Definitions and general
questions:
What is a black belt / coach
/ six sigma expert?
A black belt (depending
on companies and providers also known as a coach, expert,
catalyst etc.) is a practitioner of six sigma tools. These
individuals drive business results through the application
of tools on projects. Typically they will work projects
full time for the first 4-6 months of participating in the
program. After the initial project work they may remain
in the organization as full time process improvement experts
or utilize the tools in other functions.
What is a six sigma greenbelt?
A six sigma greenbelt is
typically trained less intensively than a black belt. In
many organizations greenbelts work projects on a part time
basis and are supported by black belts. While greenbelts
may contribute to the pervasiveness of six sigma in the
organization, required support, project selection and adequate
training should be carefully considered to ensure adequate
return on investment.
What is a six sigma champion?
Six sigma champions are
used in many organizations to provide ‘program management’.
Champions support project and candidate selection and handle
any administrative, reporting related activity. They act
as an interface to operational leadership.
How do lean manufacturing
and six sigma relate?
Both tools kits support
the reduction of waste in businesses. Lean manufacturing
focuses on ‘making value flow’, i.e. providing an easy to
follow, uninterrupted product flow with minimal waste. Six
sigma focuses on variation related or lack of process knowledge
related waste such as quality issues, tampering leading
to amplified variation in the product delivery process etc.
If applied in an integrated fashion the tools are complementary
and should be used in a ‘hand and glove’ approach.
Program & implementation
questions:
What implementation options
are there for six sigma and lean manufacturing?
There are multiple implementation
methods for six sigma and lean manufacturing. The appropriate
method that drives the highest ROI for a client organization
depends largely on the business and the business environment
that is being operated in. The following questions are often
worth considering prior to deciding on the appropriate implementation
model:
- What performance level
is the organization currently achieving?
- What is the goal for
performance?
- What is the required
time frame?
- Which level of the organization
is supporting the initiative?
- What kinds of results
are targeted?
- What kind of talent
is available in the organization?
- How concentrated will
the effort be?
- What are the key leverage
points in the organization?
- What are the key business
metrics for the organization?
- Which implementation
method best supports breakthrough improvements for those
metrics?
- What is the budget (monetary
as well as resource related)?
Based on the answers, one
of the following implementation methods will prove to be
the most effective:
- Organization wide training
and project work
- Target area (like engineering,
manufacturing, billing etc.) training and project work
- Target candidate training
and project work
- SigmaNow
How quickly can the investment
be recovered?
Our implementations are
cash flow positive within 2-3 months from program start.
This measure of cash flow timing includes employee salaries,
travel, training facilities etc in the cost structure.
The training itself represents the smallest portion of the
associated cost. Given the ROI of the program and
almost immediate positive cash flow, a positive impact on
financial performance should be expected within one quarter.
Does this program build
analytical skills?
The program builds analytical
and logic skills simultaneously. It is used by many organizations
as the platform to generate analysts that generate business
results of multiples of their salaries consistently.
Does this approach build
future leaders?
Our clients utilize particularly
the Masters Program to groom future organizational leaders.
The Masters program gives individuals the opportunity to
improve large-scale cross-functional processes with an integrated
tool kit at exceptional speed. It therefore provides future
leaders with:
- A clear understanding
of the business across functional areas
- A framework and tools
to deliver breakthrough performance
- Exposure to current
leadership in the organization
- Change Management experience
through leading organizations through rapid change
- Confidence through driving
business results
- Mentoring and coaching
network
What differentiates this
program from other programs?
This program is focused
on driving business results. In comparison to many other
initiatives it is not a training program with the hope for
increased productivity in the future, but rather it focuses
on driving business results directly. Projects and candidates
are specifically selected to accelerate business performance.
Training is provided as a means to drive business results
versus being a means of it’s own. These programs have been
implemented without negative cash flow or negative profitability
implications for the implementing organizations.
In addition, this program
provides leadership a platform for goal accomplishment.
Providing tools to employees enables stretch goals to be
accomplished with the current pool of employees. An
integrate six sigma and lean manufacturing program, if properly
implemented, will drive not only tools, but motivation and
immediate success into the organization.
What kinds of issues should
be considered prior to launching a program?
Instructor qualifications
should be carefully analyzed when considering suppliers.
