Communication In Six Sigma

Deploying Six Sigma means entering a period of significant change in your organization. Productivity and morale almost always suffers in times of great change. The requirements of change and adaptation and the very human fear of the unknown add to stresses of the work environment. In these times, communication becomes more important than ever.

Communication throughout a Six Sigma project is very important because the power and scope of Six Sigma demands a significant commitment from everyone in the organization. Six Sigma successes require clear and open communication at all levels to transcend departmental barriers that would otherwise cause confusion. In addition, any change in an organization will meet some resistance, either intentional or just because of inertia. When management can effectively communicate that it is behind that change and can communicate the positive aspects of the change, resistance can be countered and overcome.

Company leadership must be willing to give Six Sigma teams all of the tools and information necessary to apply Six Sigma concepts to their day-to-day activities. It is crucial in Six Sigma projects to clarify the rationale, expectations, goals, and sequence of steps in the process. Six Sigma teams with clear, written goals accomplish far more in a shorter period of time than teams without them could ever imagine. This is true everywhere and under all circumstances. Documentation of the Six Sigma process is the opportunity to resolve any misunderstandings of the deployment. A schedule is developed that outlines the strategy to take the process from its current state to one that is within statistical control and in line with the company's Six Sigma goals. Roles need to be clearly defined in how individuals contribute to the schedule and strategy. Employees assess how they can contribute to the organization through the information they receive. A team's quality goals should be set to tie in with the overall company quality improvement goals. This happens only when the team has the knowledge they need.

Lack of clarity in communicating business information is probably more responsible for frustration and underachievement than any other single factor. It is unfortunately way too easy to not realize that communication is falling short of your organization's needs. Often senior managers sincerely believe they are adequately communicating with employees. However, managers can easily underestimate the number of issues on which employees need information and how much information they need.

How do you know what is important to employees and what to tell them? You need to put yourself in the position of the employees. If you were that person, what would be important for you to know to do your job? What would you be worried about in the current situation? What information would help you deal with change? How would you want to be told? You can't answer those questions yourself. You need input from the very people you are trying to understand. Communication is a two-way street?listening as well as talking. Asking a few individuals what is being said, what people are worrying and wondering about.

Also be aware that the way a person receives news can dramatically affect how he or she feels about it, so you need to choose the medium very carefully. E-mail can be perceived as cold and unfeeling, although it is useful for routine updates that don't have emotional overtones. Many messages are better delivered in person, either to individuals or to the team as a whole.

Communication skills take practice. Always be sure the message remains honest, clear and compassionate. Have integrity and build trust. Don't say what you don't mean. Don't promise anything that you cannot or will not fulfill. Above all, follow through on your commitments and promises. Nothing turns employees off more than feeling betrayed. Sincere, caring, and constant communication will form the basis for building employee engagement throughout Six Sigma deployment.http://www.6sigma.us Peter Peterka is the principal Six Sigma Consultant in practice areas of DMAIC and DFSS.Peter has over 15 years experience including implementation ofSix Sigma in Healthcare

Communication in Six Sigma by Peter Peterka

Deploying Six Sigma means entering a period of significant change in your organization. Productivity and morale almost always suffers in times of great change. The requirements of change and adaptation and the very human fear of the unknown add to stresses of the work environment. In these times, communication becomes more important than ever.

Communication throughout a Six Sigma project is very important because the power and scope of Six Sigma demands a significant commitment from everyone in the organization. Six Sigma successes require clear and open communication at all levels to transcend departmental barriers that would otherwise cause confusion. In addition, any change in an organization will meet some resistance, either intentional or just because of inertia. When management can effectively communicate that it is behind that change and can communicate the positive aspects of the change, resistance can be countered and overcome.

Company leadership must be willing to give Six Sigma teams all of the tools and information necessary to apply Six Sigma concepts to their day-to-day activities. It is crucial in Six Sigma projects to clarify the rationale, expectations, goals, and sequence of steps in the process. Six Sigma teams with clear, written goals accomplish far more in a shorter period of time than teams without them could ever imagine. This is true everywhere and under all circumstances. Documentation of the Six Sigma process is the opportunity to resolve any misunderstandings of the deployment. A schedule is developed that outlines the strategy to take the process from its current state to one that is within statistical control and in line with the company's Six Sigma goals. Roles need to be clearly defined in how individuals contribute to the schedule and strategy. Employees assess how they can contribute to the organization through the information they receive. A team's quality goals should be set to tie in with the overall company quality improvement goals. This happens only when the team has the knowledge they need.

Lack of clarity in communicating business information is probably more responsible for frustration and underachievement than any other single factor. It is unfortunately way too easy to not realize that communication is falling short of your organization's needs. Often senior managers sincerely believe they are adequately communicating with employees. However, managers can easily underestimate the number of issues on which employees need information and how much information they need.

How do you know what is important to employees and what to tell them? You need to put yourself in the position of the employees. If you were that person, what would be important for you to know to do your job? What would you be worried about in the current situation? What information would help you deal with change? How would you want to be told? You can't answer those questions yourself. You need input from the very people you are trying to understand. Communication is a two-way street--listening as well as talking. Asking a few individuals what is being said, what people are worrying and wondering about.

Also be aware that the way a person receives news can dramatically affect how he or she feels about it, so you need to choose the medium very carefully. E-mail can be perceived as cold and unfeeling, although it is useful for routine updates that don't have emotional overtones. Many messages are better delivered in person, either to individuals or to the team as a whole.

Communication skills take practice. Always be sure the message remains honest, clear and compassionate. Have integrity and build trust. Don't say what you don't mean. Don't promise anything that you cannot or will not fulfill. Above all, follow through on your commitments and promises. Nothing turns employees off more than feeling betrayed. Sincere, caring, and constant communication will form the basis for building employee engagement throughout Six Sigma deployment.

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 Six Sigma Consulting please contact Peter Peterka at http://www.6sigma.us/

Peter Peterka is the principal Six Sigma Consultant in practice areas of DMAIC and DFSS. Peter has over 15 years experience including implementation of Six Sigma in Healthcare with a variety of organizations. For additional information please contact Peter Peterka at Six Sigma us.

Design For Six Sigma

Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) is the application of Six Sigma principles to the design of products and their manufacturing and support processes. Whereas Six Sigma by definition focuses on the production phase of a product, DFSS focuses on research, design, and development phases. DFSS combines many of the tools that are used to improve existing products or services and integrates the voice of the customer and simulation methods to predict new process and product performance.

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
DFSS 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.

DFSS 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. DFSS 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 DFSS 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 DFSS 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 DFSS project as a template for fundamental changes in the way it develops new products and processes across the organization.Peter Peterka is the principal Six Sigma Consultant in practice areas of DMAIC and DFSS. Peter has over 15 years experience including implementation ofSix Sigma in Healthcare.

Design for Six Sigma by Peter Peterka

Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) is the application of Six Sigma principles to the design of products and their manufacturing and support processes. Whereas Six Sigma by definition focuses on the production phase of a product, DFSS focuses on research, design, and development phases. DFSS combines many of the tools that are used to improve existing products or services and integrates the voice of the customer and simulation methods to predict new process and product performance.

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 DFSS 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.

DFSS 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. DFSS 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 DFSS 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 DFSS 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 DFSS 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 http://www.6sigma.us

Peter Peterka is the principal Six Sigma Consultant in practice areas of DMAIC and DFSS. Peter has over 15 years experience including implementation of Six Sigma in Healthcare with a variety of organizations. For additional information please contact Peter Peterka at Six Sigma us.

