Applying Lean and Six Sigma to Process Industries
Posted by: meikah | 25 August 2008 | 9:47 pm
Undeniably, the two most popular process improvement methodologies in use today are lean manufacturing and Six Sigma. For every type of waste you encounter, you either use lean or Six Sigma.
Lean manufacturing, for example, has identified seven types of waste:
- Over-production: Producing too much, too soon.
- Inventory: Extra production required to buffer process variability.
- Transportation: Movement of materials without adding value.
- Waiting: Increasing production cycle time without adding value.
- Movement: Movement of operators without adding value.
- Defects: Product that does not conform to customer specifications.
- Over-processing: Processing a material more than is necessary to meet customer specifications.
Of these seven, the waiting, defects, and over-processing exist in process manufacturing. These wastes are fertile ground for the application of lean and Six Sigma methodologies.
Product changeovers, which in process manufacturing can sometimes take 18 hours or more, are an example of waiting waste. Defects are the result of production of material that does not meet the specifications of the downstream internal/external customer. Over-processing occurs when the material is processed to a greater extent than is required by the downstream customer. All of these add to costs and can be reduced and/or eliminated through the use of these methodologies.
Read more…
Source:
Reliable Plant
Filed under: Manufacturing, Lean Six Sigma, Processes, Lean Manufacturing, Lean, Six Sigma
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Six Sigma in the Training and Developing Future IT Workforce
Posted by: meikah | 25 August 2008 | 9:13 pm
Over at Training Zone, Paul Lambert, managing consultant at PA Consulting Group, shares his insights on some of the key factors shaping the workforce, the implications for how a workforce learns and how learning and development (L&D) can address these issues.
Toward the end of the Q&A, the topic was how to make the shift to developing a capable IT workforce, and Mr Lambert offers four steps. On the fourth step, which is picking the right learning approaches, this is what he said:
A shift towards building ’strategic capability’ typically involves a greater focus on learning that is more embedded in business activity. For instance, the energy firm shifted towards learning that included development of six sigma skills (to enable IT process improvement), accreditation of knowledge and skills for a new service delivery model (ITIL), development of professional networks inside and outside the firm and support for IT career development.
Filed under: Training, Six Sigma, IT, ITIL, Productivity
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When Six Sigma and other Improvements Come from the Leadership
Posted by: meikah | 25 August 2008 | 8:44 pm
Inspired by Six Sigma and Toyota model of management, Windber Medical Center President F. Nicholas Jacobs has mandated quality healthcare.
One good thing about this is that the Johnstown, PA government is also helping out the healthcare industry in the area by launching a three-pronged approach to improve quality in healthcare:
- Pushing quality through public reporting.
- Enforcing quality through the False Claims Act.
- Incentivizing quality through payment reform.
Supplementing this approach is the “pay for performance” for physicians and hospitals. In other word, the government will be rewarding people for good performance. Read more…
In a related story, because of what Mr. Jacobs did, he was credited for being innovative. Here are a list of improvements that he has done:
- Expanded emergency and obstetrics departments
- Construction of “the ultimate education center”
- Transforming the small town hospital into a showcase of state-of-the-art medicine and holistic alternatives
- Extensive training for medical practitioners
- Focus on patient control and preventive medicine
When improvement comes from leadership, a lot can be achieved.
Source:
The Tribune-Democrat
Filed under: Benefits and Savings, Deployment, Healthcare, Innovation, Quality, Six Sigma
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Six Sigma Readiness Test
Posted by: meikah | 24 August 2008 | 8:58 pm
The standard operating procedure when deploying Six Sigma is getting leadership to support the initiative. Without leadership support, we’re often told, Six Sigma deployment will most likely fail.
To my mind, I don’t think any management would reject an initiative that would improve business. The initial reaction, which may look like rejection, may just be a product of not really knowing what Six Sigma is and what it entails. Often, readiness is a major factor of acceptance.
iSixSigma put out a checklist of things to determine if your management is ready for Six Sigma.
Here is a test which can help business leaders decide if their organization is ready for Six Sigma. Please answer each question using a scale of 0-10, with 10 meaning “absolutely yes,” 5 meaning “maybe” and 0 meaning “absolutely no.”
______ 1. Is the organization structure relatively stable, not about to change dramatically?
______ 2. Will the business leader make Six Sigma one of his or her top priorities?
______ 3. Does leadership have credibility and a history of successfully implementing company-wide improvement initiatives, demonstrating that they can sustain their attention?
______ 4. Will the business devote 10 percent of its resources to Six Sigma?
______ 5. Can the best project and change leaders in the business at manager or junior manager level be assigned to Six Sigma projects?
______ 6. To launch the effort, will members of the leadership team invest two days of their time?
______ 7. Will members of the leadership team mandate that their direct reports invest in a two-day Six Sigma orientation?
