Lean Six Sigma and Cycle Time

Working in a software company, I often hear my colleagues talk about challenging projects and demanding clients. I understand both parts: the challenging and the demanding because I know there’s unending challenge in software development and yes customers have the right to demand.

If I were the customer, submerged in a sea of technology competition, I would do the same. In the same manner that if I were the developer, I’d probably use all my powers to turn in an excellent work, may it be from scratch or modified existing application.

Perhaps the challenge in software development that is closest to the customer’s heart is cycle time. In simpler terms, cycle time refers to the time the project is started (i.e., goal-setting and team building) to the time the finished product is operationally available to the customer (tested, documented, installed, trained and supported).

If the process is smooth, well and good. Everybody’s happy. However, there will most likely be snags along the way. That is why in every project development, there are people who are assigned to do time and motion study. This is in the hope of reducing cycle time.

Toward this end, project managers use strategies to reduce cycle time. One is the Agile method, which reduces cycle time in many situations because of the following reasons:

• Smaller teams undertake smaller units of work and are hence more efficient.
• Smaller iterations facilitate parallelism. Iteration A can be tested while Iteration B is being built and Iteration C is being defined (requirements are being determined).
• Smaller units of functionality are less complex, and defect insertion rates are consequently lower.
• Shorter iterations reduce the consequences of requirements changes driven by changing business circumstances.
• Most Agile teams are structured so that they have end-to-end responsibility – hence fewer hand-offs and shorter queues or backlogs of incomplete work.
• It may, in some instances, be less difficult to manage and reduce interruptions.

Read more…

Other factors that contribute to longer cycle times merit study and measurement, too. For now, if you notice, the operating words on the list above are smaller, shorter, fewer. These are the same operating words for lean—manufacturing or Six Sigma. Thus, I believe reducing cycle time is more effective with Lean Six Sigma, which emphasizes root-cause solutions.

Related story: Applying Lean Principles to Product Development

Filed under: Lean Six Sigma, Software/Technology, Team Dynamics

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Textron Goes Green Through Six Sigma

If there’s one thing that we never fail to do every single day, that will be churning out waste or trash. Sure, we hear about preserving the environment, or we complain about pollution, but do we really make an effort to even take care of our garbage? Perhaps not—not as consciously as we wanted to be.

This was how Theresa Pacheco, corporate and executive services coordinator at Textron, Inc. felt. She could not really call herself an environmentalist but she knew she had to do something about preserving the environment. So when she was completing her Six Sigma Green Belt certification, she wanted to have a project that would make an impact not only on her company, but also on the surroundings she was in.

Pacheco need not look far to find that project. In fact, she was staring at it every time she went to work. Every day, Textron produces a small mountain of trash: plastic water bottles, soda cans, paper cups, discarded mail, newspapers, cardboard, which she thought could all be recycled. She knew to embark on a recycling project would be expensive, but she had the focus of a Black Belter already. She sought out the help of the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation (RIRRC), a state environmental agency that funds and manages the State of Rhode Island’s recycling program. The rest is history.

Being true to her Six Sigma training, Pacheco maintains the project successfully through the process. By the end of this year, Textron is estimated to have recycled 86 tons—86 tons that won’t end up in a landfill.

*Photo credit: MorgueFile.com

Filed under: Manufacturing, Team Dynamics, Sustainable Business

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Six Sigma at First Vehicle Services

Photo from MorgueFile.com

For most, if not all, businesses, transportation is the most crucial operation. Deliveries have to be made on time, supplies have to be received on the dot, and construction work has to be finished as scheduled. Thus, trucks, construction equipment, and other vehicle requirements need to be in good condition.

At the First Vehicle Services, the group makes sure that their customers receive the best fleet maintenance there is.

In an interview with FleetEquipmentMag.com, Randy Book of First Vehicle Services, general manager of the Richland County Service Center, said that Six Sigma is their partner in being able to provide excellent service to their customers in the most cost-efficient way.

Because of this, the company made it to the list of Top 100 fleets in North America in 2005 by Fleet Equipment magazine itself.

