Pragmatic Six Sigma

You spend a lot of money training your employees. How do you get the best possible return on training investment?

First, determine what you spend on training to calculate your return on training investment. If you pay a vendor to provide training, use the invoices as a base. If you train in-house, use payroll hours for the time spent preparing and delivering the training. Add in the payroll employees spend training and the cost of materials used. Use these expenses to figure your return on training investment.

Next, determine the value of the benefit from training to calculate your return on training investment. Increased productivity, eliminated mistakes, increased sales, fewer returns, etc. are examples of measurements that determine the benefit. Effective management reports will help to figure the return on training investment.

Use this formula to calculate your return on training investment:

Return on Training Investment (ROI) % = Benefit-Expenses/Expenses) x 100

Your return on training investment depends on five factors:

1. Cut training costs to boost the return on your training investment. Consider computer-based or online learning. Use on-the-job training to save on payroll. Record training to use more than once. Be creative to cut costs and improve return on training investment.
2. Maximize your return on training investment by using relevant training. Focus on specific skills and knowledge your employees need. Nothing drives down return on training investment faster than wasting time teaching unneeded skills.
3. Determine your training needs to get real value from your return on training investment. Analyze gaps in what your employees know and what they still need. Look at specific tasks.
4. Measure the results to improve your return on training investment. Track factors like time spent correcting errors, customer satisfaction, sales, etc. over time and compare them with before the training. Use the difference to determine the cost benefit and your return on training investment.
5. Use six sigma training effectively to improve your return on training investment. The 80/20 rule states that 20% of efforts produce 80% of results. Focus on training that has the biggest impact on your company’s results and your return on training investment will improve.

Good training not only helps your return on training investment but increases productivity, improves customer satisfaction, saves time and expenses, increase sales, and makes for happier employees. Follow these simple steps and you will get more from your return on training investment.

Categories: Methodologies

Many companies are looking toward the future and wondering what lies down the road. Will the economy improve? Will it ever bounce back to where it once was? Honestly, while experts pretend to have the answers they quite honestly have none. They look toward the future and attempt to predict with hope a good and prosperous market just beyond the horizon but no one knows for sure.

Companies need to recession proof their businesses and choose methods that will improve their business not only for the now but for down the road as well. Of course, no business management technique comes with a guarantee but there are many that offer the promise of hope and a brighter future. Choosing a management technique with a proven track record can help provide companies with the hope and stability that they need to produce results that will help their business excel into and beyond their wildest imaginations.

One such management program is Six Sigma and while many businesses will argue about the aspects of 6 Sigma that have proven most effective for them most are assured that it is the structured belt system that really helps Six Sigma to be as effective as possible. When it comes to choosing a management technique most find that Six Sigma is the logical choice not only due to its proven track record but also due to the tiered system that allows everyone to train and implement at their own level within just about any company.

First seen as only a solution for those in the manufacturing sect most who promote Six Sigma now do so from a variety of different perspectives to include customer service and health care based industries as well. Even some government agencies have adapted Six Sigma for their own purposes as well.

Most say that the belt system contained within in the 6 Sigma Program allows for a cohesive plan that runs evenly throughout the company and that having everyone focused on the same goal set helps to produce better results. Teamwork is essential to the success of any business and therefore the belt structure really helps to bond the entire team together producing better overall results time and time again. Belts help to bring everyone on board and can help to save a company. It is for this reason that many companies opt for a Six Sigma solution to a struggling business.

Categories: Methodologies

Six Sigma, a business management tool that stemmed from the hard work of the Motorola Corporation during the mid-eighties has been found effective in a variety of different industries across the board. It is a process by which results can be evaluated and measured to help consistently improve results over time.

Originally designed in a manufacturing setting and then developed for customer service based businesses, Six Sigma has also branched out to the health care industry as well. Since Six Sigma is about reducing variations and eliminating errors in every process of a business it is one that works well in the health care industry as well.

Instead of the focus being on the customer however, the focus in the health care industry is totally on the patient and their experiences as well as the level of care that they are receiving. All aspects of patient management are looked at using the Six Sigma principles such as ways to improve patient’s satisfaction, how to improve quality to help increase monetary recovery, how to reduce the number of errors made in prescriptions, and how to reduce the amount of time that each patient is spending in the emergency room.