While many providers may present an ‘A-Team’ during the
sales cycle the actual training and project mentoring may
be conduced by far less qualified individuals and in some
cases sub-contractors. While some degree of training
can be standardized, specific project and business related
issues may not. In that case lack of instructor qualifications
may jeopardize the project outcome and in some cases even
lead to cynicism in the organization towards the program.
Availability of the provider team to aid in project work
may also be a worthwhile consideration prior to selecting
providers. For consistency purpose it may be of value
to ensure a high degree of consistency in the instructors
pool.
While some training elements
are also ‘standard’ in any six sigma program, the specific
tool application may differ widely. Some providers
will custom develop supplemental topics specific to the
clients business while others may opt not to provide this
service.
Leadership commitment is
of utmost importance in ensuring high returns of a six sigma
and/or lean manufacturing program. These programs
may be successfully implemented in organizational pockets,
however, if cross-organizational project are to be other
functions need to be involved in the implementation of the
program.
One key characteristic of
successful candidates is a significant time commitment towards
the project work. Without time to actually drive process
improvements, results will be meager. A program initiative
of this magnitude should not be taken lightly and treated
as "just another additional initiative". It is a platform
for business transformation that will yield breakthrough
business performance if treated as such by leadership.
How do you integrate six
sigma into other initiatives?
Many initiatives that
have historically been implemented have some value to the
organization. Unfortunately many initiates receive a bad
reputation as a result of improper implementation and the
‘silver bullet’ fallacy – the attempt to make any initiative
the silver bullet to all business opportunities. No
one initiative however will be able to achieve such a requirement.
For more information on this topic, please refer to our
white paper section of this web page. It contains
one of our recent articles specifically on this topic.
(The
Foundation for Successful Process Improvement Programs)
Is this applicable to mid
sized and small companies?
Yes, six sigma and lean
manufacturing is applicable to smaller organizations. Although
popularized through the implementation at GE, AlliedSignal,
Motorola and Xerox, Six Sigma Systems brings tremendous
value to smaller organizations. As additional larger companies,
such as Ford, move towards six sigma as a key platform for
process improvement, we have also observed an increased
requirement put on to suppliers to "participate".
A key difference in the application of Six Sigma in small
businesses is the type of implementation model that is most
appropriate. While many large organizations favor a company
wide initiative, this approach may be sub-optimal for smaller
organizations. (Also see our section on Implementation
Methods).
Does six sigma apply to
administrative operations?
Six sigma is applicable
to administrative applications. One key issue associated
with administrative processes is that a key source of variation
in system performance is the human factor. While most
employees desire to deliver high performance, leadership
needs to provide a process that fundamentally enables high
performance. Furthermore, many processes with humans
as primary processors and measurement tools require a robust
process specifically addressing ‘human’ noise since the
presence and impact of noise in such a system is significantly
amplified. Lean manufacturing and six sigma provide
the tools to improve existing administrative operations
and supply a robust process. It is also complementary to
High Performance Work Team environments providing the tools
to address more complex issues.
Are these the newest and
hottest tools?
An interesting fact about
most six sigma tools is that they are not new. The application
of the tools and their practical, integrated and results
oriented application is "what’s new". Some of the
tools date back as far as the 1920s and 1930s (SPC, DOE
for example). In fact tools like DOE are one of the drivers
for the increase in agricultural output over the last 80
years.
Results questions:
What kinds of business results
will six sigma and lean manufacturing yield?
Not using ‘creative accounting
methods’ an integrated six sigma and lean manufacturing
implementation should be expected to deliver returns above
500%. A difficulty in comparing programs and providers
is the ‘creative accounting’ used in some instances.
None-the-less, applying sensible accounting methods a good
implementation is guaranteed to deliver an ROI superior
to other available process improvement activities that we
are aware of.
What drives the magnitude
of the business results?
The actual business results
achieved are largely dependent on the following factors:
- Involvement, participation
and ownership of leadership.
- Project selection.
- Candidate and Team selection.
- Program Provider.
- Comprehensiveness
of the program.
- Instructor qualifications.
- Delivery method.
- Implementation model.
Will Six Sigma Systems,
Inc. guarantee results?
We will guarantee the results
of our program. We are happy to accept payment terms
that will ensure our clients receives breakthrough business
results when implementing a six sigma & lean manufacturing
program through our organization.
How quickly can the investment
be recovered?
Our programs turn profitable
and cash flow positive within 2 - 3 months of program start.
Our program is therefore truly ‘self-funding’.
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