Pragmatic Six Sigma

The lean manager possesses eight qualities that permit the optimizatrion of operations of any business entity. These qualities are applicable in every business endeavor from finance to manufacturing to marketing. The lean manager practices these skills daily..

Problem solving The lean6 sigma manager has the ability to see the whole picture, break it down into its various parts, and correct any problem that hinders optimal operations. The manager uses the scientific method to solve each problem. Inductive and deductive reasoning are used to analyze problems and apply the correct solution at the root of the problem.

Gemba(The Real Place) Lean managers must solve problems at their roots. The lean managers must go to the real place that the problem exists While it is true that some problems can be solved sitting at a desk, most problems occur in other places. The lean manager seeks the solution to problems wherever they occur.

Proper Tools The lean manager carefully selects the best tool for the task. Managers know that satisfied customers keep the business operating. Therefore, any item that increases quality, improves delivery time, or decreases expense becomes the proper tool.

Shows Respect for all People The lean manager is aware that people who are performing well in their positions of employment are experts in what they are doing. Therefore, he or she may learn from them; and in turn, the manager becomes more knowledgeable and skillful in his or her own field.

Searches Daily for Perfection The lean manager constantly searches for perfection. Every operation that he manages must always run smoothly and productively. Managers constantly watch for flaws and ways to improve operations

Not Afraid of Failure Managers are not afraid to fail because they know that with each failure they have learned something. They know that each experiment either improves their operations, or they have discovered something that doesn’t work. They are learning daily.

Questions Status Quo Managers are not satisfied with the status quo. They constantly rethink problems and look for optimal methods to do things. They know that finding a better way improves quality or reduces expenses so that everyone benefits with better products with a more competitive price

Uses Socratic Method Managers use the Socratic Method to motivate others to accomplish desired goals. The manager determines the desired outcome and forms questions to achieve that objective. The answers lead the employee to the correct conclusion.

Categories: Business

In this day of advanced technology where processes are done at the speed of thought, a highly efficient organization is important. An efficient organization is achieved by equipping personnel with the necessary skill and knowledge to deliver goods and services at least cost. At this time and in this sphere, Six Sigma training can address this need. This is true for any organization – whether it is for business, an educational institution or the military.

Using the curriculum for Six Sigma training helps an organization achieve its goals and objectives by defining the obstacle which it faces. It sees such obstacles as opportunities and challenges and not as hindrances. Important in defining the obstacle or problem is a person who leads the group and inspires its members to make the best of who they are and what they have. Such leaders have a vision to see a project to fruition. For the team to work together, they must identify which aims are achievable. In order for them to work towards that aim, they must be able to measure their performance as well as the variables that necessitate completion of a project.

When the aims have been identified, the team determines the processes which can ensure attainment of the aim. Members need to analyze which procedures are efficient and which alternatives can be pursued given the possible constraints. Leaders, or champions as they are called in Six Sigma parlance, must teach other leaders the ways of bringing out efficiency in an organization. Those taught, or belts, must already be familiar with project management so that there is a lively interaction among the members of the team. In this way, belts share their experiences and possible dilemmas with their mentors. This is also a way of improving existing processes and potential savings for the organization. Individuals also enhance their own knowledge and skills.

With the development of new and tailored processes, the desired outcome of those processes can be achieved. It is also easier to control the variables which may hold an influence on the outcomes. Even with a lean organization, larger and wider projects can be achieved because manpower is optimized.

Categories: Business

More than at any other time in memory, businesses are dramatically reevaluating the way they operate. In our current climate, even the most trustworthy, experienced businesses are having to deal with a limited cash flow. Credit simply isn't as easy to come by anymore, and it's getting harder to rely on loans for a quick fix during crises. The credit crunch has thrown into stark relief the bland and inefficient processes which many firms have developed. It's during times like these that Six Sigma optimized companies prove that they have what it takes to succeed. We're seeing an enormous and rising attrition rate across many different industries. Do you have what it takes to survive?