The purpose of Six Sigma in health care, just as with any other industry, is to reduce the number of defects and this means a safer environment for patients and more successful outcomes, which in the end will result in less loss for the hospital and thus better profits. Like any other, health care is big business and that is why Six Sigma fits so well into this format as well.

As with all other forms of Six Sigma, health care Six Sigma still functions under the DMAIC model and strives to find the areas that are in need of improvement, measure performance, analyze the causes of poor performance to determine which aspects should be changed or redefined. Improve the process and hold it consistent over time gradually making more and more improvements over time.

In addition to increasing patient satisfaction using the DMAIC model helps to decrease the hospitals expenses and costs and helps to raise the bar so to speak on their services. This means better outcomes for both the establishment and the patients as well.

Using this data driven approach to health care helps hospitals to see where the problems are in their system and helps them to strive for virtual perfection. In this type of setting everyone works together for the best possible end result.

Categories: Methodologies

Six sigma is a wonderful management process and one that offers many benefits to companies in a variety of different industries. And while many revere the program because they know how successful it has been for others it seems when it comes to the tiered levels and the way in which they relate to the different belts in martial arts people tend to become slightly confused.

For the most part the confusion stems from the fact that in martial arts you must complete each level in order to push ahead to the next. Therefore, most people assume that if you want to reach the level of Master Black Belt in 6 Sigma that you must first hold the title of yellow belt and green belt, which simply is not true. As a matter of fact depending on the position that you hold within the company you may bypass all other training levels and move to the top level.

During the process of Six Sigma training you will be exposed to information regarding all of the levels, who holds the positions at those levels, as well as all of the responsibilities of each of the lower levels. No matter what level you are entering the process at you will be clearly instructed as to each levels role to allow you a better overall understanding of the bigger picture. Since 6 Sigma is only as functional as the sum of all its parts it is important that employees on each level understand their fellow employees and their roles on all of the other levels.

Once an employee not only understands their role but the role of everyone in the company this helps them to understand the chain of command as well as where they need to turn for assistance. Since each level relies heavily on the next, in Six Sigma, it is important that everyone understand that each of the levels is significant and important and it is the team effort that will produce success for the company.

When it comes to business 6 Sigma companies are on top of their game but employees don’t have to climb their way up the ladder. Taking on a role in the company only requires each employee to take the leveled training that is appropriate for their role in the company and not to take training on all levels to become a Master Black Belt. The Master Black Belt training courses will help them to take the lead in implementation even if they have never before even heard of Six Sigma.

Categories: Methodologies

A design only facility is one that designs products but doesn't manufacture them on site. Instead, the manufacturing is outsourced to another company or it is manufactured at another plan owned by the company. In some cases, it the designs are sold to other companies. Since design professionals can't use the same quality control measures as a facility with access to the finished product, a set of tools needs to be defined specifically for the design community.

In the past, the design community has been resistant to such tools because of the pressure to release a product right away, and because they would rather wait to find bugs in the finished product. This is problematic due to the increasing popularity of computer technology. Designers are asked to produce new computer systems faster, but to customize them more, leaving less opportunity to use a template design. Most industries are experiencing this same problem. This means it is more important for designers to get things right the first time around.

Design Quality Tools

The goal of improved quality is to design a product with no defects. Defects must be prevented before the manufacturing stage, and testing methods need to be developed for this early stage as well. This necessitates design quality tools. In the case of software, a bug tracking program can be used to identify sources of problems. Design reviews are also an important part of the process. Failure modes need to be identified and resolved before design is completed.

Root cause analysis can be used to identify causes of problems so that they aren't repeated. Often, the root cause can be identified by asking five "why" questions. Bug tracking programs can often be used in conjunction with this.

Design Improvement Tools

Tools that can improve the design process include business process mapping, business process improvement, and performance excellence. Business process mapping uses a flowchart to map out the design process using logical and statistical tools. Business process improvement can then be addressed by reviewing the accuracy of the mapping information. Ideally, an ideal and an expedited path should be developed.

Corrective and Preventative Action for Design

Preventing and correcting action can be difficult in design because design work is difficult to document, and creative work is difficult to repeat reliably. However, using project management, lean principles, and quality management systems, it is possible, and ultimately improves the process in a way that is more efficient.

