However, Six Sigma today has moved on from the manufacturing realm of business and is also very much a part of the services industries where the spirit of the process is lauded. Constant improvements are sought in almost all industries today. A reason for the phenomenal success of this business process and quality management and practice has been the short term and long term impact it has on bottom line of the business.

Six Sigma is not a process which begins to show results only over a long period of time or results which can only be measured by abstract measurements. In fact its results can be measured right away by the reduction in the number of faulty products, reduction in returns from customer and reduction of useless inventory. A before and after the 6 Sigma implementation can easily highlight the benefits to the organization. If you are new to this concept and have only heard about it on the passing, here are some vital answers to frequently asked queries:

What Does It Take to Implement 6 Sigma in an Organization?

It takes phenomenal operational efficiency and discipline as well as organizational leadership to implement Six Sigma. Since the concentration of the manufacturing process has to be reducing the number of defects or defective products, each process has to be scrutinized closely and amended to work towards this goal. In-house champions make this quality conscience-ness possible as it is not possible for all processes and involved managers to be highly quality conscience. Technology is also a great enabler in the implementation of Six Sigma as it helps reduce faults to a large extent.

A number of professionals are required to be employed to be able to implement this business process improvement method in an organization. There are individuals who have in-depth knowledge about the principles of 6 Sigma as well as manufacturing processes (some even have specialized working knowledge pertaining to some specific industries such as automobiles, aircrafts, etc).

Achieving 6 Sigma certification in your organization requires you to execute one project completely in the recommended process. Documenting the process and training existing business and manufacturing heads forms a large part of the implementation of Six Sigma processes. An organization also requires investments within the company by way of people, man hours, machine hours, technology etc to implement Six Sigma.

Getting Familiar with the Nomenclatures of 6 Sigma

The Total Quality Management process of 6 Sigma has gained popularity over the past few years specially as businesses have become more quality conscience and as manufacturing processes become more complicated. The key industries implementing Six Sigma are Healthcare, Banking, Insurance and Construction.

The two prominent methodologies are DMAIC (Define Measure Analyze, Improve and Control ) and DMADV   ( Define, Measure, Analyze, Design and Verify). There is also operational hierarchy when it comes to Six Sigma. Apart from the senior Management, there are Champions, Master black belts, Black Belts and Green Belts who have a predefined role in the implementation of Six Sigma in the organization.

If the Benefits are so Prominent, Then Why are Companies NOT Implementing 6 Sigma?

Six Sigma has not changed much from the time it was put together way back in the 1980s. The success factor has been the absolute number of achieving 3.4 defects per million products which is phenomenal. Even with this measurement, Six Sigma has largely remained a territory for the large companies and very few small to medium enterprises have ventured in this direction. The primary reason has been the cost of implementing this process is very prohibitive. The man power resources required to manage the process is equally difficult.

Some organizations which are very convinced about this quality management procedure adapt something called the Lean Six Sigma. The Lean Six Sigma has the same spirit but lesser number of defines processes and steps and is quite suited for smaller organizations.

Six Sigma which started at Motorola can be found as an initiative in most large quality conscience organizations which have a commitment to quality and a vision for better products and services to their customers.

Peter Peterka is President of Lean Six Sigma US. For additional information on Six Sigma Black Belt or other Six Sigma Online Certification contact Peter Peterka.

Author: Peter Peterka Google

Published 09/3/2008

The post Business Process Management and 6 Sigma appeared first on SixSigmaTraining.us.

You browse through a handful of Six Sigma books hoping to find a definition for leadership. Chances are you’d be hard pressed to find one unifying definition. Instead, you’ll get a garden variety of definitions that will help you zero in on the true essence of leadership. Given evolving business and manufacturing trends and rapidly changing technologies, leadership has taken on a multi-faceted dimension. The same is true when speaking of leadership in Six Sigma.

Don’t be discouraged. While it is true that someone new to Six Sigma can be puzzled by the myriad of concepts, principles, charts and metric analysis, Six Sigma is, in the end, an approach based on pure common sense. And as one navigates through the discussions and literature on Six Sigma, one realizes that leadership boils down to applied common sense. As you learn more about Six Sigma principles and leadership, you’ll find that numerous writers will use the phrase, applied common sense, over and over again.