If you're feeling trapped or constricted by a shrinking cash flow, and finding credit virtually impossible to come by, you have little choice but to cut your expenses. Although you can blindly chop at personnel or other large expense categories, this is a rather crude tactic. Six Sigma training enables you to specifically target those processes that are the least cost effective. Excessive staff cuts can lead to lowered production, which leads to lower revenues and greater cuts. In business, this effect is known as a death spiral. Instead of cutting staff, consider introducing Six Sigma principles into your workplace. In this way, you can prevent the business death spiral from developing.

Only time will tell how long the credit crunch will last. In a time when even banks are begging for credit from larger institutions, you simply can't borrow your way out of a crisis anymore. The only way to survive in an economy like this is to grow your way out of the danger zone. There are as many different ways to do this as there are business philosophies, but no other system is as scientific or reliable as Six Sigma.

If you're determined to survive, you're going to have to be ruthlessly honest with yourself and your staff. We've seen how Six Sigma encourages honesty at every level of the organizational chart. Being honest doesn't always make you friends. Retraining can cause some grumbling in the ranks. While it's important to maintain employee morale, we suggest that it's better for your staff to a grumble a bit now than to grumble a lot later--when they're standing in the unemployment line. No matter how strange or abrasive Six Sigma may seem at first, you'll live to bless the day that you first began implementing lean principles.

Categories: Business

Many businesses very simply don’t realize that they are losing ground until it is too late. They go along thinking they are just in a slump and then one day they turn around and a good portion of their business is gone and they are left scratching their heads wondering what went wrong. Honestly, in most cases it is long term mismanagement of their business that has lead to its decline and in many cases this can result in the death of what might have been a successful business venture.

Since we know good management is the key to running a successful business then how is it that we can make sure that our business is being managed in the very best way possible by the very best people possible? Well, the one thing that can be done is the creation of a system of checks and balances, a process by which each aspect of the business is being evaluated regularly to ensure that it is being run effectively.

The problem is that most companies wait until their six sigma business begins failing before they start trying to follow up on things. The best way to ensure that you have a successful business is to put in place a system of checks and balances before there are any problems. This will allow you to catch management, production, and even customer service problems as they are materializing instead of after they have already had an impact on your business’ bottom line.

How can you create a system of checks and balances? Well, there are many ways to implement such a system and one of the easiest ways to start opening up the lines of communication. Find out what is really going on. Ask questions anonymously of your employees using a suggestion box or online questionnaire. Offer up a phone line for customer complaint or begin having customers participate in surveys to relay their experience with your company. It is also helpful to organize regular staff meetings where different levels come together to discuss company issues.

Putting in place a system of checks and balances can help to ensure that your company continues on the right path and remains profitable. It is important to make sure you are being proactive in managing your company and not wait until things begin to fall apart before taking action. The highest ranking companies in the world stay on top of managing their business and take steps to ensure that they are not only meeting but exceeding their goals in all areas, this is what keeps them ahead of the others in their industries.

Categories: Business

Managers in the accounts receivable department have recently discovered that they, too, can bring six sigma into their side of the business. The accounts receivable department has areas within its midst where they can improve upon the quality of their operations. It has been found that six sigma principles fit well into this endeavor.

As six sigma seeks to create a working process for each area of a business that leads the people who work in each department to a level close to perfection, a business would be remiss in its duties if it did not try to apply these principles to its accounts receivable department. The accounts receivable department is where the company receives it revenue, and the purpose of six sigma is to reduce costs by improving efficiency. If a company can improve its earnings by starting to use six sigma in its other departments, there is not reason not to bring it to accounts receivable.

When companies decide that they need a six sigma process for their accounts receivable department, they generally begin with reducing the high instances of past due accounts. They would use the Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control (DMAIC) methodology of six sigma. First they would need to define the problem which has been stated above. Then they would need to measure the current data they have on file in order to do a statistical analysis. After that, they can set out to improve how things are done in the accounts receivable department and control it by making sure the new practices continue into the future.

