Dave Berry, Aircom's CFO and General Cousel, was a guest author for the "Voices from the Industry" feature in the June 16, 2008, edition of the Indianapolis Business Journal. He offered six tools for continuous process improvement that smaller manufacturing companies should consider as practical and effective alternatives to Six Sigma.

Here's part of what Dave had to say about Six Sigma Options:

While many manufacturing companies are implementing Six Sigma for continuous process improvement, it may not be the most practical solution for every company.Smaller manufacturers can benefit from applying many of the tools found in the Six Sigma methodology, but on a more manageable scale for daily process improvement.

While far from a complete list, the following six practical tools may be used by smaller companies who are motivated to continually streamline production and improve productivity: Key performance indicators (KPIs), Production setup, Corrective action/preventive action (CAPA), Freight-out, Tracking Scrap, and Process flow charting.

To read the full article, visit this link at IBJ.com.

While not all companies are eager to adopt Six Sigma (and its associated costs), there are many practical tools to help your company improve processes and boost its bottom line.