Abstract

All Six Sigma professionals should be using critical thinking in their work. What many people fail to understand is the critical thinking started with the PDCA cycle that Dr Deming created. This talk traces the Deming cycle and demonstrates how critical thinking underlies it.

About the Presenter

Jim Bossert is a Continuous Improvement Lead at Oncor Electric Delivery in Fort Worth, Texas. Prior to that Jim was a PerformanceExcellence Manager at JPS Hospital, where he worked on High Reliability Initiatives. He has been actively involved in quality and process improvement in all levels of management for over 35 years. He has presented at numerous conferences as well as written papers and webinars to share with others his learnings. His experiences in a variety of industries have allowed him to help many diverse industries in the implementation of Rapid Process Improvement. Some of these industries are automotive manufacturing and design, chemical and process manufacturing, mobile phones, banking and finance, healthcare, performance excellence consulting, software development and teaching. Dr. Bossert has certified Green Belts, Black Belts and Master Black Belts in these industries. He was named Quality Magazine’s Quality Professional of the Year in 2018.

Jim has authored the Supplier Management Handbook (6 th Edition) and Supplier Certification among other books. He is an ASQ Fellow, he received the Distinguished Service Medal from ASQ in 2012. Dr.Bossert received his MBB from GE. He is the past editor of the Six Sigma Forum magazine. Jim received his PhD from Indiana State University in Technology Management specializing in Quality Systems. He received his MS in Applied Math and Statistics from the Rochester Institute of Technology. He is an ASQ Certified Quality Engineer, Certified Quality Auditor, Six Sigma Black Belt, Six Sigma Master Black Belt, and Certified Quality Manager/Operational Excellence. He also has his CHPQ certification and is a reviewer for the Journal for Healthcare Quality.

Abstract

This webinar introduces binary logistic regression as a fundamental statistical and machine learning method for modeling outcomes with two possible states, focusing on how it estimates the probability of an event using the logistic (sigmoid) function rather than a linear relationship. It covers the key assumptions of logistic regression while explaining, intuitively, why these assumptions are necessary for valid and reliable inference. Participants will learn how to interpret model performance and goodness of fit using key indicator measures with emphasis on distinguishing statistical significance from practical usefulness. The webinar also highlights real-world applications, including the Challenger disaster in aeronautics, where logistic regression models failure probability under varying temperatures, and health sciences examples, where it is used to predict disease outcomes and assess risk factors, providing attendees with both conceptual understanding and practical insight for applying logistic regression in diverse fields. Logistic regression is a tool usually covered in Master Black Belt curricula for Six Sigma.

About Ernesto
Ernesto Luis Garcia Contreras is an engineer who adds value to any organization through process improvement, management science, operations research, data science/machine learning/ business intelligence, mathematical modeling, and statistical analysis.

He has supported large and small organizations in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. He lectures on production and manufacturing systems, quality engineering, operations management, machine learning, and statistical analysis at different universities worldwide. He is a faculty member at Florida State University, in charge of capstone design for Industrial and Manufacturing Engineers at FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. He is also the Managing Director of Appaloosa Engineering, a consulting company specializing in applied optimization, data science, and process improvement.

Ernesto graduated from Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) with a bachelor's degree in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering. He holds a Master's in Business Administration and a Master’s in Managerial Economics from EGADE-ITESM. As a Fulbright scholar, he received a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Missouri-Columbia.