4 Factors Critical to the Success of Six Sigma Projects
Posted by: meikah | 5 October 2008 | 9:06 pm
QualityMag features the article of Paul Clipp, Sheila R. Poling, and Dr. Sophronia Ward on selecting successful Six Sigma projects and who should be involved.
The four critical success factors are:
- the Project Champion
- the Project Leader
- the Project Selection
- and the Project Charter
I say, this is a good review for everyone. So read more…
Filed under: Deployment, Project Management, Six Sigma, Tips
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A Six Sigma Review
Posted by: meikah | 21 September 2008 | 10:01 pm
Do you need to brush up on the basics of Six Sigma?
Here’s a good discussion on the basics of Six Sigma.
In essence, six sigma is a management plan geared towards producing better results, better products, and better service. Developed by Joseph M. Juran and Peter Senge in conjunction with Motorola, six sigma is technically an objective of quality. This objective very specifically defines how variable a process needs to be in terms of product specifications in order to meet and exceed customer demands in terms of product quality and product reliability.
Filed under: Six Sigma, Six Sigma References, Tips
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The Lean of Six Sigma Helps HR Streamline its Tasks
Posted by: meikah | 11 September 2008 | 9:01 pm
An article on BLR.com says that many companies want their HR department to become more of a strategic partner than do succession planning and organizational support.
The argument is that HR already has a lot in their hands, and so an additional task may be counterproductive for the department. However, there is a way to free up HR for them to take part in strategic planning for the company, too.
In the article, it says that HR can use the Lean concepts of Six Sigma to streamline their tasks. The three useful concepts are:
- Using Process Value And Mapping – determine whether the HR function is procedure and process heavy
- Improving ‘Throughput’ – review the systems and staffing for your processes since both affect the end result.
- Introduce ‘Pull’ Systems – link process and demand cuts out waste that could cause overproduction. “For service [providers] like HR, the objective is to reduce the overall lead time of providing services by reducing things in progress.”
Related story:
Six Sigma in HR
Filed under: Benefits and Savings, Human Resource, Lean, Processes, Six Sigma, Tips
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Six Sigma Training Tips from LearnSigma.com
Posted by: meikah | 24 June 2008 | 9:52 pm
Rob Thomson of LearnSigma shares these interesting Six Sigma training tips. I’ve shared my thoughts about it too earlier.
Anyway, here are Rob’s top tips:
- Always emphasise the graphical tools over formal statistical analyses
- Teach the tools and their applications, and omit the underlying theory but not the key assumptions which make the tool applicable or not
- Use real life examples and case-studies
- Use software, e.g. Minitab to demonstrate hands-on implementation
- Tie the training into a project, with the emphasis on using tools which are appropriate to solve the problem, in other words, don’t be overly prescriptive with what tools are required
Very useful tips, Rob, and I like the look of your new site!
You may also want to check out my interview with Rob.
Filed under: Robert Thompson, Six Sigma, Six Sigma References, Tips
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8 Basics of Lean Six Sigma For Manufacturing Firms
Posted by: meikah | 23 June 2008 | 8:52 pm
From Articles Bridge again, I’m sharing here the eight basics of Lean Six Sigma for Manufacturing Firms.
- Information Accuracy – Any system is bound to fail if it is based on inaccurate data and inappropriate documentation.
- Performance Management – A balanced scorecard is often successful in motivating key employees to perform.
- Continuous Production Lines – Using the simple technique of sequential production, organizations can make timely deliveries and gain substantial profit margins.
- Production Point Logistics – Cutting down existing inventory and making an attempt to move production parts and components to their point of use can prove to be substantial cost savers.
- Shorter cycle times – By eliminating waste in production, companies are able to manufacture goods quickly.
- Smooth schedules and linear production – Maintaining constant emphasis on the achievement of daily targets is necessary. It will create awareness among the team of how critical it is to execute timely production planning details.
- Resource Planning -Timely planning with the appropriate workforce size is necessary. By reallocating employees onto other avenues rather than laying them off due to efficient processes, staff will become more confident in the organization.
- Customer Satisfaction – Customer Satisfaction has to be grounded in reality, and cannot simply be perception-based. All communication regarding actual quality of products and expectations should flow directly from customers.
Source:
Six Sigma Zone News
*Photo from Stock.Xchng
Filed under: Lean Manufacturing, Lean Six Sigma, Manufacturing, Six Sigma Zone, Tips
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SixSig Reference Feature: World Class Applications of Six Sigma – Real World Examples of Success
Posted by: meikah | 4 June 2008 | 11:07 pm
I always believe that theory and practice should go together. Several times theories sound so good that they give you a glimpse of heaven. But in practice, they don’t work at all.
That was the reason why I grabbed the chance to attend the forum on Six Sigma Practices in the Philippines last year. True enough, I learned that real is far better than reel.
So, you may want to check this book out: World Class Applications of Six Sigma: Real World Examples of Success by Antony, Jiju; Kumar, Ashok; Banuelas, Ricardo
World Class Applications shows what real organisations have done to implement Six Sigma, the methodology used, and the results delivered. The book provides details of how these organisations overcame issues with the statistical tools of Six Sigma and provides valuable lessons by explaining what went wrong when implementation failed. Cases cover topics including: Six Sigma in HR; Implementing Six Sigma in the Dow Chemical company; Six Sigma in IT; and Six Sigma to improve reporting quality.
