And yet, still more from AACC/ASCLS Los Angeles: Six Sigma in Theory and Practice

Posted by Sten Westgard, MS

Dr. Westgard participated in more than one industry workshop on Tuesday, July 17th. He started his morning off with a talk on the theory and principles of Six Sigma and Sigma-metrics. But in this workshop, sponsored by Abbott Diagnostics, he also had the pleasure of appearing with Dr. Joseph Litten of Winchester Medical Center, which is part of the ValleyHealth system. Dr. Litten has taken all of those theories and put them into practice.

Dr. Westgard and Dr. Litten

Dr. Litten used Sigma-metrics to assess the performance of instrument vendors, then once the selection was made, use Sigma-metrics again to verify that performance was living up to their expectations. Happily, his analysis found that the instrument was performing even better than expected.

It's gratifying to see practical real-world examples of the use of Six Sigma and Sigma-metrics. Dr. Litten has done some fine work and shows real dedication to quality. We hope to be able to share more of his story in the future.

Thanks to Abbott Diagnostics and Dr. Litten and to all those (200+!) who attended the lecture.