Six Sigma Terms Provide Clues to Leadership

Assuming even basic knowledge of Six Sigma, what have you observed regarding the terms that are frequently raised? This question is essential because if we closely examine the terms and phrases that are frequently used by writers to describe Six Sigma processes, they can clue us into what makes an effective leader. Establishing a link between such terms to effective leadership is a good starting point.

To cite a few: quality, speed, process flow, sustained improvement, customer satisfaction, team work, openness, factual data, cost reduction, innovation, operational efficiency, success factors these are only a few of the recurring concepts in Six Sigma leadership. There are many others, particularly if you venture into the more technical aspects of Six Sigma, but for the moment, we are focusing on leadership.

Taking those terms therefore, how do we come up with a working and realistic definition of leadership in Six Sigma?

In its simplest form, we’ll adopt the definition given by Peter S. Pande in his book, The Six Sigma Leader (McGraw Hill, 2007). Pande says that the essence of Six Sigma leadership is balance and flexibility. The interesting point he makes is that leadership is not about absolutes nor a defined set of steps. It is a set of principles that can be applied for greater success and sustained results for an organization. He explains, It’s based on the idea that outstanding leadership is an artful, but learnable, combination of skills that combine balance and flexibility to drive goals and performance.

In reading Pande’s definition, our first reaction was, how can balance and flexibility be chopped into smaller segments to arrive at a clearer understanding of leadership? To say that a leader must be balanced and flexible is a rather sweeping broad statement.

Let’s see if we can take these two terms and tie them up with the terms we mentioned earlier. This is what we propose: a Six Sigma leader knows how to use factual data about the company’s mission and objectives, its employees and their functions and uses this data to come up with the critical success factors for the organization so that the company delights its customers with low costs. So leadership in Six Sigma presupposes that these four essential ingredients constitute the guiding principles for improving: factual data, critical success factors, customers and low costs.

A Six Sigma leader is also someone who can balance the high quality low cost ratio for the company to continually improve by taking members of his team to buy in to his brand of leadership. When there’s a buy-in on the part of ALL members in a team, the chances for success are higher and the risks for poor operational results are greatly diminished.

Quantum Leaders

We’ll now go into a higher realm of leadership in Six Sigma. This time, we’ll refer to what David H. Treichler and Ronald D. Carmicheal (The Six Sigma Path to Leadership, American Society for Quality, 2004) call the Quantum Leader.

Six Sigma is a model for leadership training where managers and executives are trained to be results-oriented. Treichler and Carmichael ask, but how many leaders actually achieve quantum results? Quantum results, they say, are those results that take an organization to higher levels of performance.

If we compare Treichler’s definition of leadership to that of Pande’s, it isn’t that all different, although Treichler goes one step further. He says quantum leaders are capable of making dispassionate decisions based on data that has been systematically gathered and analyzed, ensuring that the political realities of an organization and fear factor are managed and controlled effectively.

Treichler and Carmichael says that management must tell employees that it does not shoot messengers and that a company’s leaders must not only provide lip service to Six Sigma practices but actually provide the resources, training and opportunities so that employees are empowered to do their jobs and take responsibility – not out of personal gains, but to contribute to business gains.

As Treichler so aptly put it, leadership cannot get it at the conceptual or intellectual level. That is mere lip service to Six Sigma. Instead, leadership must live Six Sigma, lead by Six Sigma, and infuse Six Sigma into every business decision.

Peter Peterka is the President of SixSigmaTraining.us. For information on Six Sigma training, Six Sigma Certification or Master Black Belt programs contact Peter Peterka.

Author: Peter Peterka Google

Published 09/3/2008

The post Six Sigma Breeds Effective Leadership appeared first on SixSigmaTraining.us.

In English the 5S are Sort, Set in order, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain. Though the process has got branded as a 5S process, a closer look by consultants and management gurus have declared this process an amalgamation of best practices in business and have considered the process good enough to be ported to non-manufacturing units as well. The meaning of each process has been adapted to suit non-manufacturing units and they are explained below for easier understanding.

5S #1: Sort

Any office or non-manufacturing unit can first begin to sort out the items which are not related to any business process and red tag them and remove it from the premise to clear up space for processes that need to be done on a regular basis.

