Do Six Sigma and HR Work Well Together?
Posted by: meikah | 23 June 2008 | 8:20 pm
Yes, they do, and I also believe so.
I found this article on Articles Bridge via Six Sigma Zone, and it discusses how HR and Six Sigma can work together and achieve the desired results.
This is how:
- HR can help in forming the Six Sigma team.
- HR can assist in creating job descriptions for candidates of each team member.
- HR can ensure that Black Belts and the team get training in teamwork, conflict management and personal communication skills.
- HR professionals, with their project management education and analytical skills, can help play a major role in strategic, operational and administrative activities of Six Sigma projects.
- HR professionals can use the Six Sigma methodology in risk areas, where safety and health issues are a priority.
In other words, both Six Sigma and HR involve people, teams, and team work. While HR specializes in making people or human resource function well, Six Sigma can provide the tool to enhance it. Thus, I see no reason for the two to not being able to work successfully together.
Related story:
Why HR Should Be Involved in Six Sigma
*Photo from Stock.Xchng
Filed under: Human Resource, Six Sigma, Team Dynamics
1 Comment |
Applying Six Sigma to Motion-Control Processes
Posted by: meikah | 22 June 2008 | 9:44 pm
I stumbled upon a good discussion about how to improve quality in motion control prcesses. Motion plays an important role in any organization, but motion control is used in the packaging, printing, textile, semiconductor production, and assembly industries.
Thus, if you’re business is involved in those mentioned above, motion control is important to you, and ensuring quality in these processes is crucial in your operations.
Over at heyicnc, Kevin Frantz, Six Sigma leader at GE Fanuc Automation, shares how Six Sigma can ensure quality in motion-control processes. Mr. Frantz says:
Your first task in applying Six Sigma to a motion-control process is to understand its purpose, which is always to optimize quality and throughput.
Six Sigma is a tool that can unveil subtle problems that plague all processes, silently stealing productivity and quality. Like all processes, motion-control applications are not immune to production downtime and quality control issues. Slow machine set ups, product positioning problems, equipment failures, out-of-spec parts can all contribute to the problem.
You may not know the exact cause, but you can see the negative results: low production counts, lackluster quality, customer rejection, and lost money. Six Sigma could be the solution to those problems.
*Photo from Stock.Xchng
Filed under: Manufacturing, Processes, Quality, Semiconductors, Six Sigma, Tools/Toolkits
No Comments » |
On Six Sigma Training
Posted by: meikah | 19 June 2008 | 12:12 am
The Six Sigma or Lean Six Sigma training makes or breaks your (Lean) Six Sigma deployment. Based on what I know, it’s not enough that you send someone to training or that you just woke up one day and found Six Sigma appealing.
Thus, you need to prepare for it, and here are my suggestions:
- Let management initiate the training and the Six Sigma initiative.
- Decide on the kind of training that your company needs first: Six Sigma Champion? Six Sigma Black Belt, Six Sigma Master Black Belt, Six Sigma Green Belt?
- Determine the objectives you want to achieve after the Six Sigma training.
- Are your expectations realistic?
- Identify already the Six Sigma project that will be undertaken.
- If you are on the team that selects who are sent to training, choose those who have worked in the shop floor. They have a better grasp of how operations go.
- Evaluate the attitude and capability of the trainees. For one, they must have the inherent desire for change and improvement.
- Know that a (Master) Black Belt will have a full Six Sigma schedule after the training, thus he shouldn’t be working on other tasks aside from Six Sigma.
- Build a strong Six Sigma team based on #s 5&6.
- Prepare for the cost of this quality initiative.
If you are the trainee:
- Know the operations that you’re handling.
- Know which training are you taking.
- Examine your capabilities against that training.
- Prepare yourself: read, research, consult.
- Be an instrument of change, innovation.
- Be open minded.
- Be trainable.
- Study.
- Practice.
- Be a team player.
Do you want to add to the list?
