Using a Scatter Plot in Six Sigma

A scatter plot, also called a scattergraph or scatter diagram, is a kind of chart that shows relationships of two variables in a graph. The scatter plot or diagram shows how one variable is affected or influenced by the other variable.

It is especially useful when you are dealing with a large number of data points. The scatter plot will show the relationships in terms of strength, shape, direction, or presence of outliers.

If you are into Six Sigma, all the more reason you will find use for the scatter plot, which is in fact one of Six Sigma’s basic tools. Below is an example:

If the overall production team was able to produce 500 cars before stating the Six Sigma plan. Then with the changes in waste reduction created a change of an additional 200 cars in the same amount of time. Then the numbers would show that there was a 200-point increase. This increase could have been due to the relationship of changes that occurred with the implementation of Six Sigma.

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*Photo from NetMBA

Filed under: Tools/Toolkits, Manufacturing, Statistics, Six Sigma References, Six Sigma

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DFSS and Brand Strategy

Over at CustServ, I wrote about striking a balance between brand experience and customer experience. Today, I found another interesting article on iSixSigma. It talks about incorporating Design for Six Sigma to building brand strategy.

The premise is that while companies work hard to make brand strategies more than just empty promises, they often find themselves stuck in the execution phase.

This is where Six Sigma comes in. The methodology is often viewed, and rightly so, as a versatile, effective framework for connecting executive goals (business strategy), marketing communication (brand promise) and management (operational activities). Here’s an example of a bank working on its brand using Six Sigma.

Consider the case of the business bank that wanted to increase its share in a regional market. The bank used the DMADV roadmap of Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) and adapted it for brand strategy (Table 1). By applying DMADV, the organization realized that to advance from the business strategy to marketplace results, it was necessary to first understand the brand, define the brand promise and identify specific actions required to deliver on it (Define, Measure, Analyze). Finally, the organization needed to make sure that the defined brand promise actually was fulfilled (Design, Verify).

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Source:
iSixSigma, Promises of Brand Strategy and Design for Six Sigma

*Photo from Stock.Xchng

Filed under: Tools/Toolkits, Six Sigma Organizations, Finance, iSixSigma, DFSS, Six Sigma, Brand Strategy

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Six Sigma Reduces Delayed Starts in Special Labs

Another hospital’s radiology department is adopting Six Sigma to improve efficiency. In special labs, defects may take the form of missing orders, missing history and physicals, or problems with patient flow. All these can develop into bottlenecks that hinder the efficiency of the unit.

In May 2006, the Specials Radiology Department, Baptist St. Anthony’s Hospital in Amarillo, Texas started an improvement project. The goals were to improve start times, increase throughput, implement control mechanisms for continuous improvement and to provide feedback to ancillary departments concerning performance.

The project team began by scoping the subjective complaints of staff into a data collection tool and constructing a database. The DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) framework was utilized to accelerate the improvement process. Six Sigma tools were used in data analysis, Work-Out strategies were utilized in team meetings, and Lean was implemented for operational improvements.

The improvements:

Baptist St. Anthony’s Hospital Specials Laboratory Project Results
Metric	Baseline	Project Close	Improvement
Percent of Delayed Cases	79%	33%	46%
Total Number of Delays	189	88	101
Delays with the Department	28%	6%	22%
Orders Missing/Clarification	11%	0%	11%
Baseline Data from May, 2006. Project Close data from October, 2006

The percent of delayed cases dropped to 33 percent. Also, delays per case fell from 1.4 in May to .75 by October. Delays within the department decreased by 22 percent.

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Source:
iSixSigma Healthcare

Filed under: Tools/Toolkits, Benefits and Savings, Lean Six Sigma, Six Sigma Organizations, Deployment, Healthcare, Processes, iSixSigma

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Innovation of the Week: Mind Mapping or “Personal Brain”

Are you facing a complex task and you seem to be getting nowhere at organizing all your thoughts? Well, Mind Mapping, otherwise known as “Personal Brain” could be the answer.

According to TechNewsWorld Product Review, Mind Mapping software is hot!

Mind mapping, for the uninitiated, is a visual method for organizing ideas — a sort of project management tool for the mind. It often involves lots of thoughts in “bubbles” connected by lines.

The language used to describe the elements of a mind map — root idea, children, siblings, etc. — parallels that used by software outliners, except mind maps don’t have the rigid vertical form outlines have. Mind maps have an air of horizontal chaos about them.

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Filed under: Tools/Toolkits, Innovation Update, Innovation, Project Management

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The Reasons for Six Sigma Deployment Determine Its Success or Failure

Why do you go Six Sigma?

Answers to this question vary from organization to organization. Some do because they feel that their processes need improvement. Others feel that it’s taking them 100 steps to achieve something when they can do it in 10 steps. Some more others feel Six Sigma can improve their bottomline.

But are these the real reasons that will spell the success of your Six Sigma initiatives? Let’s see If you have a list of your own reasons, check them against Asoke das Sarma’s list of broad categories below.