Categories: Methodologies

Six-Sigma refers to Six Standard Deviations; Six Sigma criterion offers the techniques and mechanisms in developing the capability and in reduction of defects in any given process.

A given Sigma level represents the degree of variation found in a process that is relative to the consumer's requirements. The levels are represented as statistics that ranges from 1 to 6. Usually a lower Sigma gives an indication of an increase in the process variation. On analyzing it is seen that an increase in variation significantly attracts consumer dissatisfaction. Therefore, a low Sigma level indicates consumer dissatisfaction.

• The process of calculating the Six Sigma level includes the various steps below:
• You are required to take count of units of output for a specific time period
• You are required to take count of defects that occur for the precise number of units
• Then carry out division of the defects by the measured units to obtain the defects per unit.
• Afterwards multiply the defects per unit by 1000000 to obtain the defects per million units (DPMO)
• The DPMO can be obtained from the Sigma table.

Now let us see in depth how one is supposed to go about calculating the Six Sigma level of process. Ideally, the calculation of Six Sigma level depends on the number of defects per opportunities. Below are strategic steps towards achieving the main goal.

Actual Calculation of Six Sigma level

(1). the initial step involves gathering the necessary info for calculating DPMO. Here you are required to collect the necessary info for: the produced units; the expected defect opportunities for each unit; and the number of defects.

(2). make use of the DPMO formula when carrying out calculations of defects in the process per a million opportunities.

DPMO=Number of Defects *1,000,000 ....................................... (Formula 1)

An Example

Consider a DVD player manufacturer, who needs to calculate the Six Sigma level of the manufacturing process. In a given duration, the manufacturer produces 83,934 DVD players. Then the manufacturer is supposed to carry out 8 checks in order to test the quality of commodities. Yet, during testing phase, 3,432 of the DVD players get rejected.

By the use of formula 1 above we obtain the:

Defects =3,432

Opportunities=83,934

Defects Opportunities per unit=8

DPMO=5111.158768

(3). In order to find the respective DPMO value, one will have to use the sigma table.

Categories: Methodologies

Green Six Sigma is something that can help many businesses overcome their fear of green. And if you need to learn more about running a successful green business then Green Six Sigma is for you. It is something that can help you to run a better business and yet make it greener as well.

There are many businesses that are going green but for the most part many business owners don’t really understand what a green business truly is. A greener business is one that has concerns about creating less of an impact on the environment and even if you aren’t the least bit concerned about running a greener business you still need to try and adapt to this mindset simply because of the world changing around you. Whether you care about it or not chances are your customers do.

The Green Six Sigma Process was developed by Sam Windsor and is designed to help companies find the tools that they need to create a greener company and market it as such to help increase both sales and profitability in their business. By setting Green Goals companies will be able to achieve a more successful business and a greener one as well.

There are two class options that are available to help you become more familiar with running a Green Business and to also help your company gather the information it needs to make the decisions that will bring it to heightened success. A one day seminar will help you discover what it means to run a Green Business by definition and also will provide an overview of Six Sigma as well. This course is a good start for businesses but a 3 day seminar will allow you to explore each aspect of running a Green Six Sigma business in greater detail and will help you come up with a plan of action for your own business situation.

Taking the time to investigate what can help to make your business greener and more successful is a worthwhile venture. Whether you are in a manufacturing type industry or one in the field of customer service you will find that using a Greener methodology will prove very profitable.

Categories: Methodologies

The Purpose of using a Six Sigma method is to increase overall production without defects and to increase satisfaction without making any sacrifice. In general, Six Sigma is a way of making life easier for everyone involved. In any business using the Six Sigma methods, five steps will take that business from level one to level six. These steps involve the most logical and simple deployment of improvement of business processes and for initiating a business into the Six Sigma way.

Step One: Define Problems and Goals

After determining the improvement needed and the project has been selected, the first step is to define the barriers and the goals of said project. The ability to determine the specific problem that needs improvement is necessary to create the specific goal of what Six Sigma will do for that project. For example, what problems are identified? How long has the problem been going on and how big has it gotten? Can the improvements take place in a single project or will the problem need smaller projects?

