What exactly is Six Sigma with so much recent Hype?

Answer 1

It is a "system" that is intended to improve processes and eliminate defects at the same time. It was developed by Motorola. Some employers have been successful with adopting the practices, others have been forced to discontinue because of internal staffing problems. Personally, it is given way too much 'hype' in my opinion - in my former job we had this process 'forced' upon us ... yes, defects went down, but the backlog of work increased to where more employees had to be put on the line, thus increasing the defects once again ... a vicious cycle.

______________________________________________________________________ First of all, it is not a system it is a methodology of a road map to guide you through a very intricate complex way to troubleshoot with data analysis. I do not mean to knock another poster working to help other people but It deserves Hype! It allows you to see defects in processes that you would never be able to see with your eyes or touch with your hands. The staffing issue is not the problem as much as understanding this is a method that has a course to follow, if not plotted and followed correctly it is bound to fail. Poor training, lack of management resources and lack of understanding are what causes work overload. Anything can fail. What is important to remember is not that you are applying SixSigma methodology or lean thinking, but that you are bringing improvement to a process or a problem.

It really depends on the problem that you have how you go about "fixing" it. The advantage of having a toolbox that has both SixSigma and Lean is that you can use what is appropriate for you in your particular situation.

Lean is great for the "big picture" cleaning and bringing standardization to a work environment. SixSigma is great for bringing preciseness and repeatability to a process. In most cases there is an "entwinement" of the two. The more knowledge we have the better equipped we are to solve problems. Six Sigma Costs And Savings

The financial benefits of implementing Six Sigma at your company can be significant. Bookmark This Page email This Page Cite This Article Submit an Article Read More Articles Related Tools & Articles Calculating the Cost and Savings of Six Sigma Quality

Quantify the Benefits of Six Sigma Projects

Capturing Financial Benefits From Lean Manufacturing Six Sigma Quick Poll Is 0.5% of company revenue too much to invest in Six Sigma? Yes

No

Unsure

Depends on the ROI

Discussion Forum "I put four Black Belts in place and they complete four projects each that first year and savings of $1,200,000 based on $75,000 savings per project. In the second year, I put in place six more BBs and now I have a total of ten and at year end I should have a bottom line savings of $3,000,000 (10 BBs at $75,000 per project x 4 projects each) plus the $1,200,000 from the first year or a grand total of $4,200,000 savings after the second year. Or do I not include the first year savings?"

Cumulative BB Savings In Projects

Many people say that it takes money to make money. In the world of Six Sigma quality, the saying also holds true: it takes money to save money using the Six Sigma quality methodology. You can't expect to significantly reduce costs and increase sales using Six Sigma without investing in training, organizational infrastructure and culture evolution. Sure you can reduce costs and increase sales in a localized area of a business using the Six Sigma quality methodology. If you want to produce a culture shift within your organization, a shift that causes every employee to think about how their actions impact the customer and to communicate within the business using a consistent language, it's going to require a resource commitment. Companies of all types and sizes are in the midst of a quality revolution. GE saved $12 billion over five years and added $1 to its earnings per share. Honeywell (AlliedSignal) recorded more than $800 million in savings.

"GE produces annual benefits of over $2.5 billion across the organization from Six Sigma."

"Motorola reduced manufacturing costs by $1.4 billion from 1987-1994."

"Six Sigma reportedly saved Motorola $15 billion over the last 11 years." www.dbar-innovations.com * http://www.dbar-innovations.com * Mentorsoftpro, A complete Lean Six Sigma Mentoring, training, statistical analysis and multi project tracking management system. In other words, all you would ever need to do any Six Sigma project, one at a time, twenty at a time or a corporation capable software system. * Starting with understanding the DMAIC method, with out this you are never going to have successful results. I recently discovered this site dedicated to answering all the Lean Six Sigma / process improvement needs and questions. They offer a very complete software system that will walk you through the entire DMAIC methodology. It has a training video at every possible step including example data, video demonstration, voice guided instructions, templates for every step and a management tracking system. 713-436-6941