SixSig Reference Feature: Theory of Constraints and Lean Six Sigma Project Selection

CEO and president of Smarter Solutions, Inc., Forrest W. Breyfogle III shares how to implement Theory of Constraints and Lean Six Sigma Project Selection so that the organization as a whole benefits from it.

Breyfogle shares:

The financials of an enterprise are a result of the integration and interaction of its processes, not of individual procedures in isolation. Using a whole-system perspective, one realizes that the output of a system is a function of its weakest link or constraint. If you’re not careful, you can be focusing on a subsystem that, even though improved, doesn’t affect the system’s overall big-picture output.

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Related post:
Constraints Management and Lean and Six Sigma

Filed under: Deployment, Lean Six Sigma, Theory of Constraints

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10 Catalysts for Successful Six Sigma Programs

The dictionary defines a catalyst as a person or an event that causes great change. For an organization, the catalyst would be a high incidence of waste or errors in the processes. If an organization is experiencing errors or making wastes the tendency is for that organization to break through and change.

This is where quality principles or strategies come in. For many companies, they see Six Sigma as their catalyst for change. In return, for a Six Sigma program to succeed, it also needs a catalyst. What are the persons or events in a Six Sigma team or Six Sigma program can inspire great change.

An article on iSixSigma lists 10 catalysts for successful Six Sigma programs.

1. Select the Right Focus Areas
2. Identify the Constraints
3. Collect and Interpret Comprehensive Data
4. Demonstrate a Business Case
5. Provide the Value Perspective
6. Take Advantage of People Power
7. Use Soft Skills
8. Sustain Improvements
9. Manage Resistance to Change
10. Duplicate Success

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Filed under: Deployment, Six Sigma, Team Dynamics, Tools/Toolkits

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Deploying Six Sigma in an Organization

It’s never useless to review basic Six Sigma deployment processes. Daniel Toriola’s presentation is a good discussion on how to deploy Six Sigma in an organization.

The basics that he cited are:

• plan your strategy
• set the stage
• train the troops
• introduce the role of the Black Belt
• encourage buy-in

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Filed under: Deployment, Six Sigma, Six Sigma Organizations, Tips

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The Role of a Black Belt in Successful Six Sigma Implementation

I got these tips from Ditch the Black:

• explain all Six Sigma philosophies, principles, systems and tools and identify their impact on various business processes
• able understand the chain of leadership and the various Six Sigma roles and responsibilities of those roles
• able to define benchmarking and understand financial and ways to measure business performance
• need to understand basic techniques and processes as well as probability and distribution
• define the seven classic wastes, multivariate tools, and define terms such as kaizen, kaizen blitz, and theory of constraints
• able to explain common DFSS and DFX methodologies

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Filed under: Black Belt, Deployment, Six Sigma

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Utilizing the Six Sigma Chain of Command

Tony Jacowski writes an article on how to utilize the Six Sigma chain of command. He says that everyone in the Six Sigma team should help each other out and be capable of helping others.

… Six Sigma green belts should reach out to black belts for help, and Six Sigma black belts should be able to turn to Six Sigma master black belts for advice. Everyone should use the resources offered by the Six Sigma champion on the organization to improve the rate of success for various projects.

Companies that embrace Six Sigma and have placed an emphasis on training their employees in the business model can encourage this kind of interaction easily. Use the Six Sigma green belt in the company as team members when a new project comes up, and put a Six Sigma black belt in charge of managing the team. Encourage the black belt team leader to meet with the master black belt regularly to discuss the teams’ progress and any problems. The master black belt can liaise with the champion on any problems than cannot be resolved at the team level, or they can put the black belt in charge of the team in touch with the champion for particularly difficult issues.

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Teamwork always applies to any project.

*Photo from Stock.Xchng

Filed under: Deployment, Six Sigma, Team Dynamics

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3 Steps to Optimize Six Sigma Project Selections

Best Management Articles features Tony Jacowski who shares three ways to optimize Six Sigma project selections.

1. Establish the Project Selection Steering Committee – The committee should be composed of managers trained as Six Sigma Champions, or any other key Six Sigma knowledge resources, like the Black Belts, Master Black Belts or deployment Champion.
2. Generate Project Ideas – Evaluate the course of a project selection in a workshop, taking into account that the Six Sigma project should support the organizational strategies and be integrated to the basic business issues.
3. Assess and Prioritize Projects with a Project Selection Matrix – Evaluate every identified project together for determining integration opportunities and gauging projected profits. A key question that ought to be answered during the workshop is whether or not the project is an applicant for the DMAIC methodology.

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Filed under: Deployment, Project Champion, Project Management, Six Sigma, Team Dynamics

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Six Sigma Best Practices in the Philippines Benchmarking Forum

Last Thursday, April 30, I attended the Six Sigma Best Practices in the Philippines Benchmarking Forum at Dusit Thani Hotel-Manila. The last forum on this subject matter took place a couple of years ago.

The last time, the spotlight was on manufacturing and semiconductor industries. This time around the spotlight was on the service industry.

The speakers were

1. Prof. Jose Edgar S. Mutuc, PhD, Center for Lean Systems, De La Salle University-Manila, for the theoretical review and integration
2. Mr. Alberto L. Villegas, Jr., Director of Quality Management, IBM Philippines, Inc., sharing the Best Practice in IBM
3. Mr. Randy G. Maranan, Vice President for HR & Total Quality, B.P.I., sharing the Best Practice in the banking operations of Bank of Philippine Islands
4. Mr. Danilo C. Lachica, President, First Philec Solar Corporation, for the CEO perspective.

The panel of speakers did an excellent presentation, and even the open forum was very dynamic. I didn’t mind at all if we went over the schedule as the exchange was a good learning experience.