A company can also create new ways of doing things with the Define, Measure, Analyze, Design and Verify (DMADV) methodology. With DMADV, managers in accounts receivable define what it is they would like to see occurring in their department. Then they measure statistics such as the risks that may be involved in switching to the new policy. They analyze their data in order to incorporate it into their new designs of efficiency. They design the new plan and then they verify it by testing it.

By improving upon the accounts receivable processes, managers can hope to be able to decrease their defects to 3.4 per 1 million opportunities. This translates into accounts receivable language as meaning 3.4 mistakes per 1 million invoices. Those companies that succeed in reaching these levels make their customers happy, spend less in the process of billing and continue to improve upon their business practices.

Categories: Business

The highly recommended statistical program for analyzing data for six sigma projects is JMP 9. What makes JMP 9 such a good choice is that it has a feature that makes it possible to predict how a product will deteriorate over the years. With this information, statisticians can predict their warranty risk as well as how sturdy the product will be.

Some people like to use the program Excel, and JMP 9 gives them the opportunity to integrate Excel with the software. The data statisticians have within their Excel spreadsheets can easily be transported to the JMP 9 software. These two software programs can be made to interact with each other with input going from one to the other and back again as needed.

JMP 9 utilizes several different types of maps to demonstrate the geographical data that statisticians have. These maps make it possible for statisticians to see how different geographical areas relate to their data, and to be able to paint a picture of who is purchasing their products. People can even use this software to create their own applications that make analyzing data more specific to their own companies.

For visualizations that make it even easier for people to analyze their data, JMP 9 gives people the ability to create graphs for their statistical data. Graphs make it much easier to see the trends that develop from statistical data. JMP 9 also performs within Windows much better than in the earlier version. Users of JMP 9 can open several different windows and place them anywhere they would like on their computer screens on one monitor; they can also spread them out to be included on several other monitors.

The Reliability & Degradation portion of this software makes it possible to make predictions about when a product is likely to fail. Before, people would have to wait to physically see a product degrade before they knew this information. With JMP 9 software, product designers can enter their data from their productive tests in order to receive statistical data that will help them determine what makes a product begin to fail.

The JMP 9 statistical program has been improved upon to make it easier to integrate with other programs such as Excel and Windows. It has given people the ability to create graphs and maps that make the statistical data easier to interpret. These features make JMP 9 a statistical program worth looking into for analyzing data.

Categories: Business

When speaking with the managers of companies, talk about concepts such as lean manufacturing and six sigma can fall on deaf ears. It is for this reason that the goals of any business process improvement program should be established.

Setting Goals

Goals should be identified before moving forward with business process improvement. This implies that certain financial goals should be set, and a timeline to reach those goals should be laid down. Once this is done, it becomes easier to identify how to map out the design process and the all of the sub-processes it is made up of. Design processes that have the most significant financial or customer impact should be identified. Support for these processes is necessary in order to keep them on track. This involves not only management, but two-way communication and documentation.

The next step should be to reach an agreement on which processes are most important for the future of the business. A process for documenting the design process in a way that demonstrates a clear link with business performance should then be established. It is then possible to determine which processes require the most documentation.

Finally, a program should be established to ensure that changes which are made to the business process remain in effect. Just as important, the process should be measured for success in order to determine that it is having the desired effect.

Step One

During the first step of the process, a business should draft a list of all of the processes undergone in design and manufacturing. These processes should be reviewed, and organized according to their priority based on rigorous analysis. The processes that have the most impact and promise the highest returns should receive the most talented team members.

While analyzing each process for its impact on the business as a whole, it is also important to measure the interconnectedness of the processes in order to determine how they relate to one another.

Step Two

Capture information about each of the processes using measurements. Use this information to identify ways to improve these processes. Create a graphic representation of the process and identify changes that could be made. Ultimately, the goal is to use this information in order to effectively convince executives that the proposed changes should be made.

Step Three

Engage in a design session in order to create a new flowchart for the business processes. Develop a plan to continue monitoring these processes, and revise the map to reflect these changes.

