Six Sigma Black Belts - What should they know?

Six Sigma Black Belts are fourth in the chain of personnel that play a key role in six sigma implementation. Six Sigma Black Belts form the critical link between the Master Black Belts who are higher up the chain and the Green Belts, lower in the chain. Six Sigma Black Belts need to devote 100% of their time to the implementation, with their primary focus on execution. Six Sigma Black Belts dealing mainly with day to day activities rather than generalities of the program. The role of Six Sigma Black Belts as frontline executives of the program is critical to the success of the organization.

Although Six Sigma demands high value personnel, not all of them are equally trained or talented. While causes for this disparity often causes loss of time and resources, it is important to implement standardization on what they should know as Six Sigma Black Belts, because they are essential for the fulfillment of program objectives. Here are the fundamental things Six Sigma Black Belts are expected to know:

Comprehensive Knowledge Of DMAIC Processes:

A Six Sigma Black Belt is expected to know the five basic principles of Six Sigma methodology as described by DMAIC. A deeper understanding of these five principles, to the core, is essential as a first step. The acronym DMAIC stands for defining the process, measuring the current process baseline, analyzing causality factors, improving the process by optimization and finally controlling the process flow and transition to production.

Thorough Knowledge Of Processes:

A thorough understanding of the processes, acquired by having worked on them as a full- time employee, is essential. The Six Sigma Black Belt should have substantial knowledge with hands on experience as the basis for identifying problem areas. Technical skills and active involvement in day to day activities are also paramount.

Familiarity With Tools And Techniques:

The implementation of Six Sigma methodologies is made possible through the use of various tools and techniques of measurement that help the decision making process. Familiarity with technical statistical tools is a must for Six Sigma Black Belts for effective 6 sigma implementation. Although formal training in statistics and analysis is not essential, Six Sigma Black Belts are expected to pick up this subject with relative ease.

Ability To Formulate Projects & Plans:

A Six Sigma Black Belt should able to make business plans and execute them in order to make sure that defined goals are achieved. Along the way, Six Sigma Black Belts are responsible for measurement of progress and the ability to articulate them in meaningful terms. Six Sigma Black Belts are expected to control the course of 6 sigma implementation for maximum gains.

Knowledge Of Customer Base:

A Six Sigma Black Belt should be aware of the roles of each key person and be independently able to devise, test and conduct customer surveys. He/she should also know how to interpret and validate the results, identify differences, and report and incorporate the results of the survey.

Role of Six Sigma Black Belts

Six Sigma Black Belts play the role of change agent. Their role is a position of leadership. They must possess the sharpest business acumen, strong communication skills, customer advocacy knowledge, leadership qualities, technical aptitude and most of all, patience.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solutions - Six Sigma Online offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.

Business Process Management - The Six Sigma Approach

Managing a business entails a wide variety of responsibilities and project managers have to be up to the task. Fortunately, there are Business Process Management technologies in place to help processes run more smoothly. However, Six Sigma does more than just help processes run more smoothly. Six Sigma is a methodology. It allows for continuous of improvement of processes, on a project-by-project basis.

Implementing Six Sigma into your business takes a high level of commitment, because it does not go project-to-project. There needs to be 100% commitment from all levels of management, especially upper management. Six Sigma is intended to be a methodology that is implemented throughout the entire organization, and without full support from the very top of the management chain down, the resistance to the change that is inevitable in any organization will triumph and Six Sigma will just be another business management project that had limited success.

What Makes Six Sigma Truly Different

Six Sigma is truly different from the average BPM technology because it is a methodology and a program of mentorship that begins with top management and funnels down to the people who really make things happen in an organization. With the full support of upper management, business managers are able to support their own teams of managers to learn and implement the Six Sigma technology.

There is intensive training involved prior to the deployment of Six Sigma and through out the process. Six Sigma likens the leaders of the implementation process to the belt levels in martial arts, because to implement Six Sigma properly requires dedication and training to ensure success. Greenbelts are those who have undergone two weeks of training in the Six Sigma methodology. Blackbelts undergo four weeks of training and they are able to oversee the Greenbelts. Then, the Master Blackbelt is highly trained to be the Six Sigma program manager for the entire organization. There is a chain of mentorship from top to bottom that will ensure that the deployment goes smoothly and that there is continued success with the program. In fact, deployment does not even begin until the appropriate people are trained to the Greenbelt level.

The business leaders become the Champions, and are there to support the Master Blackbelts. One key with Six Sigma is that the Champion does not just sit back and take a passive role. They are concerned with how the processes are managed. They are concerned with the method of implementation, not just the end results. And this is how Six Sigma intends it to be. They want to create a BPM that is designed from the needs of the business, by the Champions, based on hard numbers.

Six Sigma Methods

Six Sigma has two unique methods through which their product is deployed. The first one is called DMAIC - Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control. This is ideal if a business has an undefined problem within existing products, services, or processes. The second is DFSS - Design for Six Sigma. DFSS is still in the developmental stage. The aim of DFSS is to create a new product, service, or process that is defect-free in the eyes of the customer.

An organization determines its objectives in terms of numerical value to the company and then they take this information and the method they have chosen to the training table where the belt trainees will use these to amass knowledge and learn to put these objectives and methods into deployment.

Summary

Six Sigma's client list speaks volumes for the effectiveness of the Six Sigma method. These clients include Honeywell, Sears, GE, 3M, Home Depot, the Bank of America, and JPMorgan Chase. Six Sigma is also moving into the public and health care sectors.

Six Sigma is not a company that moves in and takes charge, deploying BPM technology based on what they see as the needs of the business. Instead, they allow the business leaders to tell them what they need Six Sigma to do and they essentially design Six Sigma to tailor fit the needs of their business. Not only do the allow this approach, but they train the business leaders and the staff of the company in the knowledge they need to see what needs to be done. Only then is Six Sigma deployed.

Peter Peterka is President of 6 Sigma us. For additional information on Six Sigma Black Belt or other Six Sigma Online Training contact Peter Peterka.

Lean Six Sigma - 5 Reasons Your Organization Needs It

Lean Six Sigma provides a powerful combination of the Lean manufacturing approach and Six Sigma. The two concepts are not very different in their outlook and methods, or in their applications and goals. Lean Six Sigma works on the philosophy of increasing speed by focusing on waste reduction. The result of Lean applications is shown in the improvement of quality and on reduced processing times and costs. Combining 6 sigma with Lean manufacturing augments short-term results with the power of comprehensive changes. The result is Lean Six Sigma.

Five Reasons Your Organization Needs Lean Six Sigma

Corporations increasingly prefer implementing Lean Six Sigma over any other methodology. Here are the five top reasons that organizations prefer Lean Six Sigma.

