Business Excellence Consulting
Leading Edge Methodologies
Experience
Pragmatism
info@rgcl.co.uk

There are many hundreds of tools and techniques, which can be used individually, or as part of an overall improvement methodology. We offer a comprehensive range of training, coaching, facilitation and support in a huge range of tools, many of which are listed at the bottom of this page. However, the following deserve a special mention:

  • Data Manipulation: not a tool, but a set of techniques and skills that are essential for anyone using any of the many 'data based' / statistical tools, or involved in business diagnostics, simulation or modelling. This is one of the most overlooked areas of personal and corporate capability development. Generally, people are trained how to collect data and how to analyse it. However, they are rarely trained how to convert their raw data into something they can actually use! This is one of our most frequently requested services [more…]
  • Data Solutions: from simulations to bespoke analytical spreadsheets - we can write them for you, or train and coach you to do it yourself! [more…]

New key tools can be an effective way of increasing productivity and capability

  • Statistical Tools There are many different statistical tools, which provide powerful new ways of understanding your products, processes or services. Most of these are taught and coached as part of part of Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma programmes. However, we also offer training, coaching, facilitation and support in the individual tools [more…]
  • Complexity is an area that is often talked about, but rarely acted upon. Why? - Often because of a lack of knowledge of its negative impact, it's sometimes confused with variety (the positive variations required by customers) and also because people aren't sure what they can do about it [more…]
  • Design tools, techniques, processes and management systems and are critical for all businesses, whether they design products, services, or just their processes. We offer a wide range of services centred around design, from business diagnostics and Design for Six Sigma, through to training, coaching, facilitation and support in the specific tools, such as FMEA, QFD and TRIZ (+ many more) [more…]
  • Product Cost Reduction techniques can be used to reduce unnecessary cost from existing products or services. The design of both the products and the processes that deliver them are critically reviewed with your experts to identify opportunities for cost reduction [more…]
  • FMEA or 'Failure Mode & Effects Analysis' is an extremely powerful quality tool that prevents defects by considering how things might fail and putting appropriate controls in place. Process FMEA is the most commonly used type . However, System (Concept) FMEA and Design FMEA can be even more powerful, as more change is possible at these stages of development, making it possible to avoid many failure modes altogether! [more…]
  • Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is a powerful design tool, which prioritises requirements and translates them into specific deliverables at key stages of development, ensuring that what is delivered is ultimately linked to the customers' requirements. QFD contains the four ‘Houses of Quality’ (HOQ). However, many companies only use the first house of quality and other methods in place of houses two to four. We offer a flexible approach to suit your needs [more…]
  • Management systems are the way we actually manage our business processes (ie. what we really do, rather than what we think we do, or would like it to be). There are many tools that can be used to understand and improve our Management Systems [more…]

More tools on the Methodologies pages (please click as appropriate): Lean and Kaizen, Six Sigma (DMAIC and Design for Six Sigma), Shainin, TRIZ, or contact us to discuss your requirements

We offer consultancy (diagnostics, project definition, projects, deployments, training and coaching in the following tools, techniques and methodologies:

Basic Lean Concepts

  • Value Add / Non-Value Add (VA / NVA)
  • Taiichi Ohno’s 7 Wastes (Muda)
  • TAKT time
  • Deming Cycle
  • Just In Time (JIT)
  • Kanban
  • Go to the workplace (Gemba)
  • Kaizen & Kaizen Blitz (Kaikaku)
  • 5S
  • Mistake Proofing (Poka Yoke, Poke Yoke)
  • Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED)
  • Cost of Quality (CoQ, CoPQ)

Advanced Lean Concepts

  • Goldratt - Theory of Constraints & Bottlenecks
  • Level Scheduling (Heijunka)
  • Runners, Repeaters and Strangers
  • Autonomation (Jidoka)
  • Agile Design and Manufacture (Mass customisation, late point differentiation)
  • Supply Chain Flexibility Mapping (P-time studies)
  • Zero Defect Manufacture (ZDM) / Zero Quality Control (ZQC)
  • Cellular Manufacture, Group Technology & Flexible Manufacturing
  • Moments of Truth
  • Product Design Tools – see Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) section

Basic Quality Tools

  • Pareto Analysis
  • Cause & Effect Diagrams (Fishbone, Ishikawa)
  • Concentration Diagrams (Measles chart)
  • Check Sheets
  • Five Whys
  • Affinity Diagrams

Mapping Tools

  • Process Chart
  • Flowcharting
  • Process Maps
  • Spaghetti Diagrams
  • SIPOC

