Why Should I Learn Six Sigma Processes?

By Craig Calvin

An alternate form of Six Sigma Training is Lean Six Sigma. Although it is an altered form it has many of its own capacities, and knowing the differences can add to your quality improvement projects, more then you may think possible. Although the basis fundamentals of Six Sigma are still evident in Lean, there are a few additions that set it apart.

The eight elements of waste is the focus of the Lean Six Sigma Process. It has been proven that by simply removing these areas of waste, the company will actually improve quality. Below you will find what the Lean process considers wastes, and examples of each.

-Wasted Human Talent: Anyone that is without a specific job function or who's work may be slowing the process down.

-Defects: Any product or process that is not working properly. Before they can be eliminated, however, they will require a fixable solution.

-Inventory: This refers to an over sized "To Do" list of work. You never want to have to much product waiting to be worked on. A doctors office, for example, does not want to have to many patients in the waiting room at one time.

-Overproduction: Having too much of anything before it is needed can get in the way of efficient process operation.

-Wasted time: Waiting on product to arrive, idle time that could be better spent on various processes or activities. Having five employees standing around waiting to unload a truck that hasn't arrived is a good example.

-Motion: When you are moving people around and it is not necessary to do so. An example of this would be, when a clinic send a patient that has an appointment to triage. Instead the patient should be going straight to the exam room.

-Transportation: Ineffective transportation that moves people and products can be wasteful when it isn't needed. Imagine a warehouse using a forklift to deliver items across the factory to a truck, when the production line could be streamlined to deliver right into the truck off of the line.

-Process Waste: Process Waste refers to any that a company requires to be complete, however it has no impact on the process, product or service that the company offers.

Understanding these areas of waste will assist you company with enhancing the quality of the projects you produce. - 32179

About the Author:

Create the most of your business skills with six sigma training. Getting green belt six sigma will benefit yourself in addition to your business. To learn more go to www.sixsigmaonline.org.

Developing a Continuous Improvement Plan With Your Six Sigma Project

By Craig Calvin

Incorporating a continuous improvement plan into your Six Sigma project will help your business by providing the ability to make improvements to your process as business needs change, or unexpected events occur. Continuous improvement plans allow you to make adjustments to your process without having to undertake an entire new Six Sigma project, which can be costly and time consuming.

1. When you are examining a process, and trying to determine the ideal solution, you need to realize that this will be a continuous process. If you are only considering the current problems, and not considering future problems or improvements, then you will just be back in the same position in the not to distant future.

2. No matter how much you research and brainstorm, you will never come up with the perfect solution that will never need to be changed again. There are always unknowns, and something totally unexpected may happen in the future that could effect your process. If you continue to evaluate the process, however, and make changes as they become necessary, you will lower the chances of having to completely re-design the process again in the future.

3. Six Sigma projects take a great deal of time and effort to effectively improve the processes in your business. If you do not include a continuous improvement plan as part of your Six Sigma project, then you may have to go through the entire process again in the future, which is an unnecessary expense for your business.

4. Improving a business is more about the future and less about the present. If a business cannot hold its own once the Six Sigma team leaves, there is an issue. It doesn't matter what a business does at first, but more importantly what they do last, when it comes to their improvement practices.

5. The priorities and focus of a business can change over time. When you incorporate a continuous improvement plan into your Six Sigma project it allows you to quickly make modifications to your processes, and helps to keep them aligned with the current priorities. Without a continuous improvement plan, your business may have to start a whole new Six Sigma project, just to make sure the processes are aligned with the new direction of the organization.

When you undertake a Six Sigma project you are trying to find a solution to the problems effecting your processes. This solution, ideally, should not be a quick fix, that takes care of the immediate problem, but it should be a long term solution that corrects the process for the foreseeable future. The best way to ensure this is to include a continuous improvement plan within the project. If you do not include a continuous improvement plan as part of your Six Sigma project, then you may have to go through the entire process again in the future, which is an unnecessary expense for your business. When you incorporate a continuous improvement plan into your Six Sigma project it allows you to quickly make modifications to your processes, and helps to keep them aligned with your current priorities. - 32179

About the Author:

6 sigma is a process used by numerous businesses to increase profit and employee performance. To learn more on the topic go to www.sixsigmaonline.org. Here you will find information on lean six sigma, as well as the different belt levels and more.

How To Avoid Some Common Missteps When Looking For Employment

By Craig Calvin

No one likes to be unemployed. There are many different reasons that people don't find jobs right away, but making the most common mistakes is what usually holds people back. Read on to learn how these three mistakes are critical to your job success every single time.

