lessons in six sigma

six sigma, sản xuất

in

Six Sigma

Copyright © Debashis Sarkar, 2004

All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage

or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

First published in 2004 by

Response Books

A division of Sage Publications India Pvt Ltd

B-42, Panchsheel Enclave New Delhi 110 017

Sage Publications Inc Sage Publications Ltd

2455 Teller Road 1 Oliver’s Yard

Thousand Oaks, 55 City Road

California 91320 London EC1Y 1SP

Published by Tejeshwar Singh for Response Books, typeset in 10.5 pts Palatino by Innovative Processors, New Delhi, and printed at Chaman Enterprises, New Delhi.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

HD62.15.S26 2004 658.4 ¢013—dc22 2004003805 Six Sigma is a registered trademark of Motorola, Inc.

ISBN: 0-7619–9843–8 (US-PB) 81–7829–367–6 (India-PB) Production Team: Roshni Basu, R.A.M Brown and

In the memory of my late father

Shri Subhendu Sarkar

Who led a life of Six Sigma Excellence.

This book is dedicated to the following people who worked silently to make me a better

human being

Fr Joseph Lombart

Dr R K Patel

Mr Ashok Mittal

Lesson 1

Six Sigma is a structured problem-solving

methodology which is a powerful lever

Lesson 2

It’s the CEO and only the CEO who can make

Six Sigma successful in an organization 5

Lesson 3

Take the members of the senior management

team on board with a champions workshop 8

Lesson 4

Precede Six Sigma deployment with an

Lesson 5

Create a deployment platoon for the execution

Lesson 6

The responsibility for the success of Six Sigma

Lesson 7

Improvement with Six Sigma entails finding

and working with critical X’s in a process 21

Lesson 8

Build solid infrastructure pillars to support

Lesson 9

Appoint a marketing manager for selling

and marketing Six Sigma as a product to

Lesson 10

The quality council should drive Six Sigma

Implementation across the organization 32

Lesson 11

Bolster Six Sigma projects with a solid

Lesson 12

Becoming a master Black Belt requires

a practical demonstration of adeptness

in coaching, teaching, facilitation,

Lesson 13

When hiring a Consultant for Six Sigma

deployment, ensure that all laid down

Lesson 14

Beware of the Consultant who gives a

Proposal to improve an Organizational

Business Process all by itself, without

Lesson 15

Continuously evaluate the effectiveness

Lesson 16

The composition of the Six Sigma project

Lesson 17

During the First Year of Six Sigma

implementation, focus of deployment

Lesson 18

Appoint a Dashboard Manager who

is entrusted with the responsibility

Lesson 19

Six sigma deployment should precede

with the identification of Core Business

Lesson 20

Do not take up Improvement Projects

in the cafeteria during the early days

Lesson 21

Black Belts should not carry out small

improvement projects (read: Green Belt

projects) in the garb of those being Black

Lesson 22

The project charter is a tool to manage,

control and approve Six Sigma projects 70

Lesson 23

Scripting the problem statement right

Lesson 24

An effective Six Sigma deployment requires

a holistic mechanism to capture the voice

Lesson 25

It is important to focus on the Right Measure

to ascertain the efficacy of a process 79

Lesson 26

Together with Sigma levels keep an eye

Lesson 27

While executing DMAIC projects do not

take short cuts Follow all the steps 86

Lesson 28

It is imperative that all Six Sigma projects

Lesson 29

Just by calculating the potential benefits in the

beginning and accrual benefits at the end of

a project, will not get the ‘wow’ from either

Lesson 30

Six Sigma methodology is just not for

manufacturing organizations It can be

deployed in service organizations as well 96

Lesson 31

Be on top of meetings Let them be enablers

Lesson 32

Before setting out to do a Six Sigma project

Lesson 33

The organization should have an effective

methodology to ensure that there is a

Lesson 34

All improvement ideas need not qualify

as candidates for Six Sigma project 110

Lesson 35

Creating the right organizational structure

is essential for Six Sigma deployment 112

Lesson 36

Before determining the sample size and

sampling plan, ascertain if the data for

measurement is from a moving process

