How it is that Six Sigma and Lean are complementary?

Six Sigma

• Emphasizes the need to recognize opportunities and eliminate defects as defined by customers
• Recognizes that variation hinders our ability to reliably deliver high quality services
• Requires data driven decisions and incorporates a comprehensive set of quality tools under a powerful framework for effective problem solving
• Provides a highly prescriptive cultural infrastructure effective in obtaining sustainable results

Lean

• Focuses on maximizing process velocity
• Provides tools for analyzing process flow and delay times at each activity in a process
• Centers on the separation of "value-added" from "non-value-added" work with tools to eliminate the root causes of non-valued activities and their cost
• The 8 types of waste / non-value added work
  Wasted human talent – Damage to people
  Defects – "Stuff" that’s not right & needs fixing
  Inventory - "Stuff" waiting to be worked
  Overproduction – "Stuff" too much/too early
  Waiting Time – People waiting for "Stuff" to arrive
  Motion – Unnecessary human movement
  Transportation – Moving people & "Stuff"

ISO 9001: 2000 /Design for Lean Six Sigma

'Customer satisfaction' is according to ISO 9001: 2000 and Lean Six Sigma (=statistic process control methodology with an emphasis on fast throughput processes) the most important quality aspect. A satisfied customer should get a product with a good price that will be delivered at the promised time with no errors or initial failures and requiring no exaggerated service. A satisfied customer has faith in the product and has absolutely no doubts concerning the reliability.
However, the customer only wants to pay for quality that fulfils his demand set. Because all quality characteristics can be quantified in money, no unnecessary costs should be added to the product that does not represent value for the customer. Amongst other these include:

• No costs for the repair of errors
• Minimalisation of overhead costs through shorter cycles
• Minimalisation of material, labour and energy costs
• No unnecessary goods transport
• Investments in conformity of production quantities

Six Sigma Process Model: DMAIC

• Define-Define the project goals and customer (internal and external) deliverables
• Measure-Measure the process to determine current performance; quantify the problem
• Analyze-Analyze and determine the root cause(s) of the defect or gap
• Improve- Improve the process by elimination defects of gaps
• Control-Control future process performance
  

Creating an affinity diagram may not be very valuable if:

1. The solution to the problem is simple
2. The situation demands quick, decisive action.
Making an affinity diagram will allow you to sift through large volumes of information and ideas with efficiency, however. It will also let truly new ways of looking at a problem or situation emerge for your consideration.

Take this course first, as it is the foundation for the Six Sigma series

The Six Sigma tools and techniques showcased in this fast-paced, interactive foundation course were first implemented by GE, AlliedSignal, Sony and Motorola. Learn how these companies succeeded in achieving dramatic cost savings and quality improvement through implementation of the DMAIC model. Then use the tools and techniques to capture these benefits for your own organization in your manufacturing, service and back-office operations. After completing this course and its exam, you will be Yellow Belt certified.

Waterfall and Six Sigma

At the highest level, the most commonly used software development lifecycle methodology, called the Waterfall Model, can be summarized as the following sequential series of steps:
1 Requirements and Specification
2. Design
3. Construction (Coding)
4. Integration
5. Testing
6. Deployment
7. Maintenance
From this high-level view, the Waterfall Model looks like an ideal process where the output of one step is the input into the next, finally resulting in the deployed software. Because of this process view, it would seem that Six Sigma, more specifically DMAIC, could help solve the issues outlined above and help improve the Waterfall process to deliver higher quality software on time.

Should we manage the software development process as such with Six Sigma?

In an earlier article, I define three different relationships that companies have with information technology: A primary technology company creates new hardware and/or software, a tertiary technology company uses those products to support its own business operations, and a secondary technology company helps tertiary companies figure out the products offered by primary companies. The process of software development is a business operation in its own right only for primary technology companies; for all others, it is simply a support function. Any method that treats software development at the same level as a true business operation is going to miss the target to some degree.
We have shown that software development is not a manufacturing process in any case. We have also shown that software development is a business process only when the core business of a company is software development. For secondary and tertiary technology companies, software development is only a supporting activity, and not a business process in its own right. Finally, we have shown that the underlying philosophies of Agile development and Six Sigma management are different. The former seeks to minimize administrative overhead to leave professionals free to do the right thing, while the latter depends on formal documents, hand-offs, and abstract data analysis to enforce quality on a process from without. Therefore, the question of whether Six Sigma applies directly to an Agile software development process in a tertiary technology company is answered by the first row in the truth table.