Six Sigma Jobs

The demand for people with Six Sigma expertise is constantly increasing. More and more organizations are discovering the many ways that the Six Sigma methodology can help them grow and improve. As Six Sigma spreads to many different industries beyond its genesis in manufacturing, you can now find many service and government organizations advertising for Six Sigma help. Plus, it is no longer the largest corporations looking for Six Sigma help. Smaller companies also are taking on Six Sigma projects and hiring people as consultants or permanent staff. The need for full-time Six Sigma professionals will only increase.

Types of Six Sigma Jobs
There are many Six Sigma jobs in many industries at junior and senior levels. The positions have descriptions and requirements unique to that organization and its requirements. It is true that many Six Sigma positions are filled internally as organizations train their own people already familiar with the organization?s culture in Six Sigma skills. However, organizations frequently reach outside to add personnel with Six Sigma expertise to lead Six Sigma projects or even the full-scale implementation of Six Sigma throughout the organization. These positions are usually dedicated full-time to Six Sigma projects.

Six Sigma jobs are advertised under many titles, not always as obvious as ?Six Sigma Black Belt,? ?Six Sigma Consultant,? or ?Six Sigma Analyst.? Other possible titles include things like ?Functional Project Lead? ?Six Sigma Program Manager,? ?Lead Analyst/Project Manager,? ?Director of Operational Excellence,? ?Business Process Manager,? or ?Senior Projects Manager.? Whatever the exact title, the organization is looking for someone with the skills of a Six Sigma Black Belt. A Black Belt is an individual trained in the Six Sigma methodology and experienced leading cross-functional process improvement teams. They will lead individual Six Sigma projects.

Very senior Six Sigma positions are sometimes advertised. These are Master Black Belts, individuals trained in the Six Sigma methodology who acts as the organization-wide Six Sigma program manager. They will lead Six Sigma implementation at the organization and will oversee Black Belts and process improvement projects and provides guidance to Black Belts as required. Master Black Belt positions understandably demand the highest level of Six Sigma experience and qualifications.

Qualifying for Six Sigma Jobs
To be considered for a Six Sigma job, you need a combination of relevant academic and work experience. The first and foremost qualification is to be trained in Six Sigma, ideally as a certified Six Sigma Black Belt. This means formal training from qualified Six Sigma consultants who have extensive experience in training and implementation of Six Sigma. Specific training in Six Sigma DMAIC and/or DFSS methodology is often requested. The best teacher is, of course, experience and organizations will strongly prefer, if not insist, on people who have completed at least one Six Sigma project.

In addition to possessing Six Sigma training and project experience, organizations will ask that you have experience working in the industry of the organization?s business. So if the company is a manufacturer, they will usually want you to have direct experience in a manufacturing environment. Organizations will ask that you have a certain minimum period of experience (often five years) in that particular industry.

Management experience is a huge plus and will almost certainly be a requirement for a Six Sigma project team leader. Having on your resume proven project management success within a structured environment and being able to demonstrate good managerial skills will take you a long way. That?s because leading and facilitating Black Belts, Green Belts, and business teams through a Six Sigma project is often the role organizations are seeking to fill.

There are also essential personal skills. You need to be able to demonstrate a good understanding of processes and quality methodologies and a willingness to take an initiative and lead change. Another crucial skill is the ability to link strategy to execution. The aptitude to look beyond the surface and be creative to think conceptually about strategic business issues and develop creative but practical solutions is key. http://www.6sigma.us Peter Peterka is the Principal Consultant in practice areas of DMAIC and DFSS. Peter has eleven years of experience performing as a Master Black Belt, and has over 15 years experience in industry as an improvement specialist and engineer working with numerous companies.

Six Sigma And Online Training

While nothing can exceed the breadth, depth, and quality of direct in-person training, various factors can make it inconvenient. If your organization is serious about Six Sigma training, but find it difficult to get everyone together for instructor-led training, then an online Six Sigma course is a worthy alternative. An online training program can give your organization more flexibility and even reduce your training costs.

Online training has been shown to be useful for many learning applications and Six Sigma is one of those. The advantages of online training over instructor-led training are simple but profound. There is considerable savings in cost as online instruction is less expensive than in person classroom training and there are no travel expenses. Also online training offers greater flexibility in scheduling and causes less interruption in work schedules.

An online training course combines the advantages of uniformity in training and self-paced training. The basic course is the same for each trainee 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. This scheduling flexibility is one of the benefits of online training. Six Sigma courses can be made available for a specific amount of time. For example, you could be granted access to the course material for four weeks which could be extended an additional two weeks on request at minimal or no extra cost.

The electronic format of online training makes it easier to tailor training to your specific needs. Training can be split into modules and you can present different modules to different people in your organization giving them only the training they need to fulfill their role. A Six Sigma online training program can provide an overview of the Six Sigma concepts and tools while going into detailed procedures and knowledge as needed. Those who need the basics of the Six Sigma methodology can receive it in a concise and easy-to-understand format. Those who need more advanced topics such as Six Sigma deployment practices, project development, and the DMAIC problem-solving approach can receive those.

Six Sigma training in an online electronic format focuses on active and applied learning methods where people can interact directly with the material and tools. Trainees are able to view samples of Six Sigma projects including some of the methods used within a Six Sigma project. Trainees can also get hands-on experience using some of the many statistical tools used in Six Sigma. Rather than just hear about statistical methods, they can see how they work in a spreadsheet in front of them. They can play with the numbers and even practice computing for variables to see directly how the tools function.

The online format also gives you more control over the training and greater assurance that your people are achieving each learning objective. Well placed mini quizzes can be employed to check for student understanding and give immediate feedback. Trainees will know in ?real-time? whether they understand the concepts presented and the online course can provide repetition of content if needed. Trainees can spend more time on the modules you need. --invest as much or as little time as appropriate for you and not a class on each module.

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.

A well designed Six Sigma online training course can be highly effective. The flexibility of scheduling and content delivery, plus the cost savings make online Six Sigma training either as an addition to or a replacement for the face-to-face classroom environment, a strong part of your organization?s Six Sigma deployment. http://www.6sigma.us Peter Peterka is the Principal Consultant in practice areas of DMAIC and DFSS. Peter has eleven years of experience performing as a Master Black Belt, and has over 15 years experience in industry as an improvement specialist and engineer working with numerous companies.

Six Sigma Solves Problems With An Unknown Solution

Six Sigma is a powerful business improvement strategy. It helps your organization to identify, reduce, and eliminate defects from any product, process, or transaction. More than a "quality" program, Six Sigma is a flexible and dynamic continuous improvement strategy and process initiative that helps your organization uncover solutions.

For example, you may know that a particular process at your organization is not meeting customer specification or is otherwise not performing adequately. However, the solution is not apparent up front. There are many variables that could be causing the defect in the process. How do you determine what specific action you can take to improve your process and reduce defects? Finding that unknown solution is what Six Sigma does best.

Six Sigma is not a pre-packaged one-fits-all solution. Six Sigma is a process that doesn?t impose a particular outcome but discovers the previously unknown solution to a problem. It uses a structured systems approach to problem solving that achieves strategic business results through an intelligent step-by-step process. A structured thinking process helps solve problems better than an ad hoc, blank page approach.

Six Sigma leads organizations through five-steps of realization:
1. We don't know what we don't know.
2. We can't do what we don't know.
3. We won't know until we measure.
4. We don't measure what we don't value.
5. We don't value what we don't measure.

By using Six Sigma to identify and correct major problems you create real data that uncovers previously unknown solutions to problems ? solutions that you most likely would not be able to discover except through the Six Sigma methodology. What drives this process is the DMAIC method. DMAIC is an acronym for five interconnected phases of a Six Sigma project: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control. By going through the structured phases you discover the unknown solution to your quality problem.