or is it from a stagnant population 115

Lesson 37

Understand the key terms and the steps

Lesson 38

DPMO is a good concept but be alert

about the confusions it can create Mindlessly

increasing the Opportunity Levels can

Lesson 39

Do not be satisfied merely with Yields,

commence with the calculation of a

Lesson 40

You can unfurl the non-value added

activities in your process from DPU

levels by a measurement called the

Lesson 41

Defects in a Six Sigma process without

a shift is 2 Defects Per Billion and not 3.4

Lesson 42

Get a sense of whether Six Sigma is delivering

value through the measurement of Quality

Lesson 43

When a process capability is reported,

ascertain if it is a long-term or short-term

Lesson 44

People at the top should have a gut feel

Lesson 45

As a Six Sigma change agent, master the art

Lesson 46

A defect is one which does not meet

Lesson 47

Do not wait for problems to occur to initiate

improvements through Six Sigma projects

Proactively take actions when precursors

and evidences to a problem are seen 150

Lesson 48

Look at processes end-to-end while taking

Lesson 49

Do not launch Six Sigma with the sole idea

of saving cost for your organization 156

Lesson 50

Select the best performers to take up

Lesson 51

Be extremely meticulous about the Book of

Knowledge being followed by the trainers to

prepare your Black Belts or Green Belts 161

Lesson 52

ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management System

serves as an excellent platform for Six Sigma

Lesson 53

Banish waste by enmeshing Lean Thinking

Lesson 54

Appoint a Chief Process Facilitator for all

Six Sigma team processes in your company 171

Lesson 55

While focusing on primary metrics

do not forget to keep the secondary

Lesson 56

Six Sigma deployment may be a mirage

for small sized companies but there are

Lesson 57

Do not get perturbed if data points

in your Six Sigma project have a

Lesson 58

Deployment of Six Sigma does not

come cheap Keep this in mind before

setting out on a Six Sigma journey 183

Lesson 59

Avoid pre-conceived solutions from getting

Force-fitted into a Six Sigma methodology

Lesson 60

The Human Resource Department

cannot be a sleeping partner

Lesson 61

Six Sigma framework does not act

at cross purposes in an organization’s

journey towards achieving business

Lesson 62

Once processes are improved using Six Sigma

methodology, it is important to take an all

encompassing approach to ensure that the

Lesson 63

Process audits are an integral part

Lesson 64

Use Brown Bags to make your employees

refresh their knowledge on Six Sigma tools and

Lesson 65

Bolster your Six Sigma journey with a Solid

Lesson 66

Remember to work on mistake-proofing when

Lesson 67

Be ruthless if Six Sigma objectives

Lesson 68

In case control charts are not being used

by process team members, replace it

Lesson 69

Six Sigma is not an off-the-shelf solution

Lesson 70

Statistical thinking should be a way

of life in a company working towards

Lesson 71

Six Sigma project team leaders need

to have focus, good relationships,

communication skills, ingenuity and

excellent project management skills

to translate the charter into results 229

Lesson 72

Do not be complacent if processes have

Six Sigma is probably one of the best methodologies topervade the world of improvements What differenti-ates Six Sigma from other quality methodologies is itsmeasurements orientation, rigorous training scheme,process centricity and stakeholder involvement Thetools in Six Sigma are not new but its direct linkage tobusiness objectives and priorities, makes it a powerfulstrategy in business

However there is a word of caution……

Six Sigma is a great methodology but often fails todeliver sustained benefits when we forget the small littlethings that make a large difference This book unfurlssome of those little things which are often lost andmissed during Six Sigma implementation The Lessonsare essentially learnings captured during Six Sigmadeployment The lessons may be ‘common’ andmundane but are quite ‘uncommon’ in workplaces

As far as possible the book has been kept bereft ofjargons so that it can be understood by all and just notSix Sigma professionals

