Innovation of the Week: Apple’s Innovation Philosophy
Posted by: meikah | 13 August 2009 | 9:34 pm
BNET shares:
Apple makes it look easy. From the sleek design of its personal computers to the clever intuitiveness of its software to the ubiquity of the iPod to the genius of the iPhone, Apple consistently redefines each market it enters by creating brilliant gadgets that put the competition to shame. What’s the secret? Apple has built its management system so that it’s optimized to create distinctive products. That’s good news for would-be emulators, because it means Apple’s method for innovation can be understood as a specific set of management practices and organizational structures that — in theory, at least — anyone can use. This Crash Course outlines the techniques Apple uses to make the magic happen.
Filed under: Apple, Innovation, Innovation Update, Technology
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The Best of Six Sigma Practice in the Philippines: IBM Services
Posted by: meikah | 13 July 2009 | 8:56 pm
This is in continuation of the Best of Six Sigma Practices in the Philippines Benchmarking Forum I attended last April. I have shared with you Bank of Philippine Islands’ Best Practices.
Today, I will be sharing those of IBM Business Services.
For one, the company perhaps has the most number of Black Belts, Green Belts, and Yellow Belts. They really train their people for Six Sigma. Then they combine Quality methodologies and Lean, and then Six Sigma in their initiatives. This is what they do.
- QIPs (Quality Initiatives Programs) – all employees should complete at least 1 QIP for the year. The QIP encourages all employees to think of a bright idea, share it, and work on it.
- QPIC (Quality, Plan, Improve, and Control) and DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control) – the company uses the two to improve their processes. QPIC for projects with initial root causes and potential solution identified. DMAIC for projects without initial root causes and potential solution identified.
The Benefits of Six Sigma programs to IBS:
- contributed to numerous productivity improvement and quality improvement benefits – approximately USD3.2M annualized Level 1-5 savings and USD2.7M Level 1 (Hard) savings for 2008
- total of 195 trained Six Sigma specialists in the center and 100% Six Sigma oriented population
- turned around two unsatisfied clients to become referenceable after implementing Six Sigma in their domains
- the Manila Delivery Center Six Sigma program has been lauded by clients as world-class and has been one of the key selling points during client presentations
Some of the success factors:
- sound infrastructure in place to support the Six Sigma program
- ownership/accountability of front-line supervisors and middle managers
- well-trained Six Sigma Black Belts
- 100% support from top management and Mnila senior management
The important thing is that IBM Services reward their people for a job well done. Project teams are given the 6S Milestone Award, which is 10% of the total annualized hard savings of the project.
Filed under: Best Practices, IBM, IBM Services, Lean, Quality, Six Sigma, Six Sigma Organizations, Technology
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Outsourcing Companies Leveraging Six Sigma
Posted by: meikah | 2 March 2009 | 10:13 pm
Many outsourcing companies have already used Six Sigma for their operations, and have enjoyed the benefits and savings.
In a recent article on DestinationCRM, companies that oursource services have been enjoying great benefits and at the same time able to do their business well, and satisfy customers.
But it’s not that easy to outsource. There must be a good system in place to be able to do that successfully. So, many use Six Sigma to make sure that operations are well underway.
According to the article:
Outsourcers are making good use of structured quality improvement processes based on Six Sigma principles to ensure the highest levels of technical support. These new high performance processes make it possible to continually review customer satisfaction data, incorporating the all-important “Voice of the Customer” that adds the human dimension to regular audits. Findings are funneled back into the organization to ensure that practice and process are performing as intended.
Filed under: Outsourcing, Six Sigma, Six Sigma Organizations, Technology
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Six Sigma and the IT Industrial Revolution
Posted by: meikah | 26 February 2009 | 9:02 pm
Over at vnunet.com, Katy Ring talks about the IT industrial revolution. And that despite the economic crisis, the IT industry must continue to flourish. After all, most of our processes these days depend on IT.
Ms. Ring puts forward the idea that many organizations in the coming months will surely be focusing on cutting costs yet still being able to function properly. Thus, she says:
All IT service vendors should be able to demonstrate widespread use of systems management tools, which underpin IT delivery, and the adoption and pervasiveness of ITIL, ISO 20000 and Six Sigma frameworks and methods in delivery. They should also be able to demonstrate an ability to direct manpower to where it is needed and the level of centralised control for service delivery and explain how this will assist in contract delivery and pricing.
I agree with her. IT organizations must learn to utilize systems management tools such as Six Sigma or Lean, or the combination Lean Six Sigma, to save on necessary IT expenses and enjoy the corresponding benefits. To me, that is the only way to go in the coming months.
