| LEAN SIX SIGMA – AN OVERVIEW | | | | Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle. |
| | | | - DMAIC is used to improve an existing business |
| Six Sigma is a business management strategy, | | | | process; |
| originally developed by Motorola that today enjoys | | | | - DMADV is used to create new product or process |
| wide-spread application in many sectors of industry. | | | | designs. |
| Six Sigma seeks to identify and remove the causes of | | | | DMAIC |
| defects and errors in manufacturing and/or service | | | | The basic DMAIC methodology consists of the |
| delivery and business processes. It uses a set of | | | | following five steps: |
| management methods, including statistical methods, | | | | - Define process improvement goals that are |
| and creates a dedicated infrastructure of people within | | | | consistent with customer demands and the enterprise |
| the organization who are experts in these | | | | strategy. |
| methods. Six Sigma aims to deliver “Breakthrough | | | | - Measure key aspects of the current process and |
| Performance Improvement” from current levels) in | | | | collect relevant data. |
| business and customer relevant operational and | | | | - Analyze the data to verify cause-and-effect |
| performance measures. | | | | relationships. Determine what the relationships are, and |
| Business or operational measures are elements like: | | | | attempt to ensure that all factors have been |
| - Customer Satisfaction Rating Score | | | | considered. |
| - Time taken to respond to customer queries or | | | | - Improve or optimize the process based upon data |
| complaints | | | | analysis using techniques like Design of Experiments. |
| - % Defect rate in Manufacturing | | | | - Control to ensure that any deviations from target are |
| - Cost of executing a business process transaction | | | | corrected before they result in defects. Set up pilot |
| - Yield (Productivity) of service operations or | | | | runs to establish process capability, move on to |
| production | | | | production, set up control mechanisms and continuously |
| - Inventory turns (or) Days of Inventory carried | | | | monitor the process. |
| - Billing and Cash Collection lead time | | | | DMADV (also known as DFSS – Design for Six |
| - Equipment Efficiency (Downtime, time taken to fix | | | | Sigma) |
| etc.,) | | | | The basic methodology consists of the following five |
| - Accident / Incident rate | | | | steps: |
| - Time taken to recruit personnel and so on… | | | | - Define design goals that are consistent with |
| Six Sigma initiatives are planned and implemented in | | | | customer demands and the enterprise strategy. |
| organizations on “Project by Project” basis. | | | | - Measure and identify CTQs (characteristics that are |
| Each project aims not only to improve a chosen | | | | Critical To Quality), product capabilities, production |
| performance metric but also sustain the improvement | | | | process capability, and risks. |
| achieved. | | | | - Analyze to develop and design alternatives, create a |
| Each Six Sigma project carried out within an | | | | high-level design and evaluate design capability to |
| organization follows a defined sequence of steps and | | | | select the best design. |
| has quantified financial targets (revenue increase, cost | | | | - Design details, optimize the design, and plan for design |
| reduction or profit increase) | | | | verification. This phase may require simulations. |
| Six Sigma – Historical background | | | | - Verify the design, set up pilot runs, implement the |
| Six Sigma was originally developed as a set of | | | | production process and hand it over to the process |
| practices designed to improve manufacturing | | | | owners. |
| processes and eliminate defects, but its application | | | | |
| was subsequently extended to many other types of | | | | Six Sigma Implementation roles |
| business processes as well. In Six Sigma, a defect is | | | | One of the key innovations of Six Sigma is the |
| defined as anything that could lead to customer | | | | professionalizing of improvement management |
| dissatisfaction and / or does not meet business set | | | | functions. Prior to Six Sigma, quality and improvement |
| specifications. | | | | management in practice was largely relegated to the |
| The elements of the methodology were first | | | | production floor and to statisticians in a separate quality |
| formulated by Bill Smith at Motorola in 1986. Six Sigma | | | | department. Six Sigma borrows martial arts ranking |
| was heavily inspired by six preceding decades of | | | | terminology to define a hierarchy (and career path) |
| quality improvement methodologies such as quality | | | | that cuts across all business functions and a promotion |
| control, TQM, and Zero Defects, based on the work of | | | | path straight into the executive suite. |
| pioneers such as Shewhart, Deming, Juran, Ishikawa, | | | | Six Sigma identifies several key roles for its successful |
| Taguchi and others. | | | | implementation |
| Like its predecessors, Six Sigma asserts that: | | | | - Executive Leadership includes the CEO and other |
| - Continuous efforts to achieve stable and predictable | | | | members of top management. They are responsible |
| process results (i.e. reduce process variation) are of | | | | for setting up a vision for Six Sigma implementation. |
| vital importance to business success. | | | | They also empower the other role holders with the |
| - Manufacturing and business processes have | | | | freedom and resources to explore new ideas for |
| characteristics that can be measured, analyzed, | | | | breakthrough improvements. |
| improved and controlled. | | | | - Champions are responsible for Six Sigma |
| - Achieving sustained performance and quality | | | | implementation across the organization in an integrated |
| improvement requires commitment from the entire | | | | manner. The Executive Leadership draws them from |
| organization, particularly from top-level management. | | | | upper management. Champions also act as mentors |