A book like this does not happen easily without thehelp of people who work and support silently behindthe scenes

l Chapal Mehra (Managing Editor, Response) andSunanda Ghosh (Head Marketing-Sage) foralways acceding to my unreasonable requests.This is not my first book with Sage but I can justsay its always a delight working with the team atSage.

l My mother, my wife Sudeshna and my little oneTrisha who have borne with my selfish pursuitswhich is often at the cost of spending time withthem

Please note that the lessons in this book are

as observed/experienced by me as a student ofquality and Six Sigma It is quite possible that youmay not agree with some of them Should youhave any feedback please feel free to write to me atdebashissarkar4@yahoo.com

Debashis Sarkar

Lesson 1

Six Sigma is a structured problem-solving methodology which is a powerful lever for busi- ness improvement

Six Sigma is a data driven structured problem-solvingmethodology for solving chronic issues facing abusiness It is a breakthrough management process that

is used to improve a company’s performance byvariation reduction The method encompasses breakingdown the customer’s requirements into steps topinpoint pains in a process This results in the reduction

of defects and sustenance of process improvement.The Six Sigma methodology essentially has twoelements which comprises the voice of the customerand voice of process It essentially entails reducing thegap between the two voices and ensuring that they bothmatch What differentiates Six Sigma from other qualitymethodologies is that it can be used to solve keybusiness pains

For the first time we have a methodology which canhelp quality professionals to add directly to the top line

or bottom line Earlier quality professionals alwaysfaced a struggle because the impact of their work wasoften not felt in the company’s balance sheet Six Sigmahas changed all of this This methodology can beleveraged to address issues which can be used in anypart of the business Traditionally quality tools havebeen used for solving only quality issues but this toolfacilitates the resolution of pains beyond the domain

of quality Some areas where Six Sigma projects can bevery effectively used are: Revenue Generation, CostAvoidance, Productivity Improvement, CustomerSatisfaction, Customer Retention and so on This is just

a partial list and can be further increased

Six Sigma gives an excellent project managementframework wherein all power tools are packaged insuch a manner that it helps in providing the bestsolution to a problem Tools used are not new but theway they have been structured gives its power.Six Sigma uses a handful of powerful tools ofstatistics instead of getting lost in over 400 tools of TotalQuality Management (TQM) The beauty of the method

is in its ability to use these tools in a model known asDMAIC (Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control).Also, Six Sigma has added a component of financialaccountability and demands a strong focus onmeasurement to constantly monitor the results of theimproved state

The Six Sigma framework has also taken quality fromthe domain of quality professionals to others in theorganization This is probably the best thing to happen.Earlier there was always a struggle to ensure thatquality seeps deep and wide in organizations Despite

all the efforts and various initiatives, progress was not

as expected and it only ended with the jargon ‘quality

is everyone’s business’

Six Sigma puts a stop to gut-based solutions andlooks at all variables affecting a process The solutionsare validated statistically so that the chances of imple-menting a wrong solution goes down It can be usedfor both service and manufacturing organizations.Earlier all quality tools had been manufacturing centricbut now this power packed method has been success-fully used in service companies

What makes Six Sigma different is that it forcesindividuals to define customer satisfaction measuresand use teams to improve it So it uses customer-focusedgoals and measurements and drives continuousimprovement at all levels of the enterprise Wheneffectively implemented, the Six Sigma technique canhelp to ensure that both internal and external customersvoices are heard and efforts are made towards theirimprovement

The power of Six Sigma can be leveraged by settingattainable short-term goals while striving for long rangeobjectives It is imperative that the projects support thecompany and division goals that flow from top-levelcompany objectives For making Six Sigma a success, itshould be treated as a business strategy and not justanother quality programme Remember, the idealproject should have a connection to strategic objectives,should be recognized as being important to thecompany, can be completed within a reasonable timeperiod, has the support of the management and has anaccurate evaluation framework to ascertain itseffectiveness

Let me caution that Six Sigma is not a panacea for allills plaguing a company If there are events outside theorganization’s control, Six Sigma cannot be of anybenefit For example, an economic crisis affecting theperformance of a company cannot be solved by SixSigma.

