Communications And Six Sigma

Implementing new work techniques, strategies, or management systems in business organizations is often a daunting task for managers, as employees usually resist change. This is a fact acknowledged by several modern management theories. As such, any business organization that is planning to deploy Six Sigma needs to concentrate on building an effective communication system so that employee morale and productivity are not affected.

Employee Awareness Is Critical

Six Sigma projects are not limited to a particular set of employees or functional department and are effective only when the organization as a whole understands the need and scope of such projects. The philosophies and techniques used in Six Sigma need to be communicated to everyone in the organization through clear and open communication channels, transcending departmental barriers that would otherwise cause confusion. Making the employees aware about the positive aspects of Six Sigma and how it can help in improving their efficiency will allow managers to effectively overcome any resistance, either intentional or just because of inertia.

Methods And Processes

Teams comprising competent employees selected for implementing Six Sigma concepts in their work processes need to be provided with all of the requisite tools and information by the management. Various aspects involved in Six Sigma projects such as rationale, expectations, goals, and sequence of steps in the process need to be clarified beforehand to reduce confusion during the implementation stage. Case studies related to Six Sigma projects verify the fact that teams with clear goals and objectives achieve a lot more in a shorter period under all circumstances. As such, documentation of Six Sigma processes becomes all the more important for resolving any complications during the deployment stage. It is necessary to create a schedule, outlining the strategies that will help in effective implementation and take the process from its present state to one that is within statistical control and in line with the organization's Six Sigma goals. The schedule also needs to clearly define the role of every employee in relation to his/her contribution during the implementation stage.

Some Issues Of Concern

Lack of clear and effective communication channels is one of the main reasons responsible for frustration and underachievement when it comes to implementing Six Sigma concepts and philosophies. The problem is complicated, as it is very difficult to determine whether the communication provided by the management is enough or falling short of the organization's needs. Very often managers may believe that they are effectively communicating with the employees, but in reality, they may easily underestimate the number of issues on which employees need information.

Improving Communication

The best way of improving communications is to assess the situation from an employee's point of view. This way the management can easily decide the type of information needed by the employees, identify their confusions and worries, and select the most effective channel of communication. As communication is a two-way street, it is better to ask the employees themselves about their needs and expectations either through written or verbal contacts. The management can organize open-house sessions or get feedback through e-mails or questionnaires.

Be Realistic

The managers need to be aware that it takes time to develop effective communication systems and as such, they need to remain honest, clear, and compassionate for building trust among the employees. It is important not to promise anything that cannot be fulfilled, as nothing turns off employees more than the feeling of being betrayed. Genuine, considerate, and unvarying communication is thus essential for building employee engagement throughout the Six Sigma deployment process.

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.

Beginning a Six Sigma Initiative

You cannot have a project-specific vision when beginning a Six Sigma initiative. It is essential that you develop a perspective with a comprehensive and an all-encompassing viewpoint that reaches out of the scope of the project on hand.

Begin the Project Selection with the Right Initiative

Select the project for Six Sigma implementation after weighing priorities. This does not mean that you should dive at the most pressing problem first without looking at constraints. Here is a brief guideline for project selection as initiation of Six Sigma.

1. Not all projects incur or help save same amounts of money. This infers that apart from monetary considerations, you should look at weighted aspects such as simplifying draconian procedures, improvement of employee satisfaction and the potential to produce an outstanding and exemplary result that instigates further improvement projects.

2. Decision about Belts and their placement makes way for some of the tough steps while initiating a Six Sigma project. Analyze the long term cost benefits of recruiting Black Belts keeping in view the present day affordability. Grooming belts in-house is another proven option.

3. Subdividing the project deployment into 2 or 3 phases like the strategic phase, tactical phase and operational phase which systematically uses and follows statistical tools for analyses which help take the imperatives beyond the line employee level.

Scrutinize The Project Deployment Strategy In The Backdrop of Top and Bottom Line Improvements

Before you get going with the implementation, it becomes the imperative next step for the leadership to contrast the projected outcome of the project against the goals of management. The goals can be thought of as reflections of the Voice of Customers. Perhaps a pointed checklist may be very handy in critically questioning each strategic step of all involved phases.