Categories: Business

Six Sigma is far more than a dry, academic theory. New research is showing that Six Sigma can actually train your mind to identify obscure ways of cutting costs, while still maintaining quality. Although the Six Sigma process has been trending, it's far more than a fad or fashion. We're seeing more and more hard data about the cost effectiveness of implementing Six Sigma. By reducing costs and increasing output, Six Sigma implementations are revolutionizing whole industries. If that sounds grandiose, we encourage managers to do their own calculations. A close look at the financial data before, during, and after implementation can reveal startling changes. This is how Six Sigma differentiates itself from other financial systems.

Six Sigma is a rigorous process, but it also has a human aspect. This process can bring together everyone in your business, in a personalized way. Everyone in the organization, from the CFO and CEO to managers and shareholders, can get involved in the Six Sigma process. Six Sigma is, in spite of some misguided critiques, a powerful tool for elminating "fluff" projects that look good on the outside but really add little long term value to a business. One of the most valuable parts of the Six Sigma process is the Define and Measure phase, which speaks right to the heart of Six Sigma's cost saving power. By highlighting a specific project, and defining it's exact goals and tools, everyone involved in the project can gain an "improvement mentality." This is a kind of mode where workers are conditioned to find savings in each and every step of their work process.

Six Sigma also helps workers and managers identify hidden financial benefits that may not be immediately visible. Obscure financial terms can hide real costs and benefits, but the concepts of Six Sigma go far beyond superficial jargon. By defining and measuring your project goals, it's possible to see the negatives realistically. Six Sigma encourages workers to love their work without become to attached to individual projects. And as more data becomes available, it seems that Six Sigma can help individuals find cost savings in every part of their lives. More than just a fashionable catchphrase, we're seeing that Six Sigma may be the beginning of a real revolution in cost savings, and that's a beautiful thing to behold.

Categories: Business

For decades companies have been boasting about creating a mission statement but because so many people undervalue the importance of this statement many find that it just becomes an exercise in drafting as opposed to something that the company and all its employees can focus on to help stimulate growth. After all, the words on the page mean very little if there are no actions to back them up.

A mission statement should be a thought out, well worded statement of mission, the mission of the company and its employees. It should reflect the primary and key goals of the organization in an easy to understand statement that provides focus and motivation to those who belong to the company and those who aspire to greatness.

Some serious thought and collaboration must go into creating an effective mission statement for your six sigma company and one of the best ways to create the mission statement is to have at least part, and whenever possible all, of your staff working together to create this statement. A mission statement should be almost the equivalent of a goal statement. Not to indicate that this is the only goal for your company or your employees but that this is the primary goal that all other goals should revolve around. It is a large and all encompassing goal.

Many companies very simply throw together a mission statement but it is an important part of running a business and much attention should be paid to writing a mission statement in the same way that refined attention would be paid to other aspects of running the business such as budgeting or creating sales goals. An effective mission statement helps to reinforce purpose and define the company. Having this type of refined mission for which each employee is acutely aware creates a sort of harmony throughout the business and most companies’ find that once they have developed a thoughtful mission statement that both their business and their employees tend to stay focused on this statement as the defining goal of the company.

Categories: Business

Running a more successful business is the goal of most managers and owners but putting that thought into action may seem a little daunting. Honestly, most become overwhelmed with the how’s and what’s of the process and don’t get to the heart of the problems and solutions that are ever present.

If you are looking to make changes you must begin with one simple question, What do you wish to change? Are you looking to increase your customer satisfaction or improve the quality of what you are producing? These questions are imperative in order to proceed.

Once you have nailed the change that you are looking to make it is important to make sure that you know where your current process is falling short in making this goal a reality. It could be a problem with hours, production, or worker understanding and error. Looking at the process step by step will most likely unearth where it is falling short and will help you to make the most imperative changes first for the best possible results.

