THE SIX STEPS TO SIX SIGMA USING

8/7/2019 THE SIX STEPS TO SIX SIGMA USING

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THE SIX STEPS TO SIX SIGMA USING

Step #1 - Identify the product you create or the service you provide

In other words ... WHAT DO YOU DO?

Step #2 - Identify the Customer(s) for your product or service, and determine what theyconsider important i.e. Customer Requirements

In other words ... WHO USES YOUR PRODUCT AND SERVICES?

Step #3 - Identify your needs (to provide product/service so that it satisfies the Customer)

In other words ... WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO YOUR WORK?

Step #4 - Define the process for doing your work

In other words ... HOW DO YOU DO YOUR WORK?

Step #5 - Mistake-proof the process and eliminate wasted efforts using...

In other words ... HOW CAN YOU DO YOUR WORK BETTER?

Step #6 - Ensure continuous improvement by measuring, analyzing and controlling theimproved process usingDMAIC - (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control)

In other words ... HOW PERFECTLY ARE YOU DOING YOUR CUSTOMER-FOCUSED WORK?

Step 6:

Ensure continuous improvement by measuring, analyzing and controlling the improvedprocess from Step #5

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A Lean Six Sigma program that incorporates motivation at all phases will not only ensure passionateteams and management buy-in, but it will also deliver better business results in the end. These 12 stepswill help foster passion and motivation, and make any program a success:

1. Find a Passionate Executive Sponsor

A passionate sponsor shows up for meetings, encourages the team and gives them the tools to succeed.Without one, a Lean Six Sigma program will not go anywhere. To motivate the sponsor, align Lean SixSigma projects with the company's senior-level objectives.

2. Assemble a Passionate Team

Pick project team members who will benefit from an improved outcome often the process owners arethe best option. The team should have a proven leader who is respected by the team members.


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3. Align the Project Charter with Strategic Initiatives

The project charter should contain everything a sponsor needs to make the decision to support theprocess improvement, including the project's expected return on investment, problem or defect, goal,scope, schedule, resource requirements (including capital), and a list of team members. Try changing thecharter and aligning it with the company's strategic initiatives if the ideas are not gaining executive

support.

4. Set Realistic Goals

Goals should always be attainable; the only thing worse for a team than poor leadership is unrealisticgoals. For any Lean Six Sigma program, the goal is to eliminate or reduce the costs of poor quality.Although some of these costs are difficult to measure, all are important. For instance, lost sales are hardto track because it is impossible to know for sure if better quality could have improved sales. The goal,however, must still be to reduce lost sales.

5. Apply Lean First

To really motivate a team, get rid non-value-added activities such as excessive approvals, creativity-stifling control mechanisms and redundant forms or reports before moving on to Six Sigma projects.

6. Implement a Phased Approach

In a relay race, each team member runs one quarter of the distance so that each runner is fresh and candash rather than stay at pace.Phasing a project, with team members that rotate in and out, maintainsenergy and passion. First, get the low-hanging fruit so that the executive sponsor can see immediatereturns. Then apply Lean practices to get rid of non-value-added activities. Next, apply Six Sigma to theparts of the process that are harder to improve.

7. Instigate Awards

Ideally, an award program costs the company nothing because the company is simply giving a portion ofthe savings or revenue gained through Six Sigma back to the employees who brought about that savings.A good award program should include dinners, plaques, accolades in front of peers, and, of course,money.

8. Maintain Motivated and Accountable Leaders

A motivational Lean Six Sigma program requires leadership to give credit for accomplishments andassume accountability for failure. This cannot be overemphasized. High morale normally comes frommotivated leadership; when morale is low, poor leadership is almost always to blame.

9. Create an Amnesty Program

If leaders chastise employees for revealing failure, employees will hide poor processes they may lie andbecome apathetic. When employees are brave enough to speak up, they should be rewarded. Thisapproach will help team members gain confidence and get better at process improvement.

10. Introduce Team Members Properly

Send emails to the team that establish the accomplishments of each team member. This gives themembers confidence that the team is talented and knowledgeable.People want to work with winners, and


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they also love reading about themselves.If people believe in themselves and in the team, they are muchmore likely to succeed.