First you identify the problem you need to solve. At the Define stage of a project, you should have a defined issue or problem you wish to overcome and improve. Once a process is selected as a candidate for improvement, a problem statement is developed and the objective or desired outcome is defined. Progress measures are established and a cost/benefit analysis is performed. Also during the Define phase, you highlight what the project is supposed to do and how it is supposed to do it and what metrics apply. With a clear measurable set of indicators, the Measure phase studies the process to determine the key process steps and variables to determine the potential ways the process could be going wrong.

After measurements are gathered, the data is analyzed to discover what is causing process variation. Once problem causes are determined in the Analyze phase, you find, evaluate through testing, and decide on creative new improvement solutions. As you move through the Analyze and Improve stages of the process you will identify various process improvement scenarios, and determine which solution has the best net benefit impact to the company. Most likely, the variation is from a completely unknown source. Without going through the Analyze and Improve stages you would not have known what improvement was required, much less what categories of variables were being affected!

Six Sigma is about tackling problems with an unknown solution. Six Sigma experts know that there are no one-size-fits-all solutions. Six Sigma training provides participants with enhanced problem-solving skills, with an emphasis on the methodology for identifying and creating solutions. As Six Sigma practitioners, you need to be agnostic. Use the best tools from all of the various methods and apply the right solution to the right problem. Through being agnostic and open-minded you will discover solutions through observation and data rather than just impose solutions from the outside. This enables you to use the best from all of the various methods and tools available and apply the right solution to the right problem. You will be amazed at how well THAT works! Peter Peterka.. http://www.6sigma.us/ Peter Peterka is the Principal Consultant in practice areas of DMAIC and DFSS. Peter has eleven years of experience performing as a Master Black Belt, and has over 15 years experience in industry as an improvement specialist and engineer working with numerous companies.

Six Sigma Jobs by Peter Peterka

The demand for people with Six Sigma expertise is constantly increasing. More and more organizations are discovering the many ways that the Six Sigma methodology can help them grow and improve. As Six Sigma spreads to many different industries beyond its genesis in manufacturing, you can now find many service and government organizations advertising for Six Sigma help. Plus, it is no longer the largest corporations looking for Six Sigma help. Smaller companies also are taking on Six Sigma projects and hiring people as consultants or permanent staff. The need for full-time Six Sigma professionals will only increase.

Types of Six Sigma Jobs There are many Six Sigma jobs in many industries at junior and senior levels. The positions have descriptions and requirements unique to that organization and its requirements. It is true that many Six Sigma positions are filled internally as organizations train their own people already familiar with the organization's culture in Six Sigma skills. However, organizations frequently reach outside to add personnel with Six Sigma expertise to lead Six Sigma projects or even the full-scale implementation of Six Sigma throughout the organization. These positions are usually dedicated full-time to Six Sigma projects.

Six Sigma jobs are advertised under many titles, not always as obvious as "Six Sigma Black Belt," "Six Sigma Consultant," or "Six Sigma Analyst." Other possible titles include things like "Functional Project Lead" "Six Sigma Program Manager," "Lead Analyst/Project Manager," "Director of Operational Excellence," "Business Process Manager," or "Senior Projects Manager." Whatever the exact title, the organization is looking for someone with the skills of a Six Sigma Black Belt. A Black Belt is an individual trained in the Six Sigma methodology and experienced leading cross-functional process improvement teams. They will lead individual Six Sigma projects.

Very senior Six Sigma positions are sometimes advertised. These are Master Black Belts, individuals trained in the Six Sigma methodology who acts as the organization-wide Six Sigma program manager. They will lead Six Sigma implementation at the organization and will oversee Black Belts and process improvement projects and provides guidance to Black Belts as required. Master Black Belt positions understandably demand the highest level of Six Sigma experience and qualifications.

Qualifying for Six Sigma Jobs To be considered for a Six Sigma job, you need a combination of relevant academic and work experience. The first and foremost qualification is to be trained in Six Sigma, ideally as a certified Six Sigma Black Belt. This means formal training from qualified Six Sigma consultants who have extensive experience in training and implementation of Six Sigma. Specific training in Six Sigma DMAIC and/or DFSS methodology is often requested. The best teacher is, of course, experience and organizations will strongly prefer, if not insist, on people who have completed at least one Six Sigma project.

In addition to possessing Six Sigma training and project experience, organizations will ask that you have experience working in the industry of the organization's business. So if the company is a manufacturer, they will usually want you to have direct experience in a manufacturing environment. Organizations will ask that you have a certain minimum period of experience (often five years) in that particular industry.

Management experience is a huge plus and will almost certainly be a requirement for a Six Sigma project team leader. Having on your resume proven project management success within a structured environment and being able to demonstrate good managerial skills will take you a long way. That's because leading and facilitating Black Belts, Green Belts, and business teams through a Six Sigma project is often the role organizations are seeking to fill.

There are also essential personal skills. You need to be able to demonstrate a good understanding of processes and quality methodologies and a willingness to take an initiative and lead change. Another crucial skill is the ability to link strategy to execution. The aptitude to look beyond the surface and be creative to think conceptually about strategic business issues and develop creative but practical solutions is key.

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 Six SIgma Jobs please contact Peter Peterka at http://www.6sigma.us/

Peter Peterka Peter Peterka is the Principal Consultant in practice areas of DMAIC and DFSS. Peter has eleven years of experience performing as a Master Black Belt, and has over 15 years experience in industry as an improvement specialist and engineer working with numerous companies, including 3M, Dell, Dow, GE, HP, Intel, Motorola, Seagate, Xerox and even the US Men's Olympic Team.

Six Sigma solves problems with an unknown solution by Peter Peterka

Six Sigma is a powerful business improvement strategy. It helps your organization to identify, reduce, and eliminate defects from any product, process, or transaction. More than a "quality" program, Six Sigma is a flexible and dynamic continuous improvement strategy and process initiative that helps your organization uncover solutions.

For example, you may know that a particular process at your organization is not meeting customer specification or is otherwise not performing adequately. However, the solution is not apparent up front. There are many variables that could be causing the defect in the process. How do you determine what specific action you can take to improve your process and reduce defects? Finding that unknown solution is what Six Sigma does best. Six Sigma is not a pre-packaged one-fits-all solution. Six Sigma is a process that doesn't impose a particular outcome but discovers the previously unknown solution to a problem. It uses a structured systems approach to problem solving that achieves strategic business results through an intelligent step-by-step process. A structured thinking process helps solve problems better than an ad hoc, blank page approach.

Six Sigma leads organizations through five-steps of realization: 1. We don't know what we don't know. 2. We can't do what we don't know. 3. We won't know until we measure. 4. We don't measure what we don't value. 5. We don't value what we don't measure.

By using Six Sigma to identify and correct major problems you create real data that uncovers previously unknown solutions to problems - solutions that you most likely would not be able to discover except through the Six Sigma methodology. What drives this process is the DMAIC method. DMAIC is an acronym for five interconnected phases of a Six Sigma project: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control. By going through the structured phases you discover the unknown solution to your quality problem.

First you identify the problem you need to solve. At the Define stage of a project, you should have a defined issue or problem you wish to overcome and improve. Once a process is selected as a candidate for improvement, a problem statement is developed and the objective or desired outcome is defined. Progress measures are established and a cost/benefit analysis is performed. Also during the Define phase, you highlight what the project is supposed to do and how it is supposed to do it and what metrics apply. With a clear measurable set of indicators, the Measure phase studies the process to determine the key process steps and variables to determine the potential ways the process could be going wrong.

After measurements are gathered, the data is analyzed to discover what is causing process variation. Once problem causes are determined in the Analyze phase, you find, evaluate through testing, and decide on creative new improvement solutions. As you move through the Analyze and Improve stages of the process you will identify various process improvement scenarios, and determine which solution has the best net benefit impact to the company. Most likely, the variation is from a completely unknown source. Without going through the Analyze and Improve stages you would not have known what improvement was required, much less what categories of variables were being affected!

