Lean Six Sigma for Hospitals: Simple Steps to Fast, Affordable, and Flawless Healthcare

CHAPTER 4Reducing Defects with Six Sigma

Using simple charts, I’ve helped teams save $20 million in just one year. The concept is over 100 years old. It’s referenced often in every management book ever written. And it all began with an Italian economist who noticed a simple disparity in incomes. But few people know how to leverage its power in business.

In 1995, I was struggling with the complexities and inherent problems of a huge telecommunications company. Sitting at my desk, I was staring at a vast spreadsheet of facts and figures about postage costs for the company’s bills. With a cranky vice president sitting upstairs waiting for my results, I decided to do a simple analysis. There had to be a pattern to the steady increases in postage ...