Six Sigma is more a matter of mindset and approach than of pure scientific rigor.

Sounds like the English word six was chosen to alliterate with the word sigma and because the Arabic numeral 6 looks pretty next to the Greek letter σ. The "science" basically goes downhill from there. But does that matter, provided the method yields the results we want? Let's think it through.

Is software development a manufacturing process?

It seems clear that if software development is a manufacturing process and a business process, then we may be able to apply Six Sigma to improve quality. Logically, if software development is not a manufacturing process or not a business process, then Six Sigma may not be a good fit.
Many people have lived and died by the belief that software development is just another form of manufacturing. Just look at all the attempts to realize the idea of a "software factory."
I keep saying that software development is fundamentally unlike a manufacturing process. If you are questioning everything (as you should be), then you must question that assertion, as well. If software development is unlike manufacturing, then what is it like?

Organizational impact

Six Sigma brings many changes in the work culture wherever it has been deployed, creating an open and transparent culture where ideas are invited from everyone, there is lack of hierarchy, and the focus is on a learning environment. It leads to quality thinking at every level and in every operation in a software development organisation.
The world over, the processes of different industry verticals such as manufacturing, cement, pharmaceuticals and software are much below the standard 3.5 level of Six Sigma—and the preferred requirement level is 4.8. A Six Sigma practice contributes significantly to the bottom-line of an organisation. It is estimated that the practice results in a contribution of about eight percent to the bottom-line, though of course it varies from project to project and company to company.

Problems, Resources and Results

If needed, you can change your process to reduce or eliminate this variability or error. Six Sigma methodology tells you when to take action to solve a problem. It moves an organization to consistently meet the requirements and minimize the resources used in its management system. And it creates the desired results for which the system was designed.

Six Sigma, Pyramids and Systems

A 'sigma' refers to the standard deviation from the mean of a population. Standard deviation indicates the likelihood that your next data point will deviate from the mean of the data set.
At the bottom of the Six Sigma pyramid begins a system’s current process capability. Usually at 1 or 2 Sigma levels is “tribal” knowledge based on first-time experiences. An organization moves up the pyramid to 3 Sigma as systems are put in place. To hit 4 Sigma, statistics and modeling tools are used for significant process improvement. And, finally, to aim for that near perfection, organizations apply DFSS, or Design for Six Sigma.

Lean-Six Sigma Customized Training

Implement Six Sigma Quality with Lean Speed and maximize profit by achieving the fastest rate of improvement. Lean and Six Sigma work best together because:

• Lean alone cannot bring a process under statistical control.
• Six Sigma alone cannot dramatically improve process speed.

Decrease non-value added activities in your management system! Lean-Six Sigma Goals:
1. Deliver in 50-80% less time.
2 Reduce manufacturing costs by at least 20%.
3. Reduce work in process/increase cash flow.
4. Reduce non-value-added activities from your costs.

What is Lean Management Certification?

The Expert Rating Lean Management Certification provides you with an in-depth understanding of a Lean enterprise and the philosophy behind lean manufacturing. Lean is a continuous improvement process that focuses on the elimination of waste and delivery of higher standards of quality, speed and efficiency. Lean manufacturing, which was earlier considered as a set of tools has transformed into a total solution to pursue business. This certification course covers all the Lean principles and Lean tools, together with the necessary examples to help you understand how the lean enterprise works.

Why Lean and Six Sigma?

• Six Sigma will eliminate defects but it will not address the question of how to optimize process flow.
• Lean principles exclude the advanced statistical tools often required to achieve the process capabilities needed to be truly "lean".
• Each approach can result in dramatic improvement, while utilizing both methods simultaneously holds the promise of being able to address all types of process problems with the most appropriate toolkit.