For example, it is better to move the large bunch of printing paper into the storage room for access later on instead of stacking then next to the printer. It is unlikely that you will need ALL the paper in one go. Such sorting in each portion of the work space not only frees up valuable space, but also helps in de-cluttering the office bearers minds and free up their time.

5S #2: Set in Order

The governing force being the process of setting in order is efficiency. Business managers can really think and create small processes within their work space which improves efficiency. For example, a draftsman should locate all his stationery within reachable distance but not put more pencils than required on an average day.

Similarly, a retail outlet counter should have all items required to serve a customer at the customer bay to improve efficiency. With a bit of planning the Set in Order step can enhance productivity and reduce confusion and wastage of time and resource to a large extent. Most organized people, use Set in Order not just in the work place, but also in their personal lives and you are likely to see this in action in their house and any other personal space.

5S #3: Shine

Godliness is next to cleanliness ( and vise versa) are really true. Clean office equipment even clean office tables and chairs can make a world of difference to the work atmosphere. Having responsibility to keep office areas and equipment clean can also help in developing a sense of ownership amongst the business managers and the equipment.

The process of Shine cannot be limited to manufacturing processes only. They are very much applicable to offices and non-manufacturing units as work gets done out of these places as well.

5S #4: Standardize

How often have you walked into Pizza Hut outlets and have been impressed by the standardized services and processes? The creation of such a large chain has only been possible by standardization of the best practices identified by the organization.

In spite of standardization, Pizza Huts across the world, have some unique point about each outlet. The reason is behind is that the employees are allowed to innovate within the process. Standardization in non-manufacturing processes is even more important as there is lesser number of automated machines and a number of processes are human-centric.

5S #5: Sustain

Amongst all the steps in the 5S Principal, the fifth is probably the toughest. Sustaining the set processes and then continuing to do so in an ongoing basis, requires a fair deal of discipline and audits. In fact, many consultants feel that it is easier to sustain the 5S code of conduct in a non-manufacturing environment as the business managers are more receptive to change than shop floor managers.

As explained above, it is quite easy to understand that 5S can definitely be used extensively within a non-manufacturing unit to improve efficiency of output of all managers.

Peter Peterka is President of Lean Six Sigma us. For additional information on Six Sigma Green Belt or other Six Sigma Black Belt programs contact Peter Peterka.

Author: Peter Peterka Google

Published 09/3/2008

The post 5S Implementation for the Non-manufacturing sector appeared first on SixSigmaTraining.us.

Most of us are familiar with the concept of experimentation within the fields of science and medicine. Experiments can be designed and conducted for any process in any field not just testing physics equations or new drugs or medical procedures. Design of Experiments is a formal statistical methods required to ensure that the testing or piloting of any new improvement ideas maximize the informational potential of the trial and ultimately the return to the business.

The basic principles of cause and effect and interaction of factors operate everywhere, including manufacturing and service organizations. Design of Experiments is an organized method for determining the relationships between factors that affect a process and the variable outputs of that process. It also serves to verify if a cause and effect relationship really does exist and to identify the vital few causes of variation.

In short, Design of Experiments within Six Sigma is a performance improvement methodology that uses sophisticated statistical techniques to understand and control variation, thus improving predictability of business processes. Experimental methods are used to quantify previously undefined factors and interactions between factors.

This is accomplished through crafting planned experiments where controlled changes of factors will determine which factors have the largest impact on quality characteristics. Though the systematic observance of the experiments and statistical measurements of the results, useful data can be assembled and analyzed to understand the relative importance of different factors to overall process variability.

The basic concepts of Design of Experiments are factors, levels, and responses. A factor is an independent variable. In a planned experiment, the factors are deliberately varied in a predetermined manner. A level is a state of the factor that is deliberately varied. Levels can be discrete (present/absent) or numeric.

Experimentation is typically done at two, or occasionally three levels for every factor; each separate level constituting an experimental run. The responses, literally the results of the experimental runs, are measured at each run of each factor-level combination. The response can also be discrete or numerical values.

An efficient experimental design varies the multiple factors in an intelligent and controlled sequence. Response data can then be collected in an intelligible way.

Combining all factors and their levels can become too large and expensive of a task, so informed deductions must be made as to which factors will generate the most pertinent data that will provide enough information for confident results. The sequence of runs in the experiment must be randomized.