1. Lean Six Sigma is applicable across industry sectors: Although Lean manufacturing was originally developed as a quality management tool with a manufacture-centric approach, of late, industries across the board have accepted and successfully implemented the seamless Lean Six Sigma tool. The notion that Lean Six Sigma can't applied to non-manufacturing sectors doesn't hold true any more.

2. Lean Six Sigma results in immediate functional improvements: Implementation of Lean Six Sigma results in faster-than-expected reduction of production time and costs. This is because of the application of its tools such as kaizen (method of constantly analyzing process flow and its application), kanban (helps pull up production) and poka yoke (mistake-proofing).

3. Helps create value for consumers: The combined application of Lean manufacturing and Six Sigma results in tangible and real value creation for consumers. Consumers of products and services can enjoy better experiences in terms of increased utility and reduced prices. More and more organizations are showing an inclination to implement Lean Six Sigma for obvious reasons - it improves their bottom lines.

4. Practicality of execution: Lean Six Sigma facilitates transformation of organizations by creating a powerful linkage between strategic priorities and improvements in operations. Strategic priorities are the goals set by the top management team for higher returns on investment and improved customer experiences.

5. Focus on sustainable management capability: Lean Six Sigma's highly sustainable approach, being woven into every aspect of business, leads to the creation of sustainability from top down. Sustainability results from the quick realization of tangible benefits of implementing the program.

By implementing the Lean Six Sigma approach, organizations have realized time and again that it is possible to streamline their operations and to create value for both management and customers alike. The bottom lines of companies have soared with the successful implementation of Lean Six Sigma. As a result, many companies have created enormous value for their shareholders. Organizations are drawn to the Lean Six Sigma approach due to its fast implementation and results, in addition to creating additional value for the consumer at no extra cost.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solutions - Six Sigma Online offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.

Six Sigma Online Training

These days, Six Sigma certification candidates can stay home (or in the office), yet still make it to the classroom! Yes, the recent trend in Six Sigma online training has brought about this innovative tool to every candidate's door step. Six Sigma online training combines some of the proven methods of classroom training and the cost effectiveness and convenience of home study. This is a tailor-made solution for those Six Sigma certification candidates who can't leave their offices due to their workload. Some Six Sigma online training products try to mimic the classic style of the traditional classroom.

Advantages Of Six Sigma Online Training

With Six Sigma online training you can set your own pace. Certain unique features facilitate studying at a place and time convenient to you (even breaks of time in between modules are allowed). You can take an online test so that you know where you stand. Almost all Six Sigma online training tools are interactive as a result, you don't feel the absence of the instructor at any point in time.

As Department of Defense studies have shown, e-learning is equally or more effective than classroom-based instructor-led training. In terms of Six Sigma, online training proved to be more effective in courses of greater complexity

Some Popular Six Sigma Online Training Tools

Here are some popular Six Sigma online training tools that you can use:

1. Various courses from AVETA Solutions - Very innovative, real life situations throughout. With Six Sigma online training from Aveta solutions, you can define, analyze and process problems with critical parameters as perceived by customers, as well as analyze and control the variations and root causes.

2. nLighten from Pivotal Resources - This is a high-end Six Sigma online e-learning product. This product combines various aspects of Six Sigma training such as facilitation of online discussions, and problem-solving simulations.

3. Various Six Sigma online training tools from QPM Solutions - Here are a couple of them: The Six Sigma green belt training module and Six Sigma black belt training, You can extend the training by 12 to 20 sessions spread over 3 months. Each session is for 3 hours. Typically both of these offer self paced learning, case study exercises and preparatory tests in order get you ready for the next session.

Closer To Reality

Although you may feel you are missing the classroom environments where you could have interacted with fellow students, the Six Sigma online packages are developed to mimic real-life conditions. In addition to this, almost all of them allow you to develop new processes, test them as you would do in a real life situation. Certain Six Sigma online tools like Sigma Station? boast many advanced features that rival the experiences that you would have in a classroom.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solutions - Six Sigma Online offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.

Six Sigma Certification - Benefits for your Business

No matter what, your business will benefit from Six Sigma certification; unless, of course, some unforseen situation happens to disrupt the implementation of the Six Sigma methodology; not the least of which is inadequate Six Sigma training.

Six Sigma Certification - Will It Really Benefit Your Organization?

The success of Six Sigma certification and implementation depends on many factors. It requires nothing less than a relentless effort and dedication to see that it succeeds. Although specific procedures may be in place, an equal responsibility lies on upper management to dedicate their 100% of their time and resources to this mammoth task. The top and bottom ends of your business, and all those in between, need to come together with single minded contributions to make Six Sigma certification and implementation successful.

Six Sigma Certification Benefits To Your Business - An Overview

You need to realize that, before the real implementation begins with Six Sigma methodology, the groundwork needs to be laid. Depending on the size and culture of your business, your team needs to have a brainstorming session, with key focus on potential benefits and consequences of having your employees attain Six Sigma certification. As the employer, you need to sponsor your employees in their Six Sigma training efforts. The decision to go for Six Sigma certification is nothing less than a dollars and cents decision.

Benefits To Your Business

Six Sigma certification benefits are both tangible and intangible. Intangible benefits can be in the form of customer loyalty that will follow the life of your business. Below we examine some of the benefits of Six Sigma certification.

1. Increase In Your Bottom Line: Six Sigma certification results in improved processes, better utilization of resources like finances, time and materials and reduction in the cost of production. On the customer side, there is higher satisfaction with products/services. This improves your bottom line substantially.

2. Six Sigma Certification Increases Shareholder Value: Fundamentally, this results from increased revenues, but in addition to this, there is increased customer loyalty and confidence that raises the stock values as well as the value to shareholders (to whom you are responsible).

3. Total Customer Satisfaction: Customers get more than what they asked for on the product/service side, at a lower price or higher value.

4. Decreased Employee Attrition: Six Sigma training boosts employee morale due to a reduced workload. Six Sigma certified employees realize the positive returns of quality work, which keeps them motivated. This reduces employee turnover and burnout.

5. Six Sigma Certification Creates A Win-Win Situation For The Supply Chain: In converting supplier-customer relationships to long-term partnerships, both parties win. Six Sigma training and certification accelerates this process with its focus on quality; prices come down and both the product quality and life cycle time improve.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solutions - Six Sigma Online offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.

Six Sigma Defined - Praises and Criticisms

Consumer outlook has undergone considerable changes due to business globalization and revolutionary information exchange paradigms. Changing business conditions created by the flurry of increasing competition has led to diminishing margins for error. Exceeding the expectation levels of customers assumes the central position in the current and future era of business. It is for this reason that Six Sigma has assumed critical importance in the current business environment.

What is Six Sigma?

