Six Sigma Technology Online

Six Sigma quality improvement concepts and methodologies were originally devised for use in the manufacturing sector but with the development of newer technologies, Six Sigma is now increasingly being implemented in the services sector as well.

The basic aim of Six Sigma implementation projects is to reduce wastage of scarce resources by reducing the number of defects to less than 3.4 per million opportunities that exist for such defects to occur. Six Sigma quality improvement techniques provide accurate results because they make use of statistical analysis tools. These tools are quite effective when it comes to reducing variations in a product or service.

Why Online Training

Six Sigma projects are normally implemented under the supervision of Six Sigma professionals such as Green Belts, Black Belts, and Master Black Belts. The services of these professionals are necessary for ensuring that the implementation is completed within the planned schedule and within allocated costs. The only problem is that these professionals often charge hefty amounts as fees, which may not sometimes be too costly for a company. The best option then is to train existing employees so that they can get the requisite certification and in-depth knowledge about Six Sigma concepts and methodologies.

However, enrolling employees for a regular course is not recommended because the costs can be quite high. Another thing is that in regular courses, employees will have to attend regular courses, which will result in wastage of precious productive time. The best option is to provide online training that offers the same level of certification such as Green Belts and Black Belts. Since Six Sigma is currently the highest quality standard, it is always better to opt for reputed online training courses. It would be better if the online training course is nationally recognized and is designed to cater to different types of professionals such as engineers, technical managers, and analysts. Skills developed through the training program will then help these professionals in reducing defects in manufacturing, developing and in providing services.

What To Look For In An Online Six Sigma Course

Six Sigma online courses are selected according to the level of training a company is aiming to provide to its employees. However, it is always better to opt for an all-inclusive online course that covers most of the operations related aspects of a business such as general management, design, production, services, and even customer satisfaction.

The course should also include an introduction to Total Quality Management (TQM), leadership issues in organizations, project handling skills, quality improvement processes, use of statistical tools such as diagrams and charts, and other related topics. Such a course will empower the employees with specialized knowledge and skills that will help them during Six Sigma project implementations.

Online courses for existing employees are increasingly being preferred because companies do not have to spend top dollar for the training. Another reason is that by training their employees, companies are now able to harness their existing talent pool and reduce their dependence on the services of Six Sigma professionals. All these factors indicate that the future certainly belongs to online Six Sigma training.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solutions - Six Sigma Online ( http://www.sixsigmaonline.org ) offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.

Applying For - And Getting - That Six Sigma Job

There is a growing demand for people with Six Sigma certification and expertise as companies realize the many ways in which the Six Sigma methodology can help their organizations grow and improve. Six Sigma has grown beyond its manufacturing origins with many government agencies and service providers now advertising for Six Sigma help. More importantly, even small companies are taking on Six Sigma consultants or full-time staff, which implies that the demand for Six Sigma professionals will only increase in the coming years.

Six Sigma Job Categories

There are many junior- and senior-level Six Sigma openings across a wide range of industries. The positions and job descriptions are oftentimes unique to the company and its requirements. Admittedly, many of these positions are filled internally, as companies train their own people in the Six Sigma methodology so that people already familiar with the corporate culture are provided with the needed skill sets. On the other hand, these same organizations often reach outside for help, seeking out experienced people to either lead, or implement full-scale Six Sigma projects throughout the company.

Six Sigma Job Openings

Many companies openly advertise job opportunities that are clearly Six Sigma based (e.g., Six Sigma Analyst or Six Sigma Black Belt). Others, however, advertise openings for positions that are not obviously Six Sigma openings such as Functional Project Lead, Director of Operational Excellence, Business Project Manager, or Senior Projects Manager.

Job openings such as these are usually for people with Six Sigma Black Belt capabilities ? someone trained in the Six Sigma methodology with experience in leading cross-functional process improvement teams. These people are tapped to lead individual Six Sigma teams.

Companies sometimes advertise for Six Sigma Master Black Belts to fill organization-wide Six Sigma program manager positions, in effect taking over very senior positions within the organization. The successful applicants will be tasked to lead the company?s Six Sigma implementation, oversee Black Belts and process improvement projects, and guide the Black Belts as needed. These positions will require the highest level of Six Sigma experience and qualifications.

