7 Lean Six Sigma Challenges
Posted by: meikah | 14 April 2009 | 10:08 pm
About three years ago, Hertzler Systems Inc. sponsored a research report by the Aberdeen Group on best practices in Six Sigma deployments.
In that report it was found that most of the challenges people face in Six Sigma or Lean Six Sigma deployment are cultural:
- Significant culture change required 68%
- Data collection challenges 44%
- Resistance from knowledge workers and middle management 28%
- Continued commitment from top management after initial stage 26%
- Sustained company-wide training and certification program 20%
- Cost of training and certification programs 20%
- Excessive time spent “scrubbing†data 19%
Legend: Challenge – % Selected
Filed under: Deployment, Lean Six Sigma, Six Sigma
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Avoiding Bottlenecks in Six Sigma Implementation
Posted by: meikah | 16 March 2009 | 7:42 pm
Like any other project, Six Sigma implementation is also vulnerable to bottlenecks, especially in small organizations. I know many companies right now may be hesitant to go into Six Sigma, considering the global crisis.But for those who are willing to take the risk to enjoy the benefits and savings later, let me share with you some of the identified bottlenecks so that you can try to avoid them.
- Lack of adequate resources, both human and financial – this can lead to increased employee dissatisfaction, as they have to work extra hours all throughout the implementation stage.
- Small organizations may also face difficulties in hiring Six Sigma professionals, who are vital for the success of any implementation – this may be caused by financial constraints or the failure of management to buy the idea.
- Poor project selection – the team fails to clearly define the real objectives of the implementation project, which can lead to this:
In the “Define†phase, the organization may fail to clearly define the real objectives of the implementation project, which in turn can create problems during the actual implementation. In the “Measure†phase, bottlenecks may arise due to lack of proper measurement systems and due to time lost in data collection. In the “Design†phase, problems may arise due to lack of innovative design improvement ideas. In the “Control†phase, bottlenecks may occur due to non-adherence to VOC (voice of customer), which is vital for the success of any Six Sigma implementation project.
*Photo from Stock.Xchng
Filed under: DMAIC, Deployment, Six Sigma, Team Dynamics
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The Latest on Six Sigma at 3M
Posted by: meikah | 12 March 2009 | 7:36 pm
3M is known for its innovation efforts and products such as Post-its and Scotch brands. However, this is not the only business that 3M is into. The company is also into healthcare, display and graphics, and the industrial and transportation sectors. So you can just imagine the extent of its workforce.With 34,000 traditional employees and several thousand temporary workers, 3M has to know each of them. By and by the workforce planning squad, a part of 3M’s human resources group, get down to action.
This is how the team rolled out the program.
- put together an HR-led team representing departments such as sourcing, finance and IT
- take questions from various quarters and provide answers
- interview 3M’s staff to identify their issues with contingent workers
- survey the information technology, manufacturing, engineering and marketing groups using a Six Sigma methodology called Voice of Customer.
3M has always been a Six Sigma advocate, although at one point they thought that innovation and Six Sigma don’t mix. Still, I’m just happy that through the years, the company has not changed course. Rather it is continuously moving forward by using Six Sigma.
Filed under: 3M, Deployment, Innovation, Six Sigma, Six Sigma Organizations
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Six Sigma Product Development Models
Posted by: meikah | 17 December 2008 | 8:54 pm
Product development here refers to drug development in pharmaceuticals. The characteristics of the process are:
- it is a single event unique to itself
- highly cross-functional, which needs communication, coordination
- decision making is complicated
- bring products to the market quickly
HERE is the process of drug development. And to improve the process and ensure a successful development, many pharmaceuticals go into Six Sigma.
Six Sigma models concentrate on eliminating potential sources of variation in processes. On the shop floor, Six Sigma follows what is known as the DMAIC roadmap (Define Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control). Moving Six Sigma into the product development phase would employ a version of DMAIC tailored according to the type of development structure being used and the product being developed. When Six Sigma moves to the product development phase of a product’s lifecycle it is termed Design for Six Sigma (DFSS). Three different versions of DFSS have been developed: DMADV (Define, Measure, Analyze, Design and Verify), IDOV (Identify, Design, Optimize and Verify), and DCOV (Design, Characterize, Optimize and Verify). The DMADV model has been very successfully deployed in the medical device industry, while DCOV, with its characterization phase is more suitable to in the drug development process.