Randomization is crucial to give all external factors an equal chance to affect every run of the experiment. A non-randomized experiment stands a great risk of external factors acting in a systematic manner, adding noise to the response. Multiple sets of experimental runs, called replication, will provide more data and greater confidence in evaluating the results. If the budget allows, conducting more replications is desirable.

Successfully designed experiments will show the relationship between the change in level of each of the factors and the change in response. Once these relationships are understood, they can be used to find “what’s best” solutions to process improvement and variation reduction. Design of Experiments is a crucial part of the Six Sigma methodology. It will allow you to see into the heart of the process and what really drives it.

Peter Peterka is President of Six Sigma us. For additional information on Six Sigma Black Belt or Minitab programs contact Peter Peterka https://sixsigmatraining.us/

Author: Peter Peterka Google

Published 09/3/2008

The post Design of Experiments for Six Sigma appeared first on SixSigmaTraining.us.

DFSS can be compared to DMAIC (Design, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) and often the acronym DMADV (Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, Verify) is used to describe the strategy of DFSS. The precise phases or steps of a DFSS methodology are not universally defined. Most organizations will implement DFSS to suit their business, industry, and culture. DFSS methodology, instead of the DMAIC methodology, should be used when:

• A product or process is not in existence at your company and one needs to be developed.
• The existing product or process exists and has been optimized (using either DMAIC or not) and still doesn’t meet the level of customer specification or six sigma level

Design for Six Sigma is a way to implement the Six Sigma methodology as early in the product or service life cycle as possible. It is a strategy toward extraordinary ROI by designing to meet customer needs and process capability. DFSS can produce the same order of magnitude in financial benefits as DMAIC. But it also greatly helps an organization innovate, exceed customer expectations, and become a market leader.

Design for Six Sigma is the Six Sigma approach to product design namely, designing products that are resistant to variation in the manufacturing process. Using DFSS means designing quality into the product from the start. You are preventing wasteful variation before it happens, thus being able to identify and correct problems early when the solution costs are less.

A successful DFSS implementation requires the same ingredients as any other Six Sigma project: a significant commitment and leadership from the top, planning that identifies and establishes measurable program goals and timeline, and the training and involvement of everyone.

Planning for DFSS requires collecting the necessary information that will allow for error free production of defect-free products and processes that satisfy the customer profitably. Design for Six Sigma attempts to predict how the designs under consideration will behave and to correct for variation prior to it occurring.

That means understanding the real needs of your customers and translating those needs into vital technical characteristics of the product and ultimately into critical to quality (CTQ) characteristics of the product and process. You can then use design of experiments (DOE) to develop a robust design that optimizes efficiency and reduces defects.

Valid and reliable metrics to monitor the progress of the project are established early in the project, during the Measure phase if using DMADV. Key inputs are prioritized to establish a short list to study in more detail. With a prioritized list of inputs in hand, the DFSS team will determine the potential ways the process could go wrong and take preemptive action to mitigate or prevent those failures.

Through analysis, the Design for Six Sigma team can determine the causes of the problem that needs improvement and how to eliminate the gap between existing performance and the desired level of performance. This involves discovering why defects are generated by identifying the key variables that are most likely to create process variation. Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) and Anticipatory Failure Determination (AFD) can be used for both the design of the product and the design of the process.

DFSS provides a structured way to constructively use the information learned from these analyses. Armed with real data produced by the Design for Six Sigma process, you can develop competent manufacturing processes and choose processes that are capable of meeting the design requirements. Further analysis can verify and validate that the product design will meet the quality targets. This can be accomplished through peer reviews, design reviews, simulation and analysis, qualification testing, or production validation testing.

The benefits of DFSS are more difficult to quantify and are more long-term. It can take over six months after the launch of the new product before you will begin to see the true measure of the project improvements. However, the eventual return on investment can be profound. This is especially true when the organization can use the Design for Six Sigma project as a template for fundamental changes in the way it develops new products and processes across the organization.

Peter Peterka is a Master Six Sigma Black Belt for Six Sigma us and has implemented Six Sigma in a variety of organizations. For additional information for Six Sigma Training and Design for Six Sigma please contact Peter Peterka at Contact Us

Author: Peter Peterka Google

Published 09/3/2008

The post Design for Six Sigma appeared first on SixSigmaTraining.us.

