Six Sigma and Statistical Software
Posted by: meikah | 10 December 2006 | 9:18 pm
When one hears the term Six Sigma, one will almost always think of statistics, too. After all, Six Sigma methodology boasts of being data-driven, which can be measured and interpreted through statistics.
While it is true that statistics eats up 50% of a Six Sigma project, as some practitioners claim, it is not the end-all and be-all of this initiative. The same goes for the numerous statistical software in the market today. They definitely help in the measurement and analysis but it is not Six Sigma per se.
Robert Thomson of Qualitas provides a clear discussion on the matter.
“…in the Six Sigma arena, software is like a crutch. Six Sigma practitioners must realize that numbers don’t represent the total information about an event and statistical software doesn’t solve problems.” Continue reading…
*Photo credit: MorgueFile.com
Filed under: Software/Technology, Deployment
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What Lean Six Sigma Does To Your Company
Posted by: meikah | 8 December 2006 | 1:06 am
Over at EDN, Tam Harbert shares some ideas on how electronics companies have used Lean Six Sigma to improve processes and at the same time pump up revenues.
- At Celestica, Lean Six Sigma reduces the steps workers must take to accomplish a task.
- At Solectron’s Guadalahara, Mexico, Lean Six Sigma reduces time to assign workers to a spefic task.
- At ON Semiconductor, the methodology allows the company to identify places in its communications process where information gets lost
Despite these improvements, revenues are said to have stalled. One company, which is Xerox, found a way to improve revenues after going Lean. The company uses Lean Six Sigma as a platform for services, and show its customers how to apply Lean Six to improve their business operations. In other words, by showing your customers the way to Lean, they will tend to stick with you.
I see value in what Xerox is doing. Cooperating and learning with your customers can translate to a positive bottomline.
*Photo credit: MorgueFile.com
Filed under: Benefits and Savings, Manufacturing, Lean Six Sigma
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Idea-Tools You Can Generate From Six Sigma
Posted by: meikah | 7 December 2006 | 1:49 am
CSO Online, the resource of security executives, outlined the ideas that you can learn from Six Sigma
Being a data-driven strategy to measure and improve processes and remove defects, Six Sigma’s control phase is a good start to monitor security-related incidents. The tools outlined are the following:
- Business Process Quality Management. In Six Sigma, before we can begin to measure and improve processes, we have to map out business process flow and device a system that will monitor each process. The business process quality management allows us to view each process, evaluate the gaps and work on them.
- Voice of the Customer (VOC). We use the process of VOC to determine the needs of the customer, and work toward improving the customer experience and increase loyalty. Those needs are captured through direct observation, interviews and focus groups, customer-supplied specifications and requests, data from customer service records and warranty claims, and more.
- Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA). With FMEA procedure we can identify every possible way in which a process or product might fail, rank on a scale of one to 10 those possible failures and probable causes, and prioritize solutions. Example: If information security wanted to determine the impact of data loss resulting from a stolen laptop, its FMEA assessment might look something like this:
- Severity = 10
- Likelihood of Occurrence = 7
- Detection = 5 (the higher the detection number, the more difficult the failure is to detect)
- with a total Risk Priority Number of 350, which helps management rank that risk against other threats.
- Change Management. Narrowly defined, Six Sigma Change Management is the process of controlling and managing change while minimizing the risk of disruption to services. Loosely interpreted, it’s a way to get the rank and file on our side, by effectively and efficiently communicating what’s going to happen and why.
*Photo credit: MorgueFile.com
Filed under: Tools/Toolkits
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Vietnamese Enterprises Go Six Sigma
Posted by: meikah | 6 December 2006 | 12:24 am
Vietnam Economy reports that the Ministry of Trade of Vietnam and Ford Vietnam recently held a seminar on the Six Sigma method of total quality management. During the seminar, ministry and corporate experts introduced methodologies and shared experience with over 200 local businesses about TQM.
Ford Vietnam is confident about the outcome of the seminar especially that it has the support of the government. Everyone believed that with Six Sigma, which can work together with TQM, Vietnamese companies will be ready to compete in the global market.
After this seminar, it is hoped that more Vietnames companies would embrace Six Sigma, or welcome the concept of TQM. As of last year, 2005, a survey shows that only 8% of Vietnamese enterprises express a demand for TQM training, although these companies regard quality as one of the most important factors of competitiveness.
If Vietnam is into TQM, check out Global Business Watch and see what’s happening in Britain. 
Filed under: Six Sigma Organizations, Events/Announcements
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Six Sigma SOS
Posted by: meikah | 4 December 2006 | 10:23 pm
I got this global business update from CFO.com today. Titled, Flying the Unfriendly Skies, I say, air travel definitely needs Six Sigma. Why? Look at the figures. These figures were taken from the CFO magazine survey of 106 finance executives. Respondents could choose more than one answer.
What are your biggest complaints about air travel?
Cramped seating: 75%
Security-screening delays: 58%
Declining service on board: 49%
Flight delays: 47%
Cost: 30%What additional safety measures would you consider tolerable?
Fingerprint scans: 73%
More-expensive luggage screens: 64%
Retinal scans: 54%
Extra carry-on searches: 42%
Body searches: 8%How do you make traveling easier?
Travel without checked baggage: 53%
Travel less frequently: 32%
Take a car or train when possible: 28%
Travel in First Class: 17%
Use private planes when possible: 12%
*Photo credit: MorgueFile.com
Filed under: Services, Travel
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Six Sigma in Your MotoRazr
Posted by: meikah | 4 December 2006 | 1:36 am
I’m sure you’ve seen, and are probably dying to get your hands on the latest Motorola cool mobile phones. If I’m not mistaken, they’re the ones who are first to come up with the super-slim mobile phones, which now come in cool colors, too. Now, what do you say, these cool phones are Six Sigma inspired.
You know that more than these cool mobile phones, perhaps Motorola’s value to the manufacturing world is its Six Sigma legacy. Bill Smith, one of its engineers, came up and later passed on to chief exec Robert Galvin the idea of error-free products 99.9997% of the time.
Well, 20 years later, Six Sigma is still alive at Motorola. Executives of the company still claim that Six Sigma helps them deal with issues on continuous innovation, that is allowing the left-brain, analytical discipline of Six Sigma to coexist alongside the right-brain creative process without disrupting it. Six Sigma, in other words, helped them bounce back when their market share was overtaken by Nokia.
On BusinessWeek Magazine, Michael S. Potosky, Motorola’s corporate director of Six Sigma, says, “Six Sigma’s stamp is all over the Razr. Engineers , for instance, applied the process to the phone’s antenna, helping keep it hidden while maintaining call clarity.”
The article ends with some very interesting facts:
About 35% of U.S. companies have a Six Sigma program in place, according to a January, 2006, Bain & Co. study. “The past 20 years are evidence of how many companies have picked up that [it] works,” says Potosky. But even a disciple like him stresses that in this era of the Big Idea, Six Sigma’s success will only come in a culture that not only welcomes creative types and the metrics-obsessed, but one that makes them both better. Read more…
Judging from Motorola’s performance through the years, I’m more than convinced that Six Sigma and innovation can work well together.
*Photo credit: Mobile Gazette
