Originated by Motorola, the Lean Six Sigma process is a business management strategy that uses a detailed plan and measurable targets to get quality output. Six Sigma removes the obstacles that cause errors and creates a quality process. Leading U.S. companies like Staples, Bank of America, GlaxoSmithKline, and Ford have used the strategy for process quality to outperform competitors and run successful operations for years.
The original Six Sigma process was focused primarily on quality output. Many companies, though, have begun to integrate Lean principles, which emphasize quick turnaround time and eliminating waste in the manufacturing process. Lean manufacturing adheres to cutting actual process time, having zero inventories and zero wait time, and a production system built on the internal customer pulling the process rather than each department pushing the process along.
Each Six Sigma company has a core of process experts in the structure of the organization whose experience help move an idea or product toward a finish. Process experts can be certified as white belts, green belts, black belts, or master black belts, depending on their level of expertise. Companies benefit from these professionals monetarily: a black belt can save a company about $230,000 on a given project and does up to six projects per year. General Electric has revealed that during its first five years using Six Sigma strategies, it was able to save about $10 billion.
Six Sigma does have its shortcomings as a concept. Some business analysts have noted that the simplicity of the strategy has all but disappeared. So many experts and "business scientists" have added so many formulas; statistics and complex calculating process that many people need a tutor just to stay ahead of the curve and understand the lingo. Six Sigma was bound to become complex. The more people who have jumped on the bandwagon, the greater the effort to keep the "secret" of it a pass code for an exclusive club.
Another trend that may have affected the worldwide grasp of Six Sigma is the national shift in the type of manufactured goods. At one point in the history of the U.S., almost everything manufactured was a tangible good - or something you could hold in your hands. Six Sigma formulas were appropriate when the success of those products needed to be measured in numbers. Now, many things released on the market are intangibles like information or ideas. The numbers do not make as much sense for measuring those things. Fortune magazine places the number of top 100 companies that still do tangible goods at 32. The rest of the companies manufacture services or ideas.
For those who want hands-on expertise in order to work through the Six Sigma process, there is the Six Sigma Center of Excellence. This is an Indonesia-based facility that houses core experts in the field and deploys them to companies around the world for consulting opportunities. In early fall 2009; the Center completed an executive briefing session in which leaders traveled to Indonesia for a daylong conference on Six Sigma principles. The conference focused on how to implement Six Sigma during economically uncertain times.
Those who are interested in streamlining their processes should not be intimidated by Six Sigma learning. The amount of waste that will be saved is worth the education you receive about the process. Six Sigma employees are sharp workers: they do not waste resources, talent or company time. - 32179
The original Six Sigma process was focused primarily on quality output. Many companies, though, have begun to integrate Lean principles, which emphasize quick turnaround time and eliminating waste in the manufacturing process. Lean manufacturing adheres to cutting actual process time, having zero inventories and zero wait time, and a production system built on the internal customer pulling the process rather than each department pushing the process along.
Each Six Sigma company has a core of process experts in the structure of the organization whose experience help move an idea or product toward a finish. Process experts can be certified as white belts, green belts, black belts, or master black belts, depending on their level of expertise. Companies benefit from these professionals monetarily: a black belt can save a company about $230,000 on a given project and does up to six projects per year. General Electric has revealed that during its first five years using Six Sigma strategies, it was able to save about $10 billion.
Six Sigma does have its shortcomings as a concept. Some business analysts have noted that the simplicity of the strategy has all but disappeared. So many experts and "business scientists" have added so many formulas; statistics and complex calculating process that many people need a tutor just to stay ahead of the curve and understand the lingo. Six Sigma was bound to become complex. The more people who have jumped on the bandwagon, the greater the effort to keep the "secret" of it a pass code for an exclusive club.
Another trend that may have affected the worldwide grasp of Six Sigma is the national shift in the type of manufactured goods. At one point in the history of the U.S., almost everything manufactured was a tangible good - or something you could hold in your hands. Six Sigma formulas were appropriate when the success of those products needed to be measured in numbers. Now, many things released on the market are intangibles like information or ideas. The numbers do not make as much sense for measuring those things. Fortune magazine places the number of top 100 companies that still do tangible goods at 32. The rest of the companies manufacture services or ideas.
For those who want hands-on expertise in order to work through the Six Sigma process, there is the Six Sigma Center of Excellence. This is an Indonesia-based facility that houses core experts in the field and deploys them to companies around the world for consulting opportunities. In early fall 2009; the Center completed an executive briefing session in which leaders traveled to Indonesia for a daylong conference on Six Sigma principles. The conference focused on how to implement Six Sigma during economically uncertain times.
Those who are interested in streamlining their processes should not be intimidated by Six Sigma learning. The amount of waste that will be saved is worth the education you receive about the process. Six Sigma employees are sharp workers: they do not waste resources, talent or company time. - 32179
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