Six Sigma is a two-way quality management approach towards achieving zero errors by removing process defects for existing products and by designing verified process flow for new products. From a consumer's point of view, Six Sigma is a highly disciplined process that enables product and service deliveries to a near perfect standard.

The term Six Sigma (also 6 sigma) signifies the statistical benchmark for quality assurance. Sigma is the standard deviation (allowable, standardized figure from the mean acceptance level), and when the measured number of deviations beyond the mean tolerance limit is six, you are barely producing quality products. Simply put, this means that if you found six defects in your products, you are very close to poor quality production.

Implementation Of Methodology

The choice of implementation of Six Sigma methodology depends on whether improvement is required on existing processes (DMAIC) or on new process/product design creation (DMADV).

DMAIC

In Six Sigma, DMAIC methodology involves defining improvement goals, measuring the existing standards at baseline for future reference and analyzing the relationship between defects and their causes. This Six Sigma methodology also entails improving processes to deliver consistent goal achievement in accordance with company strategy and consistent with customer demand. The analysis process of this Six Sigma methodology sets the stage for midway course correction, called improvement.

DMADV

This 6 sigma methodology applies to the creation of new processes for product development. This Six Sigma implementation differs from the DMAIC methodology at the final two stages. Defining and measuring the design and product goals and capabilities are the first two stages. The next stage is analyzing alternatives and evaluating to choose the best product design. The next stage consists of implementing the best design. The final stage entails verifying the design, pilot (or test) runs and testing implementation before the final presentation.

Several organizations such as Motorola, (which is a pioneer of Six Sigma), Microsoft, GE and the United States Navy have successfully implemented Six Sigma and reaped huge dividends. Six Sigma has benefited corporations with multiple products across various business sectors. Healthcare, banking and insurance, telecommunications, software, and construction are just some of the industries successfully implementing Six Sigma.

Six Sigma implementation requires organizations to play five key roles at various levels. At the top is executive leadership which includes the CEO, champions, master black belts, and black belts. Then there are the green belts, which dedicate 100% of their efforts towards the concerted implementation of the program until the end of the project. The difference between the green belts and the rest of the team is that the employees in the green belt level share the additional responsibility for Six Sigma implementation along with their normal work responsibilities.

Criticisms Of Six Sigma

Despite its scientific approach towards quality improvement, there are criticisms against Six Sigma. The most vocal one is the viewpoint that there is nothing new about Six Sigma as it imitates already existing and proven techniques. To a certain extent, this argument has some credibility. But proponents of Six Sigma believe that as long as 6 sigma achieves more predictable results with far lower effort, there is no harm in accepting and implementing it. Criticisms notwithstanding, what Six Sigma does is apply concerted efforts at utilizing existing techniques with new approaches.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solutions - Six Sigma Online offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.

Six Sigma Training Basics

The need for Six Sigma training has arisen following two reasons. One, the demands of industry could not be met with the existing limited quality assurance methods and two, the tremendous financial opportunities for corporations that the 6 sigma methodology is creating of late.

Many well-known organizations have developed their own Six Sigma training institutes, for in house training of their employees. Realizing the demand that could not be met by companies by themselves, many training institutes and universities have come forward and developed basic Six Sigma training courses.

Differences In Six Sigma Training Basics

A quick look at the Six Sigma training course contents of various institutes immediately shows that they vary widely in their central focus, while still keeping the fundamentals of Six Sigma training content intact. However, this is hardly surprising when one realizes that corporations devise courses for training their own employees for more flexibility. However, the Six Sigma training curricula prepared by independent training institutes and universities closely resemble each other, brining credence and uniformity to all Six Sigma training.

The Basics Of Six Sigma Training

Differences notwithstanding, the central theme of Six Sigma training required for certification must remain same. These are the six core basic elements of Six Sigma training:

1. A thorough and complete training on the DMAIC process and 6 sigma methodology: This involves familiarizing trainees on statistics and its applications, the five key elements of the DMAIC process, and the implementation of this methodology.

2. The roles of each key person: Each person in the organization plays a critical role in the implementation of 6 sigma. Thus, Six Sigma training needs to focus on understanding the key elements of every person's role and the skill to communicate with key players across the organization.

3. Developing abilities to define and work on projects: In Six Sigma training, the emphasis is placed on the streamlining of processes, focusing on the core competencies of each of these. Six Sigma training also focuses on identifying and developing breakthrough processes, products and/or services. As a result, root cause analysis and crisis management abilities become the key to developing versatile management abilities.

4. Cross training necessity: The deployment of Six Sigma methodologies puts the emphasis on a team-based approach. Naturally, qualities such as interpersonal skills, ability to communicate effectively, and ability to transfer knowledge and clarify issues are also important. Sharing of knowledge across the organization is crucial for to the success of 6 sigma implementation.

5. Problem Solving Tools: In Six Sigma methodologies, problem-solving tools are statistical. Six Sigma training essentially teaches all those involved in the implementation how to use statistical tools in order to analyze a problem and solve it. Six Sigma training techniques assume that all candidates do not necessarily have formal training in statistics.

6. Presentation and closing techniques: In Six Sigma training, everyone is taught how to make presentations to management and other decision-makers. Six Sigma training also focuses on how to make the transition to closing projects after their conclusion or abandonment.

All Six Sigma training objectives are tied to a quality-first policy. In a nutshell, Six Sigma training instructs students on how to dissect information, analyze it, validate the results, and implement.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solutions - Six Sigma Online offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.

Why Six Sigma?

The advantages of Six Sigma do not exactly lie in huge cost benefits that can be realized by its implementation. The glaring examples of many corporations having saved billions of dollars are true benefits but the intangible results, such as having met the expectations of customers, and being able to improve employee relations are also paramount. Because some corporations have experienced its failure to meet stated goals, some critics often raise questions about the feasibility of implementing Six Sigma, while still others are dismissing it plainly.

Benefits of Six Sigma

Obviously, in almost all cases, the reasons for Six Sigma failure have been external factors such as wrong or misguided selection of the tools, lack of application and lack of support from upper management. It is important to keep in mind that the successful implementation of Six Sigma requires a top down approach and perseverance throughout. Also important to the process is proper and thorough Six Sigma training.

Six Sigma Is All About Eradicating Business Problems.

Problem solving involves rational thinking. Somehow, companies always found themselves compromising quality with problem solving, which is the main reason why companies decide to implement Six Sigma and support Six Sigma training.

The top-down approach of Six Sigma requires dedication and application at all levels of the organization and on a continuous basis. The statistical methodology of Six Sigma sheds light on existing flaws and their causes after thorough analysis. Emphasis is placed on experimentation following analysis and redefining the processes and their goals. This is unlike other quality assurance methodologies. The benefits of supporting Six Sigma training for company professionals are apparent.