Medical and technological advances continue to outpace process and education adjustments. Demand and expectations for medical care are increasing. Inefficiency also leads to(causes, brings about, etc.) overcrowded emergency rooms, customer complaints, and lost revenues.

Six Sigma allows a healthcare organization to break through the status quo and achieve real process improvement. Although Six Sigma has its roots in manufacturing, it works just as effectively in a service industry such as healthcare. Healthcare organizations face unique challenges and it’s no secret that they have a harder time applying quality improvement methods. Six Sigma’s comprehensive approach means that its methodology can be successful in healthcare organizations with quick results.

In a healthcare organization, the critical factors in quality and efficiency are flow of information and interaction between people. Transforming the process of this flow yields quality results. Six Sigma achieves documented bottom-line strategic business results by initiating an organization-wide culture shift.

Until a process focus rather than a task focus is developed, the scope and endurance of improvements will be limited. Analyzing and modifying human performance in these environments is complex, but Six Sigma provides the tools and methodology required to achieve significant long-term improvements.

The Six Sigma in healthcare process is a large step toward creating a learning organization through its well-defined road maps and management structure. Six Sigma defines a vision for the future of the healthcare organization, and then it identifies specific goals and establishes quantitative measures to turn that vision into reality. A formal plan is established to identify the overall program goals and timeline that outline the move from current performance levels to Six Sigma performance levels, with tangible, short-term goals in between.

Specific Six Sigma projects are identified and goals defined and tied to a tangible organizational performance measure. A wealth of possible Six Sigma projects within healthcare includes, for example, information flow, surgical site procedures, patient handling, and patient charge items. Any process in healthcare is a candidate for a Six Sigma project.

To successfully implement a Six Sigma program in healthcare requires long-term vision, commitment, leadership, management, and training. What makes Six Sigma successful is well-chosen training and a commitment from the top that is communicated to all levels of the healthcare organization. Financially, the first set of projects usually justifies the entire cost of Six Sigma training. Focusing the Six Sigma tools on virtually any properly scoped project will drive savings to the bottom line and achieve breakthrough change in the healthcare organization.

Experienced healthcare quality management should learn the language of Six Sigma and help integrate new methods into the Six Sigma process to improve effectiveness. Six Sigma is a proven approach to reduce defects and waste, thus saving money. Six Sigma will help healthcare organizations just as it has industrial, service, retail, and financial organizations.

Peter Peterka is President of Six Sigma us and has implemented Six Sigma in Healthcare in a variety of organizations. For additional information please contact Peter Peterka at https://sixsigmatraining.us/

Author: Peter Peterka Google

Published 09/1/2008

The post Why Six Sigma in Healthcare Works appeared first on SixSigmaTraining.us.

TQM is the development, deployment, and maintenance of systems related to quality-producing business processes. TQM is a strategic approach that focuses on encouraging a continuous flow of incremental quality improvements. It encourages the establishing of a culture of collaboration among different departments within organization. TQM is mainly a cultural initiative and a style of management toward increased quality.

Six Sigma is not just another quality initiative or process improvement program. It is more than that because it is a robust continuous improvement strategy and process that includes cultural methodologies such as the various TQM approaches. Six Sigma is complementary to TQM initiatives such as ISO 9000 registration, which is mainly procedural; Total Quality Management (TQM), which is mainly cultural, and Statistical Process Control (SPC), which is primarily statistical process control monitoring. All of these initiatives attempt to improve quality levels but typically reach a plateau. The Six Sigma approach goes to the next level.

Six Sigma is not about quality in the strict traditional sense. Quality, defined traditionally as conformance to internal requirements, is not the focus of Six Sigma. True, Six Sigma focuses on improving quality by helping organizations produce products and services better, faster and cheaper. However, it accomplishes that by reducing waste.

In traditional terms, Six Sigma focuses on defect prevention, cycle time reduction, and cost savings. Six Sigma is about helping the organization make more money. Unlike cost-cutting programs that reduce value and quality, Six Sigma identifies and eliminates costs that provide no value to customers: the costs incurred due to waste.

