Organizations by now may have known that to adapt Six Sigma is not easy. No amount of preparation or training can anticipate all the issues surrounding a Six Sigma deployment. That’s why Forrest Breyfogle III of Smarter Solutions Inc. jotted down 21 issues that new Six Sigma practitioners should keep in mind.
1. Have a deployment system in which process owners solicit help that leads to the execution of Six Sigma projects, which help their business aligned performance metrics.
2. Create a system where process owner requires Six Sigma projects to improve their performance metrics based on current business needs.
3. Train best people to wisely apply Six Sigma and lean techniques to improve performance measures and better meet customer needs.
4. Measure managers by the number of employees trained and their validated financial savings.
5. Address both Lean and Six Sigma and create a high level operational metric system that pulls for the right tool at the right time.
6. Focus not only on training but also on executing projects that will improve the overall enterprise metrics.
7. Examine data that will help your business decide where it can best focus its efforts and resources, achieving lean operations along the way.
8. Use best lean or Six Sigma tools such as 5S to improve business metrics and synthesize voice of the customer inputs.
9. Conduct a pilot project to see whether Six Sigma works before considering a deployment.
10. Have a CEO buy-in, that is convince CEOs to actively take part in the Six Sigma deployment.
11. Determine the cost benefits for design for Six Sigma projects and those that address voice of the customer needs.
12. Examine your organization’s culture and metrics so that they can lead you to which tool or strategy is best for you. DMAIC may be or may not be it.
13. Be able to decide whether to use high level control charts, regression analysis, and design of experiments to the project or not.
14. You may hire Black Belts or Master Black Belts, but it is easier to develops BBs and MBBs within an organization who have the right personality profile, have already established internal relationships for getting things done, and understand the organization.
15. Select the best Six Sigma provider that can provide project execution roadmaps.
16. Build a skill set to answer predefined questions about specific, real-life issues.
17. Pick the Six Sigma deployment strategy and training that best fulfill an organization?s needs.
18. Assess the big picture and identify any constraints. The initial projects should focus on these constraints, no matter where they come from.
19. Focus on the creation of an infrastructure that pulls for the creation and completion of projects.
20. Have and use Six Sigma project execution roadmaps combined with effective coaching.
21. Avoid any confusing and misleading Six Sigma metrics.
21 Common Problems (And What To Do About Them)
