Lean Six Sigma Deployment

Posted by on Jun 11, 2009 in Uncategorized | 0 comments

Sustaining Momentum and Growing

To keep the momentum up and to grow the process, it is important that a person be chosen to be a BB in each plant or functional area. This person would be sent to a central location for one week of training each month for 4 months by a Master Black Belt. During the weeks they are not in training they would be working a project in their respective plant or area. Once these people are trained and certified as BB’s (4 to 6 months), they can then help rollout the GB training to the rest of the people in their plant or functional organization. This way a core group of individuals can be trained and certified in each area in about 18 to 24 months.

My approach to training is to make sure everyone understands the basics and to execute them well. I use hands-on exercises to enforce the principles, have the students collect data, analyze it, and understand the analysis. I do not get into statistical proofs and derivations, but I want students to understand the practical application of the tools. Six Sigma incorporates a lot of team tools, such as, process maps, FMEA, fishbone diagrams, etc. and the students should get practice and become proficient in conducting these as well as the quantitative analysis tools. I spend a lot of time on the DMAIC process, because it is the process, and not the tools, that make Six Sigma effective.

Thought should also be given to the other Six Sigma discipline called Design for Six Sigma (DFSS). These techniques are used where a new product or service is being developed or completely revamped. It is especially effective in Engineering and many transactional processes.

In a lean environment, people resources are at a premium and there isn’t a lot of time to work on extra activities. I would think that it is no different in your organization. My experience is that a plant or functional area can’t handle more than 2 – 3 projects at any one time and do them well. If a typical project takes 3 to 4 months to complete, a plant or functional area can do about 10 projects per year. This is why it is important that the projects be selected by top management and the right resources allocated to them.

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