It has been seen that with the change in the leadership

of a company, the Six Sigma implementation can go todocks It shall stay till there are leaders like Jack Welchwho give it the required thrust and understand itspower

Six Sigma Takeaway

Six Sigma as a business strategy increases mer responsiveness, builds customer relation-ships, improves organizational resilience torespond to market conditions and aligns peopleand processes behind agreed objectives

I strongly believe that it’s only the CEO who canmake a difference to a Six Sigma implementation.Internal experts such as Black Belts and Green Belts mayimplement Six Sigma projects, but it is the CEO whoowns them.

Whether it’s Bob Galvin at Motorola or Jack Welch

at GE or Larry Bossidy at Allied Signal, it’s theirpersonal commitment and belief in Six Sigma that madethe difference These leaders have given a new

definition to quality and proved that it can be a leverfor business improvement.

The CEO cannot just sign the cheque and take a backseat He or she should understand what Six Sigma isall about and how it drives improvement to theorganization He or she has to provide leadership andcreate a vision, provide necessary resources, give time,review and communicate to all that Six Sigma is theimprovement engine that will be the DNA of theorganization It is his/her responsibility to ensure thateveryone gets involved in the implementation effort.The CEO has to provide visible support to Six Sigma.Remember, Six Sigma quality is more of a culturalimperative that changes the way decisions are made.The CEO has to walk the talk and manifest that he orshe lives by the Six Sigma framework day in and dayout The culture that is built ultimately converts goodstrategy into effective execution

So what are the specific things a CEO should do tomake Six Sigma successful:

l Understand what Six Sigma is all about andhow it can be enmeshed with the businessstrategy

l Create a shared vision that supports Six Sigma

l Be the biggest messiah and evangelist of SixSigma in the company

l Establish clear long-term objectives at a businesslevel wherein Six Sigma methodology can beleveraged (as 10X improvement in qualitylevels)

l Lay down clear expectations from the seniormanagement team on their deliverables fromSix Sigma.

l Hold oneself and the senior management teamaccountable to Six Sigma deployment

l Ensure that Six Sigma process improvementprojects are directly aligned to organizationalgoals

l Review progress on a regular basis

l Set up a senior management team that overseesSix Sigma implementation

l Provide all required resources in terms ofmonies and infrastructure to make Six Sigmasuccessful

Six Sigma Takeaway

The CEO should not treat Six Sigma as a qualityprogramme but should ensure that it becomes acultural platform which changes the organiza-tional fabric

Here was a case of an organization which hadcommenced with a Six Sigma journey without taking

the buy in of the senior management team Ideally,before embarking on a Six Sigma journey, the seniormanagement team should be taken on board and mustknow what Six Sigma is, what rigour it requires andhow it is different from other quality methodologies.This is why a senior management workshop or achampion’s workshop should be organized beforecommencing on a Six Sigma journey Through thisworkshop the champions are taken on board on all that

is required for successful Six Sigma deployment.Champions receive extensive training on the basics ofSix Sigma, project selection, management of Black Beltsand Green Belts, change management and so on Suchworkshops could either be organized in-house ormembers could be sent to programmes outside theorganization

The champion’s workshop is extremely vital as itsets the tone for Six Sigma implementation Sincechampions are typically senior management staff such

as business heads or functional heads, the programmeshould deliver the maximum value in the shortestpossible time It always helps to get an eminent SixSigma practitioner for such a workshop Remember, this

is required because the attendees of this workshop aresenior people in the organization and the workshopshould convert them from cynics to Six Sigmaadvocates If you are organizing a Champion’sWorkshop or choosing one for them, please ensure that

at least the following elements are covered:

l What is Six Sigma?

l Why Six Sigma?

l Success Stories.