Six Sigma is about tackling problems with an unknown solution. Six Sigma experts know that there are no one-size-fits-all solutions. Six Sigma training provides participants with enhanced problem-solving skills, with an emphasis on the methodology for identifying and creating solutions. As Six Sigma practitioners, you need to be agnostic. Use the best tools from all of the various methods and apply the right solution to the right problem. Through being agnostic and open-minded you will discover solutions through observation and data rather than just impose solutions from the outside. This enables you to use the best from all of the various methods and tools available and apply the right solution to the right problem. You will be amazed at how well THAT works!

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 Online Training please contact Peter Peterka at http://www.6sigma.us

Peter Peterka Peter Peterka is the Principal Consultant in practice areas of DMAIC and DFSS. Peter has eleven years of experience performing as a Master Black Belt, and has over 15 years experience in industry as an improvement specialist and engineer working with numerous companies, including 3M, Dell, Dow, GE, HP, Intel, Motorola, Seagate, Xerox and even the US Men's Olympic Team

Six Sigma and Online Training by Peter Peterka

While nothing can exceed the breadth, depth, and quality of direct in-person training, various factors can make it inconvenient. If your organization is serious about Six Sigma training, but find it difficult to get everyone together for instructor-led training, then an online Six Sigma course is a worthy alternative. An online training program can give your organization more flexibility and even reduce your training costs.

Online training has been shown to be useful for many learning applications and Six Sigma is one of those. The advantages of online training over instructor-led training are simple but profound. There is considerable savings in cost as online instruction is less expensive than in person classroom training and there are no travel expenses. Also online training offers greater flexibility in scheduling and causes less interruption in work schedules.

An online training course combines the advantages of uniformity in training and self-paced training. The basic course is the same for each trainee 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. This scheduling flexibility is one of the benefits of online training. Six Sigma courses can be made available for a specific amount of time. For example, you could be granted access to the course material for four weeks which could be extended an additional two weeks on request at minimal or no extra cost.

The electronic format of online training makes it easier to tailor training to your specific needs. Training can be split into modules and you can present different modules to different people in your organization giving them only the training they need to fulfill their role. A Six Sigma online training program can provide an overview of the Six Sigma concepts and tools while going into detailed procedures and knowledge as needed. Those who need the basics of the Six Sigma methodology can receive it in a concise and easy-to-understand format. Those who need more advanced topics such as Six Sigma deployment practices, project development, and the DMAIC problem-solving approach can receive those.

Six Sigma training in an online electronic format focuses on active and applied learning methods where people can interact directly with the material and tools. Trainees are able to view samples of Six Sigma projects including some of the methods used within a Six Sigma project. Trainees can also get hands-on experience using some of the many statistical tools used in Six Sigma. Rather than just hear about statistical methods, they can see how they work in a spreadsheet in front of them. They can play with the numbers and even practice computing for variables to see directly how the tools function.

The online format also gives you more control over the training and greater assurance that your people are achieving each learning objective. Well placed mini quizzes can be employed to check for student understanding and give immediate feedback. Trainees will know in "real-time" whether they understand the concepts presented and the online course can provide repetition of content if needed. Trainees can spend more time on the modules you need. --invest as much or as little time as appropriate for you and not a class on each module.

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.

A well designed Six Sigma online training course can be highly effective. The flexibility of scheduling and content delivery, plus the cost savings make online Six Sigma training either as an addition to or a replacement for the face-to-face classroom environment, a strong part of your organization's Six Sigma deployment.

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 Online Training please contact Peter Peterka at http://www.6sigma.us

Peter Peterka is the Principal Consultant in practice areas of DMAIC and DFSS. Peter has eleven years of experience performing as a Master Black Belt, and has over 15 years experience in industry as an improvement specialist and engineer working with numerous companies, including 3M, Dell, Dow, GE, HP, Intel, Motorola, Seagate, Xerox and even the US Men's Olympic Team.

Why Six Sigma Will Work In Healthcare

If ever there were an industry where we want zero defects, it?s healthcare. Patients, medical professionals, and healthcare administrators all want mistakes eliminated and quality and efficiency improved. Although most industries have undergone some type of data-supported, systematic, quality-improvement process, healthcare still has not. 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 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 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 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 the Principal Six Sigma Consultant http://www.6sigma.us/aboutus.php in practice areas of DMAIC and DFSS. Peter has over 15 years experience in including implementation of Six Sigma in Healthcare http://www.6sigma.us/six-sigma-healthcare.php with a variety of organizations. For more please contact Peter Peterka http://www.6sigma.us/

Six Sigma

Created by Ronald Munro

Six Sigma is a proven approach focusing on reduction of defects and increasing product or service efficiency. Most companies use some form of quality control to accomplish this task.

Quality control does several things for a business. It creates a better product or service for the company to market. By having better quality companies are able to better manage their resources and compete in the market place. Quality control also helps to better manage items like waste or employee hours.

Here are 6 Ways to approach increasing quality in an organization:
1. Facilitate a more rapid progression towards quality through the use of repetition to build the behavioral and management skills your managers and allow them to more readily develop those skills.

2. Reduce management and supervisor frustration by developing a positive, results-oriented attitude within each manager, thereby creating a more positive and motivating organizational environment.

3. Develop overall management and leadership skills such as open and honest communication, delegation skills, coaching, planning, problem solving, time management, leadership and motivation.

4. Provide a system of goal setting and action planning with managers so as to permit the achievement of managements objectives in conjunction with the Quality Management System.

5. Crystallize and communicate organizational objectives while monitoring progress and providing a systematic approach to effective time management toward reaching these goals and objectives. This will raise the level of each managers success and reducing frustration.

6. Integrate the goals of the organization with the personal goals of the managers, thus creating an environment of motivation and mutual commitment.

As you can see there are many areas quality control can help in any business. There are many forms of quality control and many programs all ready setup to provide businesses resources in order to proceed with implementing some form of quality control such as Six Sigma, ISO 9000, ISO 9001 and ISO 2000 and these are just a few. Some companies create their own form of quality control. But each and everyone relies on statistics to carry out these programs.

Six Sigma is an overall enterprise improvement methodology that uses data to monitor, control, and improve operational performance by eliminating and preventing defects in products and associated processes.
Six Sigma emphasizes producing better, faster, and lower cost product and services than the competition and stresses breakthrough improvement, for improved bottom line results. Six Sigma is also a process used to translate customer needs into a set of optimal tasks that are brought into harmony with one another.

By examining the optimal process, Six Sigma can have a powerful effect on the quality of products, the performance of customer services and the professional development of employees. The most important quality-improvement techniques stress employee motivation, change in corporate culture and employee education. Organizations known for product and service quality strongly believe that employees are the key to that quality.

In doing the quality control many aspects of statistics that we learned such as mean, average, expectation, variance and standard deviation would be used in order to carry out this process. Also many places use graphs in order to better visually represent the data. No quality control program could exist without statistics.
Created by Ronald Munro

Six Sigma is a proven approach focusing on reduction of defects and increasing product or service efficiency. Most companies use some form of quality control to accomplish this task.

Quality control does several things for a business. It creates a better product or service for the company to market. By having better quality companies are able to better manage their resources and compete in the market place. Quality control also helps to better manage items like waste or employee hours.

Here are 6 Ways to approach increasing quality in an organization:
1. Facilitate a more rapid progression towards quality through the use of repetition to build the behavioral and management skills your managers and allow them to more readily develop those skills.

2. Reduce management and supervisor frustration by developing a positive, results-oriented attitude within each manager, thereby creating a more positive and motivating organizational environment.

3. Develop overall management and leadership skills such as open and honest communication, delegation skills, coaching, planning, problem solving, time management, leadership and motivation.