Filed under: IT, ITIL, Lean Six Sigma, Processes, Quality, Six Sigma, Technology
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Transplace Launches Lean Six Sigma Program
Posted by: meikah | 9 December 2008 | 9:11 pm
During this critical times, Transplace is launching Lean Six Sigma Program. They had started with the initiative in 2005, and is into it till now.
To date, Transplace has sent to training 12 Black Belts and 65 Green Belts that lead and provide support on projects. As a result, the program has made Transplace realize savings in excess of $5 million, allowing the company to continue investing in people, processes, and technology; all to bring value to its customers.
What’s good about Transplace’s Lean Six Sigma initiative is that it is supported by top management. According to its CEO, Tom Sanderson, the main objective of the program is to equip employees to make decisions based on statistical analysis and drive waste out of processes.
In this note, Transplace suggests the following to make your Lean Six Sigma program successful:
- Provide executive support and leadership. Programs have a better chance of positively influencing the culture with sustainable results when there is sponsorship and support from the highest levels.
- Dedicate qualified individuals. Commit employees with the appropriate skills and not just those that are available. It is important to have solid leadership driving the program and teaching these critical skills to others.
- Practice what you preach. Using Lean Six Sigma principles internally drives experience and knowledge on the program and strategies.
- Fully develop your program. Companies should consider committing 1 percent of their employees to a full-time Black Belt role and engage 10 percent of their employees part-time for leading Green Belt projects.
- Learn from others. Discussing successful Lean Six Sigma strategies with peers paves the way for building best practices and aids in avoiding common pitfalls. Continue to benchmark your Lean Six Sigma program with others.
- Do not practice on customers. Becoming proficient at Lean Six Sigma strategies before engaging customers is critical in order to ensure positive results occur and problems are avoided during implementation.
Filed under: Benefits and Savings, Leadership, Lean Six Sigma, Technology, Transplace
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Turbotec Products Inc. Goes Into Lean and Six Sigma
Posted by: meikah | 5 October 2008 | 8:08 pm
Turbotec, a world leader in heat-transfer technology, is expanding and will be opening a new facility in North Carolina despite the economic crunch.
Operation of the facility is slated to begin January 2009, initially employing about 25 workers, mainly in manufacturing production. Like the Windsor, Connecticut facility, the Hickory operation will institute Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma strategies in their manufacturing processes.
Filed under: Lean, Six Sigma, Six Sigma Organizations, Technology
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Samsung Continues with Six Sigma
Posted by: meikah | 21 September 2008 | 9:02 pm
For Samsung, Six Sigma is the key to their continuing success. They have a Samsung Six Sigma Model that has been improved and worked through these years.
Over at Business Today-India, R. Zutshi, Deputy Managing Director of Samsung India, is facing a challenging time in the face of an economic slowdown. To survive the crisis, R. Zutshi is making sure the following are working well:
- manage costs more effectively in the face of rising input costs
- manage cost by sustaining volume growth through increased productivity
- keep track of margins through sustained channel enhancement
- further enhance marketing – I know this for a fact, that Samsung has been all-out, 100% in their marketing.
- keep the The Samsung way alive: (1) launched up to 100 new product variants this year; (2) set up 30 new branch offices across the country; (3) optimising on specs of components in CTVs; (4) getting its vendors to apply Six Sigma in their production processes; (4) working to push sales volume by 30 per cent
Filed under: Electronics, Samsung, Six Sigma, Technology
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Wisconsin’s Printing Industry Goes into Six Sigma
Posted by: meikah | 7 September 2008 | 8:29 pm
As technology modernizes, printing presses face challenging times. The issues range from diminishing workforce that is interested in commercial printing to investments in technology, and to stiffer competition because of modern technology.
Kinda funny because yesterday Wizheart and I talked about the plight of printing presses. We were talking about a friend who was running one.
Let’s face it, PCs and printers, have now made printing much easier. So our friend who’s running a printing press is focusing on making calendars, diaries, and yearbooks. And with all the competition, they had to market like crazy. Good though that they already have loyal customers and a stable clientele.
Going back to Wisconsin’s printing industry, the printers have to find ways to make their business going. One of them, Craig Faust, president and CEO of HGI Company Graphic Arts, says:
“When you see some of the downsizing or ‘right sizing,’ it comes through technological advances. You see it in all manufacturing. We’re producing the same volumes or higher volumes with the same head count. A lot of us are going into lean (manufacturing), 5S or Six Sigma. It’s all about working smarter, not harder.â€
Good thinking! If you are serious about your printing business, you might as well invest in technology and in quality management methodologies to cut on cost and improve operations.
