Management Support Ensures Six Sigma Success

Yesterday, I shared with you some of the reasons why Lean Six Sigma didn’t work out at K T Cat’s company. It all boils down to getting management support to ensure the success of a Six Sigma project.

Kevin Grayson validates this claim as he shares with the Manufacturer.com the crucial role of management in any Six Sigma deployment.

Grayson says that Six Sigma projects must be aligned with the company’s plans and strategies, properly resourced, perdiodically reviewed, and have the sufficient financial resources. Further, management roles are numerous but the basics come in the following forms:

• Setting the expectations for Six Sigma within their organization
• Communicating the expectations for Six Sigma throughout the organization
• Defining and providing the Six Sigma infrastructure for the organization
• Establishing appropriate financial measures for the Six Sigma implementation
• Selecting training resources, Black Belt and Green Belt candidates, and training plans

The need for management support is not new. It has been emphasized many times before. I guess, we just need to repeat it again and again to get the attention of management.

*Photo credit: MorgueFile.com

Filed under: Deployment, Six Sigma Organizations, Team Dynamics, Tips

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Getting Real with Lean Six Sigma

Lean Six Sigma may have been well received by other companies, but like all other quality strategies, it is not as successful with others.

The Scratching Post has an interesting real-life take on Lean Six Sigma: Lean Six Sigma is a Fraud for Engineering Consultancies.

K T Cat shares:

Where I work, we use Lean Six Sigma. LSS is a formal method for tracing work flows and processes in order to find inefficiencies. It’s a total fraud for our organization. We do not measure the cost of implementation and overstate our results to upper management so that it looks like a success. Because our managers have been forced to use it, there is no effort to find the true value of LSS and our middle managers must report only good news. In short, LSS encourages organizational corruption. Continue reading…

Based on the entry, I see the following reasons why Lean Six Sigma failed in K T Cat’s company.

• Managers didn’t see the value of the strategy. The question, “What’s in it for us?” was not addressed.
• Communication is padded, emphasizing only the good news.
• The structure of the workforce is not prepared to accommodate Lean Six Sigma trainings or project deployments.

If these concerns are addressed, I’m sure Lean Six Sigma will work.

*Photo credit: MorgueFile.com

Filed under: Deployment, Lean Six Sigma

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Brand Six Sigma for Christmas Decors and Gifts

Not done with Christmas shopping yet? Well, brace yourself for a last-minute shopping frenzy. Department stores, grocery checkout counters could very well use Six Sigma or even Lean Six Sigma at this time of the year.

However, you may want to forgo going to the stores altogether and opt for online shopping. Well, one store that vows to have the seal of Six Sigma in their christmas decors and gifts, and services is the Christmas Decorations and Gift Store. Their promise:

Christmas decorations and Christmas gifts must be delivered on time with the correct quantities to the proper address. Christmas Decorations and Gift Store, has dedicated itself to having the best performance of any company selling Christmas decorations and Christmas gifts. The range of Christmas decorations and Christmas gifts is vast. More importantly you will get exactly what you ordered on a timely basis. They are able to make that assertion since they have examined their work practices and adjusted them such that their performance is the best in the industry. The goal is six sigma performance. These levels of performance reduce waste, re-work and unnecessary costs, which are passed on to customers. You will find that the prices on many items are substantially discounted from the manufacturers suggested retail price.

*Photo credit: MorgueFile.com

Merry Christmas everyone!

Filed under: Events/Announcements, Sales, Services, Six Sigma Organizations

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Improving Humvee Repairs Through Lean Six Sigma

A new Humvee (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle) engine rebuilding line for U.S. forces in Europe underwent a weeklong Rapid Improvement Events (RIE) on Rhein Ordnance Barracks. A group of Six Sigma Green and Black belts was deployed for the RIE.

During the RIE using Lean Six Sigma, the team spent the first days of the RIE, observing mechanics at work and identifying specific areas in need of streamlining. Every employee was involved in the process. Among the improvements that was immediately incorporated was organizing parts and tools. The team also recommended to improve co-locating the engine disassembly and parts-cleaning centers and improving communication between mechanics and supervisors by using a status-tracking board. Read more…

Just to give you an idea of what a humvee is, USATODAY.com outlines the uses of a humvee.

Besides carrying soldiers, it also:

• Is a military ambulance and police vehicle.
• Carries or tows light howitzers and mortars, serves as a mobile mount for machine guns and can launch Stinger missiles.
• Is a platform for the Army’s mobile cell phone and satellite systems.
• Is used for tactical reconnaissance.

Continue reading…

*Photo credit:Exoto.com

Filed under: Lean Six Sigma, Manufacturing, Military

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Six Sigma Improves Process for Perioperative Timing

Over at SixSigmaZone.com, I got the story of how The Cleveland Clinic met the target interval of giving perioperative antimicrobial prophylaxis of equal and/or less than 60 minutes to non-cardiac patients who will undergo surgery.

Featured on Anesthesia & Analgesia, the Clinic found out that only 38% of their patients receive the procedure at the appointed time before going surgery. To improve this process, Cleveland Clinic adopted Six Sigma.