Before you do anything else, make a plan. It is very easy to quickly become overwhelmed by all of the negative consequences that come with being laid off. You start to worry about medical insurance, bills, and providing the essentials for you or your family. This worry can cause you to start applying for jobs without coming up with a plan first, and this can be counter-productive to your success. You need to stop and think about your resume, your training, your qualifications, and what other tools you have available to help you find a job. You also need to think about what types of jobs you should apply for, in what fields, and how far you could travel to work if necessary. Another important part of your plan is networking, not only to try to find individuals who may be aware of available jobs, but to provide references as well.

Do not limit your search to the internet. If you want to find a job quickly you need to explore every possible job opening available. While there are certainly many jobs that can be found online, either using a job finding site, or going directly to company's web sites, not every job is posted on the internet. If there are local companies where you think you would be qualified to work it may be worth while to contact them directly, talk to someone face to face, and provide hard copies of your resume. This human interaction may help when you are competing with many other people for a limited number of jobs.

Do not stop looking until you have accepted a job. As we mentioned earlier, being out of work is a horrible feeling, and trying to find a job is difficult and stressful, so it is easy to understand why someone may get over-excited if a company shows interest in you. When this happens you may think that you have reached your goal, and found a job, but a company showing interest is not the same as them formally offering you a position. If you stop searching for a job, just because you are hoping that this opportunity works out, you may miss out on a better job, or be even more disappointed if the company decides to hire someone else. Until you have officially accepted a job offer you should not stop looking for other opportunities.

These are the three most common missteps that individuals can make when looking for a new job. You can't rush right into to applying for a job, you need to stop and make a plan first. You should try to look for jobs anywhere you possible can, do not just search on the internet. Finally, until you formally accept a position, do not stop looking for job opportunities. If you follow this advice you will put yourself in a better position to find a job, which is so important in these tough economic times.

Six Sigma Online is a leader in career information and business productivity, as well as Six Sigma Training techniques. Visit them today at http://www.sixsigmaonline.org. - 32179

About the Author:

If you are wanting to maximize your career potential, think about six sigma classes. Achieving black belt six sigma certification might be just what you are lacking.

Six Sigma Explained In Six Steps- The Details Behind The Glitz And Glam

By Craig Calvin

When businesses are looking to eliminate defects in their production process, and improve the quality of the products that they are manufacturing, they often turn to Six Sigma. Six Sigma is a set of processes and tools that will help you analyze your current production process, determine what the causes of the defects are, and help you determine the ideal solution to the problems. Six Sigma is not something you can just decide to implement on your own though. Their is extensive training needed to understand the processes and tools that are involved, and the more experience you have using Six Sigma, the more likely you will be to achieve your desired results. Below is an introduction that will outline the steps in the Six Sigma process for those who are unfamiliar with Six Sigma.

It is very important, if you are going to bring Six Sigma into your business, that the owners of the business, or at least the upper management of your business are behind this decision. Six Sigma will require formal training for individuals who will be on the project but do not have the necessary certification. It is also recommended that you either bring in consultants with extensive Six Sigma experience, or hire an experienced Six Sigma project manager, who can guide you through the process until the employees in your business become more experienced themselves.

After you have the support of your senior management, the next step is to make sure all of the employees in your company are on board as well. Most people are resistant to change, especially when the change is forced on them. If you include as many employees as possible in the Six Sigma process then they will have a say in the changes that are being considered, and therefore they will be more willing to implement these changes when they are finalized.

When the Six Sigma project starts the first step is to define what process you are looking to improve, and why. You will need to collect as much raw data as possible related to the number of defects, what types of defects they are, and any other data you can collect. Once the data is collected it needs to be quantified, or turned into numeric values that can represent different types of defects, so it can be properly analyzed. Six Sigma makes use of many statistical tools to analyze the quantitative data which will provide a more accurate picture of where the problems are, and what the underlying problems may be. You cannot begin to determine a change plan without first being sure that you going to change the process that truly need it.

The final two steps go hand-in-hand. Improvements will be made after analysis is complete, and then those improvements need to be controlled after the project has been completed in order to keep things running smoothly. Random events can occur, and things can happen that can require much more attention than usual after a Six Sigma Process is completed, causing problems if the team or process owner isn't prepared. As you can see, Six Sigma is more than just a fancy buzzword that catches a lot of attention. It is a very detailed process of improving processes and products within an organization that requires a lot of special training and business skill. - 32179

About the Author:

If you are wanting to maximize your career potential, consider six sigma classes. Acquiring black belt six sigma certification might be just what you are in need of.