Program Implementation and Project Steps

Once an organization has decided to implement the Six Sigma methodology, there are some initial steps that need to be completed:

• Develop process maps for core processes, key sub- processes and enabling processes, and assign a process owner for each.
• Develop a measurement dashboard or scorecard for each process. (all measures for a given process)
• Develop a data collection plan (measure options, data sources, collection forms, etc.)For each dashboard process and collect sufficient data.
• Create project selection criteria and weight factors for choosing projects which should include impact on business objectives current process performance, current process cost or financial impact, feasibility (difficulty, use of resources, time commitment),etc.
  

Six Sigma Green Belt Course Methododlogy:

Our approach to developing Six Sigma Black Belts and Green Belts is based on an Action Learning Model. This model combines online instruction with real-time project implementation and training.
The course-training syllabus of six sigma is based as per the guidelines of Quality Council of India (QCI).
In Six Sigma, the concept of quality encompasses manufacturing, commercial and other service functions of an organization because all these functions directly or indirectly affect products/service quality & customer satisfaction.

Why is Six Sigma so popular?

Six Sigma methodology has recently gained wide popularity because it has proven to be successful not only at improving quality but also at producing large cost savings along with those improvements. Some spectacular Six Sigma "success stories" at large corporations have been widely publicized and they captured the imagination of many business leaders.
Many other companies have also reported savings of literally astronomical magnitude after incorporating Six Sigma methodology across their manufacturing facilities. For example, Motorola (the leading member of a consortium of companies that developed the Six Sigma approach) reported over 11 billion dollars in savings since Six Sigma started spreading over its factories 12 years ago. Allied Signals reported over 1 billion dollars in cost savings due to Six Sigma in just a few years.

Who are Six Sigma champions?

• The business leaders who are trained in the principles of six sigma methodology
• Persons involved in the selection of projects that support their business goals.
• Persons who are active in making the teams successful, offering resources, breaking down barriers, helping in inter-team coordination, and tracking team progress along with helping with inter team coordination.
• The leaders who can align, support, and integrate the Six Sigma approach and methodology in their organization.

Why Six Sigma and ISO 9000 as a quality system?

In essence, ISO 9000 requires you to:
* Say what you do
* Do what you say
* Record what you did
* Check on the results
* Act on the difference
In effect, ISO 9000 up to now(but not including the Year 2000 standard which is just now getting out to the world)can be thought of a BASIC, ENTRY-LEVEL quality program. It only consists of the basic stuff, nothing that would excite your financial people, or delight your customer base.
There is NO requirement to:
* continually improve the process
* to discover and reduce/eliminate sources of variation
* to actively promote employee involvement

Where should I look for Six Sigma project opportunities?

Six Sigma projects typically address a business problem that keeps a process from producing optimal results in cost, quality, or delivery in the eyes of your customer. The following are the most frequent situations to look for:

• Prevalent complaints or negative survey responses from customers (poor quality, missed deadlines, high costs, etc.)
• Rework and manual intervention have become the norm
• Long cycle times and multiple hand-offs exist
• Output quality is unpredictable
• "Variety" is killing efficiency

Six Sigma as a Business Improvement Methodology

Six Sigma is a set of practices originally developed by Motorola to systematically improve processes by eliminating defects. The term "Six Sigma" refers to the ability of highly capable processes to produce output within specification. As a quality control metric, "Six Sigma" equates to 3.4 defects per one million opportunities (DPMO). Six Sigma's implicit goal is to improve all processes to that level of quality or better.
Six Sigma methodology focuses on the implementation of a measurement-based strategy to achieve the process improvement and variation reduction. This approach is based on two basic Six Sigma models: DMAIC process (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control) and DMADV (Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, and Verify). The Six Sigma DMAIC is an improvement system for existing processes falling below specification and looking for incremental improvement. The Six Sigma DMADV process is an improvement system used to develop new processes or products at Six Sigma quality levels. It can also be employed if a current process requires more than just incremental improvement.