You may also want to check out:
Developing BBs and MBBs: Three Questions to Answer
Start Small with New Lean Six Sigma Initiatives
*Photo from Stock.Xchng
Filed under: Lean Six Sigma, Six Sigma, Team Dynamics, Training
1 Comment |
Web Presentation: Reducing Patient Risk From Prescription Instruction Errors – A Six Sigma Approach
Posted by: meikah | 18 June 2008 | 9:48 pm
Where do you think medical malpractice start? I think it starts from the giving of prescription. Here in our local pharmacies, especially Mercury Drugstores, you will sample photos of prescriptions with matching labels and brief explanation in the cashier area or counters.
To me this is a good information campaign. This tells me though that customers have come to them with false or erroneous prescriptions.
Thus, you shouldn’t miss this 2008 Quality Institute for Healthcare Web Presentation! It will tackle erroneous prescription instructions.
The background:
North Mississippi Medical Center discovered an unacceptable level of errors in its new prescription instructions for discharged patients. A Six Sigma project team focused the DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve, control) approach on these errors. They then developed an innovative metric that reflects patient-centered risk, under the coaching of a Creative Healthcare Master Black Belt.
The presentation is delivered by two Six Sigma Black Belts – Michael O’Dell, M.D., and Jonathan Andell. O’Dell is a family practice physician and Chief Quality Officer at North Mississippi Medical Center—2006 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient. He is also the director of NMMC’s family medicine residency program. Jonathan Andell is the associate partner with Creative Healthcare USA—a recognized leader in healthcare quality and performance improvement. He specializes in the technical, organizational, and interpretative aspects of modern quality management. Prior to joining Creative Healthcare, he spent 15 years at Motorola where he became one of the first certified Six Sigma Black Belts at Motorola University’s Six Sigma Research Institute.
Source:
ASQ Store
*Photo from morgueFile
Filed under: ASQ, DMAIC, Deployment, Healthcare, Six Sigma
No Comments » |
Lean, Six Sigma, and Kaizen for Forest Management
Posted by: meikah | 18 June 2008 | 8:52 pm
We have been experiencing unusual weather patterns lately. Rains during the summer, humid and hot dry climate where there should be wet or cool climate. When it rains, too, it really pours, thus flooding of great magnitude occur.
Many conclude that this altered weather patterns are caused by the degradation of our environment. Despite the efforts and renewed awareness, we continue to suffer from a damaged environment.
Perhaps, this reality must have inspired Forestry companies and the Natural Resources Department in New Brunswick to finally sit down and plan a forest management initiative. Many cities have embarked on the same or similar activities, but what’s interesting about this one is that the team will combine Lean, Six Sigma, and Kaizen and incorporate it into the forest management program.
Calling the program as LeanSigma Kaizen, the team hopes to achieve the following:
- launch the event at a reduced cost
- add value to their departments
- review the existing Frown Lands and Forest Act
- bring the red tape initiative to a new level
- implement an effective forest management event
Related Stories:
Lean Kaizen
Kaizen with Six Sigma
Source:
iSixSigma News
Filed under: Deployment, Environment, Kaizen, Lean, Six Sigma, Sustainable Business
1 Comment |
Lydall Attributes Success to Lean Six Sigma
Posted by: meikah | 17 June 2008 | 12:57 am
Lydall Inc. recently received the coveted Volkswagen Group Award for 2008. The company is 1 of 15 international suppliers to receive such disctinction.
The award recognizes innovative strength and value-added development, and Lydall has the distinction of being the only USA-based company to be honored with this award.
And this is what Dale G. Barnhart, President and Chief Executive Officer of Lydall, Inc., has to say about the award:
“Volkswagen Group works with approximately 26,000 suppliers worldwide. To have been selected as a top supplier is very gratifying and reinforces our commitment to quality and creative solutions. Earning this prestigious award is a result of the dedication of Lydall’s European automotive associates, in particular our Meinerzhagen operation, and the benefits of our lean six sigma programs. Use of lean six sigma tools enables the Meinerzhagen operation to maintain operational excellence and to produce unique solutions exceeding Volkswagen’s demands.”
This should make naysayers think again about the value of lean Six Sigma in an organization.
Related story:
Lean Six Sigma at Lydall, Inc.