So, let me share with you what I learned from these excellent speakers and Six Sigma project champions (my term only for they have really championed their projects and initiatives).

• On the concept of Six Sigma – Your perception of Six Sigma is crucial. Do you view it as a strategy, a methodology, of a philosophy? As a strategy, it’s more passive as you look at it as something that can help you deal with process issues. As a methodology, you get more into action now and prepare steps or the methods toward achieving the solution to your process problem. But if you view Six Sigma as a philosophy, it becomes a way of life, part of the company culture. Thus you think, do, and breathe Six Sigma.
• On applying Six Sigma – Anything that has a process, Six Sigma can be applied to it. But not all processes or issues on processes can be solved by Six Sigma or one quality improvement methodology alone. One has to examine the problem first, analyze, and from the Six Sigma or Quality toolbox, choose the tool that best suits the problem.
• On deploying Six Sigma – A hundred percent support from management, both top and middle level, is very important in the success of Six Sigma deployment or any other quality improvement methodology. Six Sigma deployment should start with investing in training, and I surmise that good consultants is a key to good and successful deployment, too. This is why management support is really needed. I also get the impression that if your management is willing to invest, then it is ready to enjoy the savings.
• On sustaining Six Sigma – It needs a system for continuous training, continuous monitoring, continuous evaluation, and benchmarking with companies in your industry. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, or create a new process. You need only to observe what others are doing best, and benchmark your own processes.
• On saving with Six Sigma – Big savings result from Six Sigma programs. The speakers all attested to that. And this is the part where I really got challenged to embark on lean (first) and Six Sigma (later). Enjoying big savings in these trying times is very very tempting.
• On the ultimate purpose of Six Sigma – To meet the requirements of the customers.

I hope to get results of the email interviews for each speaker in the days to come. So stay tuned!

Filed under: Best Practices, Deployment, Deployment Champion, Services, Six Sigma, Tools/Toolkits

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Six Sigma Phased Deployment Model in IT

It has been observed that Six Sigma in IT has not really made headway. There are some IT companies that have embraced it but the initiative often fails to be continuous.

An article on iSixSigma discusses how a phased deployment can help Six Sigma in IT succeed. It specifically mentions a three-phased deployment model.

The following are the three phases of this deployment model:

Click on the image for a larger version.

1. Middle out – This phase is driven by an individual or a small group of visionaries in the firm from middle management level. This group must keep the cost of the Lean Six Sigma program under check at all times. Projects may have a primarily bottom-line focus due to weak top leadership commitment.
2. Move to top – This phase the first step toward a long-term business process excellence approach. Balanced scorecards should be created for every business unit or department and they should align directly to the firm’s corporate vision and mission.
3. Top down – In this phase Lean Six Sigma benchmark practices and market performance should be discussed and an adoption decision should be made in the boardroom, with the CEO driving from the front. Champions, Master Black Belts, Black Belts and Green Belts should be developed to own and lead the Lean Six Sigma program. Projects should involve both top-line and bottom-line growth objectives, with a primary focus on customer satisfaction.

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*Image is taken from the cited article.

Filed under: Deployment, IT, Six Sigma

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Rolling Out the Lean Green Six Sigma Machine

As environment awareness increases, people are now into activities that preserve and protect the environment. What’s good about this development is also the increasing market for green initiatives.

The Manufacturing and Technology eJournal carries the story about a Lean Green Six Sigma machine. According to the article:

Green Six Sigma is addressing the real challenges for leadership and senior executives to drive business process excellence while reducing environmental impact; the role of Six Sigma both now and in the future for sustainability, energy reduction and to boost profits.

Evan Miller, president of Hertzler Systems in Goshen, Indiana says, “In a global economy with environmental pressures high on the agenda, organizations are under increasing pressure to control costs, maintain high levels of safety and quality, and save energy. Energy conservation offers the parallel advantages of helping to reduce costs, improving efficiency, as well as reducing the carbon footprint. In this climate increasing numbers of companies are implementing Six Sigma techniques as an efficient and effective means to building a sustainable business and make their operations, products and services more socially responsible, particularly regarding the environment.”

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Incidentally, there is the upcoming The Inaugural Green Six Sigma Conference on May 13 – 14, 2009. Check it out!

This post is also in time for Earth Day tomorrow.

Filed under: Deployment, Environment, Six Sigma, Sustainable Business

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4 Factors that Affect the Success of Six Sigma Projects

Steve Minter, writing for IndustryWeek, gives us a good reminder about the factors that affect the success of Six Sigma projects.

Perhaps, you have been into Six Sigma for years, and your projects although ongoing, have somehow reached a plateau. When this happens, it’s time to step back and re-evaluate. Here are the four factors cited by Minter:

1. Leadership – Active and visible support from senior management. “Senior managers must communicate to employees that the purpose of the Six Sigma projects is to make the company more efficient and competitive not to reduce their numbers,” says George Haley, a business professor at the University of New Haven.
2. Strategic alignment – Pick projects that will have the greatest impact on the business. “No matter the size of the company, it needs to improve,” says Ellie Kemp, a Master Black Belt at machine tool manufacturer MAG G&L.
3. The Right Personnel – “Black Belts and Green Belts need not only training in the Six Sigma methodology but also team leadership and communication skills so that they can shepherd these collaborative projects,” Bob Rome
4. Measurement – In developing projects, leaders state the business problem, outline project objectives, list the benefits and any associated hard savings and state how the savings will be calculated.

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Related posts:
4 Factors Critical to the Success of Six Sigma Projects
3 Reasons for Six Sigma Deployment Determine Its Success or Failure

Filed under: DMAIC, Deployment, Six Sigma, Tips

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