Methods: Six Sigma methodology was used to improve our process of timing of antimicrobial prophylaxis administration. A multidisciplinary team was assembled which identified seven process inputs by which patients receive antimicrobial prophylaxis. Interventions for improvement included reinforcement of use of preoperative antibiotic order forms, eliminating administration of antibiotics in the preoperative admission area, and sending appropriate antibiotics and IV tubing with the patient to the operating room. We concurrently developed a control plan to sustain this improvement using a recently deployed electronic anesthesia record keeping system using real-time measurement and reporting capabilities of antimicrobial prophylaxis administration. After defining the new process and undertaking a system-wide educational effort, implementation was begun with data collection and analysis occurring over the next 7 mo.

Results: For the 8-mo postintervention interval, there was a significant improvement with 86% of 1716 surgical patients receiving their antibiotic prophylaxis within the specified time frame (P < 0.01). The time interval for antibiotic administration before surgical incision also decreased from a preintervention mean of 88 (CI 56–119 min) to 38 min (CI 25–51 min) (P < 0.01).

Incidentally, Cleveland Clinic was ranked one of the top three hospitals in the U.S. by the U.S. News & World Report 2006. It demonstrates exceptional breadth of excellence, and score at or the near top of at least six specialties, among which are gynecology, cancer, eye, pediatrics, psychiatry, and rehabilitation.

Filed under: Benefits and Savings, Deployment, Healthcare

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Podcast on Sales and Marketing the Six Sigma Way

Over at B2B Lead Generation Blog, Brian Carroll interviews Michael Webb, founder of Sales Performance Consultants and an expert on sales process improvement on his excellent book, Sales and Marketing the Six Sigma Way.

The interview is on podcast, so you get to listen to a very interesting, useful exchange of ideas. Check out the podcast here.

Filed under: Interview, Six Sigma References

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Six Sigma in the Eyes of a Customer

“Six Sigma “Works” By Eliminating Customer Service” goes one story on BusinessWeek. The story’s title got my attention because I know Six Sigma’s bottomline has the customers in mind. You continuously improve processes to better please your customers.

When I read the story, I somehow knew that what Claude E. Beeler Jr is saying has a ring of truth. I know that many successful companies do not treat their distributors, who are also their customers, well.

I’m sharing the story with you below and I hope some Six Sigma practitioners out there can enlighten Claude and others who feel as Claude does.

As a small-business owner, I have personally dealt with several manufacturers that have instituted the Six Sigma system (“Six Sigma still pays off at Motorola (MOT ),” The Corporation, Dec. 4). It may be good for manufacturers, but as a distributor of their goods, it was bad for me.

At each company, customer service declined, becoming less responsive and more rigid and unfriendly. Return policies became very restrictive. Customer service and field sales personnel were cut, and their duties were pushed onto distributors with no margin increase to compensate for the increased overhead. Their attitude became: “I will increase my bottom-line profit, and I am not concerned about the effect it has on you.” Six Sigma is entirely one-sided, and there is no spirit of cooperation.

Claude E. Beeler Jr.
Oklahoma City

Filed under: Services

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My Six Sigma Wish

Christmas time is here. And one of my Christmas wishes, actually, my year-long wish, is for companies to ensure that what they sell are of good quality, 3.4 DPMOs even, or zero defect at all.

Just today, a colleague returned a pair of slippers because they came in different sizes. It was not even the saleslady’s fault because the slippers were still bound by the plastic latch. So I figured it was a defect in packaging and it happened somewhere in the assembly line. Though an unmatched slippers are much less harmful than, say, toys or fireworks and even christmas lights that can cause houses to burn down, defects are still defects.

Companies will learn a lot from this Bechtel’s Christmas Parable, where Santa Claus is a Six Sigma practitioner. I shared this story, which I titled, A Six Sigma Christmas Story, December of last year yet, but it’s one story that’s worth telling every year. Here’s a screenshot of that entry.

*Photo credit: MorgueFile.com

Filed under: Events/Announcements, Manufacturing, Services

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Six Sigma Professionals Roundup

Six Sigma professionals start to get busy this week.

First, two Six Sigma Black Belts will lead important teams to successful Six Sigma project deployments. Irena Petsche joins Heartbeat Software as Vice President, Professional Services. She will be responsible for the company’s global, enterprise software implementations, and professional services operations.

Over at MEPatWORK, Michael T. McNeley will be leading the development for the company’s new customer-fulfillment division including customer care, customer loyalty, and customer retention. He will also be also be responsible for Final5, whose service includes the sourcing, interviewing, and pre-screening of qualified candidates.

Being both experienced Six Sigma Black Belts, these two are expected to bring the much-needed success of the two companies.

In another development, MoreSteam.com has trained more than 110,000 Six Sigma professionals, packing the Michigan Stadium to record-high attendance. You can just imagine the impact of these professionals when they go back to their respective fields and make the Six Sigma difference.

*Photo credit: MorgueFile.com

Filed under: Events/Announcements, Team Dynamics, Training

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Will Manufacturing Six Sigma Work In a Transaction-Based Financial Services Environment?

Six Sigma is often associated with manufacturing processes, maybe because it started in that industry. Lately, however, the methodology has been used in service-transactional industries as well.

So, will Six Sigma that is developed with manufacturing processes in mind work in a (financial) services industry?

In an ASQ Six Sigma Forum, the answer to that question is put in a table. The table shows:

What do you think?

Filed under: Deployment, Finance, Services

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