______ 8. Is the business leadership team open to actively sponsoring pilot projects?
______ 9. Is it common practice to work in teams – project teams, management teams or natural working teams?
______ 10. Are decisions based upon analysis of relevant data at all levels in the organization?
______ 11. Is work defined in terms of processes? Are key processes documented and accountabilities clear?
______ Total
Scoring:
75-110 = Time to get started!
50-75 = Risky, unless all leadership items are strong! Below 50 = Wait until conditions have improved!
Source:
Is Your Company’s Leadership Ready for Six Sigma?
Filed under: Deployment, Six Sigma
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Integrating 5 Lean Tools and Principles into Six Sigma
Posted by: meikah | 20 August 2008 | 11:30 pm
This is one good thing about Six Sigma. It’s not a stand alone methodology. In fact, you get more benefits if you incorporate it with other tools and methodologies.
iSixSigma has outlined five Lean tools and principles that you can incorporate into Six Sigma.
- Value Stream Mapping
- Takt Time
- Ishikawa (Cause-and-Effect) Diagram and 5 Whys
- Heijunka (Load Balancing)
- Poka Yoke (Mistake Proofing)
Find out how this is done here.
Filed under: Tools/Toolkits, Six Sigma
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Chrysler and Six Sigma
Posted by: meikah | 20 August 2008 | 11:16 pm
I was reading this article on New York Times about Chrysler. The owners are giving the executives of the beleaguered company time to fix it.
The article lengthily discusses the difficulties that Chrysler now is facing: from its falling out with Daimler to low sales to decreased market share, and to products not moving in the market.
The solution that the company is seeing is to reposition their products to the kind that customers will embrace. The company is not only going to streamline operations and conserve cash, but it will also explore alliances with other automakers.
I am just surprised that there is no mention of Six Sigma or DFSS, or any other initiative that the company will be going into or will be continuing to weather the storm.
I’ve shared the news about Chrysler deploying Six Sigma and DFSS here. I wonder if the company is still into them.
Filed under: DFSS, Chrysler, Six Sigma, Automobiles
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Correct Craft Implements Six Sigma
Posted by: meikah | 20 August 2008 | 9:23 pm
Correct Craft, manufacturer of the premium Nautique boat brand is going to implement AIMS Manufacturing Lifecycle Management (MLM) Framework Release 5. The move shows the company’s commitment to quality performance, thus, maintaining J.D. Power and Associates’ highest ranking.
According to Perry Smith, CEO of AIMS:
“AIMS MLM 5 goes well beyond simply enabling quality visibility. We’re empowering the quality function to positively impact a company’s risk management portfolio and improve processes that depend on manufacturing, from supply chain, to sales, to shipping and service. Correct Craft, with their laser focus on customer satisfaction, was ideally positioned to take advantage of new quality best practices provided through AIMS MLM to fuel their drive toward six sigma across the enterprise.”
Source:
iSixSigma News
Filed under: Benefits and Savings, Manufacturing, Six Sigma Organizations, Deployment, Six Sigma
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Six Sigma Reference: Using Six Sigma Tools in Powder Coating Applications
Posted by: meikah | 18 August 2008 | 9:13 pm
Having trouble with your powder coating application system and don’t know where to begin finding the problem, much less a solution? Try Six Sigma methods. This article gives you solid information about this troubleshooting methodology and how to apply it to your operation.
Read: Using Six Sigma Tools in Powder Coating Applications.pdf
Filed under: Tools/Toolkits, Six Sigma References, Six Sigma
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Here Comes IBM’s Green Sigma
Posted by: meikah | 18 August 2008 | 8:45 pm
In October last year, IBM announced that they would be launching their green initiatives soon. Its focus would be on developing processes to reduce the carbon intensity of products and processes, and creating a lean green business.
That dream has come to fruition as IBM launches Green Sigma business consulting. Based on Lean Six Sigma, Green Sigma aims to reduce usages of energy and water by using a software that manages networked sensors and data analysis.
CNET’s Green Tech shares IBM’s carbon dashboard for tracking energy usage at businesses and a more detailed description of how Green Sigma works. Read the post here!
With the present environment degradation, companies—especially manufacturing companies—are among the biggest contributors of carbon and other toxic wastes. With this Green Sigma solution, companies can now have a shot at sustainable business.
Clean and green, and efficient and prosperous!
Update:
Greenbang’s Take on IBM’s Green Sigma
Filed under: Six Sigma Organizations, Sustainable Business, IBM, Six Sigma, Environment, Green Sigma
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Six Sigma Improving Transparency in Supply Chain Operations
Posted by: meikah | 18 August 2008 | 7:58 pm
The supply chain is one of the critical operations in an organization. Even a tiny break or pause in the chain can affect the whole supply operation.
Six Sigma is a tool that helps you find these breaks or deviations from the standard or norm that governs efficient operations.
Over at ArabianBusiness.com, in the Ask the Expert section, Andreas Dur shares how Six Sigma improves transparency in supply chain operations. He further emphasizes that Six Sigma or any other approach will do. The important thing is that you have a system and that you are operating systematically.
