The Reasons for Six Sigma Deployment Determine Its Success or Failure
Posted by: meikah | 15 August 2007 | 9:10 pm
Why do you go Six Sigma?
Answers to this question vary from organization to organization. Some do because they feel that their processes need improvement. Others feel that it’s taking them 100 steps to achieve something when they can do it in 10 steps. Some more others feel Six Sigma can improve their bottomline.
But are these the real reasons that will spell the success of your Six Sigma initiatives? Let’s see If you have a list of your own reasons, check them against Asoke das Sarma‘s list of broad categories below.
- Due to requirement from customer: Many clients demand that their vendors should follow a quality model like ISO and CMMI (for software organizations). Thus, these become the minimum requirement (hygiene factors) to get business from these clients. Many companies feel that quality improvement models are an overhead which needs to be absorbed to get business from such clients. Thus the expenses are padded in their costs. Unfortunately, too many organizations view process improvement models as overhead, only necessary to satisfy clients.
- To establish parity with competition: A smaller number of organizations follow process improvement models because it is fashionable to do so, sometimes these organizations are under competitive pressure. Thus their main objective for starting process improvement activities is to be ahead of their competitors so that they are viewed in a good light by their clients.
- To improve organizational business performance: Too few organizations take up process improvement purely to improve actual business performance. And similarly, too few CEO’s truly think that quality improvement can lead to bottom line gain and thus it makes sense to invest in quality.
Source:
iSixSigma
Filed under: Deployment, Processes, Tools/Toolkits, iSixSigma
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Lean + Six Sigma = Success
Posted by: meikah | 14 August 2007 | 7:20 pm
This is common knowledge, of course. In fact, I’ve written several posts telling that Six Sigma can blend well with any continuous improvement methodologies. So let me illustrate again this formula (Lean+Six Sigma=Success).
I found an article on Six Sigma Zone that mention companies and how they achieve the improvement they seek out because of Lean and Six Sigma.
Hoffman of Anoka, Minn., for example, can claim that:
From 2001 to 2006, for example, productivity rose by about 40 percent, and inventory turns were about 40 percent faster. Customer warranty claims fell by almost 50 percent. Safety metrics improved by 22 percent. And all of these contributed to the most important improvement of all, a 30 percent increase in sales.
For TRW Automotive’s Occupant Safety Systems plant in Mesa, Ariz.:
They are able to boost the productivity and reduce the scrap rates of one of the plant’s manufacturing lines. The team used Activplant to study the downtime and production rates at each station and to analyze the flow through the line. Engineers were able to determine whether the low rates were due to downtime at the station or to starvation caused by a process flow problem.
What about you? Do you have Lean+Six Sigma=Success experiences worth sharing?
Filed under: Benefits and Savings, Lean Manufacturing, Lean Six Sigma, Processes
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Lean Six Sigma in the Pharma and Biotech Industries
Posted by: meikah | 13 August 2007 | 8:07 pm
Lean is all about speed and streamlined processes and Six Sigma has the statistically sound methods and tools. From these merits alone it is not surprising that Lean Six Sigma will find its way to the pharma and biotech laboratories.
True enough, Lean Six Sigma can put the quality into the process of drug discovery and development. As Narendra Soman said,
With steadily increasing R&D costs, lagging productivity, and the continuing need to adopt, implement, and integrate novel processes and technologies, the pharma and biotech sectors are well-positioned to benefit from the advantages that Lean Six Sigma has to offer. Its robust, statistically sound methods and tools will help these industries conserve resources, optimize protocols and processes, and streamline operations. This structured approach complements the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s process analytical technology initiative published in 2003 to design quality into drug products, rather than test quality into final dosage forms. Over time, Lean Six Sigma will become a seamless and critical operational strategy that will enable lasting change and significant improvements in efficiency and productivity.
If anything else, this makes me feel a lot better. If only we could also apply Lean and Six Sigma to the practice of medicine. We can surely avoid, if not eliminate, what we call medical malpractice.
*Photo from Stock.Xchng
Filed under: Deployment, Healthcare, Inventory, Lean Manufacturing, Lean Six Sigma, Pharmaceuticals, iSixSigma
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Lean and Six Sigma at Specialty Fabrics & Converting, Inc.
Posted by: meikah | 12 August 2007 | 9:24 pm
Specialty Fabrics & Converting, Inc. is implementing Lean and Six Sigma methodologies to provide additional control over finished conveyor belt deliveries and quality.
Veyance Technologies, Inc., exclusive manufacturer and marketer of Goodyear Engineered Products, purchased the assets of Industrial Specialty Fabrics of Hogansville, Ga. and renamed it to Specialty Fabrics & Converting, Inc.
The purchase came in the wake of strengthening its North America position in the conveyor belt industry. What better way than to adopt lean and Six Sigma to its operations.
According to Mike Braucher, marketing manager for Goodyear-branded conveyor belts, “The fabric operations will draw on substantial resources, skills and experience of Veyance’s management and technical teams to generate a wide range of synergies that can benefit our customers.”
Filed under: Deployment, Lean, Processes
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Neville Clarke Offers Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing Training Courses
Posted by: meikah | 12 August 2007 | 8:03 pm
Neville Clarke, the consultancy arm of PERA in Asia, has lined up Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing Training Courses. If you’re from the Philippines or even Asia, you may want to attend these trainings.