Being true to its Six Sigma philosophy, First Vehicle invests in good technical trainings for all their technicians who eventually get certified. What’s good about these trainings is that they come with increased pay or financial incentives, too. For example, trainees get reimbursements if they do well in their certification tests. Randy Book further says, “We share information on a regular basis and encourage open dialog between technicians and the staff. At least once a month, we conduct First Quality Maintenance meetings where we examine how we do what we do.”

I must admit this company sounds too good to be true. However, judging from their success and in their word-of-mouth recruitment of employees, I’d say First Vehicle is one for the books.

Filed under: Benefits and Savings, Services, Team Dynamics

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Six Sigma for Sports Fans of America Association

The goal of the Sports Fans of America Association is to “improve the quality of sports from a fan’s perspective.”

As the leading fan advocacy of the US, the organization wants to bring dignity to the fan. After all, the fans support every game and bring in endorsements for the sports personalities.

Having Robert Hutcherson, the founder and CEO of Sports Fans of America Association, Inc., at the helm, I see no reason why the group’s goal cannot be achieved. For one, Hutcherson holds a six sigma black belt certification in business process improvement and is an accomplished organizational change management consultant.

Filed under: Services, Team Dynamics

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Always Go For Continuous Process Improvement

To counter an increasingly diverse market, businesses have to build a diverse workforce. Diversity is now welcome as companies need top talent however it comes. In fact, many companies these days allow for telecommuting and are making operational changes to accommodate such concerns just to tap extraordinary talent.

Read about it on Global Business Watch today.

Filed under: General

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TRIZ on the Improve Stage of Six Sigma’s DMAIC

As a process of systematic study and analysis, TRIZ makes problem solving easier. One characteristic of the TRIZ approach is its ability to break down problems into more manageable and understandable pieces. This is actually what you need to do when you are faced with a challenge.

The discipline of TRIZ allows you to do this. Thus, if you are to fit it into your Six Sigma methodology, you find at which stage in the DMAIC cycle it will be. Will it be in the Define stage, or in the Control stage?

Ferret.com in one of its problem-solving articles suggests:

The use of TRIZ is a standard recommendation for the Improve stage in the DMAIC cycle and forms an essential part of the Design for Six Sigma process…

Continuous improvement - The constant switching in TRIZ reasoning between the large picture view and minute detail ensures that improvements are carried out efficiently. The quest for increasing ideality provides the motivation for sustaining such programs within the organisation.

Link: Problem solving: looking back to go forward

Filed under: Deployment

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Soundbites on Six Sigma and Process Improvement

I was researching about Six Sigma and chanced upon Lois Whitman’s blog. It is an interesting blog!

I browsed through her blog and found one interesting post—her talk with David Silverstein, CEO of Breakthrough Management Group (BMG).

I’m sharing here snippets of what Silverstein shared with Whitman. These snippets are about Six Sigma and improving business processes in general.

“Six Sigma means something different to every company. For some, Six Sigma is a total management philosophy, for others it is simply a process improvement effort designed to increase productivity and reduce costs. In its most simple sense, Six Sigma is a highly disciplined approach to decision making that helps people focus on improving processes to make them as near perfect as possible.

The term “Six Sigma” relates to the number of mathematical defects in a process. Six Sigma practitioners focus on systematically eliminating the defects so they can get as close to “zero defects” as possible. If done properly, Six Sigma ensures that internal processes are running at optimum efficiency.”

Nothing new there really, but I believe there is a need to revisit this fact. Misconceptions about Six Sigma even before you use it for your processes is a sure step to disaster.

Another interesting soundbite from Silverstein:

“Most executives are missing core competencies today to be effective. The business landscape is changing so fast because of technology and globalization. Executives think they are learning every day because they sit in meetings, go to conventions, attend seminars, and read their journals. That’s information gathering. It is impossible for them to process information they get today based on their education 20 to 30 years ago. They haven’t updated their ability to process the information and develop new skills.”

I agree with him on this. I don’t see any productivity happening in an organization where people are always in a meeting. I see or hear people saying they’re very busy, hopping from one meeting to another. Fine! You have to act on what you’ve discussed, though. You also need to improve yourself; continuing education is one.