Meeting Six Sigma Job Criteria

The primary requirement for a Six Sigma job is, of course, to be trained in the Six Sigma methodology, ideally as a Six Sigma Black Belt. This requires formal training from qualified Six Sigma consultants who have long experience in training and implementation of Six Sigma. Often, a request is made for those with a specific background such as in Six Sigma DMAIC or DFSS methodology.

Companies recognize experience as being the best teacher, however, so many establishments express strong preference (if not outright demand) for people with hands-on experience in completing at least one Six Sigma project.

Aside from Six Sigma training and project experience, companies have a preference for those with background experience (usually at least five years) in their particular industry or business. Management experience is another plus factor and this is usually a requirement by companies looking for a Six Sigma project team leader. Managing projects within structured environments, and proven management skills (as indicated by successful project implementation) will be a definite advantage in your favor, because companies in the initial stages of Six Sigma application will be looking for people who will lead and facilitate business teams as well as Black Belts and Green Belts through the process.

Other requirements

If you are applying for a Six Sigma position, you need to show that you have an excellent understanding of processes and quality methodologies as well as a willingness to grab the initiative and take the lead in making changes.

Another vital skill will be the ability to link strategy to execution. You need to show that you are able to look beyond surface issues and concerns: consider strategic business issues from a detached, clinical perspective, and use this as a springboard for developing and implementing creative and practical solutions to problems identified.

Steven French is a recruitment consultant to http://www.UteachRecruitment.com - the specialist UK teaching jobs recruitment agency. Visit Uteach Recruitment to find your perfect UK teaching job today. Note: We have lots of great Science teaching jobs available now!

Choosing A Six Sigma Program

Business organizations all across the globe are deploying Six Sigma concepts and techniques for improving the quality of their products or services. This has created the need to educate employees about the various Six Sigma concepts and techniques that improve quality and help in offering better products and services than those offered by competitors. This is necessary, as quality products or services are primary requirements for the long-term success of any business organization.

Training Is Necessary

Any company planning to empower its employees with the various Six Sigma concepts and philosophies needs to enroll them in a Six Sigma program for getting the requisite training and qualifications. However, companies often become confused when it comes to selecting the most appropriate Six Sigma program. Conducting online research does not help in solving matters, as search results list thousands of training organizations, most of which are labeled as 'premier', 'best' or 'rated # 1'. For selecting the most appropriate Six Sigma program, companies need to look beyond the labels and concentrate more on the details of the training program.

How To Select The Right Training Process

Companies need to decide whether they need a standardized certification program or a simple learning program that imparts basic knowledge about Six Sigma. If certification seems necessary then it is important to ask training organizations about the type of certification provided by them and their student pass rates. Companies often send their employees for training in batches and as such only those training organizations need to be short listed that offer discounts on training large number of candidates. Expenses on training can be lowered even more by entering into a contract with the training organization.

Venues For Training

A program that can be conducted off-site in the same town or nearby area is far better than programs that are conducted far away from the company's location, as costs of hotels, airfare, meals, and others can increase overall training expenses. Companies need to ask potential trainers about the type of resources that they use in their training programs and how much of it can they bring along in case of off-site training.

Due Diligence

Companies need to interview potential trainers and ask questions regarding their past corporate relationships, referrals, total number of candidates trained by them till date, training materials used, earlier projects they have worked on, and their qualifications. This is necessary, as companies want trainers that have a great deal of real-world experience. Spending thousands of dollars on learning something that can be learnt by just reading books will certainly be a waste of money and effort.

Six Sigma programs are classified according to their depth and specialization. Just as in martial arts, white belts, yellow belts, green belts, brown belts, black belts, master black belts, and champions represent Six Sigma levels. Programs offered may include DMAIC, DFSS, Lean, Kaizen, Fishbones, SIPOC's, MiniTab, Process Maps, SAS, Change Management, Force Field Diagrams, and Project Management. Companies can select any one of these or a combination of these depending on the level of specialization that they think is necessary for achieving the desired Six Sigma goals and objectives.