11. Schedule Follow-Up Meetings

Monthly or quarterly follow-up meetings or conference calls are crucial. Such meetings should also be

held at the close of every phase of the program, and when the team seems to be stalling or hittingbarriers. These meetings should be well attended by team members and senior leaders, and attendeesshould be ready to recommend improvements, including the stipulations needed to complete them. Whenthe executive sponsor and team members are ready for the meeting, it motivates the attendees.

12. Share Positive Results

This will ensure management buy-in and will show employees that Lean Six Sigma really works.Ifemployees do not see the positive results, they may feel like their work is getting them nowhere a verydiscouraging thought. Sharing results will show employees that they have made a difference.

Conclusion

By using these tips to include passion and motivation in a Lean Six Sigma project, program leaders canensure that any process improvement starts off on the right foot and follows through to success.

Determine The Root Cause: 5 WhysAsking "Why?" may be a favorite technique of your

three year old child in driving you crazy, but it could teach you a valuable Six Sigma qualitylesson. The 5 Whys is a technique used in the Analyze phase of the Six Sigma DMAICmethodology. It's a great Six Sigma tool that doesn't involve data segmentation, hypothesistesting, regression or other advanced statistical tools, and in many cases can be completed

without a data collection plan.

By repeatedly asking the question "Why" (five is a good rule of thumb), you can peel awaythe layers of symptoms which can lead to the root cause of a problem. Very often theostensible reason for a problem will lead you to another question. Although this technique iscalled "5 Whys," you may find that you will need to ask the question fewer or more timesthan five before you find the issue related to a problem.

BenefitsOf The 5 Whys- Help identifythe root cause of a problem.

- Determine the relationshipbetween different root causes of a problem.- One of the simplest tools; easy to complete without statistical analysis.

When Is 5 WhysMost Useful?- When problems involve human factors or interactions.

- In day-to-day business life; can be used within or without a Six Sigma project.

How To Complete The 5 Whys1. Write down the specific problem. Writing the issue helps you formalize the problem anddescribe it completely. It also helps a team focus on the same problem.2. Ask Why the problem happens and write the answer down below the problem.


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3. If the answer you just provided doesn't identify the root cause of the problem that youwrote down in step 1, ask Why again and write that answer down.4. Loop back to step 3 until the team is in agreement that the problem's root cause isidentified. Again, this may take fewer or more times than five Whys.

5 Whys Examples

Problem Statement: Customers are unhappy because they are being shipped products thatdon't meet their specifications.1. Why are customers being shipped bad products?- Because manufacturing built the products to a specification that is different from what thecustomer and the sales person agreed to.2. Why did manufacturing build the products to a different specification than that of sales?- Because the sales person expedites work on the shop floor by calling the head ofmanufacturing directly to begin work. An error happened when the specifications were beingcommunicated or written down.3. Why does the sales person call the head of manufacturing directly to start work insteadof following the procedure established in the company?- Because the "start work" form requires the sales director's approval before work can beginand slows the manufacturing process (or stops it when the director is out of the office).

4. Why does the form contain an approval for the sales director?- Because the sales director needs to be continually updated on sales for discussions withthe CEO.

In this case only four Whys were required to find out that a non-value added signatureauthority is helping to cause a process breakdown.

Let's take a look at a slightly more humorous example:

Problem Statement: You are on your way home from work and your car stops in the middleof the road.1. Why did your car stop?

- Because it ran out of gas.2. Why did it run out of gas?- Because I didn't buy any gas on my way to work.3. Why didn't you buy any gas this morning?- Because I didn't have any money.4. Why didn't you have any money?- Because I lost it all last night in a poker game.5. Why did you lose your money in last night's poker game?- Because I'm not very good at "bluffing" when I don't have a good hand.

As you can see, in both examples the final Why leads the team to a statement (root cause)that the team can take action upon. It is much quicker to come up with a system that keepsthe sales director updated on recent sales or teach a person to "bluff" a hand than it is to

try to directly solve the stated problems above without further investigation.

5 Whys And The Fishbone DiagramThe 5 Whys can be used individually or as a part of the fishbone (also known as the causeand effect or Ishikawa) diagram. The fishbone diagram helps you explore all potential orreal causes that result in a single defect or failure. Once all inputs are established on thefishbone, you can use the 5 Whys technique to drill down to the root causes.

Source: www.isixsigma.com


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THE SIX STEPS TO SIX SIGMA USING