Unless the draft strategy is scrutinized, you never know whether deployment can yield results or the whole exercise becomes a futile pipe dream. Brainstorming is another formidable tool that evolves a collective opinion on which foundation lies the legitimacy for the journey ahead. At no point in time can the project leaders and the Black Belts can afford to forget the huge sums of money at stake.

Monitoring and Factoring In the Midway Course Correction

There are unforeseen deviations that remain undetected and flowing parallel. Scheduled midway auditing by the internal or external Six Sigma auditing team must throw light on any deviation. The auditing team could be drawn from the implementation team of Black Belts with the Master Black Belt or the Champion to head it.

What you must keep in mind is that unchecked deviations could drive the deployment efforts in new undesirable directions uprooting the vision of management.

More Initiatives

Each organization must find its own way of coming out of a problem. Nothing depends entirely on the deployment team. Here are a few suggestions in this direction.

1. Establish the channels of communication for the Belts. 2. Establish a core group to implement the findings of the deployment team. 3. Keep training a constant activity. 4. Implement the survey outcomes of internal customers.

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 Customer Angle

The foundation of Six Sigma is customer satisfaction and cost reduction by using various metrics and statistical tools. This is a customer-focused approach equipped with strategies and discipline at all levels of administration, planning and production. Six Sigma is aimed at achieving only 3.4 defects per million opportunities.

Voice of the Customer

Six Sigma places highest priority on customer data input which provides the much-needed insight into what the customers need and what he or she is thinking about the products already on the market as a measure of performance. The design team needs to understand the requirements of the customer and predict whether the proposed (or the existing) design meets customer expectations.

How Is Customer Satisfaction Ensured?

All business activities are customer centric. Even the best product may not sell if it possesses useless value for the customers. A point in the case is the satellite phone Irridium? that Motorola developed some time ago. Although it was the first and the best in its class, it failed in the market because the customer did not find any value in that particular product.

1. Customer's Experience Of Defects and Costs: Customers have a different perspective about quality and cost. The variation in satisfaction levels across different market segments and regions needs to be analyzed as a first step towards reaching goals. In Six Sigma, customer input, however scattered it may be, when analyzed can be categorized making way for an in-depth understanding of company goals.

2. Product Relevance: The relevance of any product to the customer stems from its utility, cost and quality. A robust design is not just strong but simple, flexible and idiot-proof. It consistently produces a high level of performance despite huge variations in manufacturing and customer needs. Anything not adding value will not get customer attention.

3. Adjusting Process Capability to Customer Requirements: The need for adjusting the process capability is basically considered in DMAIC (a Six Sigma methodology for existing products), without putting significant burden on the cost. This begins with estimation of financial impact, feasibility studies of the technicalities involved and market uptake. The outcome of these studies will guide any process adjustments.

4. Controlling Process Variations: The uncertainties of processing are the variation that needs to be tackled as a critical step in achieving the 3.4 defect threshold. Uncertainties arise mainly due to a huge number of key elements in a process, outdated process steps and lack of control. Variability surrounding a product or process can be rooted out at the design and analytical stages.

5. Removing Roadblocks: The roadblocks for Six Sigma implementation can sometimes be within the organization, such as trans-jurisdictional roadblocks which sometimes threaten the effective implementation of Six Sigma. The Black Belts need Champions' intervention in removing these roadblocks.

6. Hitting the Finish line: Taking Six Sigma to its logical conclusion is no small matter, even for cash rich corporations. The millions of dollars that it takes for Six Sigma implementation and the long cycle for the results to show can unsettle even the strongest organizations. Finishing the task, despite allotment of huge funds, accessibility to knowledge base, depends primarily on the commitment level of senior leadership and a dedication to customer satisfaction.

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

What is Six Sigma?

What is Six Sigma ?

Six Sigma is a method or set of techniques that has also become a movement focused on business process improvement. It is a quality measurement and improvement program originally developed by Motorola that focuses on the control of a process to the point of ? six sigma (standard deviations) from a centerline, or put another way, 3.4 defects per million items. A Six Sigma systematic quality program provides businesses with the tools to improve the capability of their business processes. It includes identifying factors critical to quality as determined by the customer, reducing process variation and improving capabilities, increasing stability and designing systems to support the six sigma goal.

The objective of Six Sigma is to deliver world-class performance, reliability, and value to the end customer.