Some Cautions

Companies need to make sure that the individuals who provide training are the same ones who have been interviewed. This is necessary because often, training organizations try to woo potential clients with their most competent trainers and actually send junior level professionals when the contract is signed. A lot of money is spent on training employees. Therefore, it is necessary to consider every detail before signing the training contract with the training organization.

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

Lean Six Sigma Implementation Basics

Lean Six Sigma methodologies are a combination of standard 6-Sigma quality improvement techniques and lean manufacturing principles that are used for speeding up business processes. 6-Sigma methodologies focus on reducing defects in business processes, whereas Lean 6 Sigma does not only eliminate defects but also improves the speed of a process and reduces waste by eliminating non-value added steps in a business process. Combining 6-Sigma and lean manufacturing principles is like combining the contents of two different toolboxes that help companies to improve quality and efficiency.

Compatibility

Depending on the type of methodologies used by an organization, Lean Six Sigma is often referred to as Lean Service, Lean Manufacturing, and Lean Enterprise. These concepts are compatible with standard Six Sigma methodologies and can be applied to every type of business processes. Both the concepts use similar strategies and methods and focus on improving business processes that serve customer needs. Both focus on identifying and eliminating sources of waste and processes that do not add value for maximizing output, efficiency, and throughput. They emphasize providing requisite training for enabling employees of an organization to understand the tools and processes of the methodology. Both concepts encourage the involvement of senior managers and key mentors within an organization for ensuring that quality improvement projects are executed without affecting the day-to-day operations.

Lean 6 Sigma uses different techniques for reducing costs, reducing production cycle times, expanding capacity, and improving productivity. It uses "value stream mapping" for identifying improvement opportunities. However, Lean Six Sigma concepts may sometimes prove inadequate in solving some of the more complex problems that call for advanced analysis.

Benefits

Standard 6-Sigma methodologies follow a disciplined, data driven approach and use statistical tools for analyzing quality at every stage of the production process. When combined with Lean manufacturing principles, it helps in identifying and resolving quality issues. Its successful implementation is important in reaping quick results and enabling employees and plant managers to harness better work patterns on plant floors. Lean Six Sigma programs are executed under the guidance of 6-Sigma Champions and Black Belts for enhancing the efficacy of quality improvement initiatives. It is necessary to deploy lean manufacturing techniques during the Six Sigma implementation process for ensuring that the improvement process includes a standard problem-solving approach.

Lean Six Sigma focuses on adding value to manufactured goods or services rendered by eliminating defects in every business process. This helps in building customer loyalty, as customers often prefer products and services that offer consistent quality. The matrices used in Six Sigma help in identifying customer needs, manufacturing quality products and rendering quality services.

Lean Six Sigma concepts and methodologies are based on a highly sustainable approach that gets easily integrated with the existing work processes within an organization. It requires the involvement of employees at all levels within an organization. The deployment of 6-Sigma programs can initiate a culture shift within an organization that helps in eliminating waste within the production process.

Lean Six Sigma helps in ensuring future success of an organization by radically improving quality and reducing waste. It also allows employees within an organization to design and develop new business processes that will help in making drastic improvements to the organization's performance.

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

Six Sigma - The Historical Perspective

The quest for perfection is second only to human survival instincts. These are the two reasons that were solely responsible for civilizations to flourish. That we are wearing clothes today as a symbol of the quest for perfection and innovation should reinforce this statement.

Was There A Conscious Effort To Develop Six Sigma Into A Competitor To Existing Systems?

This is a na?ve and unfounded question, as Six Sigma was developed as independently as any other school of quality management systems. If we value the famous quote of M.K. Gandhi that the end result justifies the means, then it clarifies the need to have more than one quality system.

Evolution Of Six Sigma

Six Sigma has its roots in the early industrial era of Europe during the 18th century and was introduced with just one conceptual normal curve metric by Carl Frederick Gauss. In the 1920s Walter Shewhart showed how 3 sigma deviations from the mean required process correction. Later, a Motorola engineer, Bill Smith, coined the term Six Sigma, which was then copyrighted by Motorola.