When Using Six Sigma Sometimes It Helps To Bring In A New Point Of View

By Craig Calvin

In an ideal world, when your business introduces the Six Sigma methodology to improve the existing processes within the organization, the Six Sigma project would be staffed with internal employees. When you train your employees in the Six Sigma methodology it not only helps these employees feel like they are important to the future plans of the business, but it will also help the Six Sigma project since you will have individuals on the project who know both Six Sigma and your business. After gaining the necessary training and experience you will eventually have employees who complete the Six Sigma Black Belt certification, and can run their own Six Sigma projects.

Ideally, you would like to use as many internal employees as possible on a Six Sigma project, as long as they have the necessary experience and training. If you hire external Six Sigma efforts to lead your Six Sigma projects there is a perception that these individuals will not be as effective as internal employees with Six Sigma training. Even though these people may have Six Sigma training, the assumption is that you would still have to provide training so they could get up to speed with the way you operate, which would take time and money.

Employees that already work with the company are already trained and familiar with the culture and objectives. However, this knowledge and previous training can inhibit their critical problem solving abilities because they will be limited in their resources. The solution is? Hire outside resources as team leaders for Six Sigma Projects and you can gain more insight and get a different perspective on how to resolve the problem from someone with an unbiased opinion.

If you bring in an outside Six Sigma Black Belt to run your Six Sigma efforts it does provide a greater opportunity for objectivity in your Six Sigma project. An outside Six Sigma Black Belt, who is brought in as a project manager for your Six Sigma effort, will be more open to new ideas, will provide new ideas of their own, and will help guide the project team to consider as many options as possible when determining the ideal solution.

Another benefit to hiring outside sources to complete Six Sigma Projects is that there will be no inherent tendency for a person to think within a certain limit to protect their territory. When people are afraid of change, it is often because they fear losing their place. Therefore, the solution to the problem will be more focused on how to improve things while protecting one's place within the organization. Bringing in outside resources with the right Six Sigma training can be beneficial to any company. Not only will it allow for objectivity, but it will also help foster growth and learning between the Six Sigma team and the members or employees of the organization. - 32179

About the Author:

If you are thinking of bulking up on your business skills, think of learning more about six sigma training. Sixsigmaonline.org provides different levels of training, like green belt six sigma.

Lean Six Sigma Process

By Helen Carswell

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

About the Author:

Want more information on Six Sigma? Please click here for more information on Six Sigma Lean SSCX Master Black Green Belt and LSS DMAIC Cost Transformation DFSS Improvement Process

Six Sigma Process- Exploiting The Naysayers

By Craig Calvin

There are many critics of the Six Sigma methodology who insist that it is nothing more then a waste of time and money, and it is more of a hindrance to your business then it is a help. There are, however, many successful business who have implemented Six Sigma, and seen the results first hand. The critics of Six Sigma are often those who have not been trained properly and do not have adequate Six Sigma experience, and therefore they have not been part of a successful implementation of Six Sigma. If you are trying to decide if Six Sigma is right for your company, you should talk to some experienced Six Sigma experts at companies where Six Sigma continues to help improve quality and eliminate defects.

The fact is, Six Sigma is a complicated process that requires thorough training and it helps if you have experience with the process. People who tell you Six Sigma does not work have probably never had Six Sigma training, and do not understand how the research, processes and tools can help you improve your quality, reduce the number of defects in your process, increase revenue, reduce expenses and improve customer satisfaction. If you examine the Six Sigma methodology logically, it makes sense though. The only way to eliminate defects, and improve quality, is to do the necessary research to determine what the root cause of these defects are, and then research possible solutions to see which will be the most effective.

When you are going to make a significant decision in your company, you need to consider how it will impact your customers, that is what is most important to your future success. When you are going to implement Six Sigma, your focus should be on how it will increase your customer satisfaction, eliminate defects, and improve quality, all great things for your customers. The happiness of your customers is certainly more important then what some other people may be saying about the Six Sigma methodology, especially when their opinions are most likely biased or uninformed.

The problem with the people who don't agree with the practices of Six Sigma is that they've never been given the genuine opportunity to share their process improvement with a Six Sigma team, so they're highly uninformed about the process as a whole. If they have never used Six Sigma, where do they get the authority to say that it's not useful to a business?

Don't be deterred from using such a useful and versatile process just because a few people are trying to convince some others that it is a herd mentality, a buzz word, an ineffective tool, or anything else when it truly is a great process improvement methodology to work with. Only the people within an organization can determine if Six Sigma is right for their needs, but everyone should at least give it one chance, because the use of quantified data can add a fresh perspective to almost any business. - 32179

About the Author:

If you are wanting to maximize your career potential, consider six sigma classes. Achieving black belt six sigma certification might be just what you are in need of.