The Intellect Of Six Sigma

By Author: Ekrem Gundogdu
Total Articles: 11
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Lean Six Sigma can be used in every phase of business processes, from floor manufacturing operations to sales and from human resources to IT and R&D. Six Sigma is present everywhere and helps to improve all the processes of these crucial business units. Given below are four principles that can be used by the chief executives, to help set the platform for implementing the Integrated Enterprise Excellence system.

Businesses having a Six Sigma mindset deliver projects on time and well within budget. They can deliver on time because they employ the right people, a clear charter and follow a structured process. The projects are within the budget because Six Sigma prohibits wasting resources unnecessary and finally they deliver it on purpose, meaning they accomplish the stated goals.

However methodology-improvement processes like Six Sigma demand that while implementing them, creative tension should be overcome. There is an ongoing debate about the role of metrics, especially in website development and marketing. It is imperative that a business tracks its work and data meticulously because not only will it demonstrate ...
... success, but will also help to build a new strategy, if required, to manage the process better.

Tools of Six Sigma- for finding and fixing errors on bills, orders etc make use of line, fishbone, and Pareto Six Sigma strategies. For monitoring the transactional error and cash flow, a p chart or XmR chart can be used.

Tools of Lean Six Sigma - Lean Six Sigma will help you to find out and eliminate the delays in any transactional process that will additionally aggrandize your cash flow as well.

The conclusion that can be drawn from the above two points is that if you are only implementing Lean Six Sigma, then you will not be able to reduce defects in all processes. However, a combined effort can easily point out and rectify the errors in a transactional process.

The word Six Sigma has given rise to many misconceptions among the business community. This starts with the measurements that the Six Sigma team collects for devising a Six Sigma strategy. Black Belt Six Sigma professionals create further complications by using innumerable complex charts, graphs, diagrams and jargon to explain their clients about the same. More often than not, the clients complain that they get so dumbfounded and overwhelmed by drawing graphs and charts that they don't have the time to sit back and analyze the whole situation properly and improve fault areas.

In the interest of saving more time and reducing complications while collecting your data, you can first try out defining the purpose of collecting measurements. The main purpose behind collecting measurements is to guide, forewarn and inform. Let's discuss these points in detail:

-Guidance helps in correcting and directing the course of flight while your business is running.

-Measurement also forewarns the implementing group about any potential problems like trends or vacillation on control charts.

-Measurements also help the customers, suppliers or the leaders of any business by informing them about the progress made.

To ensure the success of lean Six Sigma implementations, the project manager should not only have the requisite Six Sigma qualifications and training, but should also have knowledge about the basics of Lean 6 Sigma. Given below are some of the basics of Lean 6 Sigma, which are applicable to manufacturing firms that are in the process of implementing Lean Six Sigma.

Moving up the ladder, Six Sigma Champion Workshops focus on techniques and tools used by Sigma Improvement Teams, including the Black Belt Team disciplines applied to a project. Sigma Champions are responsible not only for sponsoring a project, but for determining which specific projects are optimally selected.

Six Sigma Green Belt Training concentrates on teaching personnel to support high level, or Black Belt projects. Upon completion of Six Sigma Green Belt Training, a practitioner has the opportunity to participate in Six Sigma Black Belt Training, which inculcates the "DMAIC," (Define; Measure; Analyze; Improve and Control) model. Individuals are trained from project definition through process control. Participants achieve Six Sigma Black Belt certification by completing the three or four week course with 100% attendance; passing all weekly exams; receiving 8 hours of instructor coaching; successfully completing a project within four months of training completion; successfully defending that project, and passing a written final examination.

Ekrem Gundogdu writes articles about different subjects, including ISO 9001. To read his articles see his ISO 14001 website.