Determine what the mission of the project will be by using the same terms the problem does. By doing so, the project has a better likelihood of succeeding. Finding a team of employees who can effectively manage not only the project, but the problem itself will serve to expedite the process in a logical and knowledgeable way.

Step Two: Analyze

The ability to analyze the situation and measure the enormity of the problem will be more effective in providing a solution that eventually encompasses the final goal. This is when the mapping of the project will take place. Mapping allows the confirmation of the project and the mission of the improvement in addition to uncovering any changes in the plan or goal that must take place before the initial phases of the improvement can happen.

Step Three: Theorize

This step involves the theorization of any and all possible causes for the initial problem that caused the need for the improvement project. To formulate a theory allows the project managers and others working on the solution to postulate, test and document all theories of what caused the problem. This effectively allows the improvement team to formulate a better plan for eliminating the problem.

Step Four: Planning and Improvement

This step allows the improvement project team to analyze all processes and possibly come up with improvements to them. For example, can a specific part of the project be completed in a more efficient way? Determining if any alternatives exist to make the project move along more efficiently is one of the most important steps and helps with overall implementation of the project and solution. Once the most effective plan has been determined, the project goes forward and the expected gains are achieved.

Step Five: Maintenance

This step allows the improvement teams to ensure that the gains they make during the entire process are continuing to be met. Once a solution is initiated, controlling it so the problem does not recur is important. Continuing audits of any processes while continuing to improve on the process is ideal.

Using these five steps are the way to Six Sigma achievements in product and quality control. Determining a problem and effectively coming up with a logical way to fix the problem is a lengthy and thought provoking process, but it is a process that has saved thousands of companies billions of dollars over the years, and will continue to do so in the years to come.

Categories: Methodologies, Six Sigma

Most methodologies have an inherient doctrine. Newcomers to six sigma often take a while to become acclimated to it. In this post I will explore Six Sigma's doctrine.

The Six Sigma doctrine is made up of a set of standards. All of which are based on the presumption that by using the methods outlined in the Doctrine of Six Sigma, businesses could improve the process of manufacturing and eliminate any defects that came down the line. In relation to Six Sigma, the definition of a defect means any output by the manufacturing or other output processes that the clients do not like, or does not meet the clients’ or customers’ needs in some way.

The basic terms of the Six Sigma Doctrine include some basic principles that are used in the methodology that all involved in the business and manufacturing process must follow:

• In order to achieve success in business, it is important to strive to continue to build a way to effectively predict and achieve results without variation of the whole.
• In order to ensure success, every part of the company or organization must be involved in some way and show their commitment to the success of that organization to gain control over improvement in quality, included in this statement are the CEO and other top-level management teams.
• No mater what the business aspects are, they will all have measurable characteristics of which can be improved upon.
• Additionally, the Six Sigma doctrine included a specific set of features from which they were set apart from other organizations. These included:
• The ability and passion to make decisions based on analytical fact instead of assumptions and conjecture
• Focus on a Six Sigma project in order to achieve financial goals on ROI
• Management should have the ability to be passionate about their leadership and show commitment to all involved
• A tiered approach to the levels of leadership within the Six Sigma organizations

These last four features set Six Sigma apart from any previous quality control initiatives. The leadership tiers to which one could attain included Black Belts and Green belts in addition to others and they serve to set certain leaders apart from others so that those in need of guidance and structure have someone in which they can confide in and receive help from. These “Belts’ show the Six Sigma community who the experts are in production management and the quality control initiatives.

A black Belt is governed by a “Master Black Belt,” and guides all those below him. With the ability to complete various projects every year, a Six Sigma Black belt can save an organization up to $230,000 on each project. At about six projects or more every year, that equals no less than $1.5 million saved by using the Six Sigma methodology and their Master Black belts.

The combined use and deployment of the Doctrine and the Belt levels allows the company, which is in the process of a Six Sigma deployment, to achieve their overall goals in the production of product, reduction of defects and the management of the business as a whole in relation to customer satisfaction. The overall success factor of which Six Sigma eventually brings to a business and its management/production/manufacturing style is one which has been proven over and over with the success of Fortune 500 companies everywhere.

Categories: Methodologies, Questions and Answers