Business Process Management: The Heart of Continuous Improvement
Posted by: meikah | 28 March 2012 | 9:09 am
I was so excited after attending to the Managing Risk and Performance Through Business Process Management because I felt like I found a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Really, I learned that
- we achieve good results if we go through a process
- a process is a related, structured, measured, designed, linked, and systematic set of activities toward a goal
- assign process owners, who will perform according to their role in the overall scheme of things
- by going through a process, we produce valuable outputs for customers
Thus it is important that an organization begins operations by creating a process chart because
- process flows through functions
- when functions are clearly defined, roles are better understood; thus interactions among each role becomes clearer
- process owners are responsible for the execution of the process, and therefore are accountable for it
- managing processes involve mapping of the processes from the beginning to the end—from executing to the managing and analyzing
Success = People + Process + Product
“If you can’t describe what you are doing as a process, you do not know what you are doing. 94% of the troubles belongs to the system (common causes) and only 6% are special causes.” {Dr. W. Edwards Deming}
Definitely, business process management is the heart of continuous improvement.
Filed under: Lean, Lean Maintenance, Process Maps, Processes, Six Sigma
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The 2nd Lean Six Sigma Conference 2012
Posted by: meikah | 3 March 2012 | 1:31 am
Fiera De Manila once again brings you the Lean Six Sigma Conference. Last year’s conference was well attended and very useful. I for one was fascinated by Dan Lachica and his Lachica model.
In Mr. Lachica’s presentation, he emphasized the importance of being able to merge all relevant quality strategies and make it work for your organization. This foreshadows that foremost, you need to know and understand the processes of your organization.
This year, the 2nd Lean Six Sigma Conference (March 8-9, 2012 at the Hotel Intercontinental Manila, Makati City, Philippines) will focus on process strategies that will eliminate waste. In this changing business environment, new approaches and techniques are emerging. At the forefront is customer-centricity, which aims to align organizational strategy for maximum ROI, instill process excellence, and take Lean Six Sigma tool sets and applications in continuous improvement program.
Top Reasons to Attend
- Understand the Lean Six Sigma methodologies to drive and sustain organizational performance
- Learn to integrate Lean Six Sigma in your business processes
- Know the latest customer thinking strategies
- Leverage on innovation approaches for process excellence
- Case study presentations of Lean Six Sigma application/implementation projects
- Great networking opportunities with Lean Six Sigma Experts and Quality Practitioners
Filed under: Customer Experience, Customer Service, Dan Lachica, Lean, Lean Six Sigma, Processes
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Managing Risk and Performance Through Business Process Management in Manila
Posted by: meikah | 3 March 2012 | 1:19 am
Ever wondered how to make your business healthy in the midst of economic crisis?
Many say, all you need to do is to remain customer-centric and sustain business processes that create valuable customer touch points. However, to achieve these, you need a strategy that ables you to manage risks, some kind of a risk management framework and model corporate risks using ‘Heat Map’ technique.
Fiera De Manila Philippines is bringing to you this important event, Managing Risk and Performance Through Business Process Management.
Happening on March 6-7, 2012 at the AIM Conference Center, Makati City, Philippines, this pre-conference and seminar workshop will expose you to the understanding and carrying out of designing business processes, or re-designing and improving existing ones.
It focuses on identifying opportunities for process improvement and presents the process analysis, modeling and design techniques and tools required to improve performance. Participants will learn to scope processes and to model organizations, value chains and specific processes using graphical models. Participants will learn how to define measurement techniques for evaluating outcomes. Balanced Scorecard Model is the highest level to assess organizational performance and success, being mainly focused on strategy and business outcomes.
Filed under: Business Improvement, Business Process Management, Processes
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Improving Payroll Preparation Through TQM
Posted by: meikah | 21 October 2011 | 2:38 am
If there’s a process that is cluttered with data or variables, it is payroll preparation. Data such as days worked, minutes late, salary adjustments, retro pay, overtime premiums, among other things. One mistake in a figure or a zero or even a decimal point would result in erroneous numbers.
- accuracy of data
- lack of standard operating procedures
All of which can compound delays. Read the case study here.
Now, if you are involved in funding payroll, the case study may also help you sort out delays in remittance such as identifying factors of delays:
- clearing time of banks
- time difference
Payroll is an integral part of an organization. It’s like paying your customers on time. So, you do your best, find ways to provide payment for good services rendered. Definitely, it’s not something you do in the nick of time.
Filed under: Finance, Payroll, Processes, Quality, TQM
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The Philippine Six Sigma Conference 2010
Posted by: meikah | 21 July 2010 | 12:34 am
Mark your calendars for The Philippine Six Sigma Conference 2010 on August 4-5, 2010 at the Hotel Intercontinental, Makati City, Philippines.