- Demonstrates how Six Sigma has been applied through real-life case studies
- Examples from well-known manufacturing and service companies around the world, including Motorola and Dow Chemical
- Estimates the financial savings made from implementing Six Sigma in each case study
Filed under: Six Sigma, Six Sigma References, Tips
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8+1 Reasons Your Lean/Six Sigma Initiative Could Fail
Posted by: meikah | 2 June 2008 | 10:57 pm
In keeping with the previous post, I’d like to direct you to Ron Pereira’s site where he posted eight reasons your Lean/Six Sigma initiative could fail.
And if I add a #9 – You fail to put a follow-through system, which will determine the sustainability of the initiative.
Check out Ron’s eight reasons…
Filed under: Deployment, Lean Six Sigma, Ron Pereira, Six Sigma, Tips
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Six Sigma Cuts IT Costs at Cummins
Posted by: meikah | 7 October 2007 | 11:39 pm
I’ve written quite a lot about Cummins, Inc. here, and I can say that the company is a good example of an organization that has taken Six Sigma seriously and is enjoying the benefits of it.
Over at NetworkWorld, its National Correspondent Carolyn Duffy Marsan interviewed Gail Farnsley, Cummins CIO, and touched on how Cummins is able to cut down on IT costs using Six Sigma.
Some of the interesting points are:
- For employees who think they don’t have extra time to a Six Sigma project, encourage them to use Six Sigma in their tasks at hand.
- Six Sigma is about leading projects, doing analysis, and process improvement.
- You can do multiple pieces of IT stuff as Six Sigma projects.
- Six Sigma can be used for requirements gathering or reducing the cost of support or storage.
- Six Sigma should be the language of the whole organization.
Source:
NetworkWorld, a Six Sigma Zone featured link
*Photo from MorgueFile
Filed under: Cummins, Deployment, Interview, Manufacturing, Six Sigma Organizations, Six Sigma References, Technology, Tips
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Interviews for a Six Sigma Deployment
Posted by: meikah | 4 October 2007 | 10:55 pm
Many companies want to go Six Sigma but are not sure about how to go about it. It’s that one initial step that can make or break your journey. I’ve learned about this from the Six Sigma and Lean seminars that I attended.
The common question is how do we choose the projects? How do we begin the deployment? Simple questions whose answers are not always the basic or easy solutions.
Bill Kastle and Max Isaac share with iSixSigma Financial Services how interviews can help in a Six Sigma deployment, specifically what questions to ask. The questions would touch the following areas:
- Experiences with change initiatives from the past. Are they still in place? Why or why not? Have they made people enthusiastic or cynical?
- Understanding of corporate strategy and priorities: key competitive selling points of the organization and its products/services; key barriers that may hinder or derail deployment of strategy. A big one might be whether organization leaders think they can afford to dedicate a percentage of the workforce as full-time Black Belts.
- Current attitude towards Lean Six Sigma. Do they see it as a means for accomplishing their goals? As a necessary evil?
- How decisions are made and how conflict is resolved. Styles of decision-making, commitment to a team decision once made, support for divergent views, the level at which decision-making occurs.
- What people consider key to their personal success within the organization. How are strategic planning and individual goals are aligned in performance evaluations?
- How work gets done — collaboration vs. silos.
- The organization’s and key individuals’ understanding of and experience with any element of Lean Six Sigma (processes, data collection, cycle-time reduction, best practice sharing, etc.).
- Training history. What training has the company provided in the past? What skills have been emphasized? How well has it worked?
- Union issues. To what extent will unions be a factor in the Lean Six Sigma implementation?
- How strategies, goals, success measurements, and targets are cascaded throughout the organization. What structures and processes exist that determine improvement priorities? How is progress monitored and who participates in the processes?
- Teamwork/collaboration. Is it there or is it lacking within the organization? Are there turf wars?
- Openness to new approaches. How prevalent is the “not invented here syndrome”?
Like any other endeavor, knowing what is it that you need or need to do is always a good way to start.
Filed under: Deployment, Tips, iSixSigma
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Six Sigma Reference Feature: Using Six Sigma in Safety Metrics
Posted by: meikah | 16 July 2007 | 6:48 pm
There’s a line that goes, “The way to be safe is never to feel secure.”
Manufacturing plants know this too well. That is why they schedule maintenance check on their equipment a regular basis. More importantly they set up safety measures for their workers. All these because accidents can be costly.
Here’s a good reference on how you can use Six Sigma in Safety Metrics. It is the quality review process at Motorola.
In order to deliver excellence in safety performance, the safety professional must fully integrate with the business. Working in a silo as a service organization with independent initiatives will never provide for your company the outcomes desired. The safety function must prove to be value-added to the business and work toward a world class safety culture that helps to place the business at a distinct advantage among its competitors. The best way to do this is through those systems already in place that the managers monitor that constantly review quality, cycle time and manufacturing costs.
Source:
Adams Six Sigma
*Photo from MorgueFile
