One of my interview questions is “What was the most significant component of the project? Was it training?” Most answered, “Training took place first, so I guess we can consider that as the most important aspect.”
Many will surely nod in agreement to this observation. In fact, training eats up most of the Six Sigma’s budget, not only initially but throughout the program. It’s true that without quality training, your Six Sigma project is not going to be successful. But should organizations focus on that?
Bonet Lobo a Master Black Belt at Tata Consultancy Services, thinks otherwise. He said,
“the purpose of Six Sigma is to make a positive difference to the bottom line. Although critical, Six Sigma training—certifications like Green Belt, Black Belt, Master Black Belt and others—is just a means to an end. Certifications are not an end in themselves. In Six Sigma parlance, certifications are the Xs, or the causes, and benefits are the big Y, or the effect.”
The reason for the deployment are the benefits, dollars and continuous process improvement, that can be realized after the projects have been undertaken.
Organizations fall into the trap of gving so much importance to training or certification. Many times the Green Belts and Black Belts candidates are asked to use tools and techniques that are not really required for a complete analysis. In the real-world Six Sigma projects, you do not need all the Six Sigma tools and techniques. Some successful projects use effectively a simple Pareto diagram or a fishbone diagram, while some others turn to an elaborate quality function deployment (QFD) or design of experiments (DOE). Also, you can do a comprehensive process mapping exercise by using just two simple tools – level 1, level 2, level 3 deployment flowcharts and an failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA).
Lobo understands though why organizations feel the need to use the entire gamut of Six Sigma tools and techniques. That is because certification and credibility of the projects rely on having the Green Belts and Black Belts demonstrate knowledge and skills in these. But then again, Lobo said that cannot be the case every time.
“When evaluating the performance of Green Belts and Black Belts the criteria should focus on how effectively the process changes have been implemented and how rigorously the benefits have been quantified. Such details as the number of tools used, number of slides in tollgates, etc. are secondary and should not be considered as major roadblocks for certification or Six Sigma project completion.”
Your focus therefore should be on the benefits the projects will bring in to the organization. After all, management’s primary concern is how much savings can be realized and how quickly the solutions can be implemented with what constraints. And I’m sure the bottomline is not always how much dollars you rake right now but how much dollars you will be continuously raking in as a result of your continuous process improvement.
Source:
Deployment Focus: Certifications or Project Benefits?
