The origin of old stories is hard to verify. This story could be true or not, but I like it anyway: The lead engineer at the famous Lockheed Skunk Works, Clarence Leonard "Kelly" Johnson, made the phrase "Keep it simple stupid", KISS. He was an advocate for frugal innovation long before the term was coined. It is told that he gave the engineering team of a new jet aircraft a set of very basic tools, such that every average mechanic could use. Then he gave guidance to the team that the new high-tech military plane they were designing must be repairable with these basic tools in the field under combat conditions.
"Keep it simple stupid."
Keeping this story in mind, let's talk about Lean Six Sigma. I'll bet everyone agrees the idea is excellent. Keep the business processes straightforward (Lean) and variations under control (Six Sigma), avoiding all kinds of waste. We know that Lean Six Sigma is not only about "quality" as in "is this within quality specs or not". It's also about whether things are happening as fast as they should and with as low costs as should.
We know that Lean Six Sigma is not only about "quality".
I wonder, what Mr. Johnson from Lockheed would say today if his average mechanics would be given tools such as "variable control charts, Laney P' chart, time-weighted control charts, and generalized variance" in order to keep the production process up and running in an optimal way. KISS?
Mr. Johnson would probably love Quva. We tackle the complexity of Big Data analytics and keep things simple for the users. Don't get me wrong, it is OK to have quality engineers armed with hundreds(?) of possible statistical analyses tools and files full of historical data. I've personally known many such guys and they are brilliant - they often have a deep, unique understanding of what goes on at the factory. The important thing for production and business management is to remember, that this is not enough.
Quality and optimal production is made every minute and every second by all the workers on the production line.
Someone has to be "the Johnson in the company". He must require good, simple tools for all those people, who actually run the production and keep things in a good shape. Tools, that utilize much more data than the spreadsheets, are online instead of memories from the past, and learn by themselves. And still, are simple to use. Did I already mention Quva?
With KISSes,
Harri
AI and data analytics enthusiast passionate for simple solutions with the maximum business impact
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