Six Sigma Blog

Russia is looking for Lean Manufacturing

Russia has become an important player in the world economy in the recent years. It has made significant progress economically, thanks to the rich gas and oil resources. Now, Russia is planning to improve its competitiveness by banishing wastes from processes in industries and organizations. The first Russian Lean Forum was held in the city of Yekaterinburg in the industrial heart of Russia. More than 250 top managers from various industries participated in the forum to discuss the benefits and implementation of Lean Manufacturing.

Lean Manufacturing experts from the USA, Japan, Italy and Turkey have made presentations in the forum. OrgProm LLC, a Yekaterinburg-based company, was the main sponsor of the forum. The company believes that the forum will be an annual event in the city, as it is accessible to all parts of the country through a large railroad and air hub.

According to Ural Business Consulting -

Present were representatives from such Russian and international companies, as the “GAZ Group” (automotive), Russian Aluminum (RUSAL), KUMZ (aluminum), EvrazHolding (steel), KAMAZ (heavy truck producer), VSMPO-AVISMA (titanium), ZMZ (car engines), URALMASH (machine building), Boeing, the European Bearing Corporation and many others.

Technology Solutions Company Develops New Six Sigma Solution

Technology Solutions Company (TSC) has announced the development of a new and fully integrated Enabling Driver for Growth & Efficiency (EDGE) package solution for SAP. The solution is designed to help companies increase their operational and manufacturing performance. TSC is a leading consulting firm. EDGE goes beyond Six Sigma and Lean to enable adaptive and continuous business process improvements in key business processes. EDGE package solution focuses on improving the quality and productivity of the enterprises. EDGE enables companies to focus on those processes that create value for their customers, which ultimately drives profitable growth.

According to Yahoo -

EDGE is designed for ease of implementation with a fixed time and fee approach that delivers quick time to value, enabling IM&C companies to better meet market demands and provide competitive advantage without straining budgets and introducing risk to their business.

Six Sigma in Small Businesses

Small business owners will eventually sense the need for Six Sigma implementation in businesses. Any company that is on the threshold of expanding the operations to meet the growing customer expectations focuses on its resources on generating more sales. Small companies with 50 - 100 employees and revenue of $10-15 million may find themselves in trouble. They require consultants who can enhance the capabilities of their organizations. The cost of hiring consultants is not affordable for all companies. Hence, they explore the options such as hiring a Black Belt and having their employees trained in-house for Green Belt positions.

An experienced Black Belt provides greater benefits through own knowledge and experience. Black Belts have proven track record and have the best chances of outweighing the initial cost benefit of grooming in-house Black Belts. For the effective implementation of Six Sigma processes, Black Belts are often required. Green Belts can assist them in accomplishing their job even though they do not have high skill. An experienced Black Belt can take minor shortcomings of Green Belts in stride and things will eventually balance out.

Asian Six Sigma Summit 2006

The Asian Six Sigma Summit 2006 will be held in Singapore. The summit will focus on the need of improvement of quality to survive in the marketplace. Six Sigma not only focuses on quality improvements, but also helps in defining the processes with a customer-centric approach. Six Sigma is not an easy methodology to deploy. It is very important to understand the methodologies and tools available. Individuals, who work on Six Sigma deployments, gain support from the business leaders and the project team. The Asian Six Sigma Summit will cover all aspects of Six Sigma process and its deployment. Over a hundred Six Sigma, Quality and Business Excellence practitioners and experts from all over the Asia Pacific attended the Asian Six Sigma Summit last year. This year, the attendance is expected increase substantially.

Ford Recognizes Freudenberg-NOK for Six Sigma Capabilities

In a significant development, Freudenberg-NOK recently received recognition of achievement award from Ford Motor Company for its consumer-driven Six Sigma accomplishments. The award is part of Ford's World Excellence Awards program. It recognizes suppliers who not only achieve the highest levels of cost, quality and delivery, but also people who embrace the vision to build Ford's legacy and drive innovation to new heights. The recognition of achievement award honors suppliers who influence customer satisfaction by providing significant contributions in key areas including environmental leadership, customer-focused technology and consumer-driven Six Sigma.

According to Reliable Plant -

Freudenberg-NOK's Advanced Vibration and Acoustics (AVA) group was charged with optimizing the sealing isolation system and the noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) characteristics for a cam cover design. AVA has developed techniques to synergize sealing and NVH, which are typically opposing phenomena.

MagnaChip Launches Six Sigma Improvement Program

South Korea's MagnaChip Semiconductor has launched a Six Sigma quality improvement program to streamline its processes. The Six Sigma program is aimed at strengthening its production, development, sales and marketing operations. MagnaChip had been considering a US IPO for a long time. Now it is planning to delay the stock offering until 2007. The company is expected to raise as much as $700 million for expansion and debt reduction by listing the company on the Nasdaq exchange during 2006.