Six sigma history

Since the 1920's the word 'sigma' has been used by mathematicians and engineers as a symbol for a unit of measurement in product quality variation. (Note it's sigma with a small’s’ because in this context sigma is a generic unit of measurement.)
In the mid-1980's engineers in Motorola Inc in the USA used 'Six Sigma' an an informal name for an in-house initiative for reducing defects in production processes, because it represented a suitably high level of quality. (Note here it's Sigma with a big 'S' because in this context Six Sigma is a 'branded' name for Motorola's initiative.)
(Certain engineers - there are varying opinions as to whether the very first was Bill Smith or Mikal Harry - felt that measuring defects in terms of thousands was an insufficiently rigorous standard. Hence they increased the measurement scale to parts per million, described as 'defects per million', which prompted the use the 'six sigma' terminology and adoption of the capitalised 'Six Sigma' branded name, given that six sigma was deemed to equate to 3.4 parts - or defects - per million.)
In the late-1980's following the success of the above initiative, Motorola extended the Six Sigma methods to its critical business processes, and significantly Six Sigma became a formalized in-house 'branded' name for a performance improvement methodology, ie., beyond purely 'defect reduction', in Motorola Inc.
In 1991 Motorola certified its first 'Black Belt' Six Sigma experts, which indicates the beginnings of the formalization of the accredited training of Six Sigma methods.
In 1991 also, Allied Signal, (a large avionics company which merged with Honeywell in 1999), adopted the Six Sigma methods, and claimed significant improvements and cost savings within six months. It seems that Allied Signal's new CEO Lawrence Bossidy learned of Motorola's work with Six Sigma and so approached Motorola's CEO Bob Galvin to learn how it could be used in Allied Signal.

What types of projects are the teams working on?

Our project teams are working on a variety of projects ranging from establishing the best method to fully utilize our trailers to improving our first time delivery rate for furniture to determining the best way to buy specialty print for our sales catalogs. In 2003 many of our black belts conducted a complete process analysis of the building or operation they support resulting in significant improvements in our 4-wall productivity across the Macy's Logistics and Operations network. Our black belts are intimately involved in every aspect of the Macy's Logistics and Operations businesses.

Statistical Meaning of Six Sigma

the term sigma is a Greek alphabet letter (σ) used to describe variability. In Six Sigma, the common measurement index is DPMO (Defects Per Million Operations) and can include anything from a component, piece of material, or line of code, to an administrative form, time frame or distance.
A sigma quality level offers an indicator of how often defects are likely to occur, where a higher sigma quality level indicates a process that is less likely to create defects.
Consequently, as sigma level of quality increases, product reliability improves, the need for testing and inspection diminishes, work in progress declines, cycle time goes down, costs go down, and customer satisfaction goes up.

Six Sigma Quality and Total Customer Satisfaction

Significant improvements in lumen output can only be achieved in an environment where there are effective process controls and standards. At Lamina our goal is to continually develop the brightest LED light engines and lamps that have characteristic variations so minute that a typical distribution will maintain the Six Sigma process average.
Lamina strives to maintain total customer satisfaction and the highest level of quality and reliability through stringent product validations, application of DMAIC principles in problem solving, and value added customer support.

Six Sigma Scenarios Include:

• Track key metrics through automated data collections in easy-to-generate reports
• Make flexible process changes
• Map customer data to process data
• Enforce correct steps while providing transparency into bottlenecks using structured processes
• Automate paper processes in easy-to-use interfaces

Why Become Registered?

In today's world, where quality competition is a fact of life and the need for a work force proficient in the principles and practices of quality management is a central concern of many companies, Registration is a mark of excellence. It demonstrates that the registered individual has the knowledge to assure quality of products and services. Registration is an investment in your career and in the future of your employer.

TAP Air Portugal and Six Sigma

TAP Air Portugal is now implementing the Six Sigma methodology in order to enhance the continuous improvement and the Quality from the Customer point of view. In a few words Six Sigma is a practical and simple methodology oriented to process improvement and to increase the Quality level.
The European Six Sigma Club is an association of Companies with a common goal: improve the Quality and develop all the resources to reach it.
ESSC wants to empower and increase the European Business contribution to the World Economy, in order to increase the continuous improvement of Quality in Europe by fostering the Business & Service Organizations excellence.