Click on the image for a bigger version.
Related post:
Lean Six Sigma to Product Development
Filed under: DFSS, DMAIC, Deployment, Pharmaceuticals, Six Sigma, Tools/Toolkits
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DHL Uses Six Sigma
Posted by: meikah | 15 December 2008 | 9:29 pm
I think we are in the season of sending gifts all over the world. Just yesterday, Wizheart and I sent out our second batch of gifts and cards to friends and family. We used another courier, though.
DHL published a press release (this press release was also published on Market Watch but is no longer available) saying that DHL is using Six Sigma to deliver and sort mails and packages. As a result, the company can now boast of speedy package delivery. The DHL Global Mail now performs the most advanced sorting by destination–using all 5 digits of the ZIP Code–on 83 percent of customer parcels nationwide.
According to the press release:
DHL Global Mail increased the use of 5-digit ZIP Code sorting for packages, which has also reduced shipment delays, under a major initiative to enhance their parcel service. After seeing a large jump in the volume of packages that customers were shipping, the company reengineered their parcel process this year using exacting Six Sigma methodology. In addition to changing their sorting schemes to reach the 5-digit ZIP Code level with even more packages, DHL Global Mail reorganized the footprints of their processing facilities to streamline operations and optimize performance.
Related post:
Lightning Six Sigma at DHL Exel Supply Chain
Filed under: DHL, Deployment, Six Sigma, Six Sigma Organizations
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Selling the Six Sigma Initiative
Posted by: meikah | 7 December 2008 | 11:45 pm
Today it seems that more companies are turning to Six Sigma, Lean Six Sigma, Lean, or any other process improvement methodologies to hurdle the economic crisis.
This is good, actually, for the companies, for Six Sigma practitioners, and for Six Sigma itself. For one, it will dispel rumors that Six Sigma is yet another fly-by-night quality initiative.
In any case, there is a bigger challenge than proving to everyone that Six Sigma is just a passing fancy. And that is selling your Six Sigma initiative to your organization. Let’s say that the need for Six Sigma in an organization is already a given. Management is almost convinced but not quite. The rest of the organization is excited but doesn’t really know how and where to start. In other words, there are still a lot of loose thread to tie.
How are you going to sell the Six Sigma initiative then?
Like in any other initiative, the key is in communicating the plan to everyone who is going to be involved. And you need good communication strategies for that. iSixSigma Healthcare puts out a list for Six Sigma initiatives in hospitals, but I think the list is also useful for all organizations.
If you can answer these questions, or brainstorm with them the answers to these questions, then I don’t see any reason by Six Sigma won’t be sold.
‘What Is Six Sigma?’
- “What is Six Sigma all about?”
- “Isn’t this a manufacturing initiative? How does it relate to healthcare (manufacturing, hospitality, or any other industry)?”
- “We have been through TQM, CQI, PDCA and other programs. Is this just another ‘flavor of the month’?”
- “Some of the terminology seems strange. What is the difference between a Green Belt, Black Belt and Master Black Belt?”
‘What’s in It for Me?’
- “How will this initiative affect me?”
- “How will it impact my department?”
- “Is this a potential threat or eventual benefit relative to job security?”
- “Will there be a role to play even if we’re not statisticians?”
- “We’re already stretched thin – where will we find the time for this?”
- “Are there career advantages to participating in Six Sigma?”
‘What Does This Mean for Our Hospital (Organization)?’
- “How will this benefit our patients?”
- “How will physicians respond to Six Sigma? What role will they play?”
- “What are the initial areas targeted for improvement and how soon will we see results?”
- “What criteria will be used for selecting Black Belts and projects?”