Once you begin to brainstorm with other employees and set very specific goals you will be completing one of the most necessary steps for implementing change. It is important to just choose one aspect of the process to focus on at a time because this will help you to monitor how just that one change has affected your overall results. Changing too many parts of the process at once will just result in confusion and while you may want to speed up the results you will not clearly understand the results if you don’t take this process a step at a time. It is important to know which changes produced which results to further refine the process.

Taking a step at a time will allow you to not only achieve the results that you are looking for but will allow you to get a better handle on which changes are producing what results. Doing this will help you to have better outcomes with each change and adaptation and will allow you more control over the process.

Categories: Business

Creating a strong business means creating a winning team. While you may see teamwork as just the means to an end, teamwork is an essential part of your business structure and one that your business will not succeed without. Many wonder why teamwork is such an essential part of business but when you look at the overview of it there are many good reasons why teamwork is such an important element to creating a successful business.

MEETING GOALS – When all members of your team work to strategize and come up with goals for your business they have a better understanding of these goals. Getting involved in not only setting goals but also in finding ways to help attain them allows every employee on an individual level to make those goals the focus of their workday. Working together for common resolution will help to achieve those goals more quickly for your business.

SELF ESTEEM – Everyone has to be important on a team and this helps bring everyone’s contributions to light. When your employees begin working as a team they will ultimately each see how important they are to the process and this will help boost morale and help them to realize their importance to the company.

UNIFICATION – Unifying your company can help improve employee morale and can make the workplace feel like a nicer place to be. You want your employees to like their job and by creating the right office environment where everyone feels like they are working towards a greater good you will have the kind of harmonious work environment that helps people to shine.

No matter how many employees you are managing or whether your company is large or small teamwork is an essential factor in helping to make your business more successful. Getting and keeping employees on the same page is not always easy but it is an effort that will definitely pay off for you in the long run.

Categories: Business

So you are a business owner or CEO and you are looking for a way to move your business to the head of the class? You have tried everything imaginable and yet feel like there is something missing from your business? Well, you are not alone as many business owners who have come before you have felt exactly the same way. So what makes one business fail while others are succeeding? Or better yet what makes one succeed while the rest are falling by the wayside?

Well, many companies large and small have found that Six Sigma is the right program for them. Now you may be wondering if it is the right program for you. In order to determine this you need to decide what you want from your business. Do you want your business to succeed and begin turning a larger profit in the coming year? Do you wish to improve your ROI and have happier customers and a better overall product?

If you answered yes to these questions then you are looking in the right place. Six Sigma has been the answer for many different businesses and could be the answer for your business as well. One of the best things about Six Sigma is that it is a group effort that maximizes your business to true perfection allowing you to do better business than your competitors and improve your business with each new assessment. It is a process by which you will be able to breakdown not only your goals but also your results to be able to pinpoint and make changes that will result in a better overall product for your company.

Many companies like Bank of America, Microsoft, and Motorola have used these methods to ultimate success and although there have been a few companies like Home Depot for instance that have struggled with the implementation of the program it is one built on a solid foundation that has been tested time and time again. Even Home Depot showed an increased bottom line due to their Six Sigma implementation but the person in charge of the implementation went a bit overboard to the point where employees were becoming dissatisfied with the changes being made and this is why choosing the right MBB’s for your program can make all the difference.

Categories: Business, Questions and Answers

Of course it was a Motorola employee who came up with the Six Sigma strategies and made it what it is today. Motorola was looking for a better way to run their company and when looking at several different strategies that were already in existence, their employee saw something that made him think about things and put them together a little different to improve the overall results like no concept had ever done before. And this concept helped to earn Motorola several awards.

But you may be wondering what other companies are currently using Six Sigma principles in their business and the answer is probably most the biggest ones in the industries that currently exist. Big companies want big results and if you are looking to develop Six Sigma strategies in your current business structure than it is important to take a look at the success that some of the biggest companies in the world are getting with Six Sigma. Here are just a few of the biggest:

And honestly this is just a brief list of even the larger companies that are using Six Sigma business strategies for success and there are many smaller companies that have also begun to adapt Six Sigma principles into their businesses as well. With successful companies like these endorsing and using Six Sigma in their business infrastructure, it only makes sense for other businesses to follow those that are successful in their business structure and at the top of their field.