Now, let me ask you this. Do you know the difference between a “strategic thinker” and a “strategic planner?”

“Strategic thinking means, ‘I have great ideas and I can see where to go.’ Strategic planning means, ‘I know how to put them into place to get where I want to go.’”

Now, are you a strategic thinker or a strategic planner?

Link: Business Conversations With Lois Whitman And The Guy Who Sees It All

Filed under: Six Sigma References

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Six Sigma and Triz: Working Together

Popular notion has it that success and innovation do not always go together. Why so? That is because innovation means change—to change the lifestyle you are leading at that particular moment. Often, some organizations do not foresee what’s beyond the change they are facing at the moment. They only see change as something that rocks the boat.

I remember Jim Clark, CEO of InnoGreat and speaker of the “Breakthrough Innovation” seminar I attended, you have to welcome change. Embrace innovation all the time, be at the fringe, otherwise your company will become conventional, and will eventually turn into yesterday’s news. There must always be something new and good about your company so that your customers get pleasantly surprised, at every turn, all the time.

With Six Sigma, you are assured of constant innovation already as its DMAIC methodology requires you to follow through with your projects. Somehow, continuous improvement through some mechanical (as in statistics and data mining) method is sometimes not enough. Creativity has an important role to play, too. This is where TRIZ comes in.

Mulbury Consulting commends:

By combining TRIZ and Six Sigma together you get the best of both worlds. Creativity and innovation are essential everywhere in life and TRIZ should not be just for the engineers and designers! On its own TRIZ can be very technical and product focused, however by using DMAIC rather than ARIZ (algorithm for inventive problem solving) to drive TRIZ the approach is simplified as a tool for everyone within the mainstream business.

Six Sigma brings cross functional project teams and strong focus to solving real business problems, and the benefits for the TRIZ programme are

• a ‘Clearly Invented Here’ syndrome
• strong management support and focus
• exceptional presentation support for ideas
• elimination or mitigation of prejudice and hostility
• self-promotion and of salesmanship from the team

Link: Six Sigma TRIZ

Filed under: Training, Deployment

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A Six Sigma Milkshake Anyone?

I don’t know with you, but I love milkshakes! They are delicious, nutritious, and easy to make. Who would have thought that I would need Six Sigma to make my milkshake business work?

You heard it right. Six Sigma is actually being used by Red Robin Restaurants to be able to serve the best milkshakes to their customers. GE Commercial Finance, Franchise Finance offered the Red Robin operations team “At the Customer, For the Customer” (ACFC), an innovative program that brings the vast resources and management tools of GE directly to customers to enhance quality and customer service.

Together GE ACFC and Red Robin teams chose milkshake delivery as the first improvement project. Naturally, GE quickly put Six Sigma to work for Red Robin.

Mike Woods, senior vice president at Red Robin, says:

“In 2005, we will produce more than five million milkshakes. Because we focus on serving the highest quality food and beverages, it’s extremely important our milkshakes are delivered as soon as they’re made. Before ACFC, we were delivering milkshakes on-time only 36 percent of the time in one particular region. This meant our guests weren’t receiving milkshakes as soon as they were made and, potentially, received partially melted milkshakes when they were delivered. After ACFC, on-time delivery of milkshakes jumped to 77 percent. The project was a huge success, with on-time delivery more than doubling!”

As soon as they deployed Six Sigma, many issues had been identified and addressed. One major issue was not using the First Available Server Transport (FAST) that was just lying around Red Robin’s kitchen. Continue reading…

Indeed, Six Sigma, being data driven and fact-based, identifies problems and is equipped with tools and statistics to improve business processes.

Filed under: Benefits and Savings

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“Help! I’m Your Laptop and I’ve Been Stolen”

As commerce and business turn to the Internet for more leverage, laptops and notebooks are more and more necessary even for the ordinary netizen. However, laptop thefts also soar. Thus, companies are now finding ways to curb this unfortunate trend.

Read about it on Global Business Watch today.

Filed under: Events/Announcements

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