4. Provide a system of goal setting and action planning with managers so as to permit the achievement of managements objectives in conjunction with the Quality Management System.

5. Crystallize and communicate organizational objectives while monitoring progress and providing a systematic approach to effective time management toward reaching these goals and objectives. This will raise the level of each managers success and reducing frustration.

6. Integrate the goals of the organization with the personal goals of the managers, thus creating an environment of motivation and mutual commitment.

As you can see there are many areas quality control can help in any business. There are many forms of quality control and many programs all ready setup to provide businesses resources in order to proceed with implementing some form of quality control such as Six Sigma, ISO 9000, ISO 9001 and ISO 2000 and these are just a few. Some companies create their own form of quality control. But each and everyone relies on statistics to carry out these programs.

Six Sigma is an overall enterprise improvement methodology that uses data to monitor, control, and improve operational performance by eliminating and preventing defects in products and associated processes.
Six Sigma emphasizes producing better, faster, and lower cost product and services than the competition and stresses breakthrough improvement, for improved bottom line results. Six Sigma is also a process used to translate customer needs into a set of optimal tasks that are brought into harmony with one another.

By examining the optimal process, Six Sigma can have a powerful effect on the quality of products, the performance of customer services and the professional development of employees. The most important quality-improvement techniques stress employee motivation, change in corporate culture and employee education. Organizations known for product and service quality strongly believe that employees are the key to that quality.

In doing the quality control many aspects of statistics that we learned such as mean, average, expectation, variance and standard deviation would be used in order to carry out this process. Also many places use graphs in order to better visually represent the data. No quality control program could exist without statistics.

BBA Northwood University
Disabled American Veteran

 

The Changing Face of Corporate Management Making Six Sigma Work For You

Since its introduction, Six Sigma has literally revolutionized management processes and the way business is done. Over the years, major corporations world-widefrom Motorola to General Electrichave adopted and implemented its methodology as the keystone of their management philosophy.

As such, Six Sigma practitioners are in high demand by top companies looking to streamline their processes and increase their profit margins through this powerful management tool.

This article will provide a basic overview of the concepts and methodology that is redefining the management strategies of major corporationsand the managers they hire.

What is Six Sigma?

At its heart, Six Sigma is a business tool used to increase profit by optimizing performance. In order to understand how Six Sigma achieves this, one must first learn to look at business as a series of processes.

Any business can basically be viewed as a machine comprised of many moving parts, called processes. This idea can be applied to any department, across the boardfrom Human Resources to Research and Development, from a hiring process to a manufacturing process, from marketing to distribution. All the main parts of whole must be synchronized for optimum performance in order for a company to be successful. The same applies to the processes that make up the individual departments. In this way, everything is interlocked and interdependent. And by extensionas the saying goesyou are only as strong as your weakest link.

With this in mind, Six Sigma sets out a disciplined data-driven methodology to measure and analyze the processes that a company ultimately runs on. Its ultimate goal is the optimization of performance by identifying and eliminating defects in the process, resulting in higher customer satisfaction, and thus profit.

The Underlying Principles

Six Sigma is a powerful management tool used to optimize performance by eliminating defects in corporate processes. A defect in process can be seen as an obstacle to customer satisfaction, which is the lifeblood to any company's profitability. Therefore, while Six Sigma analyzes and improves the internal processes of a company, it's ultimate aim is to increase the degree of customer satisfaction.

The term Six Sigma itself offers clues to the ideas at the heart of its methodology. The word sigma is a statistical term for measuring deviation from perfection. The six refers to six standard deviations. Taken together, the term translates into a methodology that, when applied to processes, seeks to produce no more than six standard deviations from the defined point of perfection. In the Six Sigma methodology, this has been defined as no more than 3.4 defects per million opportunities. While the statistical terminology might sound intimidating, the idea of making only 3 mistakes for every million attempts is easy enough to grasp and shows the power of the methods at work.

The methods that underpin the overall Six Sigma approach are split into two categories. The first, DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control), is used to analyze and improve existing processes. The second, DMADV (Define, Measure, Analyze and Verify), is used to develop new processes that adhere to the stringent deviation specifications of Six Sigma.

Obviously, the closer you are to perfection, no matter how you define it, the better off you are in any endeavor. In the business world especially, the competitive edge can be a razor thin line separating competitors in any market space. When it comes down to it, the company that makes the fewest mistakes is the most successful.

Thus, the processes of Six Sigma offers a competitive advantage to any company that can master its conceptsand to any individual trained to implement it.

Make Six Sigma Work for You

Six Sigma training is recognized at two levels of certification reflecting the expertise of the individual. These categories are divided into Six Sigma Green Belts and Six Sigma Black Belts.

The Green Belt program introduces managers to the fundamentals of the Six Sigma methodology as well as how it apples to the overall management structure. Green Belts have the basic training of valuable skills that can be immediately applied to critical business processes.

The Six Sigma Black Belt is, as the name suggests, a master of the methodologies and practices of Six Sigma. They have full knowledge of the DMAIC and DMADV methodologies and can implement them in a leadership role.

Obtaining your Green Belt or Black Belt in Six Sigma methodologies will make you more enticing to potential employers. So if youre looking to boost your career in the corporate world and gain some invaluable knowledge that will give you a leg up on the competition, consider taking a Six Sigma program such as the one offered by Villanova University today. It might just be the break youre looking for.

Matt McAllister is a writer for http://www.searchforclasses.com To read more of his articles and to learn more about online education visit http://www.searchforclasses.com/newsletter/

Compensation and Six Sigma Black Belts

 One of the more ambiguous elements of a Six Sigma project is the level and type of compensation the organization should give to its Six Sigma leaders and team members. On the one hand, setting compensation is not an integral part of any stage of a Six Sigma project; on the other hand, compensation is an important instrument to build loyalty and a sense of accomplishment that is a crucial element to the organizations Six Sigma success. While there are no hard and fast rules for compensation for Six Sigma leaders and team members, there are some good ways to think about how to productively provide compensation to your people.

Black Belts are the key change agents for the Six Sigma process. They have an important role and should be compensated accordingly. If your organization is large enough to have people dedicated full-time to leading Six Sigma projects, their base pay should be in the top of your organizations range for their level of management. If your organization is asking a manager to also devote part of his or her time to leading a Six Sigma project, you need to find some way to compensate them for their extra efforts. In addition to base pay, you can find creative ways for recognition for completed projects. Black Belts should receive some special and public recognition for their efforts, whether it is dinners, award ceremonies, plaques, etc. Whatever fits best with your organizational culture. Such recognitions should not be strictly limited to Black Belts either, as acknowledging the achievements of all who participated in and benefit from the Six Sigma project should receive some sort of recognition to boost morale.

Monetary bonuses are another way to compensate people for successful Six Sigma projects. Since Six Sigma projects are about helping the organization make more money it makes sense to share some of the cost savings from Six Sigma projects with the Six Sigma team. Develop a structured, team-based process improvement bonus system that will appropriately benefit each worker in the organization. As measurable and lasting improvements are made to processes, it is appropriate to share a part of the financial gains with employees. Just be sure there is a formal performance appraisal system that will identify what is to be accomplished, what success looks and feels like, and how an employee will be compensated, and that this is fully communicated to everyone. Such an organizational goal-sharing program will effectively support Six Sigma efforts. Being able to link compensation to Six Sigma implementation is much easier in a small company compared to a larger company.

Bonuses can also be paid to Black Belts, but with differences due to their unique status. Instead of paying bonuses to Black Belts as a share of actual process improvement, pay them bonuses related to specific project goals. There is a danger in directly tying their bonus with a share of the actual improvements as they may be motivated to inflate or misconstrue actual gains. That still leaves you with many concrete project milestones that can be the basis for their compensation.