Filed under: Deployment, Six Sigma
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Tocquigny Leads in Six Sigma Marketing Practices
Posted by: meikah | 7 December 2008 | 9:47 pm
Tocquigny, a leading interactive advertising agency, recently received two recognitions during the 3rd Annual Global Lean, Six Sigma and Business Improvement Summit & Industry Awards Improvement Summit: an award for the “Best Achievement of Organizational Business Improvement by a Small Organization†and a finalist certificate for the “Best Project Achievement in Sales, Marketing or Customer Experience.â€
The company got awarded for its deployment of business improvement programs for agency client, Regent University.
The project was to create a data-driven marketing approach, specifically a cost-effective approach to acquire new students for the Regent’s online undergraduate degree program. The campaign began in December 2006, and after applying the five principles of Six Sigma methodology — define, measure, analyze, improve and control — Tocquigny implemented a highly effective search engine and database marketing program for Regent. Tocquigny also introduced rich media advertising to supplement the initiative and increase user interactivity.
Within six months of the launch, Regent University experienced a 250 percent increase in online undergraduate recruits and a 30 percent increase in applications. The campaign simultaneously reduced the cost per acquisition by 75 percent.
Both companies, Tocquigny and Regent University attribute their success to Six Sigma.
Yvonne Tocquigny, CEO of Tocquigny Advertising says, “Our aim is to be the leader in Six Sigma marketing practices, and I see this as a sign that we have achieved that goal. We believe this award is further proof that Six Sigma research methods lead to excellent results far outside the manufacturing realm.â€
Tracy Stewart, Vice President of Information Technology at Regent University says, “Tocquigny’s Six Sigma approach was a fantastic revelation for our school and enabled us to generate the leads we needed to increase our undergraduate enrollment.”
Filed under: Benefits and Savings, DMAIC, Deployment, Marketing, Six Sigma, Six Sigma Organizations
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Improving Business Through Six Sigma
Posted by: meikah | 20 November 2008 | 10:02 pm
I found an interesting article on BeyeNetwork that talks about improving business intelligence based on Six Sigma concepts and methods.
It touches on the following concepts:
- The Continuing Improvement Model (BI-CIM)
- The Six Sigma Breakthrough Formula
- The Six Sigma Continuing Improvement Process, which discusses DMAIC, program goals, the x and y factors.
Simply put, for you to improve your business, you must know the ins and outs, the nooks and crannies of your processes, learn how to measure them, improve them, and make sure to sustain the initiative.
Filed under: Deployment, Processes, Six Sigma
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Global Telcos Need Transformation Thru Six Sigma
Posted by: meikah | 20 November 2008 | 8:58 pm
Big, global telecommunication companies need to regularly improve processes, which they term business transformation, especially that technology is changing all the time, making the competition easily catch up.
An article on Telephony Online shares how telcos try to improve their technology and at the same time improve their customers’ experience.
For AT&T, for example, Mark Francis, vice president of AT&T enterprise architecture for AT&T says, that in the core of most [service provider] networks, they are running at six sigmas. But the customer experience of those networks is running at three sigma. What lowers the sigma is order delays and billing.
And so for these telcos, their primary goal is to bridge the gap. Or better yet, be consistent and conscious in terms of deploying Six Sigma in all areas of the business. Besides, if the organization is running on Six Sigma already, I think it’s going to be easier to rub it off to the other processes as well.
Read: Management World: Transformation still job one for global telcos
Filed under: Deployment, Six Sigma, Six Sigma Organizations, Telecommunications
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Six Sigma in the Food Service and Hospitality Industries
Posted by: meikah | 18 November 2008 | 11:29 pm
Indeed, Six Sigma is no longer just for the manufacturing industry. It has invaded healthcare, and recently the hospitality business, too.
Over at Food & Drink Magazine, Rudy Miic shares his 6 Sigma concepts as used in the food service and hospitality industries:
Sigma 1: Performing on purpose
Sigma 2: Proactive fiscal systems
Sigma 3: Hiring by choice rather than chance
Sigma 4: Training focused on results
Sigma 5: Effective communication
Sigma 6: Being a learning organization
The 6 Sigmas may just have been culled by Six Sigma concept, still the essence of an organization trying to give the best to its customers is evident. To me that is all that matters.
