After 35 years implementing Lean Six Sigma across oil refineries, hospital operating rooms, and semiconductor manufacturing floors, I share the authentic insights that textbooks don't teachβreal stories, hard-won lessons, and practical wisdom from the trenches of process excellence.
Excellence has no industry boundaries. The same principles that prevent oil platform disasters improve patient outcomes and optimize manufacturing yields. Understanding all three reveals patterns invisible to single-sector experts.
Safety-critical .excellence across global energy operations and major capital projects
Cost reduction & drilling efficiency
Speed to first oil acceleration
Major capital project optimization
Clinical process excellence focused on patient safety and quality performance outcomes
Patient safety improvement
Clinical quality optimization
Evidence-based protocol implementation
Precision manufacturing excellence from semiconductor assembly to Fortune 500 operations
Statistical process control mastery
Yield optimization strategies
Quality system implementation
Essential frameworks developed through 35 years across three industries. These comprehensive guides form the foundation of cross-industry operational excellence.
Practical wisdom from oil platforms, clinical settings, and manufacturing floors.
The journey from statistics professor to Master Black Belt wasn't planned. It happened through failures that taught more than successes, patterns that emerged across unlikely places, and moments when textbook solutions failed completely.
With a Master's in Statistics and Economics degree, the foundation was academic. But real education came from semiconductor clean rooms where microscopic variations cost millions, drilling platforms where safety protocols save lives, and hospital units where quality metrics reflect human outcomes.
This platform shares those insights. Practical wisdom from $4.4 billion in value creation across 21 countries. Not theories, but tested approaches. Not best practices, but patterns that actually work. The intersection of three industries reveals solutions invisible to single-sector experts.
Continuing active practice of Lean Six Sigma and continuous process improvement while documenting these lessons for the next generation of operational leaders. Because excellence shouldn't depend on having 35 years to learn it yourself.
"Excellence follows patterns. Whether preventing explosions on drilling platforms, infections in hospitals, or defects in semiconductors; the principles remain constant. Master one deeply, understand all three broadly, and solutions become obvious. "
- Maria Milo
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Copyright Β©οΈ 2025 Maria Milo | Real Insights From the Field
CEO at Variance Reduction International (VRI) | Serving Oil & Gas, Healthcare, and Manufacturing Globally