Filed under: Awards, Benefits and Savings, Lean Six Sigma, Lydall, Manufacturing
1 Comment |
Putting Lean Six Sigma in the Bureaucracy
Posted by: meikah | 17 June 2008 | 12:28 am
There’s always much to be desired in bureaucracies. Imagine performing 10 steps when something can be done in three steps. Bureaucracies are famous for creating multiple steps or procedures to accomplish something. It’s tiring, expensive, and time-consuming. Often, it’s such a waste of time!
An article on TMCNet discusses a clumsy rental procedure. This is the scenario:
By the government’s own estimate, it can take two and a half weeks to secure a rental permit. Telephone messages are left, calls exchanged, questions answered, a check mailed and, finally, a permit will either be mailed or the renter can come downtown to pick it up.
To which, Erie County‘s Six Sigma guru calls as insane. As one of the officials that will help Chris Collins succeed as county executive, Alfred Hammonds Jr. will embark on a Lean Six Sigma deployment to improve the situation.
Hammonds has nine Six Sigma-driven improvements afoot. The solution to a 10th project, to issue a park rental permit in two days rather than 12.5, will be tested starting Monday by letting users reserve a picnic shelter on erie.gov, the county’s Web site.
It reminds me of the show, Name that Tune. A contestant would say, “I can name that tune in 5 notes.” Another contestant would then counter, “I can name that tune in 1 note.”
This should be our goal. If a customer comes to us for a service or product, we’d go, “I can do that for you in 1 minute.” 
Filed under: Deployment, Lean Six Sigma, Public Sector
4 Comments |
How Do You Define Successful Six Sigma Deployments?
Posted by: meikah | 16 June 2008 | 10:03 pm
Success means differently to different people. But with projects or deployments, I believe there must be some standards to measure success.
Over at BPMInstitute, Marvin Wurtzel of Wurtzel Consulting, Inc. shares some insights into people’s view of success in their Six Sigma deployments. Then he also shares some of the crucial reasons for a deployment to fail.
Most Six Sigma consultants typically define successful deployments in the following way: A successful Six Sigma deployment is one that provides an acceptable return to the business and leaves a stand-alone program, not requiring further consulting resources. I am not aware of a failure by this definition either. But most successful programs may have required some level of assistance once the consulting resources are gone. Most Master Black Belts, Black Belts and Green Belts will do what it takes to support the business in this case.
Here are my suggestions for evaluating sucess in your projects:
- Check again your objectives, those you had before you started with your deployment.
- Are the objectives met?
- If not, have you made adjustments to meet them?
- Evaluate the team members who worked on the project.
- Did they accomplish what they were set out to do?
- Did they learn anything?
- Evaluate your processes.
- Do you see an improvement?
- Do your team and management see the improvement?
- Is the improvement sustainable?
What about you, how do you define success in your Six Sigma deployments?
Filed under: Deployment, Six Sigma, Team Dynamics
No Comments » |
Happy Father’s Day!
Posted by: meikah | 15 June 2008 | 2:11 am
Today let me share a post for my Dad.
Filed under: Events/Announcements
No Comments » |
SixSig Celebrates Independence Day!
Posted by: meikah | 12 June 2008 | 2:53 am
Today is Independence Day in the Philippines!
I cannot allow this day to end without greeting my fellow Filipinos Happy Freedom Day!
Freedom, like love, is the most abused and confused word in the dictionary. Many people confuse freedom as being free to do what they and want when they want.
It may sound like a cliche, but with freedom comes great responsibility. For every action and decision and even aspiration you make, there are consequences that you have to deal with. Noone exists in a vacuum. Each one is affected and influenced by the other.
With freedom comes great sacrifice. You cannot possibly allow something to happen if the greater majority would suffer from it in the end.
With freedom comes selflessness. You put the welfare of others before your own. You cannot espouse freedom yet coerce others to follow your twisted plans.
With freedom comes great joy. When you’re conscience is clean, you can sleep well at night and be joyful the next day.
With freedom comes great love. Because you can love, you are overflowing with care and sympathy for your fellowmen.
With freedom comes great service. You come not to be served but to serve. Service to humanity is the best work of life.