The focus of TQM initiatives differs from the focus of Six Sigma programs. One, TQM programs focus on improvement in individual operations with unrelated processes. Six Sigma focuses on making improvements in all operations within a process. Two, Six Sigma involves dedicated, full-time resources the black belts versus TQM, which is usually a part-time activity of non-dedicated managers.

The breadth and depth and the precision of Six Sigma and TQM also differ. Six Sigma has a well-defined project charter that outlines the scope of a project, financial targets, anticipated benefits, milestones, etc. It’s based on hard financial data and savings. In TQM, organizations go into a project without fully knowing what the financial gains might be. Six Sigma has a solid control phase (DMAIC – Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control) that makes specific measurements, identifies specific problems, and provides specific solutions that can be measured.

How else is Six Sigma different? Six Sigma is:

* Fact based and data driven

* Results-oriented, providing quantifiable and measurable bottom-line results

* A leader-sponsored top-down approach

* Linked to strategy

* Thinking about customer requirements

* Applicable to all business processes – administrative, sales, marketing, R&D, etc.

Six Sigma is a robust continuous improvement strategy and process that includes cultural methodologies such as Total Quality Management (TQM), process control strategies such as Statistical Process Control (SPC) and other important statistical tools. Six Sigma tools and techniques all are found in total quality management. Six Sigma is the application of the tools on selected important projects at the appropriate time.

Six Sigma tools and techniques all are found in TQM. When done correctly, Six Sigma becomes a way toward organization and cultural development. Yet, it is more than a set of tools! Six Sigma is the strategic and systematic application of the tools on targeted important projects at the appropriate time. Because Six Sigma incorporates TQM but goes beyond it, it will outlast TQM.

Peter Peterka is President of Six Sigma Training US. For additional information on Six Sigma Green Belt or other Six Sigma Certification programs contact Peter Peterka.

Author: Peter Peterka Google

Published 09/1/2008

The post Why Six Sigma Will Outlast Total Quality Management appeared first on SixSigmaTraining.us.

Just like in martial arts, to obtain a Black Belt in Six Sigma requires training that teaches skills and discipline. A Black Belt in both martial arts and Six Sigma is a designation that is not given way or can be bought off the shelf; it is something that is earned through hard work. Also like in martial arts, achieving Black Belt level is not an end but a beginning. Six Sigma is about continual learning and continual improvement.

Six Sigma is not a mastery of a finite set of knowledge but an understanding of a method. Like in martial arts, being a Six Sigma Black Belt is a responsibility. It’s about intensity, hard work, and discovery. While it is correct to say that a Black Belt is an expert, it doesn’t make them an elitist. The black belt is not as important as the practice itself. Black Belts are mentors to others who share their skills and seek to continually improve themselves, those around them, and the organization as a whole.

Ultimately, business process improvement is achieved through the attainment of knowledge. Since knowledge is a commodity that people acquire, organizations must recognize their people as their most valued assets. Awarding people who have completed Six Sigma training a Belt title is an appropriate designation. It denotes their level of knowledge and responsibility. A Belt is simply a signpost along the way showing that you have reached a certain place on the process improvement path.

A Green Belt is an individual who has completed two weeks of training on the Six Sigma roadmap and essential elements of statistical methodologies supporting Six Sigma projects and who is a member of a Six Sigma process improvement team. A Black Belt is an individual who has completed four weeks of training focusing on the Six Sigma Roadmap and extensive statistical methodologies and is experienced in leading cross-functional process improvement teams. Black Belts become leaders of Six Sigma project teams.

The Six Sigma Black Belt training includes the curriculum of the Six Sigma Green Belt training as well as more complex Six Sigma Black Belt content. The Six Sigma Black Belt training program requires that a Six Sigma improvement project be conducted as the capstone and final training program requirement for Six Sigma Black Belt certification.

There is an even higher level: Master Black Belt. This is an individual very highly trained and experienced in the Six Sigma methodology who acts as the organization-wide Six Sigma program manager. He or she oversees and mentors Black Belts and process improvement projects and provides guidance to Black Belts as needed. A Master Black Belt teaches other Six Sigma students throughout the organization and helps them achieve Green Belt and Black Belt status.

