Improving Payroll Preparation Through TQM

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.

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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

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

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

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

Sign up and view the video now.

Filed under: Processes, SIPOC, Six Sigma, Sustainable Business

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Using Six Sigma to Set Up a Consulting Business

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.

1. Define – First, determine what you want your business to produce, or its output.
2. Measure – You need to consider who will benefit from your service (i.e., your clients), and what their definition is of a quality service.
3. 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.
4. Design – This is where you start organizing everything into the set of processes that will run your business.
5. Verify – This phase starts with prototyping. Try out your process on a small scale in the real world and see what happens.

Read more…

Filed under: Business Improvement, Processes, Project Management, Six Sigma

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Six Sigma and Lean Meet Customer Experience

Filed under: Customer Experience, Lean Six Sigma, Processes, Six Sigma

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Applying Six Sigma Tools to Your DOTWIMP

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.

Read more…

Filed under: DOTWIMP, Processes, Six Sigma

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Six Sigma Improves Emergency Department Processes

Most hospital emergency departments (ED) have one thing in common: too many patients, too little space. Thus, if you are a conscientious management,you would find ways to improve it, and fast.

An article on Health Leaders Media, shares how Jersey City Medical Center improves its ED.

Christy Wade, the nurse manager of the emergency department, enjoined her colleagues, all Six Sigma certified, to work on the problem. That is to search for ED bottlenecks and ways to remove them.

The team instituted changes, including a new approach to observation patients, that have reduced wait time to an average of 30 minutes, and decreased hours on divert to zero. Last month less than 1.5% of patients left without being seen.

Read how the team did it.

Filed under: Healthcare, Processes, Six Sigma

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Learnings from the CSCMP Atlanta Roundtable and the Georgia Tech Supply Chain Executive Forum

I am lucky to have stumbled upon Dan Gilmore’s post where he shares what he learned from the CSCMP Atlanta Roundtable and the Georgia Tech Supply Chain Executive Forum. Dan Gilmore, Editor-in-Chief of Supply Chain Digest, summarizes what transpired during the two events, and how we all can learn from it.

Featured companies are Coke, Whirlpool, Intel among other companies. Companies that deal with supply chain on a daily basis are more bullish than ever as they get real orders in recent months.

So, how does supply chain companies deal with a renewed confidence in the economy?

Read Dan Gilmore’s Trip Report.

Filed under: Processes, Six Sigma, Supply Chain

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10 Key Technologies for Lean Process Improvement

Technology has indeed made life easier for all of us. With Web 2.0, sales and marketing have become a breeze. With the latest software, processes have become easier.

In the case of Six Sigma, for example, Apple has made Six Sigma applications available to iPhone users and on iTunes.

I stumbled upon Nari Kannan’s article on the ten key technologies for Lean Process Improvement. Again technology can play a big part in a lean process. Below is the list.

1. The Internet
2. Wireless connectivity
3. Automated workflow systems
4. Scanning and digitization
5. Service-oriented architectures
6. Document management systems
7. Business process monitoring and measurement
8. Business process management systems
9. Business rules systems
10. Online CRM systems/self-service FAQ system

Read more…

Filed under: Lean, Processes, Six Sigma, Technology

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