Peter Peterka is President of Six Sigma.us http://www.6sigma.us/.For additional information on Six Sigma Black Belt http://www.6sigma.us/six-sigma-black-belt.phpor other Six Sigma Certification programs http://www.6sigma.us/six-sigma-trainingcontact Peter Peterka at www.6sigma.ushttp://www.6sigma.us/
 

Six Sigma can Improve Government Practices

Government bodies at any level, local, state, and Federal, can implement Six Sigma to improve customer service and increase the effectiveness of government. Although Six Sigma has its roots in private-sector manufacturing, it works just as effectively in governmental organizations and government will reap the same benefits as corporations.

Many top companies have produced outstanding results with Six Sigma, dramatically cutting costs, increasing profits, and improving customer service. Governments arent looking for profits, but they still have motivation to reduce their costs and reduce the inefficiency and waste that causes cost overruns. The reduction of variation and defects within processes is the goal of Six Sigma and that goal is just as valid in government as in any other industry.

Any government institution is a service organization and its customers are the citizens it serves. Like a private sector service business, a government benefits when it learns how to serve their customers better by increasing quality and efficiency. In any service organization, the critical factors in quality and efficiency are the flow of information and interaction between people, especially interactions with customers. Transforming the process of these flows will yield quality results. At the heart of every service business are the opinions, behaviors and decisions made by people. Analyzing and modifying human performance in service environments is as complex as any manufacturing situation. Six Sigma achieves documented bottom-line strategic business results by initiating an organization-wide culture shift.

The governmental institution must understand that it needs to redesign its processes from the ground up to be as efficient as Six Sigma enables. No more business as usual. Until a process focusrather than a task focusis 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.

Six Sigma will help government operations groups, such as public works, law enforcement, and sanitation improve their processes to deliver services more efficiently. It will help departments that handle transactions, such as finance, libraries, and human resources, improve their processes to reduce waste and save money. It will help relationships with contractors and assure that contractors apply best practices to their own programs. Six Sigma will also instill a new attitude of efficiency and responsibility from governmental employees. The organization-wide culture shift comes from Six Sigmas recognition of meeting the needs of customers and the value of lower-defect business processes.

Six Sigma is still new to government. Fort Wayne, Indiana may be the first City in the country to implement Six Sigma. The City of Fort Wayne is using Six Sigma to initiate improvements in a number of different departments, including fire, community development, water pollution control, right of way, human resources, street, transportation engineering services and solid waste. Six Sigma has decreased costs, improved customer service and increased productivity throughout city government. Projects have resulted in over $3 million of savings or cost avoidance for the City.

The use of Six Sigma demonstrates a governments commitment to innovation and continuous improvement. Leaders in government will find many benefits to adopting Six Sigma methodologies and training their employees in Six Sigma.
Peter Peterka is President of Six Sigma.us and has over 15 years experience including implementation of Six Sigma in Government with a variety of organizations. For additional information please contact Peter Peterka at 6Sigma.us
 

Six Sigma for Small Business

It is not surprising that some people may perceive Six Sigma as being only for large corporations. Major corporations such as Allied Signal, Black & Decker, Dow Chemical, Dupont, Federal Express, General Electric, Johnson and Johnson, Kodak, Motorola, Sony, and Toshiba have all rolled out Six Sigma efforts and achieved outstanding results. Yet, it is incorrect to think that Six Sigma process improvement results can only be achieved by huge organizations. Small businesses can also succeed in implementing Six Sigma and reap the process improvement benefits that Six Sigma provides.

Certainly, there are factors that can be disadvantageous for implementing Six Sigma in a small business rather than a large business, such as lack of resources and expertise in change initiatives. However, there are also characteristics inherent in small businesses that can speed up the effective implementation of Six Sigma more than in large businesses, such as flexible process flows, a shorter decision-making chain, and higher visibility of senior management.

Six Sigma can work in any size business because the nature of Six Sigma is dependent upon characteristics inherent to any business, not on the size of a business. Six Sigma MAIC (measure, analyze, improve, and control) disciplines work no matter the size of the organization or even the size of the Six Sigma project.

Small businesses do have constraints that limit their ability to initiate a large scale Six Sigma implementation. However, there are ways to overcome these limitations. Small businesses don't have large reserves of excess cash to earmark for the massive training programs employed by the large corporations in implementing their Six Sigma programs. Small businesses generally cant afford to have full-time Master Black Belts on staff and may not have the personnel with the skills and expertise to step into the role of Black Belts without extensive training. A certified Six Sigma consultant can act as your Black Belt for the initial projects until you have generated sufficient savings to be able to provide some of those savings for training your own people. Training happens at a slower scale for smaller companies but it still happens. Financially, savings realized from the first set of projects usually justifies the entire cost of the Six Sigma training.

Once some members of the organization have been trained as Green Belts, Six Sigma projects proceed with Green Belts executing Six Sigma processes. Incrementally, Green Belts are developed into Black Belts and new Green Belts are trained. Using a more gradual training approach addresses many of the constraints of smaller companies and allows them to implement Six Sigma at a pace a small business can more easily manage.

There is a benefit to implementing Six Sigma in a smaller business. Because of the size of a small business, the financial results and cultural transformation that stem from Six Sigma will propagate more quickly through a smaller organization. Focusing the Six Sigma tools at virtually any properly scoped project will drive savings to your bottom line and achieve breakthrough change in your organization.:
Peter Peterka is the Principal Six Sigma Consultant in practice areas of DMAIC and DFSS. Peter has over 15 years experience in including implementation of Six Sigma for small business with a variety of organizations. For additional information please contact Peter Peterka at Six Sigma us.

Taking on Six Sigma Programs

There is very little doubt that a successful implementation of a Six Sigma program can benefit an organization. However, the probability and the level of success depend on several key factors including the overall strategy and approach, such as proper training and development of internal resources, and selection and appropriate utilization of outside resources. The strategy and approach include numerous vital considerations, including proper project selection, resource and management time requirements, relevant knowledge/experience, fair evaluation of results and cost/benefit analysis of the in- house vs. outsourcing options. We offer a handful of guidelines for making this crucial decision, taking into account unique issues and challenges in the Biopharma and Pharma industries. Both advantages and disadvantages of in- house and outsourcing options are provided along with critical success factors.

Based on a wild guess by a close associate of mine, there are well over 2,000 restaurants in the Manhattan area and its surrounding boroughs. Although I cannot validate the absolute accuracy of his count, I do trust it is in the ballpark, since he happens to be one of those guys who seem to know everything about everything in life (and more). His dream is to be on Jeopardy; if it ever happens, I already feel sorry for the other two contestants, who will undoubtedly be decimated on national TV. And, oh yes, he also happens to be a food- lover. There is definitely some credibility to his estimate.

There is a point to be made by this story (trust me!). Despite the overwhelming number of restaurants in the city-that-never-sleeps, there are only a dozen or so which I truly enjoy and actually look forward to visiting. I am certain that even if I try every single one of these 2,000 locations, the cant-miss list will be no longer than 50. So, assuming my buddys figure is
fairly accurate, what do I make of the other 1,950 establishments? Not much, I am afraid. Unfortunately, there are plenty of examples like this in life. Having spent many, many years in several universities (too embarrassing a number to admit), I have studied under approximately 100 professors. However, there are only three whom I regard as great teachersindividuals who have significantly influenced my life and whose lessons I actually remember.



Tragically, the example does not stop here. There are a plethora of Six Sigma experts out there. A simple search on Google on six sigma consultant yielded a whopping 70,000+ returns. Most of these folks, I am afraid, are mediocre at best.

So, as you consider or embark on a Six Sigma program, how do you select your competent and trust-worthy advisor(s)? With so many self-proclaimed experts, how do you find one who is right for you? Should you involve outsiders at all? How do you know if you can do this successfully only with your internal resources? As you ponder these fundamental questions, the following guidelines may be of interest.

