The Leadership Team quickly realized the benefit of using a Lean methodology with positive patient and staff outcomes associated with Lean. This led to an organizational shift in culture to continuously improve on a daily basis while making Lean part of the framework for organizational strategy. Over the years I have been privileged to be coached and mentored by CEO’s, Vice Presidents and expert consultants of various organizations helping to lay the foundation that allows Lean to be front and center in organizational strategy.

What are the top 2 benefits you've seen since embarking with Lean and/or Six Sigma? (culture, moral, customer experience, finance?)

I would have to say that employee engagement has to be the top benefit I have seen and experienced with a culture of Continuous Improvement. As an organization matures with Lean, employee engagement is not only vital but very rewarding to see all of the outcomes associated with improving services. The second benefit would be structure. Using a Lean approach allows an organization to focus from a top down, bottom up approach. Leadership setting the direction while employees are given the knowledge and tools to deliver on the expectations while improving service delivery. Using visual management to be transparent and to turn problems into opportunities.

What are the top 2 biggest challenges?

Buy-in and sustainability. Having a common understanding and message from Senior Leaders throughout the entire Leadership team is critical. In no way do I mean to sound like this is a challenge rather a necessity. What Lean is and isn’t how we transition into a culture of continuous improvement and most importantly the why. Having the buy-in and commitment from Leadership is what I believe is the first step in creating the behaviour, habits and culture of continuous improvement. Lean cannot be one more thing off on the side of your desk and in some cases, Leaders think Lean is the silver bullet that transforms an organization into greatness. When people truly embrace and commit to Lean the improvements and sustainable gains are endless.

What are your best practices for getting people engaged in this cultural shift?

At times Lean has gotten a bad rap, often because it’s not done for the right reason or because people don’t have the right information. Having employees know the why and what’s in it for them goes a long way towards buy-in and participation. Engaging the experts at the sharp end of service delivery. Enabling your employees with knowledge tools and techniques to better understand value from the customers perspective and empowering the employees to remove the non-value add and seek perfection.

Uncertain Times - Repost from 2019

ejamischak@yahoo.ca (Elizabeth Jamischak) — Tue, 23 Feb 2021 23:42:16 GMT

Can Lean Thinking Help the Middle Class?

‘In these uncertain times’…. has become a very common phrase in articles relating to economics, housing, politics, world governments and global warming and I suspect that many of us have heard it, or read it, so often now that it has lost meaning and the ability for us to sit up and take notice.

I am not a doomsday prophet nor economist nor activist, I am simply a Canadian citizen who does my best to stay apprised of what is going on in our country and in my own backyard which brings me to the topic, and question, of this article which is ‘Can Lean Thinking Help the Middle Class?’.

Reading through the 2018 Fall Economic Statement: Investing in Middle Class Jobs I find myself entertaining the thought that all is sunny and bright in Canada, the middle class are prospering, the government is a loving uncle and we will have more money in our pockets by year-end. However, I then look at my email only to find a report by RBC that states that across Canada the average percentage of household income required for home ownership is 53.9% and in the Toronto area that rises to 75.9%!

To add salt to the wound we are also being told that we should not be spending more than 30% of our income on housing. Clearly, 2+2 no longer equals 4.

The question then remains; as middle class citizens, how do we own a home, save for the future, feed our family, pay for the kids education and pay the ever fluctuating gas prices to get to the jobs which don’t give us enough money to do those items listed above! (Never mind clothing, healthcare, holidays, special occasions, charitable donations, home renovations, car repairs etc.).

I would like to posit that we consider implementing some Lean thinking into our daily lives. According to Wikipedia, Lean Thinking is defined as ‘a business methodology that aims to provide a new way to think about how to organize human activities to deliver more benefits to society and value to individuals while eliminating waste’.

The trending cultural or urban idea for this is ‘minimalism’ or for those that prefer Swedish terms it is called ‘Lagom’. Any way you look at it, it’s about learning to reduce (and ideally eliminate) waste (or clutter or excess spending) and become more efficient with our time. How often do we purchase items we don’t need? We throw out leftover food because we cook too much? We waste gas by not properly planning after-school activities? We purchase homes that we will spend a fortune on to furnish so that it looks and feels ‘cozy’? We delay going to the doctor because ‘we don’t have the time’ only to end up taking off way more time in the end because we are so sick? The list goes on and on.

Therefore, instead of only thinking about how to become more efficient with our time and resources in our professional life, perhaps 2019 is the year that we apply Lean Thinking and principles to our personal lives.

We would love to hear your thoughts on this topic. Have you ever applied Lean thinking to your personal life? Do you believe it would make a difference to the middle class in Canada as a whole?