1. Due to requirement from customer: Many clients demand that their vendors should follow a quality model like ISO and CMMI (for software organizations). Thus, these become the minimum requirement (hygiene factors) to get business from these clients. Many companies feel that quality improvement models are an overhead which needs to be absorbed to get business from such clients. Thus the expenses are padded in their costs. Unfortunately, too many organizations view process improvement models as overhead, only necessary to satisfy clients.
2. To establish parity with competition: A smaller number of organizations follow process improvement models because it is fashionable to do so, sometimes these organizations are under competitive pressure. Thus their main objective for starting process improvement activities is to be ahead of their competitors so that they are viewed in a good light by their clients.
3. To improve organizational business performance: Too few organizations take up process improvement purely to improve actual business performance. And similarly, too few CEO’s truly think that quality improvement can lead to bottom line gain and thus it makes sense to invest in quality.

Source:
iSixSigma

Filed under: Tools/Toolkits, Deployment, Processes, iSixSigma

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Six Sigma Reference: Six Sigma and IT

First Source published a journal entry titled Information Technology and Six Sigma Implementation.

This paper discusses the basic concepts of the Six Sigma Process Improvement Methodology, presents various computer applications to demonstrate the value of information systems and information technology (IS/IT) in this methodology, and finally, presents an actual case where some of these applications were used to help a major corporation save over $2 million.

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A friend of mine who works for another IT company used to ask me how to use Six Sigma in IT. I hope she gets to read this and learn from it.

Source:
Reed First Source a featured link of Six Sigma Zone

Filed under: Tools/Toolkits, Software/Technology, Deployment, Six Sigma References, Processes

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Six Sigma Reference Feature: Six Sigma and the Chorus of the Customer

The customer plays a pivotal role in every organization. As competition grows stiffer by the day, companies see all the more reason to drum up efforts to retain customers, and serve them the best they could.

I stumbled upon a 2006 presentation by Bob Carter, Raytheon Six Sigma Expert (Black Belt), during the 3rd Annual Six Sigma in Service & Transactional Environments Conference. Bob discusses how Six Sigma methodologies and tools can improve cutomer relationships. The secret is in incorporating DMAIC into the cycle of understanding the market and working on how to serve it better.

View the presentation now.

Source:
Six Sigma Zone featured link.

Filed under: Tools/Toolkits, Services, Six Sigma Organizations, Deployment, Six Sigma References, DMAIC, Six Sigma Zone, Raytheon

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Key Enablers for IT with Lean and Six Sigma

The critical enablers are IT and business mapping tools and end-to-end business process understanding.

That is the conclusion of a qualitative research conducted under the Oracle Lean Leaders Circle. The Circle is comprised of Oracle, the Cardiff Business School’s LERC, and the manufacturers GE Healthcare, GE Oil & Gas and James Walker – all three selected for their considerable success in implementing lean principles.

The article on Manufacturing Computer Solutions, or McSolutions, emphasizes the value of having an integrated, wholistic approach to Lean and Six Sigma where all other methodologies come into play.

According to Andrew Spence, director for lean supply chain management at Oracle, if a company has already integrated some of the tools from Lean, Six Sigma and IT, then it is better able to drive the development of better tools and methodologies.

To me the basic principle here is to know what your company needs, get the right tools and methodologies, even technologies, and have them all work together.

Source:
McSolutions, Lean Leaders’ Circle reveals key enablers for IT with Lean and Six Sigma, a featured link by Six Sigma Zone

*Photo from Stock.Xchng

Filed under: Tools/Toolkits, Lean Six Sigma, Training, Software/Technology

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DFSS for Recruiting Process Design

Let me share with you today case study that illustrates how a pharmaceutical company applied selected DFSS (Design for Six Sigma) tools to develop a new recruiting process for sales representatives.

Tools and activities are described along the IDOV (Identify, Design, Optimize, Verify) phases, which served as a guiding roadmap through this process design project.

Read the case study here.

More: DFSS - IDOV Methodology

Source: iSixSigma Europe Channel

Filed under: Tools/Toolkits, Manufacturing, Deployment, Six Sigma References, Processes, Pharmaceuticals, iSixSigma, DFSS

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Six Sigma and Lean to Improve Healthcare

It seems like, healthcare is so into Six Sigma and Lean, these days. Perhaps, next to manufacturing, it’s healthcare that is enjoying the benefits of Six Sigma.

In a Business Journal article, for example, Guidon Performance Solutions is said to be bringing Six Sigma and Lean tools to healthcare. The end in mind is to make hospitals more efficient, safe, and cost-effective. Already, the group has helped University of Iowa Hospital reduce wait times for gastrointestinal procedures from four months down to six weeks. Overall, Guidon’s solutions have reduced delays and gotten rid of redundant decisions.

I’ve said time and again that any improvement in the healthcare industry would mean a lot to people. I hope more and more hospitals, clinics, pharmaceuticals, and other healthcare organizations would adopt lean and Six Sigma.

Source:
The Business Journal, Firm has hospital waiting times in its crosshairs, a featured link of Six Sigma Zone

*Photo from StockXchng

Filed under: Tools/Toolkits, Benefits and Savings, Lean Six Sigma, Software/Technology, Six Sigma References, Healthcare

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