Sunday, April 26th, 2009

Six Sigma is not just a new term for Total Quality Management (TQM) . They have many similarities and are compatible in many business environments. TQM has brought great improvements and value to many companies. Six Sigma can do more.TQM is the development, deployment, and maintenance of systems related to quality-producing business processes. TQM is a strategic approach that focuses on encouraging a continuous flow of incremental quality improvements. It encourages the establishing of a culture of collaboration among different departments within organization. TQM is mainly a cultural initiative and a style of management toward increased quality.Six Sigma is not just another quality initiative or process improvement program. It is more than that because it is a robust continuous improvement strategy and process that includes cultural methodologies such as the various TQM approaches. Six Sigma is complementary to TQM initiatives such as ISO 9000 registration, which is mainly procedural; Total Quality Management (TQM), which is mainly cultural, and Statistical Process Control (SPC), which is primarily statistical process control monitoring. All of these initiatives attempt to improve quality levels but typically reach a plateau. The Six Sigma approach goes to the next level.Six Sigma is not about quality in the strict traditional sense. Quality, defined traditionally as conformance to internal requirements, is not ...
Tags: Continuous Improvement Strategy, Cycle Time Reduction, Improving Quality
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Sunday, April 12th, 2009

There is a growing demand for people with Six Sigma certification and expertise as companies realize the many ways in which the Six Sigma methodology can help their organizations grow and improve. Six Sigma has grown beyond its manufacturing origins with many government agencies and service providers now advertising for Six Sigma help. More importantly, even small companies are taking on Six Sigma consultants or full-time staff, which implies that the demand for Six Sigma professionals will only increase in the coming years.Six Sigma Job CategoriesThere are many junior- and senior-level Six Sigma openings across a wide range of industries. The positions and job descriptions are oftentimes unique to the company and its requirements. Admittedly, many of these positions are filled internally, as companies train their own people in the Six Sigma methodology so that people already familiar with the corporate culture are provided with the needed skill sets. On the other hand, these same organizations often reach outside for help, seeking out experienced people to either lead, or implement full-scale Six Sigma projects throughout the company.Six Sigma Job OpeningsMany companies openly advertise job opportunities that are clearly Six Sigma based (e.g., Six Sigma Analyst or Six Sigma Black Belt). Others, however, advertise openings for positions that are not obviously Six Sigma ...
Tags: Operational Excellence, Sigma Program, Skill Sets
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Thursday, April 9th, 2009

IntroductionYou browse through a handful of Six Sigma books hoping to find a definition for leadership. Chances are you’d be hard pressed to find one unifying definition. Instead, you’ll get a garden variety of definitions that will help you zero in on the true essence of leadership. Given evolving business and manufacturing trends and rapidly changing technologies, leadership has taken on a multi-faceted dimension. The same is true when speaking of leadership in Six Sigma.Don’t be discouraged. While it is true that someone new to Six Sigma can be puzzled by the myriad of concepts, principles, charts and metric analysis, Six Sigma is, in the end, an approach based on pure common sense. And as one navigates through the discussions and literature on Six Sigma, one realizes that leadership boils down to applied common sense. As you learn more about Six Sigma principles and leadership, you’ll find that numerous writers will use the phrase, applied common sense, over and over again.Six Sigma Terms Provide Clues to LeadershipAssuming even basic knowledge of Six Sigma, what have you observed regarding the terms that are frequently raised? This question is essential because if we closely examine the terms and phrases that are frequently used by writers to describe Six Sigma processes, they can clue us ...
Tags: Factual Data, Openness, Quality Speed
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Monday, April 6th, 2009

The need for Six Sigma training has arisen following two reasons. One, the demands of industry could not be met with the existing limited quality assurance methods and two, the tremendous financial opportunities for corporations that the 6 sigma methodology is creating of late.Many well-known organizations have developed their own Six Sigma training institutes, for in house training of their employees. Realizing the demand that could not be met by companies by themselves, many training institutes and universities have come forward and developed basic Six Sigma training courses.Differences In Six Sigma Training BasicsA quick look at the Six Sigma training course contents of various institutes immediately shows that they vary widely in their central focus, while still keeping the fundamentals of Six Sigma training content intact. However, this is hardly surprising when one realizes that corporations devise courses for training their own employees for more flexibility. However, the Six Sigma training curricula prepared by independent training institutes and universities closely resemble each other, brining credence and uniformity to all Six Sigma training.The Basics Of Six Sigma TrainingDifferences notwithstanding, the central theme of Six Sigma training required for certification must remain same. These are the six core basic elements of Six Sigma training:1. A thorough and complete training on the DMAIC process and 6 ...
Tags: Curricula, Training Institutes, Uniformity
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Monday, March 30th, 2009

Naturally, Six Sigma is considered for business continuity management, since it deals so actively with process analysis and improvement. But, before connecting Six Sigma with the management continuity processes, let us first go through the details and benefits of the concept of 6 Sigma in a business process.Definition Of Six SigmaSix Sigma can be defined as an ideal measurement of quality that is 3.4 defects per million occurrences. Mathematically, a sigma gives a measure of variation. For instance, evaluating the measure of variance in the average value of a process. In other words, a sigma value indicates the performance level of a process - and the higher the value, the fewer the defects per million occurrences.In a more practical language, we can define Six Sigma as a conventional, yet powerful statistical problem-solving tool that indicates wasteful costs, as well as the specific steps that can be taken to eliminate them. Thus, 6 Sigma can be said to be a quality process that triggers virtual elimination of defects from every process and product.Due to these qualities, 6 Sigma is a very effective strategy to adopt for business continuity, security and emergency management. When these three processes are not properly known, how many defects can be eliminated remains a big question. But when 6 ...
Tags: Customer Satisfaction, Occurrences, Six Sigma
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Friday, March 27th, 2009