Six Sigma Training

We have two Six Sigma e-learning courses; Introduction to Six Sigma and Six Sigma Tools and Techniques.
The Introduction to Six Sigma training package is aimed at those who are new to Six Sigma, or require an overview of Six Sigma. Lasting approximately 3 hours, it touches on Six Sigma concepts, Green & Black belts, the need for Six Sigma, Process Metrics, Cost of poor quality and DMAIC amongst others. This is the first of our e-learning training courses to be available over the internet.
Six Sigma Tools & Techniques is aimed at Six Sigma yellow belts and Six Sigma green belts explaining how Six Sigma is used. This course is divided into the 5 Six Sigma phases (Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve and Control) and teaches Six Sigma tools such as Stratification, Pareto Analysis, Scatter Diagrams, Designed Experiments and a wide range of other Six Sigma tools, and lasts about 10 hours.

UNL Six Sigma Certification

The sigma in Six Sigma refers to the Greek symbols, which designates a standard deviation in statistics. The six refers to the number of standard deviations from a mean specifications should be.
From the early days of improving the robustness of design at Motorola. Six Sigma has morphed into an organization-wide program for improvement involving hierarchical training, organizational learning, and pay for learning.
Six Sigma is an advanced quality improvement approach designed to tackle most quality problems.

Six Sigma as an infrastructure for saving money.

Reducing defects will save you money. Reducing process variation will save you even more money. Doing six sigma the General Electric, Motorola, or Allied Signal way will save you a lot of money as well, but not any more money necessarily than a well-developed and soundly supported quality circle program would have in the 1980s. That's the real irony of this 'new' definition of six sigma. In a lot of ways, what is now being sold as THE way to do business is essentially repackaged theory from 15 to 20 years ago. Unfortunately, most quality circle programs in the 1980s failed because (1) teams were allowed to pick their own projects, (2) team members weren't properly trained about the costs of doing business, (3) not enough support resources were provided to help guide, train, and lead teams, and (4) circles were seen more as a benefit for employees instead of being the only right way for getting the projects a company needs to have completed ... and completed quickly.

Design for Six Sigma fits best when:

• Process or product is new (does not exist); or
• The problem is so bad that old process needs to be discarded
• Customer requirements need to be well-defined
• Resources are available for a detailed effort

Our Commitment to Service and Quality

Our customers trust us to deliver service and quality- and they also expect us to keep on innovating to help keep their fleet management costs down. Masterlease aims to constantly research and invest in new products in order to enhance our service and offer the best level of quality possible. Our commitment to service and quality means that we strive to ensure our full service leasing products deliver consistently and efficiently.

Introduce your workforce to the principles of Six Sigma

Six Sigma Start-Up introduces the principles and practices of Six Sigma to your employees. By explaining key concepts, it prepares your employees to support your Six Sigma efforts. Your employees will gain appreciation for the powerful Six Sigma tools and will recognize that Six Sigma is a way of doing business; not just a another program of the month.
Designed for operators, engineers, supervisors, and managers, Six Sigma Start-Up familiarizes employees with Six Sigma terminology, and teaches them the role of the environment, tools, and infrastructure in a successful Six Sigma process. After completing Six Sigma Start-Up, employees are ready to take the next step, whether it is Black Belt or Green Belt training. Supervisors and managers will have a better understanding of their role to make Six Sigma a success.

Implementation of Roles in Six Sigma Methodology

There are many roles that that are used in the Six Sigma Methodology. While most of the roles below are used in many organizations Six Sigma implementation, it should be noted that they are not universal. The roles include:
Executive Leadership - Top level executives are responsible for vision and ultimately implementation of the Six Sigma Methodology. They also empower others to take initiative and ownership of the Six Sigma principles.
Champions - Champions are usually upper management that is responsible for the implementation of Six Sigma throughout their organization.
Master Black Belts - are usually hand picked by Champions to coach others within the organization on the Six Sigma methodologies. They allocate either all or most of their time to the Six Sigma methodologies. It should also be noted, that they usually have mentoring responsibilities to coach and train lower roles including Black Belts and Green Belts (see below)
Experts - while this role is not in every organization, it can play a huge role in major engineering or manufacturing sectors. They improve overall services, products, and processes for their end customers.