Further Quality Tools

  • FMEA Overview
  • Concept / System FMEA
  • Design FMEA
  • Process FMEA
  • QFD (Basic, 4 Houses of Quality)
  • Complexity (OFD)
  • Design For Assembly
  • Design For Manufacture
  • Mistake/Error Proofing (Poka Yoke)
  • CoPQ (Cost of Poor Quality)
  • Taguchi Robust Design (system, parameter, tolerance)
  • Tolerancing strategies
  • QFD (Basic, 4 Houses of Quality)
  • Components search
  • Process search
  • Variables search
  • B vs. C

Graphical Data Analysis

  • Histograms
  • Boxplots
  • Run charts (Time series plots)
  • Scatter diagrams
  • Multi-Vari Charts
  • Interaction charts

Process Control

  • Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)
  • Out of Control Action Plans (OCAP)
  • Gauge control plans
  • Control Plans & planning
  • Positrol
  • Process Certification
  • Pre-Control

Basic Statistical Tools

  • Basic Statistics
  • Statistical Process Control (Run charts, Control Charts: X & R, X & s, np, p, c, u, etc)
  • Process Capability (Cp, CpL, CpU, CpK, Pp, PpL, PpU, PpK, Zst, Zlt, PPM)
  • Correlation
  • Regression - Simple Linear
  • Data Types
  • Data Collection / Sampling Techniques

Further Statistical Tools

  • Central Limit Theorem
  • Confidence Intervals
  • Power and Sample size
  • Regression - Non-linear (quadratic, cubic)
  • Multiple Regression)
  • Gauge R&R (Attribute, Continuous, Destructive)
  • Process Capability - Non-normal (Binomial, Poisson, Weibull)
  • CUSUM (+V mask)
  • EWMA
  • Transforming Non-normal Data (Box Cox, Johnson)
  • Process Yield Calculation
  • Span
  • Stable Operations methodology
  • Paired comparisons

Hypothesis testing

  • Introduction to Hypothesis testing
  • General tests for averages (1 sample Z test, 1 sample t-test, 2 sample t-test, paired t – test, t-test - 2 Sample, 1 proportion test, 2 proportion test)
  • Tests for spread / dispersion (F-test, Levene’s test, Bartlett’s test)
  • ANOVA (1 way, 2 way, Balanced, MANOVA, General Linear Model, General, Nested)
  • Chi Square test
  • Non-Parametric tests (1 sample Sign, 1 sample Wilcoxon, Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney, Moods Median test)
  • Normality Testing (Andersen-Darling, Ryan-Joiner, Shapiro-Wilk, Komologorov-Smirnov)

Design of Experiments (DoE)

  • Introduction to DoE
  • 2 Level - Linear DoE (Full, Fractional, Plackett-Burman, Blocking, main effects plots, interaction plots, etc)
  • 3 Level - Non-linear DoE (CCD, Box Benkhen, Response Surface Methodology and contour plots)
  • Taguchi Designs

Reliability

  • Sequential Probability Ratio Testing (SPRT)
  • MEOST
  • Accelerated Life Testing (ALT)

Management

  • Hoshin Policy Deployment
  • Management Systems
  • Short Interval Control (SIC)
  • Project Status Reporting
  • Six Sigma Roles (Champion, GB, BB, MBB)
  • Project Charter
  • Critical Path Analysis
  • Gantt Charts
  • Network Charts
  • PERT Charts
  • Time Management
  • Mental planning models (GRPI, TSRE, OSCA)
  • Building a Financial benefits & results case
  • Certification Requirements
  • Design Scorecards

Tactical skills

  • Change Management
  • Conflict Management
  • Effective Meetings
  • Faces of resistance
  • Facilitation
  • Stakeholder analysis
  • Leadership
  • Team building

Creative Tools

  • Brainstorming
  • TRIZ

Organisational Tools & Prioritisation

  • Affinity Diagrams
  • Pugh Matrix

Customer Focus

  • VoC
  • VoB
  • Identifying Customer Needs (Focus Groups, Surveys, Affinity Diagrams, etc)
  • CTQ Flowdown
  • Kano Model
  • Taguchi Loss Function

Data Analysis

  • Data Manipulation (basic, intermediate, advanced)
  • Minitab™ (basic, intermediate, advanced, bespoke)
  • JMP™ (basic, intermediate, advanced, bespoke)

More Tools

Please contact us to discuss your requirements

Minitab is a trademark of Minitab Inc.

JMP is a trademark of SAS Institute