Aaron U. Bolin, Ph.D.

After completing the one-day Evelyn Wood Reading Dynamics course yesterday, I felt compelled to comment on the course techniques from a Continuous Process Improvement perspective. In a very simple sense, the course is a Lean Six Sigma project on the reading process. The reading techniques eliminate a lot of variation in the process, cut out some non-value added reading steps, set a reading takt time using a 'pacer', and provide clearer instructions to the 'users' of the reading process. After completing the material, I really did double my reading speed and increase my comprehension. The Evelyn Wood reading process (like most post-improvement processes) really is better and faster. Next, I went home and did the thing that frustrates every CPI practitioner: I abandoned the new and improved process in favor of the more familiar though less efficient pre-improvement process. I read a book using my tired, broken-down method. It was a little eye opening to realize that even

Yellow Belt students "manufacturing" Lego (TM) pyramids are very intense (from our March 27-29, 2012 class). We ran the process simulation across three rounds. In the first round, the five student teams collectively delivered 25 pyramids. After training and the application of process improvement techniques, production skyrocketed. In round three, the same five student teams delivered 245 pyramids. Although we fell short of the 250 pyramid goal, we were successful in eliminating waste, reducing process variation, and managing the system constraints. Increasing production in a simulated environment by 1,000 percent is difficult but achievable. Now, we've just need to take the lessons back to the real world and apply them.

We took a different approach to Lean Six Sigma training for the Society of Hispanic Engineers Eastern Leadership Technical Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico on February 24, 2012. We did three things that were just a little bit different from our normal approach: 1. We adapted the Navy's Lean Six Sigma curriculum to offer it in a workshop format. The hands-on nature of the workshop format aligned well with the typical curriculum already, but we had to make some adjustments for the space and time constraints of a conference workshop. 2. We simplified the process simulation just a little bit to minimize the materials requirements. We put together a meaningful simulation experience using only a single piece of paper. It made it a lot easier to travel with the materials. 3. We increased the enrollment cap from 20 seats to 60. The 20 seat limit was originally set to make the instruction highly interactive. To maintain the interactivity, we incorporated more co-facilitators for th

When I teach lean six sigma tools and techniques, I always emphasize the importance of application. Withouth projects that produce results, lean six sigma is only another empty training program about solving problems. Regardless of what I say or do during training, the transition from student to practitioner is sometimes slow. The slowness of the student-to-pracitioner transition is partly due to my unique organizational circumstances. I am building on the ruins of a previous lean six sigma deployment. The earlier deployment team had built infrastructure to the point of critical mass; the project pipeline was flowing and beginning to produce real operational results. Then leadership changed and the effort was abruptly cancelled -- existing project teams were disbanded. The re-deployment investment for the current effort consists of one half-time black belt (me) and a small office supply budget. With those resources, I am deploying lean six sigma to a nation-wide enterprise of a few tho

As a Continuous Process Improvement (CPI) Program Manager, I really enjoy delivering training. I feel effective when I weather the initial storm of doubt and resistance from trainees: "CPI is another management flavor of the month...," "CPI is just a rehash of Total Quality Management...," "How is this different than process re-engineering (or any of dozens of brands of process improvement." After a few hours, I can literally see the conversions start taking place as very smart people realize that the processes that they manage are not smart. By the end of the training, only a few hold-outs still remain: individuals who still see no value in the techniques and tools associated with improving processes. Needless to say, I was surprised when I realized that I don't care about process improvement. Process improvement, for me, is only a means to an end. The only reason I want our organizational processes to be improved is to improve our organizational pe

As 1 of 1 employees responsible for our local Continuous Process Improvement (CPI) program, expanding awareness of and involvement in the program can be a challenge. In fact, it is even a bit more challenging because 50% of my position is devoted to other project work. Even providing training can be difficult. If I'm out of the office for several days to deliver training, then both the CPI program and my other job duties suffer. We recently took advantage of the fact that the local cadre of Green Belts were eager to exercise their knowledge of lean six sigma principles to offer a Yellow Belt course. The standard Yellow Belt curriculum that we use is two full days of instruction and is led by a Black Belt. Our team team altered the training schedule so that the course could be offered in a three half-day format. I served as the Black Belt lead instructor, with three Green Belts sharing the instructional duties. The re-worked schedule and the abundance of instructors worked won

Unfolding the Napkin: The Hands-on Method for Soliving Complex Problems with Simple Pictures by Dan Roam (list price: $20.00; 2009 Penguin Group). Dan Roam is really cool; I really enjoyed this book. Yes, the pictures are kind of corny. Yes, the examples are kind of cartoonish. Yes, the exercises seem like they are from kindergarten. But somehow Roam has taken corny, cartoonish, kindergarten tasks and turned them into something really useful. I read this book and enjoyed it, but I didn't get the full value of the content until I went back and worked the exercises. Though I don't remember what SQVID stands for or any of the other organizing schemes that Roam uses, I really did learn something from his very original presentation of simple visual thinking tools. In the process of working through the exercises in the book, I distilled the complexities of my work into four intuitive pictographs. My boss at the time hated these pictographs for some reason, but the value of the pictog