l Basic Statistics

l Basic Six Sigma Tools

l Why is measurement important?

l Traits of an effective measurement system

l Introduction to Process Capability

l Introduction to Minitab

l How to go about Project Selection?

l Infrastructure for Six Sigma deployment(Rewards and Recognition, Reviews, Com-munication framework, Project Managementwherewithal etc.)

l How to manage change?

l Six Sigma and culture building

Do not increase the duration of a champion’sworkshop beyond two days The success of thechampion’s workshop lies in converting seniormanagement to Six Sigma advocates in the shortestpossible time It is the champions who drive Six Sigmaand have the responsibility of making it a success.Six Sigma Takeaway

Till Champions are not convinced with the powerSix Sigma, it makes no sense to go ahead withdeployment

is vested with the responsibility of making Six Sigma

an integral part of the organizational fabric This teamshould comprise the functional heads, business heads(in case the company has a number of business units orprofit centres) and the quality head (also called thequality leader)

The first activity of this core group shall be to carryout an organizational assessment on the pointersmentioned below This should be carried out by talking

to key people in the company and interviewing keycustomers and suppliers

l Have processes been defined and mapped?

l Are there process owners for the processes?

l What sort of measurement system exists toascertain effectiveness and efficiency?

l Are the customers, suppliers, inputs andoutputs of key processes identified and known?

l Is the voice of the final customer/end user (orconsumer) captured?

l Are consumers asked what is important forthem?

l What sort of corrective actions exist, when thereare consumer issues?

l What sort of competitive information do wehave ?

l Does everyone in the organization know whohis/her customer is?

l What sort of rewards and recognition nism is in place for quality improvement/con-sumer issues?

mecha-l How are conflicts handled?

l Is the organization person dependant or processdependant?

l How are decisions taken ? Who takes them andare they fact based?

l Are people aware of the organizational tives and plan?

objec-l How is training and development decidedupon?

The objective of the exercise is to ascertain businessunits which would be votaries of Six Sigma andbusinesses which would face resistance It shall alsothrow up business units where Six Sigma should bepiloted or taken up For example, process improvement

through DMAIC rigour cannot be carried out ifprocesses are not well defined (This has been discussed

in detail in some other Lesson) The organizationalassessment helps in scripting a deployment strategyand unfurling the underlying culture

Companies who have tried to imitate Six Sigmadriven companies without considering their underlyingculture have met with disastrous results If thecompany’s culture is not conducive to Six Sigma, theculture must be changed before a Six Sigma programmecan succeed

Six Sigma Takeaway

The culture of a company should provide a milieuwhich encourages problem solving, excellence andcontinuous improvement through Six Sigmadeployment

Lesson 5

Create a deployment platoon for the execution

of Six Sigma projects

While setting out on a Six Sigma journey, it is importantthat a deployment platoon of Six Sigma experts iscreated within an organization This is required as theseexperts are responsible for driving change across thecompany Unlike the other quality frameworks, thebiggest achievement of Six Sigma has been that it hasmoved improvement out of the domain of qualityfunction and taken it all across the company Thehurdles faced by the earlier methodologies were thatimprovement was primarily driven by the qualitygroup as a result of which there were often issues ofownership during implementation In case of Six Sigmathis has been overcome as it has been treated as astrategy for business improvement and not just qualityimprovement In Six Sigma, what happens is that theimprovement tools are handed over to people outsidethe quality function

It has been seen that the structure given belowhas been most commonly followed in Six Sigmadeployment:

Champions

He or she is a senior manager who oversees the SixSigma projects The person is mainly responsible forproviding direction on project scope and takes the onus

of ensuring that the project is successful The role of achampion is discussed in detail in another Lesson

Master Black Belts (MBBs)

They act as internal coaches to Black Belts and areresponsible for a set of Black Belts to reach their projectgoals He/she must have successfully completed anumber of Black Belt projects He or she is generally astatistical and change management expert whoregularly deals with resistance to change and resolvesteam conflicts They often serve as change managementconsultants to the senior management They not onlyhave the knowledge of advanced tools and businessbut also leadership training A primary MBB roleresponsibility is training and mentoring new BBs in theorganization Certification as an MBB requires 20successful projects, about half of which are as a BlackBelt and half while mentoring BBs