Financial Benefits: Cash flow increases due to creation of additional revenue. Through this process although cost decreases and increased profitability can be seen. It is important that all professionals involved in Six Sigma implementation have proper Six Sigma training. Although Six Sigma training is relatively expensive, the financial benefits of supporting it greatly outweigh the upfront costs.

Operational Benefits Of Six Sigma Training: employee satisfaction due to improvement in work flow, reduction in process times and steps, better usage of work space, etc. result from implementation of Six Sigma. One major operational reason for choosing Six Sigma is its success in waste reduction and redundancy. Waste reduction is measured in terms of improving time, product movement and decreasing material consumption.

Conceptually, the benefits of implementation of Six Sigma emerge from breaking the mindset that product processes are invariable. Benefits also emerge as a result of interconnected activities. The result of this methodical approach to quality management is evidenced by reduced fluctuations in processes. Stability of this kind triggers a series of positive chain reactions within organizations.

Success stories of Six Sigma training are evident in all fields of business. Since Six Sigma methodology encompasses the entire process of doing business, it is likely to show a flaw here or there, such as companies that embraced Six Sigma have found out. Howsoever small in number the failures may be, they are all due to differing reasons. However, any negative results can probably be traced back to either improper implementation or incomplete Six Sigma training.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solutions - Six Sigma Online offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.

Six Sigma Software Tools

Six Sigma software tools augment the implementation of Six Sigma methodology by complimenting and sometimes substituting human efforts. Six Sigma software tools fill in the vacuum of additional needs by companies that are implementing the Six Sigma methodology.

Six Sigma Software Tools - Features And Size

Six Sigma software tools are available in different modules covering various aspects of implementation. There is one comprehensive package on the market that covers the entire span of Six Sigma activities. However, buying a Six Sigma software tool that comprises all modules during the course of Six Sigma implementation means that they all can't possibly be used. Generally, Six Sigma software tools are developed on an Excel platform.

When you are evaluating Six Sigma software tools, the size of your business or that of the Six Sigma implementation should not be of undue concern. Most Six Sigma software developers keep factors like these in mind when developing their products. There are two different Six Sigma software tools available, such as a desktop edition and an enterprise edition. You will always be able to find the type of software that you need. Due to recent improvements in technology, there is also a web-enabled module available!

Different Modules From Various Software Developers

Software developers, in accordance with the needs and demands of different businesses, have developed various Six Sigma software tool modules. Some examples of Six Sigma software tools are as follows:

1. DMAIC Six Sigma - a process management tool 2. Design for Six Sigma or DFSS - a design tool 3. Quality improvement package - a quality control tool 4. Production management package - a process simulation tool 5. Project optimization and simulation - An analytical tool 6. Testing and measurement - a testing and control tool

The all-encompassing comprehensive Six Sigma software tools packages pack a lot of powerful features into them which help speed up the decision making process and data mining, while dramatically simplifying predictive modeling activities. These features are enabled by a novel concept called "artificial intelligence" or AI. Artificial intelligence mimics the human thought process to automatically compute and solve complex problems. This feature comes in handy, especially when you are dealing with huge databases.

Support Back Up For Six Sigma Software Tools

Software producers and vendors offer assistance with their products. These include:

* Installation and maintenance support * Online help systems and tutorials * Product application guides * 24/7 toll free customer support * Money back guarantee for a limited time period

System Hardware Requirements

Most of the Six Sigma software tools are available for both Mac and IBM compatible PCs. The minimum system requirements are:

* At least Pentium 386; but for most products - 1.0 GHz Pentium processor * 256MB RAM * 1.0GB of free disk space * Graphics card (at least VGA or a better is recommended) * Windows, several versions; depending on which product you buy

With Six Sigma software tools at your disposal, you can process a lot of data, more than you ever could by hand. Artificial intelligence is used for faster, more dependable project selection and analysis. Six Sigma software tools also assist you in predicting future behaviors & tendencies. Six Sigma software tools have finally come of age and are here to stay.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solutions - Six Sigma Online offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.

Statistical Software in Six Sigma

Six Sigma is about numbers. Six Sigma produces a flood of data about your process that are critical to your success. If you don't measure it and understand what you are measuring, you can't manage it. Six Sigma's clear strength is a data-driven analysis and decision-making process -- not someone's opinion or gut feeling.

The value of statistical analysis cannot be underestimated. Through an analysis of all of that data, you begin to understand your process and develop methodologies to identify and implement the right solutions to improve your process. Statistical evaluation of the data identifies key areas which can have an adverse effect on product quality if not controlled. Once you have identified these key areas you can focus your process improvement efforts

Given the importance of intelligently handling all of this data, you need to find an efficient and powerful method of crunching the numbers. Naturally, you want to avoid the drudgery of manual calculations and save a whole lot of time by using a statistical software application. You may be tempted to use Excel or another spreadsheet application as a calculator and database to store your statistical process control data. However, you will quickly find out that a basic spreadsheet is too cumbersome to handle the volume and sophistication of the data keeping and analysis you need to perform in a Six Sigma project.

Advanced statistical software such as Minitab (http://www.minitab.com/) or Statgraphics (http://statgraphics.com), are very useful if not essential for gathering, categorizing, evaluating, and analyzing the data collected throughout a Six Sigma project. Both Minitab and Statgraphics are powerful full standalone statistical process control software applications for performing statistical analysis. Both are highly recommended for Six Sigma use as they are tools that can help you utilize one of Six Sigma's biggest advantages: the ability to make better decisions based upon data. They will work with the DMAIC Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control methodology and Lean Six Sigma.

Both Minitab and Statgraphics are designed to support the Six Sigma philosophy offering a range of tools for graphical analyses, collecting powerful statistics, quality analyses with potential for a range of custom designed uses.

• Statistical Process Control Charts
  
• Analysis of Variance and Regression Analysis
  
• Design of Experiments
  
• Factorial and Matrix Plots
  
• Relationships between variables
  
• Life Data Analysis and Reliability
  
• Process Capability Analysis
  
• Hypothesis Testing
  
• Correlation and regression
  
• Time Series Analysis and Forecasting
  
• Measurement Systems Analysis
  
• Regression Analysis
  
• Multi-variation analysis
  
• ANOVA tools and techniques
  
• Six Sigma Quality Assessment

Both applications provide you with nearly real time statistical data, enabling you to respond quickly to prevent further defects. Statistical evaluation of the data identifies key areas to focus process improvement efforts on, which can have an adverse effect on product quality if not controlled.

However, while it is easy to purchase a statistical software application, it is harder to use it effectively. It is <EM>smart </EM>analysis of the data that create real change. All too often, Six Sigma/DMAIC teams collect and load data into Minitab or Statgraphics only to find themselves overwhelmed by the prospect of where to start and how to use their new tool to successfully analyze their data that comes up with, not just any answers, but meaningful and useful answers. As a result, Six Sigma/DMAIC projects often fall far short of the productivity expectations associated with statistical software.