The Japanese Mark

The ever quality-conscious Japanese perfected the Six Sigma concept when they took over a Motorola factory in 1970, which manufactured TV sets. The new Japanese management set out on a mission to change the way activities were going on in the factory, placing high emphasis on all activities leading to production. With their zealous approach they later begin producing TV sets with just a 5% number of defects in comparison to the original records under Motorola.

Motorola's Contribution

Mikel Harry, who is regarded as the godfather of Six Sigma, along with Bill Smith, the father of Six Sigma, wrote and codified a research report on the quality management system, which highlighted the correlation between the performance of a product in the market with the amount of adjustment required at the point of manufacturing. This report clearly established that the lesser the number of nonconformities at each stage of manufacturing, the better the performance. The report paved for implementation of "logical filters", a key approach to problem solving. With the then Motorola CEO, Bob Galvin, playing a key role, later this four stage logical filter came to be known as the skeleton of the present Six Sigma. The four stages, then identified, were Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control (MAIC).

A New Road Map

With the results of the efforts of Mikel Harry and Bill Smith paying rich dividends, Motorola's Corporate Policy Committee had set goals for further improvisation of the system by declaring (in 1989) that they would achieve ten times better quality in service and products, with further improvement to 1/10th by 1991.

Galvin was instrumental in spreading the sense of quality in every sphere of business activity until total customer satisfaction was achieved. Until now, Motorola's approach was limited to a disciplined statistical approach to problem solving. This approach still got Motorola the coveted Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

Major Contributors On Its Journey To Perfection

We can't forget the contributions made by Unisys Corp in 1988. Asea Brown Boveri in 1993 developed Six Sigma into its current form, which places importance on bottom lines and customer satisfaction. The current form of Six Sigma has implementation being carried out by key role players: Champions, Master Black Belts, Black Belts, and Green Belts.

Since then, the Six Sigma methodology has been and is applicable to different industries. The evolution of Six Sigma continues.

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

Six Sigma Champions & Master Black Belts

The responsibility of developing a Six Sigma company successfully rests as much on Champions & Master Black Belts as it does on Black Belts and Green Belts. But the importance of their roles in the implementation can't be understated, as the necessary contribution from them is substantial. A Champion is a leader bestowed with authority and the huge responsibility of overseeing the smooth and complete implementation of Six Sigma.

If someone were to explain the role of champions in one breath, it would be that of removing roadblocks. Roadblocks can be sticky issues that Black Belts alone can't handle. Champions are looked up to for diffusing cross-territorial issues between black belts and upper management in the company through pacifying and mediation. They relieve black belts to focus on the problems on hand.

A Champion's Role Can Be Summarized Into Four Areas:

These four points underline the position and character of champions in a Six Sigma organization.

1. Their familiarity with the entire business and operational areas but without the interfering in the day-to-day operations with the black belts. This provides them with an opportunity to focus on potential improvements.

2. Project selection, which usually comes under a microscope following reports to top management - this sometimes causes career-limiting fears in champions. Driving out this fear takes effort at both the ends with top managers being 'educated' by Six Sigma providers/consultants. The project selection element is crucial and alignment of interests with the needs of management has to be explained in the proper perspective beforehand.

3. Deployment of the program. The importance of this point arises because of the need for financial decision making. The Six Sigma provider, whether he is interested in the success of implementation or primarily concerned in improving financials, is pivotal to the success of the program. Even before the results begin to align with expectations of upper management, it can come under fire.

4. The accountability question; failures are most often attributed to champions. It is often said that "there are no such things as unsuccessful Black Belts, just unsuccessful champions". This should highlight the importance of their unenviable position.