Sigma Works Features:

• Six Sigma tools including Architecture Importance Matrix, FMEA, Cause and Effect Matrix, Control Plan, SIPOC and Decision Trees
• Six Sigma calculators including statistical tables and queuing analysis
• Monte Carlo simulation of complex functions consisting of multiple random inputs
• Optimization of complex functions that can be nonlinear and random
• Project planning tools including Gantt chart, PERT chart, lead time, org charter and project EVA
• Management tools including deployment planner, organizational EVA and risk/return summary

Four Core Principles of Engagement

1. Manage by outcomes, not behaviors - In other words, although the end remains constant, the means to achieve that end will inevitably vary between individuals.
2. Liberate, don’t legislate - The most dramatic increases in productivity occur when companies allow workgroups to choose their own initiatives and focus on them. Anything that makes employees passive viewers instead of active participants in the employee-customer encounter is counterproductive.
3. Engagement is for everyone - The ability to capture the heads, hearts, and souls of employees and instill an intrinsic desire and passion for excellence.
4. All politics is local - Companies cannot dictate employee engagement from corporate headquarters. They must manage engagement locally. To this end, the local manager is the single most important factor in local group performance.

Six Sigma Project Tracking Software has two objectives

• Substantially reduce costs and accelerate the implementation of process improvement initiatives
• Automate operational processes and administrative overhead, which leads to significant cost reductions, better operational control and visibility and improves the organization's project delivery and service capabilities
  

Six Sigma - mind map it with Mind Pad

Six Sigma is a highly structured program for improving business processes. Support Six Sigma process with mind mapping and Mind Pad.
Six Sigma in action:

• Describe processes that you want to improve/control.
• Add some index to the object and define your out of tolerance range. Measure your processes and Analyze why the problem occurred.
• Improve the process to stay with tolerance. Redesign the process to meet customer’s needs.
• Control the process to stay within goals. Verify if the changes have met customer needs

Why did this happen?

• This happened because the Japanese products offered better features at lower prices with excellent customer-care. The industry in USA and Europe got a terrible jolt and it took them some time to decipher the reasons for Japan's success.
• Motorola was one of the first organizations in USA to understand the secrets of Japan's success. They were facing a major threat in the field of electronic components and as a response they developed the Six Sigma approach to manage the quality and pricing of their products / services.

What are the advantages of enrolling for an accredited course?

• You are assured of a standardized and evaluated curriculum.
• You achieve a qualification that is internationally recognized.
• You are taught by expert-faculty who have been thoroughly trained and tested for imparting lean six sigma training.

How popular is Lean Six Sigma Management system in India?

• In the last 8 to 10 years, many organizations in India have been adopting Lean Six Sigma in their quest for reducing defects, achieving process excellence and improving the organization’s profitability.
• In fact today, the businesses in India and other parts of the world, are experiencing a shortage of qualified Lean Six Sigma professionals.
  

More Six Sigma Tools

Here are the rest of the Six Sigma tools:
T-Test: In Six­ Sigma, you need to be able to establish a confidence level about your measurements. Generally, a larger sample size is desirable when running any test, but sometimes it's not possible. The T-Test helps Six Sigma teams validate test results using sample sizes that range from two to 30 data points.
Control Charts: Statistical process control, or SPC, relies on statistical techniques to monitor and control the variation in processes. The control chart is the primary tool of SPC. Six Sigma teams use control charts to plot the performance of a process on one axis versus time on the other axis. The result is a visual representation of the process with three key components: a center line, an upper control limit and a lower control limit. Control charts are used to monitor variation in a process and determine if the variation falls within normal limits or is variation resulting from a problem or fundamental change in the process.
Design of Experiments: When a process is optimized, all inputs are set to deliver the best and most stable output. The trick, of course, is determining what those input settings should be. A design of experiments, or DOE, can help identify the optimum input settings. Performing a DOE can be time-consuming, but the payoffs can be significant. The biggest reward is the insight gained into the process.