Proper Training and Development of Internal Resources
The word internal should be emphasized here, since it is my strong belief that long term and/or ongoing dependence on external resources is not healthyfinancially or strategically. Rather, the external help should be utilized on an as-needed basis for very specific reasons. We do not depend on our medical doctors to keep us healthyrather, we best make use of them for regular check-ups and to help us quickly recover from an illness. A business organization utilizing external resources is no different. As a guideline, the rationale for external assistance can fall under two high- level categories. These are:

Assistance in Training of Internal Resources
For on- going success of your Six Sigma program, it is crucial that internal knowledge and competence are first developed then continually retained. Your specific training needs depend on your existing capabilities and the level and timing of your targets. First, get an idea for the number of certified master black belts, black belts and green belts currently in your organization. There are numerous ways out there to obtain these titles, so find out how, when and via which organization these individuals were certified. Next, consider the Six Sigma project experience of these individuals and the significance of the past results. As a basic rule of thumb, each black belt should deliver approximately $1M in savings or in cost-avoidance each year. As another rule of thumb, the ratio of black belt to green belt should be between 1:3 and 1:6. One master black belt for each division or location with as many as 1,000 to 1,500 people is often sufficient. In deciding which individuals should be trained,
consider the candidates interest level, current position and background on basic statistical tools (or willingness to learn). These individuals should also possess the knowledge of the
business (i.e., do not pick someone who just joined the company last week) as well as the respect from his/her peers (i.e., do not pick someone because you do not have any other plans for him/her). Lastly, resist the temptation to over-train. It is of no benefit to the organization to have everyone trained, unless the skills are put to use and bottom- line benefits are realized from early on.

- Assistance in Delivering Bottom-Line Results
In this role, you are asking the external resources to deliver specific results using Six Sigma and perhaps other tools and techniques. Prior to the selection of external resources, it is essential that you take the lead in defining the objectives and setting the success criteria. Having the consultants define their own scope of work can be a dangerous thing. Can you imagine getting in a cab and letting the driver decide on where you want to go? In this approach, clearly communicate your objectives and goalsthe cab driver (external resources) can decide and/or advise you on specific routes to take, but you need have a clear picture of your goal and destination.

Resource and Management Time Requirements
You can tell a lot about a person by observing where he/she spends most of his/her time and money. You spend your time and money on the things you regard as important. This point (other than being a reminder that I should give my fiance a call) has applicability in business as well. If you want to ensure a successful Six Sigma initiative, be sure to fall in love with the program. Allocate enough budget and resources to get it off the ground properly. If your organization already has a Six Sigma program (perhaps running for several years) that has hit a plateau, be the change agent to rejuvenate it and turn things around.

Perhaps your organization has had too many distractions in the past and never quite successfully implemented a Six Sigma program. These distractions, in the Biopharma and Pharma industries, can come in many flavors. Typical list of distractions for most FDA regulated organizations include:
Customer complaints (written and verbal)collection, analysis and closure;
CAPAboth externally (as a result of customer complaint, for example) and internally generated (as a result of non-conforming product, for example);
Supplier quality problems and/or inadequate process capability;
Potential major contract manufacturing decisions (especially important for many Biopharma companies at this point in time); and
Compliance issuesperhaps an adverse FDA audit results and/or receipt of warning letters.
Avoid the common mistake of believing that the Six Sigma program is yet another thing to worry about in addition to the urgent items listed above. Instead, view Six Sigma initiative as

a means to effectively resolve the above issues. For example, Six Sigma is not another separate effort on top of your ongoing attempt to improve your quality issues or to shorten a long turnaround time, etc. Rather, Six Sigma tools and techniques should be used as tools to help resolve your quality problems, shorten your lead time, etc.

Management also needs to devote some time on its own to learn the basics of Six Sigma. Management does not need to know how to perform DOE and ANOVA but, at a minimum, it

should be familiar with the key terms and be aware of the overall approach. There are many operational improvement tools and techniques availablehowever, understanding of Six Sigmas well-defined, consistently followed and established approach will prove exceptionally valuable.
If the management lacks either the knowledge or the experience of running Six Sigma programs, seek external help. In doing so, resist the temptation of letting the external resources taking control of your program. They are your helpers, but the client must take the ownership, set the direction and make the final key decisions. From a potential pool, seek out the ones with both Six Sigma and life science industry-specific knowledge/experience. During the initial screening, make sure that you will feel comfortable with your selection at a personal level. And most importantly, clearly communicate your expectations and demand bottom line results from early on.

Relevant Knowledge and Experience
There is no single, official Six Sigma training program or consistent requirements for green, black and master black belts. There are many organizations that certify people, but are not all the same. Make sure the consultants you are dealing with are certified with a reputable organization.
Avoid letting this be a training ground for your external resources. Certification may a good indication, but it is often insufficient. Being an expert means much more than just getting the required training and holding a certificate. It takes several years of applying various Six Sigma tools in real- life settings (specifically in life science industry) to be of true value. Remember one simple ruleany external resource you hire should be significantly better qualified in his/her specific area of expertise than your internally available capabilities.

Prior to making your final selection, insist on meeting the people who will actually be working with you and your team. This may not be an issue when you are dealing with independent contractors, but can be a major point when dealing with large consulting companies. Look for actual industry experienceavoid lifetime consultants. There is no suitable substitute for real- life experience. Although it is not impossible, it is very difficult for someone who lacks the actual experience to relate to the issues you may be facing. Someone who can recite a hundred cookbooks verbatim but has no real- life cooking experience is not a real chef, in my opinion.

Check your consultants background. Check references and speak with previous clients. Ask about a specific FDA requirement during your initial screening. If ever in doubt, politely walk awaythere are literally hundreds more who will be more than happy to do business with you. Some time and effort spent on the selection process will save you lots of headaches and easily hundreds of thousands of dollars (or perhaps millions) in the future.

Fair Evaluation of Results
If there is ever a doubt whether a program was a success or not, chances are that it wasnt. Success, when it comes to bottom line improvements, should not be an entirely subjective thing. A true Six Sigma success should transform the biggest doubters into enthusiastic believers.

Be sure to ask for and to check references. Have the former clients truly achieved success? How long did the relationship last? Any project lasting in excess of six to 12 months may indicate some potential issues ahead. Any good consultant should work him/herself out of a job. If the consultant you are dealing with seems more interested in finding ways to stick around longer, rather than helping you deliver results, then I am afraid you got the wrong person in there.

Ask very specific and pointed questions to judge their life science industry knowledge. Are they up-to-date on the latest biotech trends? How many other pharmaceutical clients have they had? Ask about one or two compliance issues they have solved (without compromising confidential agreements with other clients, of course). Have them provide case studies from other organizations that have faced similar situation/issues you are now attempting to resolve. Ask about their approaches, outcomes and the satisfaction of the clients. Ask for references and check them to make sure their clients share the same opinion.

Based on the external resources previous experiences, what range of lead time reduction can you expect? Have they performed significant projects dealing with complaints and/or CAPA? What were the results? What did it take them to implement these improvements? What level of success can you expect in three months? With respect to quality, what tools and techniques do they have to identify sources of variability? Once identified, how do they reduce/eliminate the variability? How many companies have they worked with that were operating under consent decrees? What (if any) specific Six Sigma tools and techniques do they adopt to help with FDA audit process? What (if any) specific experiences do they have in migrating from clinical to commercial production? If a productivity gain was achieved, has the client been able to sustain it after the initial jump? Be sure to get a rough estimate of what the consultants can deliver. Make sure they are consistent with your own expectations and, most importantly, hold them accountable for delivering real bottom line results.