Six Sigma Executive Workshop, Oct 10
Six Sigma Champion, Oct 11-12
Six Sigma Certified Green Belt (10 days):
- Phase 1, Sept 10-14
- Phase 2, Oct 15-19
Six Sigma Certified Black Belt:
- Phase 1, Sept 24-28
- Phase 2, Oct 22-26
- Phase 3, Nov. 19-23
- Phase 4, Dec 10-14
Six Sima Certified Yellow Belt, Sep 17-20
Lean Thinking, Nov 14
Lean Office, Oct 19
Certified Lean Associate, Aug 15-17, 21
Certified Lean Expert:
- Phase 1, Sept 24-27
- Phase 2, Oct 22-23
- Phase 3, Nov 22-23
- Phase 4, Dec 17
Value Stream Mapping, Nov 15
Total Productive Maintenance, Nov 16
Theory of Constraints, Sept 10-11For more info, contact Neville Clarke.
Filed under: General
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Six Sigma Reference: Six Sigma and IT
Posted by: meikah | 7 August 2007 | 7:32 pm
First Source published a journal entry titled Information Technology and Six Sigma Implementation.
This paper discusses the basic concepts of the Six Sigma Process Improvement Methodology, presents various computer applications to demonstrate the value of information systems and information technology (IS/IT) in this methodology, and finally, presents an actual case where some of these applications were used to help a major corporation save over $2 million.
A friend of mine who works for another IT company used to ask me how to use Six Sigma in IT. I hope she gets to read this and learn from it.
Source:
Reed First Source a featured link of Six Sigma Zone
Filed under: Deployment, Processes, Six Sigma References, Software/Technology, Tools/Toolkits
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Six Sigma DMAIC and Business Strategy
Posted by: meikah | 6 August 2007 | 7:25 pm
Yes, you read it right. The DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) roadmap can help organizations plot out their business strategy.
Chris Jordan, writing for iSixSigma, has a good discussion on how to use DMAIC to create a sound business strategy.
Define stage sets the blueprint for the strategy. Executives define the current status of the company and how it is presently operating as well as the current market or economic situation. Companies can make use of many business improvement and strategy tools to help define its current position.
Measure phase confirms the current baseline operation. During this stage, data is gathered to show how the company is tracking.
Analyze phase helps the company do a careful analysis of the business and the market. Opportunities, threats, strengths and weaknesses, which are validated with data from the measure stage, are analyzed in detail. The data is used to help root cause investigation of gaps in performance, competitor strategy, product cycle stage and positioning and market growth.
Improve phase follows by using the information from the Define, Measure and Analyze phases. At this point, it should already be clear what areas of the business need to improve.
At the Control phase, teams closely monitor and manage company performance against strategy. This is to ensure the company follows the path that leadership wants to take. More importantly, the executive team sets a time schedule to meet as a team to review and reassess the business strategy.
Source:
iSixSigma Library
*Photo from Stock.Xchng
Filed under: DMAIC, Data Analysis, Deployment, Processes, Six Sigma Organizations, Team Dynamics, Training
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Six Sigma Fun and Games on SecondLife.com
Posted by: meikah | 2 August 2007 | 8:24 pm
Six Sigma comes to the phenomenal 3-D virtual world SecondLife.com.
Specializing in Lean Six Sigma instructional technology, MoreSteam.com launched a new 3-D virtual campus in Second Life. According to the news, the goal is to bring a new dimension to lean Six Sigma learning and collaboration.
The 3-D learning lab allows teams to meet within the virtual world to conduct live virtual experi ments. Team members attend More-Steam’s virtual campus by creating an avatar to represent their physical presence. The campus learning lab incorporates an “avapult,” a catapult used to hurl a designated team member at a sticky wall target while attempting to avoid hazards such as flames, thorn bushes, alligators, and giant dragonflies.
Participants in the virtual lab communicate via text messaging or conference calls. The virtual lab provides an opportunity to learn by doing — to practice design of experiments in a simulated environment, determine which inputs to the avapult are significant, and what the optimal settings are. This process represents the central Y = f(X) calculation found in Lean Six Sigma projects. Read more…
I have yet to check out the virtual campus, but my initial reaction is that this is indeed an interesting development. It puts e-learning, especially Six Sigma training, to a higher level.
Source:
Quality Digest, a Six Sigma Zone featured link.
Filed under: Innovation, Lean Six Sigma, MoreSteam.com, Software/Technology, Training
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Software Used for Six Sigma
Posted by: meikah | 1 August 2007 | 6:31 pm
I think it’s a good thing to review about which software are used for Six Sigma.
I got the info from Answers.com:
There are generally two classes of software used to support Six Sigma: analysis tools, which are used to perform statistical or process analysis, and program management tools, used to manage and track a corporation’s entire Six Sigma program. Analysis tools include statistical software such as Minitab, JMP, SigmaXL, RapAnalyst or Statgraphics as well as process analysis tools such as iGrafx. Some alternatives include Microsoft Visio, Telelogic System Architect, IBM WebSphere Business Modeler, and Proforma Corp. ProVision.
For program management, tracking and reporting, the most popular tools are Instantis, PowerSteering, iNexus and SixNet.
Other Six Sigma for IT Management tools include Proxima Technology Centauri, HP Mercury, BMC Remedy.
Any new software you may want to add to the list?
*Photo from MorgueFile