Training in use of Minitab is often offered integrated with Six Sigma training. Minitab training will focus on solving practical problems with Minitab. This includes learning the practical aspects of major statistical tools like Control Charts, Capability Analysis, Regression Analysis, and ANOVA. There is a strong emphasis on learning how to get data into Minitab, learning how to manipulate data once in Minitab and learning how to display graphically major findings from the data. Proper training will teach you how to drive Minitab like a pro and thus bring greater statistical power to your Six Sigma projects.

Peter Peterka is President of Six Sigma us. For additional information on Six Sigma Master Black Belt or Minitab Training programs contact Peter Peterka

Integrating Six Sigma With Business Process Management

The concept of Six Sigma was first developed by Motorola Corporation as an approach to address the high defect rates within the company?s manufacturing processes. With the success of Six Sigma, Motorola has registered the Six Sigma brand name to the corporation. The concept of Six Sigma advocates that data be collected from processes to measure performance and determine the extent of variation from target performance measurements.

This approach had been truly effective in ensuring quality in a manufacturing environment and was later adopted by the services industry during the 90s. However, as the Six Sigma framework relied heavily on the collection and analysis of data of individual processes, synchronizing processes between departments was ignored. This resulted in improvement benefits being limited to specific functions only, without taking into consideration the integration with other processes. Another weakness of the Six Sigma methodology is the lack of control used to sustain improvements achieved. This stems from the fact Six Sigma utilizes manual processes to do this, an approach that lacks effectiveness.

In this sense, Business Process Management (BPM) initiatives address areas that Six Sigma falls short of, in line with the purpose of achieving excellence in organizations. These two methodologies complement each other to compensate for areas of weaknesses. Although BPM addresses process enhancements and monitoring from a holistic viewpoint, it fails to address the analytical requirements required to solve complex issues.

Therefore, BPM approaches are used to define current processes and their role across multiple functions, identify areas within the process that affect critical success factors and develop process improvements for these areas of weaknesses. The identification of gaps between existing processes and ideal processes are addressed with Six Sigma initiatives. Finally, process monitoring, evaluation and continuous improvement measures are implemented with BPM techniques. These are carried out for inter-related processes across the organization.

A step-by-step insight into how a BPM ? Six Sigma initiative is implemented

Define

The first step for such an initiative is to define the current processes of a function, with outputs clearly determined. Data is collected to determine the health of the performance of the particular process as compared to predefined targets. If there is a deviation in the performance measured from the particular process, the effect of the deviation may be translated into monetary terms.

Measure

BPM process maps are developed which incorporate various critical elements of the process. These would include business systems, people and resources that are involved in the entire process. The functions performed by each of these elements are defined and utilized in the analysis stage.

Analyze

With all data and information at hand, an analysis is conducted on the business process to determine areas of weaknesses. What are the key courses for the deviation? How does this deviation affect other processes? Which steps of the processes are too slow? Where is the backlog?

The key approach when analyzing existing processes is to identify parts of the processes which were irrelevant or which does not add value to the process. Most of the time, these areas of redundancy are the causes of delay within entire processes. Apart from that, dependency on a cross-functional process may also cause the current process to be inefficient.

Improve

Once weaknesses are discovered, areas for improvement to address these weaknesses will be identified. This would incorporate the use of ?what if? hypothetical solutions in order to shortlist several possible scenarios that would work to improve the current process.

Many times, process improvements will include the utilization of automated processes through the use of technology. Human intervention will still be required, but a form of integration between automated and human run processes will be developed.

At this juncture, the utilization of machines or applications for greater efficiency will be customized towards the particular business process. Data flow between automated processes and human operated processes will need to be smooth. Therefore, all variables involved in a process will be taken into consideration during the design stage.

Control

A new process will have limited effectiveness to an organization if it is not constantly monitored for sustainability. This is why a monitoring and tracking system needs to be put in place, most probably in the form of a BPM monitoring system where performance indicators are constantly measured. This way, the management team will be able to react to deviations quickly, and make any amendments whenever necessary. Automated reports will be triggered to managers whenever a specific deviation and review meetings are held to address any process issues.

In conclusion, Six Sigma and BPM when implemented together will produce outstanding results for the purpose of organizational excellence. This is possible through the synergy achieved from these two remarkable methodologies that help to improve organizational performance the world over.

Peter Peterka is President of Six Sigma us. For additional information on Six Sigma Green Belt or other Six Sigma Articles contact Peter Peterka at http://www.6sigma.us

The Marriage of BPM and Six Sigma

Companies are just discovering the benefits of combining BPM and Six Sigma. Ideal for enhancing the long-term performance of business processes, the BPM/Six Sigma union helps companies better characterize, understand, and manage entire value chains. It also helps companies improve control and predictability of corporate business processes and generate sustainable enterprise improvements in performance levels.

BPM aligns processes across an enterprise using technologies to provide visibility and management at any point in a business process. BPM and associated technologies help model data flow, people, resources, and systems in an organization. They also help build or modify processes to better align enterprise systems with business objectives and market needs. Unfortunately, BPM lacks the analytical tools to solve difficult and complex process problems.

Six Sigma, on the other hand, is a quality improvement and problem solving methodology. It has the tools necessary to solve the complex problems BPM can't solve. Where Six Sigma falls short is in its ability to collect huge amounts of data across enterprises, the direct result of a lack of standardized process monitoring technology. Six Sigma also falls short in controlling business processes. It often uses manual methods and controls, which inhibit its ability to sustain long-term performance initiatives.

Without BPM, Six Sigma may founder because executives lack the critical data needed to focus their efforts. Instead, the executives bounce all over the place looking for performance weaknesses, or they focus on areas where successful performance improvements provide only marginal results. With BPM, Six Sigma projects can pinpoint problems and address the underlying causes.

Honeywell Improves DSO Metric

In addition to identifying quality improvement targets, BPM enhances Six Sigma projects by speeding the collection and distribution of critical data. Honeywell International, the Morristown, NJ, technology company, recently applied Six Sigma to its accounts receivables process. Its efforts were initially stymied because key information was dated by the time it reached decision-makers.

When it came to the days sales outstanding (DSO), for instance, internal teams were assigned to monitor and catch invoicing mistakes and reduce that DSO number. But it took too long to get data on categories like discount terms, over/under shipments, and warranty entitlements, to the proper people. As a result, the teams were always one month behind.

Honeywell combined its Six Sigma efforts with a BPM initiative, accelerating the process. Now the company gets daily, weekly, and monthly information that managers can access at any time. Their percentage of exception-free invoices has jumped from 67 percent to 75 percent. The jump unlocked about $30 million in accounts receivables, according to the company. The BPM/Six Sigma union also gave Honeywell a much clearer cash flow forecasting capability.