Categories: Business, Six Sigma

Six Sigma is essentially a way to improve your overall products and services thus decreasing the errors in your business until they barely exist. As your business makes the changes that it needs to make you will move up the Six Sigma levels until you reach the near perfection of running at a 6 Sigma level, in each aspect of your business. When you look to make improvements usually you choose those areas in need of the biggest improvements thus producing the quickest results for your business.

You start by making improvements on level one and move all the way up the levels to level six making improvements as you move up each tier. As you travel up the levels you are constantly computing a statistical analysis of the results you are getting and adapting your methodology to create better results at the next level.

This constant monitoring of results allows for more growth and faster improvements then possible with other strategies and the involvement of all levels of the business in the Six Sigma Process helps to bring about the fastest changes taking a multi-faceted approach to the changes that need to be made on all levels. Many times in business it is management that handles all the goal setting, re-evaluation of processes, and implementation of changes but realistically when looking to make changes business wide it takes the perspective of employees on all different levels working together to achieve the most quantitative results.

The Six Sigma program is one that has become so widely accepted because it is based on solid statistical analysis but also because it includes basic management principles that can benefit just about any company. Team building, goal setting, and constant re-evaluation of results are all very basic techniques that can help to improve any company, in any industry worldwide and this is probably the reason why Six Sigma has taken off in the way it has. Very simply…it works!

Categories: Business

Six Sigma, the time honored deployment of the defect reduction and overall business management technique, has seen tremendous successes in their history. These successes are credited to not only the Six Sigma doctrine and methods, but also to the companies that deployed the methods and made them work.

GE

General Electric, a manufacturer of some of the most well known products, is one of the biggest and most successful companies bearing the Six Sigma name of success. Beginning their deployment of Six Sigma in 1995, they have continues to carry out the techniques. From 1995 to 2000, the use of the Six Sigma doctrine and techniques netted the company just over $10 billion in savings, according to the Six Sigma Academy.

General Electric believes that the quality of their product and services offered is every employees’ responsibility. This is why GE starts Six Sigma training and education at an early stage of employment. Offering training seminars on quality control, team training tools, Master Black and Black Belt training, Green belt and Yellow belt training and “Design for Six Sigma” training, GE educates their employees in the Six Sigma way from day one, helping them become not only better employees, but better people overall.

General Electric not only implements the Six Sigma process within their top-level management, but within the entire company. This is what makes the Six Sigma method a success for them. They know what the customer wants-quality product-and they know the implementation of the Six Sigma methods can give their customers what they want.

Xerox

Xerox, one of the most popular names in copier and printer supplies in the entire world, has employed a different form of Six Sigma, but it is Six Sigma nonetheless. Lean Six Sigma, Xerox’s deployment, couples Six Sigma methods with lean manufacturing techniques to produce less waste products and less defects during the process of manufacturing. With the ultimate goal to satisfy clients by reducing overall “production waste, accumulating zero inventory, zero waiting time on product and services, reduce processing time and improve design and management, the Lean Six Sigma implementation can produce a better business overall.

Since 2002, Xerox has deployed the Lean Six Sigma methodology, in the process has trained, certified over 400 Black Belts, 2,000 Green belts, and has implemented over 700 business projects in addition to achieving remarkable financial gains. Xerox’s Sig Sigma training process is a bit different, though. They identify potential candidates of who have shown progress within their working environment.

Additionally, once these employees are recognized for their performance and leadership roles, they are given the opportunity to immerse themselves into the advanced training courses Xerox offers. Using this process has brought success to not only Xerox, but also to their millions of clients worldwide.

Fortune 500 companies all over the world are deploying the “6 Sigma” strategy, of which without it, their products and overall business management techniques might surely have seen them fail. With the introduction of Six Sigma in even the smallest forms, every company can make and improvement to their product line and their customer’s lives.

Categories: Business, Case Studies