Master Black Belts

There are no universal definitions or training manual for Master Black Belts until they differentiate themselves from Black Belts by exhibiting extraordinary abilities and a high degree of propensity for problem solving. They are often devoted to working hard and are self-starters & self-reliant. They could, with some additional Six Sigma training intended to broaden the Black Belts' skills, be prepared for assuming a position where they are able to achieve higher goals and face bigger challenges. The strategy of the mass Six Sigma training of Black Belts will not succeed even if a small percentage of them were to pass Six Sigma training unless they demonstrate that they are able to solve complex problems well. The ease with which they handle crises must indicate their affinity to take on more responsibilities as a fundamental qualification.

Implementation of Six Sigma is more than just having the skills and knowledge of implementation tools. It is the exuberance and the fire to excel that counts in addition to the all-important drive for quality.

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

Six Sigma and Upper Management

The one ultimate reward that counts for any business organization is improvement of bottom line profitability and the return of satisfied customers. This end result must justify all the initiatives taken by upper management. Upper management utilizes a tool called "cost of poor quality (or "COPQ") as a barometer for evaluating six sigma projects. Apparently, it is the only way to get upper management to accept six sigma. The upper echelons of corporations have come to realize the importance of six sigma for its tangible economic benefits.

understand the value of upper management support for quality/process improvement top down fully, when you learn that management does not realize the importance of investing that extra time and money in quality improvement or lacks the commitment. Let's be straight forward, this scenario is not uncommon. Six sigma has such lasting power and broad scope that transcend departments and exposes the need (though not always) for change in organizational structure. Both of these would be hard battles to fight unless strong management support was present. Resistance of this type could be due to organizational inertia, or it could also be intentional.

Six sigma calls for long haul, complete and in depth implementation, which is definitely not for the faint of heart. It is possible only if your organization has 100% commitment from top management. This is why experts place blame on upper management for the failure of six sigma. Only continuous, rock solid support, monitoring and encouragement from the top brass only can prevent the failure of six sigma. Straightforward intentions for implementation should come from a customer centric viewpoint and a desire to produce quality services/products.

The continuity of the program requires undivided and dedicated monitory support until the end of the project. Upper management identifies the need, sets the ball in motion and provides continuous support (managerial and financial), which is the lifeline for the success of six sigma implementation. If these elements are not present, achieving the stated goals over a long period of time become difficult, if not impossible. One initial green light from management will not suffice; it takes continued commitment and engagement to inspire and motivate the people involved until the end.

Six sigma is a complete quality management and turn around system. As such, it identifies organizational shortcomings, wherever there are. With upper management on board, implementation stages can be monitored; midway course corrections can be suggested and any possible roadblocks at various steps of implementation can be overcome. As you can see, six sigma can be successfully implemented with the commitment of complete organizational support.

What upper management needs to understand is that six sigma is a widespread and far- reaching quality improvement program where it has to play a critical role in order to see ultimate business goals succeed. Although the various 'belts' implement six sigma, they are selected, trained and motivated by top management for the implementation of six sigma methodology. The upper management until the very end must support them. Only in this way can six sigma bring about significant and long lasting results to the organization.

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

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

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 In A Small Business

As a small business owner, you will eventually sense the need for Six Sigma implementation in your business. Typically, yours is a 3-5 year old company on the threshold of expanding your operations to meet the growing customer expectations but is cornered to optimize your resources on generating more sales than anything else. Small companies in the bracket of 50-100 employees (most of them being non technical) and revenue of $10-15 million find themselves in this fix. The predicament at this stage is one of a person who is caught between a tiger and cliff.

Finding A Way Out Of The Jam

The situation needs to be given a rational thought concerning how many resources can be afforded and whether the time has really come for Six Sigma. The cost of hiring consultants being hardly affordable, you have to explore options like hiring a Black Belt and having some of your employees trained in-house for Green Belt positions.

What you probably don’t want to miss out on in hiring an experienced Black Belt, although expensive, are the benefits you get because of her/his domain knowledge and experience. Her proven track record will have the best chances of outweighing the initial cost benefit of grooming in-house Black Belts. An experienced Black Belt helps by bringing the focus immediately into a pressing issue on hand which is crucially important to the organization. Alternately, your best man with brilliant analytical and leadership skills may be trained as a Black Belt, and you may enroll in a Champion Session.