Six Sigma processes are executed by Six Sigma Green Belts and Six Sigma Black Belts, and are overseen by Six Sigma Master Black Belts. Through the effective deployment of Six Sigma, the utilization of people can improve process performance, affect product and service quality, positively influence customer satisfaction, and assure long-term business success.

Peter Peterka is a Six Sigma Master Black Belt for Six Sigma Training US and has implemented Six Sigma in a variety of organizations. For additional information please contact Peter Peterka at https://sixsigmatraining.us/

Author: Peter Peterka Google

Published 09/1/2008

The post Why do we Call these People Black Belts? appeared first on SixSigmaTraining.us.

Six Sigma has even started in the financial industry with Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase initiating major deployments in the past two years. Probably the most exciting area is in the public and healthcare sectors with success stories emerging from city government and John Hopkins Medical.

So what is all this excitement about? Haven’t these quality tools been around for years? Is it just the fact that people have strange names like Champion, Green Belt, Black Belt and for the chosen few, Master Black Belt? Okay, if it is not the names then what? Six Sigma’s success revolves around the fundamental elements needed for any successful organization.

Six Sigma starts with a vision of delivering products and services to customers with no defects from the eyes of the customers. For companies it is vital to deliver these products and services at a profit. Once the organization has created their own vision of Six Sigma, the business leaders need to define their organization’s objectives in numerical terms.

These high-level metrics, often called big Y’s in Six Sigma, are the foundation for identifying project y’s that Six Sigma Belts will execute projects on. With big Y’s in hand, business leaders called Six Sigma Champions breakdown these organizational level Y’s into smaller y’s a project leader called a Green Belt or Black Belt can work from.

So what’s next, do business leaders take a hands-off management by objectives (MBO) approach of, don’t care how you do it as long as you get results!? For Six Sigma organizations the answer is a loud. Champions do care how projects are executed and have appointed highly trained Master Black Belts to assist and mentor project leaders in applying the Six Sigma method to manage their projects.

I believe this is the key to Six Sigma’s success. In a past life I participated in a high-level meeting with executives from the world leader in the production of a product we all know. The purpose of the meeting and visit was to evaluate a critical new product design. All of the high-tech executives were dressed in dark Italian business suits complemented with gold and diamonds. I listened closely to each question these executives asked. I never once heard how much? when? or even why?every question was by what method? Methodology is what Six Sigma is about.

Six Sigma Methods

There have evolved two key methods for carrying out Six Sigma projects. The first method is the most well-defined and works best if you have a problem with an unknown solution in existing products, processes or services. This method is called DMAIC or Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control.

The newest method, which is in the developing stages, is called Design for Six Sigma or DFSS. The goal of DFSS is to develop a new product, process or service that is defect-free in the eyes of the customer. A number of consulting companies have invented roadmaps for DFSS like IDOV (Identify, Design, Optimize and Validate) and DMADV (Design, Measure, Analyze, Design and Verify).

Six Sigma and Design of Experiments

Once an organization has decided on the method and the project y’s, Belts are marched off to training waves bringing management-approved projects to class. DMAIC Green Belt training is normally two one-week sessions separated by one month. Black Belt training waves are extended by two additional months with two more weeks of training. The emphasis during the extended two weeks of Black Belt training is often on learning more details about advanced tools such as Design of Experiments (DOE).

So where does Design of Experiments fit into Six Sigma? Six Sigma is about understanding and controlling the variation of key process variables known as inputs or x’s in order to obtain improved results on project outputs or y’s. In Design of Experiment terms these inputs or x’s are often referred to as factors and the outputs are referred to as responses.

In nearly all Six Sigma projects the relationship of the project y’s takes on the form of y=f(x1,x2,…xn). Wait a minute, isn’t this what Design of Experiments is all about? Of course, for almost 100 years Design of Experiments has been proven to be one of the best known methods for validating and discovering relationships between responses and factors. In Six Sigma terms it is discovering the relationship between outputs called y’s and inputs called x’s.

Today’s Six Sigma Belts are primarily taught to focus their use of Design of Experiments in the Improve phase of DMAIC and the Optimize phase of IDOV. For DMAIC Six Sigma training the most common experimental designs taught are factorial and fractional factorial designs. Some curriculum introduce response surface designs and optimization designs at a high level.