Cost/Benefit Analysis of In-House vs. Outsourcing
Consider the level of knowledge, experience, available resources and bottom line improvements gained in the past. If an organization has consistently achieved the highest levels of success on its own, there are no compelling reasons to involve external resources. If, on the other hand, there are disputes as to the effectiveness of your program or you currently



lack the knowledge/experience/resources, having the right external resources to fill in the gap can be a very smart move.

In choosing external help . . . shop around! With so many providers, the difference in cost can be mind-boggling. If you are used to dealing with hourly rates for outside help, expect to pay anywhere between $100/hour (usually for an independent contractor who is getting desperate for work) and up to $500/hour (for a well-established and well marketed consultancy or an individual regarded as one of leading experts). Keep in mind that more expensive consultants or better known organizations do not necessarily deliver better results.

With the right approach during negotiations, most consultants will be more than happy to tie their paychecks to performance and/or savings delivered. This can create a mutually beneficial relationship. It will minimize your risk and give competent yet lesser known consultancies/organizations an opportunity to prove its capabilities. If you are willing to go this route, clearly define the roles for the outside consultants and communicate your expectations both verbally and in writing.

Another option may be to have your selected external resources to work for a few weeks at a deep discount with the understanding that after the trial period, the rates will increase to a pre-defined level provided that you, as the client, decide to continue the relationship. Despite the long-awaited uptick in the economy, the supply still far outnumbers the demand with regards to Six Sigma consultants. Use this to your advantage and be selective.

The success of the program depends mostly on you. Seek external resources to compliment specific areas where you currently lack sufficient knowledge/ experience/resources. Most importantly, be demanding of both your internal and your carefully selected consultants. The journey is not an easy one, but the rewards can be quite satisfying.

For more information or to contact us, email us at info@tefen.com.
Tefen ( www.tefen.com) is a publicly traded, international operations consulting firm with seven offices in United States, Europe and Israel. The firm has over twenty years of experience in improving the overall operational effectiveness of Fortune 500 clients around the world. Tefen designs and implements solutions that enhance operational performance throughout an organization. All of Tefen's support programs are ISO 9001 and TCS (Total Customer Satisfaction) certified. Our hands-on approach has achieved success in delivering quantifiable and value-driven results. For more information or to contact us, email us at info@tefen.com


Doing Business In Canada? The Quality of Your French is Key!lina mohamDoing business in Canada often involves translating various business related documents from English to French and French to English, as the case may be.

In Canada, the Official Languages Act awards equal official status to English and French. As a result, various trade documents, labels and operating/instruction manuals must be provided in both languages.

If youre doing business in Quebec, The Charter of the French language and various regulations make the use of French mandatory in various communications and business related situations.

Depending on your industry or the type of work do, choosing the right translation company might turn out to be a bigger challenge than you think.

Where can I find a translator who understands my business?

Dont kid yourself! Truly qualified translators are hard to find, especially for law, finance, medicine, science, engineering and most areas and industries involving any form of specialized knowledge.

In many industries, the single most important cause of product recall is mislabeling, often caused by inaccurate translations.

Product labels hardly qualify as complex technical documents. Now, if simple labels containing at most a few lines of text are so often botched, imagine what happens to really complex documents like commercial agreements, scientific research and technical reports when they are translated by the wrong people.

The translation industry is almost entirely unregulated

No special licence is required to work as a translator or operate a translation company.
Legally, anyone can offer translation services, on any subject-matter, in any language combination.
Unlike doctors, lawyers, charted accountants, actuaries and engineers, to name a few, translators are not required by law to belong to a professional order such as a Law Society, a College of Physicians or an Order of Engineers which verify qualifications and control admissions.
What does it mean to be certified?

The term "certified" is widely used by translation companies to promote their services. What does it mean?

This term may be used either to describe the translator or the translation itself.

When used to describe the translation itself, it often refers to an affidavit or other sworn statement provided by a translator to confirm the accuracy or correctness of the translation.

When translators are certified, it is usually through membership in an association of translators. Translators joins such associations freely and for various reasons. They are not obligated by law or statute to belong to a professional order or obtain a licence to practice their trade.

Hiring a "certified" translator does not guarantee the actual quality of the translation, especially for industry-specific and technical documents.

Technical translations require specific knowledge and relevant expertise

When the translation is legal, financial, medical, scientific or technical in nature, the most qualified translator will likely be a bilingual professional, with a degree in that field or a closely related area and industry specific experience, both in English and French.

A translator with the relevant technical background and industry knowledge will usually produce a better quality translation than a translator without similar qualifications, which is why so many companies using outside translators have an in-house review process to verify the accuracy and style of the translation.

Improve The Quality Of Your Technical Translations

Twelve Translation Facts

Certain documents require more attention than others. Generally speaking, the more specialized or technical your document, the more difficult it will be to find a qualified translator.

It takes more than a translation degree to be an effective translator of legal, financial, medical, scientific or technical material.

For specialized translation work, you should always use a translator with relevant academic knowledge and industry-specific experience.

Certain companies offer translation services in over 100 language combinations, on any subject, including most technical areas. The lack of regulations in the industry encourages some to overstate their qualifications.

More than a few translation companies lack the required expertise to correctly evaluate the quality of their services in all the language combinations they offer.

Make sure at least one of their managers speaks your language combination, French and English, if you are doing business in Canada and ask about their actual qualifications. If the managers are not sufficiently qualified, they will be unable to assess the quality of their translators or of the work they produce.

Generally, a company specializing in only a few languages will provide better quality translations, in those languages, than a company working in a large number of language combinations. This is especially true when technical or specialized documents are to be translated.

For technical matters, sensitive issues and important documents, you should always look for a translation company with genuine experts who have studied and worked in your field or industry, even if this means you will have to use more than one translation service provider for all the language combinations you need.

Remember that the language barrier often prevents material errors and discrepancies from being detected immediately. Poorly written translations and material flaws usually end up being reviewed and corrected at extra cost.

Unless you are dealing with bilingual experts, you should always review your important translated documents with an employee or colleague who speaks the language of the translation to verify its quality and accuracy.

If your work is specialized and technical and must meet specific industry standards, dont expect an accurate and professionally written translation from someone who has never studied in your field or worked in your industry.

When translating technical or specialized documents, look for translators with specialized knowledge and professional experience which are relevant to your work or industry.  Bruno Gingras LL.B,

After a successful carrer as a commercial lawyer in the province of Qubec, Bruno Gingras is now chief operating officer of About Translations Ltd., a Canadian company providing industry-specific French and English translation services in the areas of law, business and finance, medicine and pharmacology, engineering, science and technology. The company is associated with Traductions propos Lte of Montral, Qubec.



Are you in search of the best help in relation to antique clocks. TomAre you in search of the best help in relation to antique clocks.
When you are on the lookout for top information relating to antique clocks, it will be easier said than done extricating the best information from foolish antique clocks submissions and help so it is wise to know how to moderate the information you are presented with.

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Here's several tips which we think you should use when you are searching for information about antique clocks. Please be aware that the advice we give is only relevant to internet information about antique clocks. We do not offer you any assistance or guidance if you are receiving information offline.

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A terrifc piece of advice you can follow when offered help and advice regarding a antique clocks web site is to find out who owns the site. Doing this could reveal the owners antique clocks authorizations The easiest way to work out who is at the back of the antique clocks website is to look on the 'contact' page or 'about this site' information.

All respectable sites giving you information on antique clocks, will nearly always have an 'about' or 'contact' page which will list the people behind the site. The details should tell you some indication regarding the owner's proficency and credentials. This means you can conduct an appraisal about the webmaster's depth of experience, to advise you on the topic of antique clocks.
Peter Coates is the webmaster for http://www.antique-grandfather-clocks.info