The trouble with this kind of an arrangement is whether you can afford to lose your best person from his current job. Enrolling Black Belts, can be an option for you, but you must realize that it takes some time before the new Black Belts get acclimatized with your scheme of things. At the same time, Green Belts, most often being part-time, don’t need to be of high skill. Choosing a few reasonable persons from your organization will suffice. A great Black Belt can take minor shortcomings of Green Belts in stride and things will eventually balance out.

Resolving The Issue Of The Master Black Belt

Even an experienced Black Belt will need the support of a Master Black Belt. The vacuum can be felt typically when the Black Belt finds herself in a logjam. A typical case could be one of technical or organizational reasons. But hiring Master Black Belts is a costly proposal. Secondly, growing and training Master Black Belts in house is also impractical. You will have to hire a consulting Master Black Belt.

But getting a professional is not easy, especially when many of them are more interested in increasing ‘their-hours-in-work’ than in the task. You can consult your state’s ‘Manufacturing Extension Programs’ or a trusted contact to refer you to a consulting Master Black Belt. In any case, with you at the helm of affairs, you will know when to pull the plug when something is not working out.

Caution Is The Word

Probably you would want to go one project at a time. Assessing your progress at intervals should direct the course of action. Brainstorm with your internal team to decide on activities to go for Six Sigma and which of the activities are measurable. Establishing measurability and metrics beforehand is important.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solutions – Six Sigma Online ( http://www.sixsigmaonline.org ) offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.

Six Sigma In A Small Business

As a small business owner, you will eventually sense the need for Six Sigma implementation in your business. Typically, yours is a 3-5 year old company on the threshold of expanding your operations to meet the growing customer expectations but is cornered to optimize your resources on generating more sales than anything else. Small companies in the bracket of 50-100 employees (most of them being non technical) and revenue of $10-15 million find themselves in this fix. The predicament at this stage is one of a person who is caught between a tiger and cliff.

Finding A Way Out Of The Jam

The situation needs to be given a rational thought concerning how many resources can be afforded and whether the time has really come for Six Sigma. The cost of hiring consultants being hardly affordable, you have to explore options like hiring a Black Belt and having some of your employees trained in-house for Green Belt positions.

What you probably don’t want to miss out on in hiring an experienced Black Belt, although expensive, are the benefits you get because of her/his domain knowledge and experience. Her proven track record will have the best chances of outweighing the initial cost benefit of grooming in-house Black Belts. An experienced Black Belt helps by bringing the focus immediately into a pressing issue on hand which is crucially important to the organization. Alternately, your best man with brilliant analytical and leadership skills may be trained as a Black Belt, and you may enroll in a Champion Session.

The trouble with this kind of an arrangement is whether you can afford to lose your best person from his current job. Enrolling Black Belts, can be an option for you, but you must realize that it takes some time before the new Black Belts get acclimatized with your scheme of things. At the same time, Green Belts, most often being part-time, don’t need to be of high skill. Choosing a few reasonable persons from your organization will suffice. A great Black Belt can take minor shortcomings of Green Belts in stride and things will eventually balance out.

Resolving The Issue Of The Master Black Belt

Even an experienced Black Belt will need the support of a Master Black Belt. The vacuum can be felt typically when the Black Belt finds herself in a logjam. A typical case could be one of technical or organizational reasons. But hiring Master Black Belts is a costly proposal. Secondly, growing and training Master Black Belts in house is also impractical. You will have to hire a consulting Master Black Belt.

But getting a professional is not easy, especially when many of them are more interested in increasing ‘their-hours-in-work’ than in the task. You can consult your state’s ‘Manufacturing Extension Programs’ or a trusted contact to refer you to a consulting Master Black Belt. In any case, with you at the helm of affairs, you will know when to pull the plug when something is not working out.

Caution Is The Word

Probably you would want to go one project at a time. Assessing your progress at intervals should direct the course of action. Brainstorm with your internal team to decide on activities to go for Six Sigma and which of the activities are measurable. Establishing measurability and metrics beforehand is important.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solutions – Six Sigma Online ( http://www.sixsigmaonline.org ) offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.