Six Sigma Training



             


Wednesday, February 13, 2008

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.

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Tuesday, February 12, 2008

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.

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Saturday, December 1, 2007

Six Sigma – Business Realities

There are criticisms about Six Sigma which say that the methodology is an elitist technique. Through all this, Six Sigma has proven itself to be a highly effective management tool. Most of the incidences of roadblocks to Six Sigma have come from external sources. In the rare events of its failures, they are ultimately determined to have been caused by improper training of belts or Master Black Belts, not because of system errors.

How the Business World Looks at Six Sigma

Six Sigma is looked upon as a strategic business tool in the business circles, notwithstanding what others would like to think. However, it is regarded as the ultimate tool of improvement and profitability, able to both meet and exceed customer expectations and increase customer satisfaction levels.

Factors That Determine Six Sigma’s Success

Typically Six Sigma’s success depends a lot on two things. They are the steadfast commitment by top management to implementation and the success of the black belts as implementers.

The commitment of the top management is necessary until the completion of the program. The reasons cited for the lack of interest by management are basically financially oriented. Hefty consultation fees in millions of dollars that run for years and the training cost for the belts are the main reason - because Six Sigma takes time to implement, to show results and impact return on investment, the expenses incurred in Six Sigma implementation bears heavily on the bottom line of the company.

In addition to these reasons, there are roadblocks hit by black belts. These require intervention by Champions to diffuse tensions and resolve problems in implementation. These problems can be in the form of non-cooperation from a specific business division. Competition between divisions in the company can cause a few sparks to fly. In cases like these, upper management needs to take quick and decisive action to diffuse the tensions. If this fails, it can result in lack of motivation of the team.

The question on whether or not the belts succeed depends a lot on the training and their experiences. But unfortunately there is a big gap here as there is no centralized training or and no standardization. Universities, private institutes and corporations train Six Sigma candidates. Due to this, it is observed that there is a big question mark over the quality of training. Belts from different training backgrounds can fail to make a solid team, as there are chinks in Six Sigma training uniformity due to disparities in training levels.

Summarized View

You can summarize the business realities faced by Six Sigma as follows: 1. Huge cost and time required for implementation

2. Slow showing of financial benefits and customer satisfaction

3. Possibility of management losing interest midway

4. High cost of consultants

5. Skirmishes between the belts and the rest of the staff threatening team cohesiveness

6. Elitist notion of 6 sigma professionals; income disparities with the staff demotivate the latter

7. Financial benefit: 0.5% to 1% per project

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.

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