The company has raised more than $1 billion in private debt during the past two years. MagnaChip had broken away from South Korea's Hynix Semiconductor in 2005 in an $828 million buyout financed by Citigroup and Francisco Partners. It has moved its focus on its application processor business after quitting the DRAM founder business. It realized the need for an effective program to improve its quality and productivity. Hence, it has selected the Six Sigma program.

Six Sigma Global Inc. to appear on World Business Review TV Series

According to Multi-Media Productions, Inc., Six Sigma Global Inc. will appear on World Business Review TV series hosted by Alexander Haig. World Business Review will explore how Six Sigma Global has taken the DMAIC methodology to the next level to guide managers in making intelligent decisions based on qualified and quantified information. Most companies have a vision to take their company to the highest level. The Six Sigma methodology trains the leadership of these companies to enable their teams in achieving those visions through the strategic approach of the DMAIC process. Business Wire has published an article on the Same Topic.

Six Sigma Global has been working in the field of Quality, Continuous Improvement, and Problem Solving since 1999. We have trained, supported and mentored over 3000 highly successful Executives, Champions, Black Belts and Green Belts in the field of Six Sigma.

Exervio Consulting's Design for Six Sigma Green Belt Certification

Exervio Consulting has announced the design for Six Sigma Green Belt Certification. Exervio has collaborated with a leading global financial services firm for execution of strategic projects within fulfillment operations and transactions services. Exervio Consulting has launched the design for Matt Pagel, management-consulting manager. Pagel was able to successfully execute the design for Six Sigma methodology and obtain green belt certification for his project. According to him, an estimated annual cost saving of $1.03 million can be achieved each year through this initiative. Charlotte dBusiness News has published an article on the Same Topic.

Exervio is a management and information technology-consulting firm with offices in Atlanta, GA and Charlotte, NC. Exervio serves local clients by deploying small, senior-level consulting teams to manufacturing, retail, financial, government and other industries.

Six Sigma Black Belt Jobs

Six Sigma Black Belt professionals are high in demand across the globe. Black Belt professionals are usually responsible for managing the planning, facilitation and completion of Lean Six Sigma projects to support the strategic cost reduction objectives of the company. They also simplify and consolidate organizational processes and apply Lean Six Sigma principles & tools to improve overall quality and processes. The salary package of the Black Belt professionals varies from company to company. However, they receive lucrative salary because of their high demand in the market.

Black Belt professionals have the ability to lead, coach, train and mentor teams in the use of Six Sigma tools and processes. They also train and mentor Green Belts in the organization. The expectation from Black Belts is very high. They are often required to partner with process owners and business teams to create a culture that supports process management and continuous improvement in alignment with company strategy. Certified Six Sigma Black Belt with 1 - 5 years experience are often preferred in most companies. They must have the following qualities in addition to their qualification and experience:

• Team Leadership Skills
• Ability to manage and monitor multiple projects
• Strong analytical and problem solving skills

The Robust Nature of Six Sigma

Six Sigma's strength lies in its structured ability. When it is rationally executed, it brings forth the inherent shortcomings in any process. The implementation methodology allows comparison of prevailing procedure against the most appropriate one aimed at reducing error-producing subroutines. Removing errors from the preparation stage will have a positive impact on subsequent processes. Six Sigma also leaves scope for customer value analysis and operational excellence methods. These methods are usually driven by a thorough understanding of customer values.

Now the organizations have realized that there is a need to look beyond Six Sigma. Six Sigma brings the objectives of companies to a winning stage. It is sustained for the future when a quality approach is adopted as a culture by the entire organization. Operational excellence is focused on execution of programs. It uses powerful analytical and measuring tools and prepares the ground for returning to the customers' requirements. Looking beyond Six Sigma requires a long-term vision. The vision puts the customer on top. It emphasizes on customer profitability and customer share. The next stage of Six Sigma clearly focuses on customers rather than organizations.

Six Sigma and Data Certification

As Six Sigma works to reduce defects, data certification improvement programs are often beneficial for the application of their methodologies. Today, companies focus on certified data and the processes that support it. They have applied Six Sigma concepts and philosophies to numerous processes and achieved positive results. However, only few companies have applied Six Sigma to their data quality processes. Six Sigma controls a process to limit output defects to 3.4 per million opportunities. While a defect is anything outside a customer's requirement specification, an opportunity is any chance of a defect occurring.

Most companies use Six Sigma more broadly. They use it as a goal of achieving near ideal quality for a product or service through new or improved processes and tools. Several renowned companies have used Six Sigma processes to improve their production processes for their products and services. These companies include aircraft engine manufacturers, medical systems and financial institutions.

Global Training Partnership between Omnex and AIAG

Omnex, Inc. and the Automotive Industry Group (AIAG) announced the formation of a global training partnership. They will offer Lean/Six Sigma training to AIAG members. As part of the agreement, Omnex will represent AIAG in India with offices in Chennai, Bangalore, Pune and Delhi. In the recent years, Omnex has earned a reputation in India as a provider of Lean/Six Sigma and automotive consulting solutions.