If you and your company is pushing for continuous improvement to address efficiency and enjoy great savings, then you must attend this conference.
I’ve attended several Six Sigma conferences before and every time I do, I learn something new. I guess we are really supposed to learn every day about making our processes work and remove bottlenecks along the way. With a floundering economy and a highly competitive business arena, companies really need to step up and make a difference.
Six Sigma in the Philippines is slowly getting on solid ground. More and more Philippine-based companies are going into Six Sigma. These companies are seeing that reducing wastes and improving processes are the way to go to achieve success
Thanks to Fiera de Manila and DigitalFilipino System and Software Process Improvement Network for sponsoring the conference.
It’s time to find out more about Six Sigma and how you can apply it to your organization. Register now!
Filed under: DigitalFilipino System and Software Process Improvement Network, Fiera de Manila, Philippines, Processes, Six Sigma, Six Sigma Conferences
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The SixSig Roundup
Posted by: meikah | 1 June 2010 | 6:37 pm
It’s time again for some link-loving and see what other blogs are saying about Six Sigma, Lean, Lean Six Sigma and other quality improvement processes.
Pledgeco.com asks, What is Six Sigma and Why do Companies Need it? It’s a good reminder of what Six Sigma is.
Lean Applied Blog shares how to incorporate Lean in Six Sigma Projects. The article explains the importance of Lean thinking in every project.
Lean Reflections shares an article from Bloomberg titled Six Sigma is out; lean is in. The article discusses how companies are cutting cost and at the same time improving operations.
Business Development blog shares insights on strategic planning and Six Sigma and how the two are complementary.
Mba business says that Lean Six Sigma can help a healthcare organization. True! I have featured some healthcare organizations before, too.
Filed under: Lean, Lean Six Sigma, Processes, Six Sigma
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JEA’s 2010 IQPC Award Winning Green Process Improvement Project
Posted by: meikah | 24 May 2010 | 8:46 pm
Listen to the video presentation of JEA as it talks to Genna Weiss of Six Sigma iQ and learn:
- Leveraged the SIPOC diagram to initially assess the company’s ammonia flow process
- Used a root cause investigation matrix to pinpoint the problem of this process
- Implemented and maintained the solution to the problem
- Created a performance dashboard to track the company’s ammonia consumption
Filed under: Processes, SIPOC, Six Sigma, Sustainable Business
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Using Six Sigma to Set Up a Consulting Business
Posted by: meikah | 21 May 2010 | 12:07 am
John Weathington of TechRepublic blog shares that when he started his business consulting he had nothing much, and so he had quite a problem.
So for those who plan to go into business consulting, he recommends to view the business as a process and look quality methodologies such as Six Sigma and its tools: DMAIC to DMADV. Using this tool, here are his suggested five phases of building a consulting process.
- Define – First, determine what you want your business to produce, or its output.
- Measure – You need to consider who will benefit from your service (i.e., your clients), and what their definition is of a quality service.
- Analyze – In this brainstorming phase, you start putting down ideas for how to systematically run your business to accomplish your goals and provide a quality service for your clients.
- Design – This is where you start organizing everything into the set of processes that will run your business.
- Verify – This phase starts with prototyping. Try out your process on a small scale in the real world and see what happens.
Filed under: Business Improvement, Processes, Project Management, Six Sigma
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Six Sigma and Lean Meet Customer Experience
Posted by: meikah | 13 May 2010 | 9:33 pm
Filed under: Customer Experience, Lean Six Sigma, Processes, Six Sigma
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Applying Six Sigma Tools to Your DOTWIMP
Posted by: meikah | 10 May 2010 | 9:16 pm
The first step to improving your processes is to know the problem. In the same manner that if you’re going into Six Sigma or Lean Six Sigma, the first thing you need to examine are the wasteful activities that your processes are producing.
By identifying the wastes, you can begin to work on eliminating them. An article on iSixSigma cites the many kinds of wastes that your processes may be producing. Working by the acronym, DOTWIMP, these are the wastes:
D: Defect in the output, as identified in the eyes of the customer.
O: Overproduction by producing goods and services before they are actually required.
T: Excess Transportation in relation to the unnecessary additional movement due to poor  facility layout, typically as a result of processing by department versus in a cell environment.
W: Waiting occurs whenever an assembly or subassembly is not moving, resulting in no value being added.
I: Excess Inventory, when capital is unnecessarily tied up in raw, work-in-process (WIP) and finished inventory goods. This may also result in damage and obsolescence.
M: Excess Motion, from the perspective of less-than-ideal employee ergonomics.
P: Over Processing, which results from inefficient processes that use more steps or tools than are actually required for the desired outcome.