*Photo from Stock.Xchng
Filed under: Printing Industry, Six Sigma, Six Sigma Organizations, Technology
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GE: From Six Sigma to Lean Six Sigma
Posted by: meikah | 20 July 2008 | 9:10 pm
At GE, at the helm of their Six Sigma initiative is their CIO, Gary Reiner. Since GE’s massive Six Sigma initiative in 1996, Mr. Reiner has been at the forefront of GE’s Six Sigma deployment, and oversees the company’s $55 billion of annual sourcing.
The company started with Six Sigma, and it’s interesting to know that GE’s Six Sigma has morphed into Lean Six Sigma. In an interview with Geoff Colvin, senior editor at large for Fortune Magazine, Reiner shares some of his thoughts and plans for the Lean Six Sigma initiative at GE.
Here are some snippets.
What does Jeff Immelt want from you?
Three things. My responsibilities are information technology, Lean Six Sigma, and sourcing.You’ve been in charge of GE’s Six Sigma initiative since it started, in 1996. Are you still getting value out of it?
We’ve been aggressively trying to migrate away from talking about tools and instead to talking about outcomes. Six Sigma is a tool. It is a wonderful tool, but it is a tool. What we’re talking more about as a company is outcomes, and the two outcomes we really want are product reliability and customer responsiveness.So we start with that and work our way back to what tools are needed to make that happen. For product reliability, the Six Sigma tools are sensational. On the responsiveness side, it’s often less about using Six Sigma and more about getting the right people in the room to map out how long it takes for us to do something in front of customers and, using mostly common sense, take out those things that get in the way of meeting our customer needs responsibly.
For example?
In our GE Money business we offer private-label finance to retailers. We are the financing behind jewelry stores and pharmacies and the like. Sad to say, it was taking 63 days from when a retailer contacted us saying it wanted to consider using us as a private-label financier until it could conduct the first transaction with our financing. No one had calculated this before we went on this journey.We did a number of what we call lean workouts, where we get everybody in the room to map out the process, and they got it down from 63 days to one day. The leader of that business was able to go out and have as his marketing campaign, “Enroll today. Transact tomorrow.” When we did that, sales doubled. And there are 30 examples of that throughout the company.
No wonder GE has been successful in their Six Sigma initiatives. They have understood the role of Six Sigma or Lean Six Sigma, which is a tool, in their process improvement, and work around that premise. They have a goal, which is product reliability and customer responsiveness, and they have focused their Six Sigma initiative with that end goal in mind.
It’s always about a goal and a focus.
Update:
GE: The Heat on Immelt
Filed under: Deployment, GE, Lean Six Sigma, Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Six Sigma Organizations, Technology
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Six Sigma at McKesson Corp.
Posted by: meikah | 9 June 2008 | 7:49 pm
McKesson Corp., the largest pharmaceutical distributor in the U.S., is using the latest technology and Six Sigma to be ahead of the pack.
McKesson’s EVP and CIO, Randall N. Spratt shares with WSJ how his company is using technology to make its operations more efficient, to improve health care and to create a better environment for the company’s workers, dispelling the impression that many healtcare companies lag in terms of technology use.
This is how the interview started.
WSJ: McKesson makes 1.5 cents for every dollar it takes in on its distribution business, so efficiency is critical. Not surprisingly, the company relies on technology to make its warehouse operations more efficient. What is the process you go through to determine what technology might help?
Mr. Spratt: We have a large investment in a process-improvement methodology called Six Sigma. We employ somewhere north of 100 Six Sigma professionals, whose job is to take apart business processes. It could be as small as taking something off a truck and putting it on a shelf, or it could be as broad as what happens from the time we take an order to the time we ship an invoice. What they are trained to do is take a given business process, analyze it and take it apart to find where the highest variability is.WSJ: One technology that McKesson developed is a small computer that warehouse workers wear on their wrists and that is attached to a scanner on the worker’s finger. How did you come up with this system and what has it accomplished?
Mr. Spratt: It came from a Six Sigma analysis. Most errors in the warehouse came at the point of picking, which is taking something off a warehouse shelf, associating it with an order, and putting it in the right bin for shipping. The second-highest error rate came from stocking errors. If you stock a drug in the wrong place, the pickers have to search for it and they waste a lot of time. So they sat down and said how can we solve these problems.
Continue reading…
It’s pretty obvious that McKesson is trying to combine modern technology and Six Sigma. If they are able to do this successfully, then they’ll be a force to reckon with in the pharma/healthcare industry.
Source:
SmartBrief News