| | | | to Black Belts. |
| How is Six Sigma different? | | | | - Master Black Belts, identified by champions, act as |
| Features that differentiate Six Sigma apart from | | | | in-house coaches and subject matter experts on Six |
| previous quality improvement initiatives include – | | | | Sigma. They devote 100% of their time to Six Sigma. |
| - A clear focus on achieving measurable and | | | | They assist champions and guide Black Belts and |
| quantifiable financial returns from any Six Sigma | | | | Green Belts. Apart from statistical tasks, their time is |
| project. | | | | spent on ensuring consistent application of Six Sigma |
| - An increased emphasis on strong and passionate | | | | across various functions and departments. |
| management leadership and support | | | | - Black Belts operate under Champions and Master |
| - A special organization infrastructure of "Champions," | | | | Black Belts to apply Six Sigma methodology to specific |
| "Master Black Belts," "Black Belts”, “Green | | | | projects. They devote 100% of their time to Six Sigma. |
| Belts” etc. to lead and implement the Six Sigma | | | | They primarily focus on Six Sigma project execution, |
| approach | | | | whereas Champions and Master Black Belts focus on |
| - A clear commitment to making decisions on the basis | | | | identifying projects/functions for Six Sigma. |
| of verifiable data, rather than assumptions and | | | | - Green Belts are employees who undertake Six |
| guesswork. | | | | Sigma implementation along with their other job |
| - The term "Six Sigma" is derived from a field of | | | | responsibilities. They operate under the guidance of |
| statistics known as process capability study. It refers | | | | Black Belts and Champions. |
| to the ability of processes to produce a very high | | | | |
| proportion of output within specification. Processes that | | | | |
| operate with "Six sigma quality" over the short term | | | | |
| are assumed to produce (long-term) defect levels | | | | Six Sigma Benefits |
| below 3.4 defects per million opportunities (DPMO).Six | | | | Leading companies have implemented Six Sigma and |
| Sigma's implicit goal is to improve all processes to that | | | | realized gainful results. Motorola has reported over |
| level of quality or better. | | | | US$17 billion in savings from Six Sigma as of 2006. |
| In recent years, Six Sigma has sometimes been | | | | Other early adopters of Six Sigma who achieved |
| combined with lean manufacturing (management) to | | | | well-publicized success include Honeywell International |
| yield a methodology named Lean Six Sigma. | | | | and General Electric (introduced by Jack Welch). |
| What is Lean? | | | | By the late 1990s, about two-thirds of the Fortune 500 |
| Lean is a philosophy and set of management | | | | organizations had begun Six Sigma initiatives with the |
| techniques focused on continuous “eliminating | | | | aim of reducing costs and improving quality. |
| waste” so that every process, task or work action | | | | Interested in launching Lean Six Sigma initiatives in your |
| is made “value adding” (the real output customer | | | | organization?eXample Consulting Group’s Lean Six |
| pays for!!) as viewed from customer perspective. | | | | Sigma Breakthrough Corporate programs for |
| Lean “waste elimination” targets the “Eight | | | | organizations are delivered as a structured |
| Wastes” namely: | | | | engagement covering: |
| - Overproduction – Making more than what is | | | | - Executive Overview |
| needed by customer / market demand | | | | Introduce Lean Six Sigma to the Top/Senior |
| - Over-processing - Doing more to a product/service | | | | Management from a strategic perspective |
| (but not perceived as value by customer) | | | | - Champion Program |
| - Waiting – For material, information, people, | | | | Create leaders in-company to identify breakthrough |
| equipment, procedures, approvals and more | | | | opportunities and oversee projects |
| - Transportation – Movement of products / items | | | | - Lean Six Sigma Green Belt |
| during or after production | | | | Blends Classroom with On-site project guidance to |
| - Defects – Errors, mistakes, non-complying | | | | develop Green Belt Practitioners |
| products, services, documents, transactions | | | | - Lean Six Sigma Black Belt |
| - Rework and Scrap – Products, transactions or | | | | Blends Classroom with On-site project guidance to |
| outputs not meeting specifications and have to be | | | | develop Black Belt practitioners |
| fixed, redone, rectified, marked down or scrapped / | | | | - Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt |
| unusable. | | | | Blends Classroom with Coaching to develop Subject |
| - Motion – Mainly people, document movement, | | | | matter experts |
| searching etc. | | | | - Design for Six Sigma |
| - Inventory – Buffer stocks or resources (Raw, | | | | Blends Classroom with On-site project guidance to |
| Work in process, FG, Bench staff etc.,) | | | | develop “Right First Time” Product and Service |
| - Unused Creativity – People knowledge and skills | | | | system designers |
| that are not utilized by the company | | | | Program coverage may include a blend of Consulting, |
| Wastes make the organization slow, inefficient and | | | | Training, Assessment, Certification, Onsite (or) Offsite |
| uncompetitive. Lean methods help to remove / | | | | Project Guidance, Audit and Advisory services |
| reduce waste and contributes to driving “business | | | | customized for vertical, domain and client specific |
| agility” (velocity) through smooth work flow across | | | | needs |
| the organization resulting in rapid fulfillment of customer | | | | Keen to learn Six Sigma?eXample Consulting Group |
| needs in an optimum manner. | | | | conducts high quality, immensely practical and superior |
| Six Sigma Methodology | | | | value Six Sigma and Lean Excellence public training |
| Six Sigma has two key methodologies: | | | | programs (for various certification levels) regularly at |
| DMAIC and DMADV, both inspired by Deming's | | | | major Indian cities. |