Outcomes of the Design Team Implementation Workshop

• Understand the history and market forces driving the implementation of Lean Six Sigma
• Know the components of a Lean Six Sigma System
• Understand the 5-step DMAIC problem solving process
• Understand the critical success factors for a Lean Six Sigma quality system
• Understand the requirements for organizing and implementing Lean Six Sigma
• Understand the structure required to successfully implement cultural change
• Describe the major considerations in selecting Black Belt candidates
• Identify Critical Success Factors - Identify Improvement areas
• Develop the awareness package for the organization

What is the goal of Six Sigma?

The goal is to achieve robustness by moving progressively toward a Sigma Performance Level of 6. At this level the process is robust against undetected process shifts; that is, variation is small enough relative to the requirements that a shift will not result in more than a few defects in a million opportunities.

Should my company pursue Six Sigma, Lean, or ISO 9001?

It is not an either/or proposition—these programs are complementary, and your organization should be pursuing all three.

• ISO 9001 is a model for quality management systems. It provides a foundation for process management by helping to define the processes needed to obtain the planned results.
• Six Sigma is a model for designing, managing, and improving process results. It focuses on the effectiveness or accuracy of the process.
• Lean Enterprise is a model for designing, managing, and improving process flow. It focuses on the efficiency or speed of the process.
  

Six Sigma and holistic design for World Class Manufacturing

Six Sigma has become the way many businesses are run. In this hyper competitive global environment companies need every edge they can get to say ahead and thrive. Six Sigma offers a complementary set of tools and methods that can enable Indian companies to deliver world class performance.
Despite all the progress India has made, there is little presence of Indian products in the west. Further, many business professionals and executives in the U.S. are already shying away from doing business with India because the quality delivered is rather unpredictable. This has huge implications for India, and we believe the change has to start with the right education at the right time. India faces a touch challenge from countries such as Brazil, Hungary, Russia, and China of course, and the competition will heat up in the near future.
Six Sigma offers tools, techniques, and philosophical approach that has withstood the test of time and these needs to be driven at all levels in any organization. Adaptation may be needed due to uniqueness in your business; however the adaptation should be suited to Indian conditions.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion participants will be able to:

• Describe Six Sigma origins and its evolution to address the type of work and business focus in their work areas.
• Effectively lead Six Sigma teams (perhaps more than one simultaneously)
• Support Green Beltso Reviewing plans, data, and analysis work
• Developing ‘chalk talks’ to transfer learning on topics ‘on demand.’
• Act as a key liaison to management, diagnosing performance a set of Green Belt projects.
• Communicate status of groups of projects to leadership and stakeholders.

Key dependencies

Successful Six Sigma implementation relies on a basic framework being in place:

• Six Sigma methods assume a leadership capability and team structure (sponsors, champions, process owners, green belts, black belts). If the leadership and roles are not in place the method is significantly weakened.
• Six Sigma assumes there is an agreed and well-understood top level down business process model known and in place. If this is not the case then the detailed process design work is done in isolation of the overall business model, which can be disastrous.
• Six Sigma assumes that the business, including IT, understand the purpose and mandate of the method and how it will integrate to other methods such as the system development life cycle, organization design methods and change management methods. This is often not the case, resulting in confusion and rework by analysts from these teams.

Key Features:

• Provides guidance for using the Six Sigma approach successfully in IT service organisations.
• Show how to merge ITIL and Six Sigma into a single approach.
• Demonstrates how IT can be made to work as an enabler to better business processes.
• Show how they are a perfect fit of improving the quality of IT service delivery and support

The reasons are not hard to find:

• Six Sigma Black Belt training demands decisions based on fact using the DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyse, Install, Control) , SIPOC, (Supplier, Input, Process, Output, Customer), VOC (Voice of the Customer) approach and decision making based on fact using such tools as SPC and DOE. rather than untested opinion
• In addition to all the recognised Six Sigma Black Belt tools, The DHI approach embraces the ‘Lean’ concept of operations management. This includes JIT, SMED, Cycle time reduction, TPM, Kaizen (Quality Circles), Hoshin Planning, Policy Deployment (Often referred to as Balanced Score Cards), Customer focussed Design for Six Sigma incorporating Concept Engineering, the Kano Model for determining Customer needs, product Development based on the principles of QFD.
• Supply Chain management development.
• Preparation for later upgrading to Master Black Be