The introduction of lean six sigma in the public sector has tremendously improved the performance, productivity, and customer serviceability of many companies over the time. The six-sigma process concentrates on using minimum resources such as workforce, materials, and funds. It helps to deliver solutions and results to the customers well on time. Let us understand the concept of lean six sigma in a better way. Earlier most companies use to follow only the six-sigma method to boost the overall development. As this method gave immediate results, entrepreneurs often relied on it to obtain desired results.Sometimes to obtain more preferred results, companies had to collect and analyze the data accurately and this process took longer time. As a result, it led to slow changes and illiberal practices. To combat such practices, public sectors incorporated lean flow method in the six-sigma method, which is jointly called as lean six-sigma method.Therefore, lean six sigma is the combination of two methods, lean flow and six sigma. Use of lean six sigma in the public sector is an implementation of a non-formalize type of investigative approach in the workflow of companies or organizations. The application of this method is suitable only after the immediate rescheduling of the new or improvised processes.Thus, lean six-sigma method helps organizations to ...
Tags: Performance Productivity, Serviceability, Workflow
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Monday, February 23rd, 2009

Introduction6 Sigma is all about quality improvement and was first pioneered by Motorola in the 1980s. Over the last few years, this methodology has received much recognition and several companies have adopted it in order to meet their targets. Six Sigma's clientele include a long list of well-established manufacturers like General Motors, Ford Motor Co., GE, Honeywell and many more. However, there are still many non-manufacturing companies that have come to the conclusion that 6 Sigma will not work for them. This is because Six Sigma was originally developed for helping the manufacturing industry. Organizations such as health care systems, financial service providers and educational systems all doubt the usefulness of 6 Sigma.Why The Service Sector Feels That Six Sigma Is Not For ThemThe most obvious reason why service companies keep away from 6 Sigma is because they perceive it as a manufacturing tool. Service organizations feel that because their companies have a large amount of human work force, there are no measurable defects to be corrected. However, experts say this is not true. A recent survey has shown that service companies that have invested in Six Sigma are all saving millions of dollars for every project. Human resources makes up a large part of all service organizations. To conquer this problem, ...
Tags: Analytical Tools, Service Organizations, Sigma Projects
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Sunday, January 25th, 2009

Although the program has proven wildly successful in many different cases, other companies have tried to implement the Six Sigma system with results that can best be described as mixed. A large part of the "mixed" (and you can read that as "negative"!) results can be attributed to an improper implementation of the Six Sigma process.One way in which to avoid mixed results stemming from improper implementation is Six Sigma certification.What is Six Sigma Certification?Simply put, Six Sigma certification is an indication that an individual has received training in Six Sigma programs. It is usually issued after the successful completion of a training course at a certain level of the Six Sigma program (black belts, green belts, master black belts, and so on).As with certification in many different areas, such as obtaining a driver's license, the certification comes not just after training, but after a student has demonstrated an understanding about that training. This understanding can be demonstrated both through class participation and the oral and written test portions of the program. It should be understood that this certification does not necessarily denote skill level within the area; there are different levels of proficiency across any classroom and Six Sigma is no exception.In addition, many aspects of the training are not standardized, ...
Tags: Sigma Concept, Six Sigma Training, Written Test
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Sunday, January 25th, 2009

The unbelievable results achieved by the pioneers of the Six Sigma management methodology and implementation were not realized overnight. Concerted efforts of by the entire organization and unwavering support by top management over a long period of time are what it takes to see results. The employees of an organization, through specialized Six Sigma training, play key roles through 6 sigma implementation. The key players in 6 sigma implementation not only need specialized Six Sigma training, they also need a different mindset and dedication to the process.Six Sigma Training - What Is It?Six Sigma training is available from various institutes certified to provide the training using either offline or online delivery methods. Six Sigma training is aimed at providing comprehensive and rational methodology and techniques. Six Sigma training courses normally cover process improvement techniques as stepping stones for students and lead to either green belt or black belt certifications.Six Sigma training course fees normally vary from $450 for a one-day course, up to $6000 for a two-week lean 6 Sigma program. The Champion's Leadership Program is conducted onsite only. Still, there are some other institutes that combine the black belt and green belt Six Sigma Training into what is known as the 2+2 format. Attending this dual Six Sigma training helps improve ...
Tags: Concerted Efforts, Dmadv, Process Capabilities
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Thursday, January 22nd, 2009

Six Sigma software tools augment the implementation of Six Sigma methodology by complimenting and sometimes substituting human efforts. Six Sigma software tools fill in the vacuum of additional needs by companies that are implementing the Six Sigma methodology.Six Sigma Software Tools - Features And SizeSix Sigma software tools are available in different modules covering various aspects of implementation. There is one comprehensive package on the market that covers the entire span of Six Sigma activities. However, buying a Six Sigma software tool that comprises all modules during the course of Six Sigma implementation means that they all can't possibly be used. Generally, Six Sigma software tools are developed on an Excel platform.When you are evaluating Six Sigma software tools, the size of your business or that of the Six Sigma implementation should not be of undue concern. Most Six Sigma software developers keep factors like these in mind when developing their products. There are two different Six Sigma software tools available, such as a desktop edition and an enterprise edition. You will always be able to find the type of software that you need. Due to recent improvements in technology, there is also a web-enabled module available!Different Modules From Various Software DevelopersSoftware developers, in accordance with the needs and demands of different ...
Tags: Desktop Edition, Management Package, Process Simulation
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