Application & Success :

Starting with manufacturing, today Six Sigma is being widely used across a wide range of industries like banking, business process outsourcing (BPO), telecommunications, insurance, construction, healthcare, and software.

Methodology :

Six Sigma has two key methodologies- DMAIC and DMADV. DMAIC is used to improve an existing business process. DMADV is used to create new product designs or process designs in such a way that it results in a more predictable, mature and defect free performance.

Roles Required for Implementation :

Six Sigma identifies five key roles for its successful implementation.

Executive Leadership includes CEO and other key top management team members. They are responsible for setting up a vision for Six Sigma implementation. They also empower the other role holders with the freedom and resources to explore new ideas for breakthrough improvements.

Champions are responsible for the Six Sigma implementation across the organization in an integrated manner. The Executive Leadership draws them from the upper management. Champions also act as mentor to Black Belts. At GE this level of certification is now called "Quality Leader".

Master Black Belts, identified by champions, act as in-house expert coach for the organization on Six Sigma. They devote 100% of their time to Six Sigma. They assist champions and guide Black Belts and Green Belts. Apart from the usual rigor of statistics, their time is spent on ensuring integrated deployment of Six Sigma across various functions and departments.

Black Belts operate under Master Black Belts to apply Six Sigma methodology to specific projects. They devote 100% of their time to Six Sigma. They primarily focus on Six Sigma project execution, whereas Champions and Master Black Belts focus on identifying projects/functions for Six Sigma.

Green Belts are the employees who take up Six Sigma implementation along with their other job responsibilities. They operate under the guidance of Black Belts and support them in achieving the overall results.

Specific training programs are available to train people to take up these roles.

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Six Sigma Solves Problems With An Unknown Solution

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Six Sigma Environment

It is not easy to implant the concept of Six Sigma into the culture of a company. This is because Six Sigma hardly bears any comparison with other quality management tools, barring a few similarities with Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award. But unlike the Baldridge Award, Six Sigma gets to the core of the business sphere with proven tools. But what really stands out as the major difference between Six Sigma and all other quality management tools is the whole army of highly trained employees coming from various professional and organizational backgrounds, not just from the quality assurance specialization. This is why they are called internal change agents.

It is irrelevant to say whether Six Sigma evolved as an alternative to other quality tools or management tools. However, some similarities can be seen between Six Sigma and other similar programs. Certain tools and concepts of continuity in improvement are shared across all quality programs. But it is the set of differences that make the Six Sigma environment a unique one.

Six Sigma Environment

At the core, the concepts of Six Sigma gels completely with the fundamentals of doing business. This is underlined in the basic emphasis that is given to total customer satisfaction, taking profitability to different sphere through maximization techniques. To quote an expert, “Six Sigma speaks the language of business”.

The success of Six Sigma depends a lot on the environment in which it is being implemented. The conduciveness of the environment for Six Sigma implementation is brought about when the vision of upper management is shared by everyone in an organization. This becomes clearer when seen against the backdrop of huge number of personnel working for it. It could be different in an ISO 9000 environment as the onus of implementation is relegated to the quality assurance department. Satisfied customers, a more realistic workload for employees, an improved work culture and finally a rising bottom line and profitability for the owners, are all contributors to the success of Six Sigma.

Linking Six Sigma to Financial Gains

Next, Six Sigma does not just focus on manufacturing or production-related activities alone, but the entire gamut of doing business. Cross-functional implementation coupled with recognizing opportunities for improvements in all key areas of business can be neglected but at the cost of relegating Six Sigma to the status of other traditional quality programs. The finance and planning departments are also included in Six Sigma implementation.

The powerful tools available with Six Sigma help to improve functioning of key departments. For example, marketing and sales can collect customer input. Feedback in the form of customer satisfaction levels can help the finance department adjust the accounting method to focus on predominantly costs and benefits. Human Resource can concentrate on rewards and recognition based on universal criteria, tracking employee satisfaction etc.

Business becomes “as usual” with Six Sigma once the project selection does not remain the sole jurisdiction of the quality team. When individual department heads begin to own responsibilities for business goals, the environment can be said to have arrived where it was expected. It is “business as usual” from here onwards within the Six Sigma environment.

Tony Jacowski is a certified Master Black Belt for Aveta Solutions – Six Sigma Online ( http://www.sixsigmaonline.org ). Six Sigma Online offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.