Additional BPM/Six Sigma Applications

Motorola uses the Balanced Scorecard at all its divisions to guide its Six Sigma projects. The company took Six Sigma and implemented it corporate wide, making it the means by which to execute the strategy dictated by the Balance Scorecard approach. Balanced Scorecard initiatives are often more effective when they are automated through a BPM system.

Crompton Corporation, a Middlebury, CN-based specialty chemical company, uses BPM to track its Six Sigma programs by region and byproduct line to see how those projects are doing. Feeding Six Sigma data into its BPM system is faster and more accurate than its previous approach. Now, Crompton tracks all it Six Sigma projects using its BPM system.

Other companies employ the BPM/Six Sigma union to improve product design. These companies stand a better chance of developing a new product right the first time using Six Sigma. It can provide new product growth projections and help in gathering data via focus groups and surveys to determine customer expectations and desires. BPM supplements those capabilities by providing current information in customer buying patterns and attitudes and by forecasting future customer satisfaction.

Use of BPM and Six Sigma To Rise

Combined BPM and Six Sigma are a powerful tool. The two approaches are synergistic. What one lacks the other provides and vice versa. Together, they are a better approach to understanding, analyzing, and improving business processes than other methodologies alone. Unfortunately, this union has not become a mainstream approach to improving enterprise-related business processes. One reason may be that companies are unaware of how well these two initiatives work in concert with each other.

Nevertheless, companies with revenues greater than $200 million have been adopting
Six Sigma at a 28 percent rate, according to trend analyses by Don Redinius, Agillist Group, Inc., a business performance improvement solutions company. While this rate is significant, it is bound to improve as companies come to understand the synergies between BPM and Six Sigma. The union is ideal for providing long-term, enterprise-wide performance solutions.

Peter Peterka is President of 6 Sigma us. For additional information on Six Sigma Black Belt or other Six Sigma Consulting contact Peter Peterka.

Optimizing BPM And Six Sigma or BPI

Business Process Management argues that management by common sense cannot be exemplified as management at all!! Analysis and objective study tends to bring balance to this equation, as well as our business practice and endeavor.

Both BPM and Six Sigma deals with the dynamics of systematic, data-based experience and information, assisting us in our execution and operations, cutting costs and waste, growing our shareholder value and profits, methodically, strategically, coordinated, focused, with dedicated resources and combined effort. Experimentation and scientific study drives these philosophies into the core of our business world, practice and industries, to assist us in our local and global enterprise and pursuits.

Six Sigma is one such business management philosophy, methodology and hands-on practical approach for effecting change, delivering substantial and lasting results over time, leading to more efficiencies, reduced waste and cost. It draws on a proven set of tools and methods, problem-solving principles and tools, combining experience with fact-based analysis, leading to breakthrough performance.

On a macro and micro process-level, in a simultaneous, coordinated effort, we strive and work actively, in a planned and systematical, scientific way in an on-going pursuit to get better, increase and guarantee customer satisfaction, innovate and consistently deliver quality through lean and effective process - this is the noble pursuit of Six Sigma and BPM. It looks to change the status quo, with an eye on enterprise optimization, resource and business process management.

With Six Sigma business management strategy, principles and practice, even business process management, morphs into becoming about more than the mere processes themselves. It takes on a life of its own and in essence, represents business performance excellence management, that is on-going and never ends, it does not settle for less, compromise on quality, and does not merely want to get by and leave success/failure up to random chance per se, but takes an active role in effecting and executing it - and by doing so, excel (and continue to do so and even grow/expand), in the process!

Disciplined, analytical and focused on process and outcome customer voice, input, specifications, critical-to-quality factors and more are impetus, directives, guidelines, checkpoints, end-goals and the ultimate in pursuit is what is stands for and is all about!

Six Sigma as a philosophy purports a simple premise: DOING THE RIGHT, THING(S), RIGHT, THE FIRST TIME and consistently so, reducing uncertainties and variability, minimizing risk , while being focused on being a low-cost operator, reducing waste through prevention, not merely inspecting the way to quality - in essence 'fixing' the process(s), not just focusing on the outcome.

In that sense it does suggest a bit of the paradigm shift and counterintuitive requirements of these business management approaches, strategies and methodologies, that will take modern business into the next century, where it is all about not merely surviving, BUT thriving, building collaborative, mutually beneficial value-propositions, that represent a win-win for all parties and stakeholders.

Six Sigma then becomes the measurement and active management channel and utility of business and process risk. Setting stretch goals and benchmarks for excellence through a rigorous, disciplined hypothesis-driven problem solving that reminds somewhat of the scientific method, f act-based and data driven solutions to business and process issues, rather than relying, voting and operate based on guesstimates and opinions! As one Six Sigma guru put it: it is about measuring what we really do, not what we think we do, or think we should be doing. Six Sigma proposes diagnostics for design and improvement of new and existing processes, through the use of basic and advanced tools

Measurement is a fundamental value and belief of Six Sigma. This scientific pursuit and approach to business, is built on defining problems to solve and then solving them, teaching others and reaping the benefits, revisiting and keeping at it, for life! Some experts believe that it is the hardest step in any process and endeavor, to define something or what the problem seems to be, or process issues, in such as way that it can constructively be scientifically scrutinized and studied, (as expressed in metrics, data and statistics).

Bringing clarity and reference, evidence and reliability, facts and data, Six Sigma is both an overall approach to business process management as well as the tool and utility to execute it well. The relationship goes hand-in-glove!

A final word in closing: BPM and Six Sigma help us rise above mediocrity, as we are so often used to the way things are that, it rarely OR never even occurs to us, to think about them or to look for ways to change or improve them! Making the question 'how we get better' a new one entirely! This will require bold leadership and commitment from one and all.

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

Connections: Business Process Management and Six Sigma

One of the most powerful ways to improve business processes is combining business process management (BPM) strategies with Six Sigma strategies. BPM strategies emphasize process improvements and automation to drive performance, while Six Sigma uses statistical analysis to drive quality improvements. The two strategies are not mutually exclusive, however, and many companies have discovered that combining BPM and Six Sigma can create dramatic results.

BPM basics

Let's first take a look at the basics of BPM. It uses a four step method to create better processes and improve performance. The steps are as follows:

* Map the process (whether new or existing) from start to finish, capturing each step along the way

* Execute the process by using people and automated applications, with specific assignments of responsibilities and accountabilities for each step

* Manage the process through information flow, actions and related activities

* Analyze process performance and metrics, using findings as the basis for continuous process improvement

BPM has a strong base in software applications to help streamline and automate processes. At the software level, BPM is commonly applied within a single department or group to improve a specific process.