Black Belts (BBs)

They are full-time quality positions responsible forleading Six Sigma projects They are project leaders whoare selected with different experience and academicqualifications Black Belts should typically be fasttrackers who have a credential for accomplishments ABlack Belt assignment should typically last for two yearsduring which the BBs lead 10–12 projects BB receiveexhaustive training which lasts from anywhere between

10 days to 20 days To get certified as a BB a candidateneeds to complete the classroom training (spread overthree to four months), clear an examination andcomplete a project mentored by a MBB

Green Belts (GBs)

They are employees who carry on with improvementstogether with their regular work They are project teammembers and do not spend all their time on projects.They receive training on participation similar to that ofBBs, but possibly for lesser time In some companiesGBs work on small projects (called Green Belt projects)that are directly related to their work

Irrespective of the organization, the champion is amust in Six Sigma deployment The deploymenthierarchies of Master Black Belt, Black Belts and GreenBelts are based on company requirements In someorganizations, Master Black Belts are not there and BlackBelts are part-time roles Some companies even have

Yellow Belts or White Belts Also, the certificationrequirements may vary from company to company Theabove is just a suggested model I would recommendthat a deployment hierarchy is created on the basis ofcompany requirements.

Remember, the term Blackbelt has been copyrighted

by the Six Sigma Academy So many organizations usetitles such as Leaders, Grandmaster, Champion orParagons to signify similar training

Six Sigma Takeaway

Black Belts can come from any function Whentrained adequately and given support, they canbecome change facilitators in the organization

If the CEO lays the seeds of Six Sigma, the championacts as a propellant in his/her group He/she acts asthe gel around whom the Six Sigma initiative isanchored They leverage the Six Sigma infrastructurecreated by the corporate quality cell or the QualityCouncil, to ensure flawless execution The pillars of thisinfrastructure are things such as Rewards and Recogni-tion, Communication Plan, Review Mechanism, ProjectTracking Mechanism etc These have been discussed indetail in some other Lesson The champions facilitatethe selection and prioritization of right projects and are

answerable on Six Sigma progress to the CEO or thetop management They are also responsible forincreasing the internal capabilities to carry out SixSigma projects Most important, they plan the deploy-ment so that no part of the system becomes over-burdened as the strategy unfurls, this is especially withrespect to data mining.

The Champions are expected to play the followingspecific roles in Six Sigma deployment:

l Own all the projects happening his/herbusiness group or function

l Create an overall plan for Six Sigma ment

deploy-l Ensure that all projects taken up make abusiness case and are aligned with the overallorganization strategy

l Set specific Six Sigma deliverables from teammembers

l Hold team members accountable

l Remove hurdles to implementation

l Deploy the best people on Six Sigma projects

l Review progress on a regular basis

l Communicate with Black Belts on a regularbasis

l Develop synergy between Black Belts andensure that they are brought together on aregular basis

l Personally approve all Six Sigma projects

l Ensure that improvements are sustained oncethe projects get over

l Continually increase the Six Sigma capability

by increasing the number of certified GreenBelts or Black Belts

Remember, champions are the key element in thesuccess of Six Sigma implementation Before anybodyelse, they should be the first one to be taken through

an awareness workshop which demystifies the SixSigma and explains how it can be used for businessimprovement

Six Sigma Takeaway

The champions should leverage opportunities ofeach Six Sigma project to ensure that the impact ismaximized

of Xs.

Six Sigma is all about finding the critical Xs whichaffect the Y or the output of a process Traditionallyquality professionals have looked at Ys and have tried

to work around with it Six Sigma gives a structure tounfurl the Xs which result in Y Xs are also called theKey Process Input Variables while Ys are called KeyProcess Output Variables