DFSS includes the experimental designs taught in all levels of DMAIC training and often expands to include the concept of robust designs. As an alternative to the classical approach, there are also a number of consulting companies teaching Taguchi designs as the preferred method for robust design.

Final Remarks

Six Sigma looks as though it is here to stay and even in today’s slow economy one of the few areas where there still are a number of new positions. The Six Sigma process is a great step toward creating learning organizations with its well-defined roadmaps and management structure. As with most new methodologies Six Sigma will mature and grow as it expands into new areas such as DFSS.

As Six Sigma professionals learn more about the power of properly planned experiments, Design of Experiments will be integrated into most phases of the Six Sigma roadmap and not just considered an advanced tool for the improvement and optimization phases. Experienced practitioners of statistical methods like Design of Experiments should learn the language of Six Sigma and help integrate new methods into the Six Sigma process to improve its effectiveness.

Peter Peterka is President of Six Sigma us and has implemented Six Sigma in Government. For additional information please contact Peter Peterka at https://sixsigmatraining.us/

Author: Peter Peterka Google

Published 09/1/2008

The post The Six Sigma Method and Design of Experiments appeared first on SixSigmaTraining.us.

Advantages of Six Sigma Online Training

There are distinct advantages to online training that may apply to your organization. With an online training course you have the ability to consolidate education and training across geographical and time constraints.

Courses can be delivered to people in different offices without the expense of travel and with less interruption of work schedules. For individuals with busy schedules, online training courses offer the flexibility of being available when the people are able to take the training.

This flexibility is the strongest facet of online training and the flexibility extends beyond scheduling. For many people, an online training course supplies material in a more palatable manner then instructor-led courses. This certainly isn’t true for everyone, but the power of online training to help many people makes it an important tool for your training program.

Online training is self-paced and includes interactive tutorials, questionnaires, case studies, self-assessment, and other features that easily assimilate to individual learning styles. Because people have more control over their training experience, online training offers the opportunity to learn in a non-stressful environment.

An online training course combines the advantages of uniformity in training and self-paced training. The basic course is the same for each trainee (while still offering you the chance to tailor instruction more easily) but can be delivered to different people at different times. While a human instructor is only available a limited time, online training materials don’t go home and trainees can review the subject matter as needed or desired. Support can be supplied via e-mail or phone.

How Six Sigma Online Training is Delivered

Online training most likely will not require any additional equipment at your location. Training is delivered through existing computers and an Internet connection. Most online courses will run through any Internet browser on any operating system.

You will need to dedicate newer and powerful computers to the training is the course has graphics, sound or video. Don’t make the mistake of using old castoff computers as your training computers. That will just make your trainees frustrated.

Still, being in an electronic format alone does not ensure that training is effective. How do you make the online training course effective for your people? To be effective, an online training course must be interactive without being messy. Bells and whistles are not always a benefit if they overburden the user.

The course material and its interface should be streamlined. So, while you can incorporate video and audio instructions, interactive simulations, testing modules, and the like, the question you should be constantly asking is: does this add to the substance of the course? Does the way information is being portrayed supplement the learning object of a particular topic.

If it does not add to the real content of the course and increase the knowledge of your trainees, then all of the flash and pizzazz will end up being more distracting than helpful. Likewise, always be sure that the learning interface, navigation graphics, and control buttons are easily understood and useable.

The self-paced flexibility of online training can also be a negative as well as a positive. Flexible should not mean unstructured. Yes, people can take the training when it fits their own schedule, but that schedule should still be a structured, set time, not just starting and ending when they feel like it.

Thus, you probably want to have the online training course only available on computers inside a dedicated training room. Assign specific times for trainees to come for training in an environment where they can train undistracted. Really, your online training environment should be similar to an instructor-led training environment a room conducive to learning and concentration where trainees can get the most out of their time.

When designed and carried out systematically and in an organized manner online training can be highly effective. Either as an addition to or a replacement for the face-to-face classroom environment, online training can be a strong part of your organization’s training environment.

Peter Peterka is a Six Sigma Master Black Belt for Six Sigma us and has implemented Six Sigma in a variety of organizations. For additional information for Six Sigma Online Training please contact Peter Peterka at https://sixsigmatraining.us/

Author: Peter Peterka Google

Published 09/1/2008

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