From the software level, BPM expands to a suite of software applications. The suite level enables BPM to link multiple departments or groups that affect processes. It promotes information sharing and accountability through use of a work portals where multiple users can share knowledge, documentation, and process management.

At its highest level, BPM expands to an enterprise-wide system. This level combines software and IT aspects with management practices to address broad structural and systemic issues within a business or organization. Business practices and operations are examined from a holistic standpoint, paying close attention to how occurrences in any one part of the system have a ripple effect across the organization.

Six Sigma basics

The concept of Six Sigma was developed at Motorola in the 1980's as they worked to improve the quality of their products and services. By implementing a systematic, rigorous routine, they were able to improve their products and increase customer satisfaction, thus increasing profits.

Six Sigma approaches business processes from a highly statistical standpoint. It incorporates three levels of activity:

* Metrics - statistical focus to make process outcomes 99.9997% defect free, otherwise expressed as 3.4 defects per million opportunities

* Methodology - structured approach to solving problems that uses specific tools and process mapping to achieve the metric goal

* Philosophy - the enterprise-wide embrace of defect reduction by making decisions based on hard data and customer focus

In short, Six Sigma allows an organization to reduce the variability in its products and services so that waste is reduced, efficiency is improved, and customer satisfaction is dramatically increased. Business problems are solved through rigorous application of data collection and analysis tools. The training that Six Sigma users receive is quite intensive, progressing through several increasingly sophisticated levels based on experience and accomplishment. Professional Six Sigma consultants and practitioners usually work to become certified at the various levels, increasing their ability to help guide development and implementation of Six Sigma methodology.

The methodology of Six Sigma is key to its success. An organization follows a five step progression that uses factual information and statistical analysis to address achievement of operational goals. There are some differences in the five steps depending on whether they are used to improve an existing process or design a new process. The end goal, though, is always to achieve the standard metric of 99.9997% defect free performance.

Combining BPM and Six Sigma

With this basic understanding of BPM and Six Sigma in mind, it is easy to see how powerful it can be to combine the two practices. Their strengths complement each other and create a synergy that infuses the entire operation with a focus on quality and performance.

The strength of BPM lies in its ability to automate processes and workflow through modeling and examination of inputs, outputs and performance. It is not as strong, however, in its ability to analyze data associated with very difficult or multifaceted problems. Six Sigma fills this gap by providing the statistical analysis needed to deal with complex problems.

The strength of Six Sigma lies in its rigorous approach to data collection and analysis. Through this process it is can identify even the smallest opportunities for process improvement, maximizing an organization's ability to institute necessary changes. It is not as strong, however, in its ability to monitor process improvements and ensure they are applied across the board. BPM fills this gap by providing tools to automate process improvements and connect those improvements across the entire organization.

Both BPM and Six Sigma represent significant commitments on the part of a business or organization, and they take time to implement them thoroughly. Tremendous organizational change is often required, leading most companies to start with a single department or pilot project and expand their use over a multi-year period. It is well worth the time and effort, though, to generate the substantial business improvements that are typical with BPM and Six Sigma.

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

Company Politics and Six Sigma by Peter Peterka

No grouping of human beings is without some amount of politics. Managing deployment of Six Sigma in your organization will unavoidably run into some personal issues and conflict. However, with deft handling of the personal and political issues that come up, along with patience and perseverance, your Six Sigma deployment will not get derailed.

Political factors that can affect a Six Sigma project include personal resistance to change, inflexible company policies, and incompatibility with existing organizational methods and goals. Not surprisingly, all of these factors also affect business processes of any kind. They are not unique to Six Sigma. This is one of Six Sigma's strengths: realistically acknowledging the way politics work in an organization. Six Sigma is not just number crunching. It understands the importance of and encourages the involvement of people throughout and at all levels of the organization working together toward a common goal. Six Sigma encourages planning, communication, and openness about processes, procedures, and information.

Many people see change, any change, as loss?a loss of their power or a loss of the security of the old way of doing things. Thus, people are prone to defend the old way, out of habit and out of unease. They wonder how change will affect them and what exactly happens behind the scenes and if they don't know, become apprehensive. This is a problem that can be overcome through communication. Six Sigma successes require clear and open communication at all levels. Any change in an organization will meet some resistance, either intentional or just from inertia. When management can effectively communicate that it is behind that change and can communicate the positive aspects of the change, resistance and ?turf? politics can be countered and overcome.

Another problem is people who disregard the value and power of Six Sigma and consequently, they are reluctant to support Six Sigma projects. To the uninitiated, Six Sigma may appear similar to or simply an evolution of other quality programs. There have been so many quality improvement fads over the years. It is not surprising that people are now a little jaded. Others may see Six Sigma as solely another cost-cutting or productivity enhancement fad. This is a short-sighted view. Six Sigma is neither a fad nor just another quality initiative. It is a ?way of life.? It is a multi-level, cyclical movement toward continual process improvement. The quality improvement fads sell themselves as cheap and easy quick fixes. The reality is that there are no quick fixes to significant process improvement. Six Sigma understands that; it is not a simple quick process. However, the right Six Sigma training and information will help people to understand that Six Sigma is significantly different; it is a robust continuous improvement strategy and process.

Once projects are begun, Six Sigma projects can become a battle of wills for control over which strategy, approach, or tool is used. Team meetings can devolve into arguments over which measurement to use, how it will be calculated, which charts will be generated, whether to use DMAIC or DMADV, etc. Six Sigma is not about making things more difficult. It is about using common sense to make things easier. It is certainly about recognizing that there is more than one road to improvement and more than one right answer to a problem.

In overcoming political problems, the leadership of senior management is critical. Successful Six Sigma programs are built on a solid organizational foundation. The organizational structure and system needs to be clearly identified and communicated to the entire organization to successfully implement Six Sigma Quality. Becoming a Six Sigma organization doesn't just happen. Planning and training goes into setting up a successful Six Sigma organization. Employee roles and responsibilities must be established and clearly communicated to all. For many companies successful in Six Sigma, the key factor has been the direct involvement of their top leaders.

Six Sigma is about getting everyone involved. A Six Sigma project forms a team of people who work together to identify problems and develop solutions. Such teams are not isolated teams rearranging the world for everyone else to live in. These teams are serving the organization by employing the skills and tools they have learned to increase quality and reduce defects. Instilling the team concept along with expert training will go a long way toward solving potential political troubles in your 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 Six Sigma Consulting please contact Peter Peterka at http://www.6sigma.us/.

joseph@sixsigma.us

Six Sigma Service at the Speed of Lean

Why Services are Special

The Ubiquity of Services:
We encounter services everywhere, from health care, hospitality, and transport to government, retail and financial services. Even within manufacturing organisations, a significant portion of the activities are service related.

The Visibility Challenge:
While services are everywhere, the steps involved in the processes are difficult to visualise. For instance where on a production line, you can directly see the amount of work in process, or measure lead time by following a work piece from one end of the process to the other, the same is not always possible with services. An observer would be hard pressed to say how much work in process a data analyst working mainly with his computer has.

The Prevalence of Waste:
Services are generally prone to waste. A major reason is that there is usually too much work in process. These may be sales orders, reports on a desk awaiting review or approval, emails to be responded to, or customers waiting to be served. Up to 90% of the time work spends in process it is just waiting.

Substantial work in process makes services slow, which drives up costs and makes them prone to poor quality.

Other common wastes include people moving around chasing information, documents looping back and forth where items are being clarified, interruptions etc.

The High Variation in Demand:
Services, particularly those dealing directly with customers generally face highly variable demand. Consider the case of hotel clerks checking in guests. There will be periods of low activity and at other times many guests will be in queue, waiting to be checked in. The situation is similar in a restaurant or shopping mall. The impact of such variation on WIP is significant.

The Relative Absence of Hard Data:
Service personnel are not accustomed to the same level of rigor in collecting and analysing data as their manufacturing counterparts.

Applying Lean Six Sigma to Improve Services

Define Improvement Targets on the Basis of VOC:
Use reactive and proactive means to listen to the voice of the customer.

Reactive methods are those where the customer takes the initiative through complaints, compliments, enquiries, web page hits, emails and the like. Reactive methods are good at detecting service weaknesses as customers will most likely contact you when they have problems.

Proactive methods are those where you take the initiative to gather customer information and include surveys, questionnaires, focus groups etc. This information ensures that improvement targets you set are based on customer needs.

Make the Relevant Processes Visible:
The relevant processes target for improvement should be observed and mapped. This is not very easy to do, considering the nature of services. However with the cooperation and involvement of stakeholders and process operators, a lot can be achieved.

For each activity in the process, information required in creating the value stream map include estimated cost per activity, process time, queue time, change over time, demand rate, complexity (number of different services processed at the activity), uptime and defects/rework. This data should be collected based on at least one week of observation. The resulting map is known as a complexity value stream map.

Determine the Time Traps (to prioritise projects):
Using a complexity value stream mapping software, the activities which contribute most to non-value added time will be visible. These are the time traps. Following from the Pareto law, usually 80% of the non-value added time can be accounted for by 20% of the activities.

Analyse the Time Traps to Determine their Causes:
A further output from the complexity value stream mapping software is the cost driver analysis. This specifies whether the source of the major time traps are primarily quality related, making them amenable to Six Sigma tools, operations related, which can be taken care of by Lean tools or complexity related which requires a streamlining or optimisation of the variety of service offerings.

Apply Appropriate Tools to Improve the Process:
The foregoing analysis having already pointed out the direction of improvement efforts, it is now left to apply lean methods to reduce setup time, reduce work in process or increase completion rates and six sigma methods to reduce the defects.

Huge opportunities translating to significant cost and time savings, along with quality improvements, exist in many service operations where typical process efficiencies are below 10% as against world class levels of 25-50%.

Samuel Okoro is the CEO of Leapfrog Alliance Ltd, a management training and consulting firm that helps organisations located in the African region to improve quality and reduce costs through better business processes. His personal passion is to help move African business to world-class levels. For further details please visit http://leapfrogalliance.com

Company Politics And Six Sigma

No grouping of human beings is without some amount of politics. Managing deployment of Six Sigma in your organization will unavoidably run into some personal issues and conflict. However, with deft handling of the personal and political issues that come up, along with patience and perseverance, your Six Sigma deployment will not get derailed.

Political factors that can affect a Six Sigma project include personal resistance to change, inflexible company policies, and incompatibility with existing organizational methods and goals. Not surprisingly, all of these factors also affect business processes of any kind. They are not unique to Six Sigma. This is one of Six Sigma's strengths: realistically acknowledging the way politics work in an organization. Six Sigma is not just number crunching. It understands the importance of and encourages the involvement of people throughout and at all levels of the organization working together toward a common goal. Six Sigma encourages planning, communication, and openness about processes, procedures, and information.

Many people see change, any change, as loss?a loss of their power or a loss of the security of the old way of doing things. Thus, people are prone to defend the old way, out of habit and out of unease. They wonder how change will affect them and what exactly happens behind the scenes and if they don't know, become apprehensive. This is a problem that can be overcome through communication. Six Sigma successes require clear and open communication at all levels. Any change in an organization will meet some resistance, either intentional or just from inertia. When management can effectively communicate that it is behind that change and can communicate the positive aspects of the change, resistance and ?turf? politics can be countered and overcome.

Another problem is people who disregard the value and power of Six Sigma and consequently, they are reluctant to support Six Sigma projects. To the uninitiated, Six Sigma may appear similar to or simply an evolution of other quality programs. There have been so many quality improvement fads over the years. It is not surprising that people are now a little jaded. Others may see Six Sigma as solely another cost-cutting or productivity enhancement fad. This is a short-sighted view. Six Sigma is neither a fad nor just another quality initiative. It is a ?way of life.? It is a multi-level, cyclical movement toward continual process improvement. The quality improvement fads sell themselves as cheap and easy quick fixes. The reality is that there are no quick fixes to significant process improvement. Six Sigma understands that; it is not a simple quick process. However, the right Six Sigma training and information will help people to understand that Six Sigma is significantly different; it is a robust continuous improvement strategy and process.

Once projects are begun, Six Sigma projects can become a battle of wills for control over which strategy, approach, or tool is used. Team meetings can devolve into arguments over which measurement to use, how it will be calculated, which charts will be generated, whether to use DMAIC or DMADV, etc. Six Sigma is not about making things more difficult. It is about using common sense to make things easier. It is certainly about recognizing that there is more than one road to improvement and more than one right answer to a problem.

In overcoming political problems, the leadership of senior management is critical. Successful Six Sigma programs are built on a solid organizational foundation. The organizational structure and system needs to be clearly identified and communicated to the entire organization to successfully implement Six Sigma Quality. Becoming a Six Sigma organization doesn't just happen. Planning and training goes into setting up a successful Six Sigma organization. Employee roles and responsibilities must be established and clearly communicated to all. For many companies successful in Six Sigma, the key factor has been the direct involvement of their top leaders.

Six Sigma is about getting everyone involved. A Six Sigma project forms a team of people who work together to identify problems and develop solutions. Such teams are not isolated teams rearranging the world for everyone else to live in. These teams are serving the organization by employing the skills and tools they have learned to increase quality and reduce defects. Instilling the team concept along with expert training will go a long way toward solving potential political troubles in your organization. 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.