Omnex can offer these Lean/Six Sigma programs for AIAG. Omnex's involvement will benefit the customers in more than one way. AIAG has been at the forefront of automotive industry improvement for years. Omnex's experience and its existing infrastructure in India will help the company to expand its base in the growing automotive industry in India. Omnex, Inc. is a business management solution provider to the semiconductor, high technology and manufacturing industries. The Auto Channel has published an article on the Same Topic.

A not-for-profit association, AIAG's primary goals are to reduce cost and complexity within the automotive supply chain and to improve speed to market, product quality, employee health-and-safety and the environment.

Six Sigma Deployment in IT Process

There have been efforts in improving the IT processes and Six Sigma plays an important role in it. Companies that have been using Six Sigma for a long time are more likely to direct projects on improving IT processes than that have been using Six Sigma for a short period. They emphasize on integrating IT methods with Six Sigma and on aligning IT projects with business priorities. Most companies say that they use Six Sigma to improve IT processes. When other projects led to IT-based solutions, they were rarely implemented. Market Wire has published an article on the Same Topic.

"Only 17 percent of the more than 950 respondents said that their companies always or usually use Six Sigma to improve IT processes," said Marx, "And when other projects led to IT-based solutions, they were rarely implemented -- either because of the perceived cost or a lack of priority placed on IT."

Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma at Raytheon IAD

The Raytheon Integrated Air Defense (IAD) center in Massachusetts has 4,000 employees including 1,500 union members. It is a prime contractor for the military. The IAD started with Six Sigma in 1999 and added Lean in 2003. The IAD has several customers including the US Navy, which wanted Raytheon to adopt a Lean program to improve production. The Raytheon Lean Manufacturing program focuses on cultural change while connecting with the people who perform their duties with respect and integrity.

Raytheon has displayed positive approach towards the program. It emphasizes on setting a vision, establishing commitment from the executive team and planning a change management process. The adoption of Lean has affected their information system to a great extent. With Lean, Raytheon has identified a need to facilitate cross-functional teaming. MMS Magazine has published an article on the Same Topic.

The tour included three major manufacturing lines within Raytheon's facility. They were electronic printed circuit board assembly (surface mount devices), metal fabrication (CNC machining and welding), and mechanical assembly.

Fundamentals of Six Sigma

Six Sigma Management is a quality improvement system, which was originally developed by Motorola in the mid-1980s. Six Sigma offers a prescriptive and systematic approach to quality improvement. It places a great deal of emphasis on accountability and bottom-line results. Many companies use Six Sigma management to improve efficiency and eliminate defects. It also helps in reducing costs.

Six Sigma comes from the managerial approach designed to create processes that result in no more than 3.4 defects per million. One of the important characteristics of Six Sigma is a clear focus on achieving bottom-line results in a relatively short period. Initially, only a few companies adopted Six Sigma in their organizations. However, after seeing the success at these companies, other companies worldwide have instituted Six Sigma management programs.

BMG Integrates Six Sigma eLearning Curriculum

Breakthrough Management Group (BMG) announced that it has incorporated its Six Sigma eLearning course material into Projx program tracking system. The new features in this eLearning course will provide users with instant access to online tools training without leaving the system. BMG is a global leader in Performance Excellence and Six Sigma consulting, training and technology solutions.

Projx is an enterprise-wide reporting and information management system that captures, manages and guides the process excellence initiatives of an organization. It helps Lean and Six Sigma Black Belt practitioners to improve the efficiency, quality and productivity of their organizations. Adding the eLearning course to the system benefits Projx customers in reviewing specific topics, skills and tools they need to make the process deliver. PR Web has an article on the Same Topic.

Companies can choose to implement all of BMG’s eLearning courses in their entirety or select exact courses based on their specific Six Sigma roadmap. The new system is available to all existing and new ProjX customers through BMG.

Lean Six Sigma

After the dot-com bust of 2001, the IT industry have focused on cost-reduction, downsizing and scaling back. Companies adopted different processes to survive the scare caused in the industry. However, some companies embraced a particular approach called Lean Six Sigma. Lean six is a prescription for regaining business health and transforming a company to cut waste from its operations and increase productivity while improving quality.

Companies deploy Lean Six in various phases. There is little doubt that Lean Six helps them to turn profitable. Most of the companies claim that their improved business results are a direct result of Lean Six and they are looking to increase those results by applying Lean Six beyond their companies to customers and suppliers. Lean Six is a blend of two methodologies. The lean approach focuses on eliminating all types of waster including overproduction, waiting time, transportation and processing. It improves quality and reduces production time and cost.

Global Six Sigma Awards

The Global Six Sigma Awards that will be organized by WCBF have been announced. Ms. Jill M. Considine, Chairman & CEO of the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) has been named the winner of its prestigious Six Sigma CEO of the Year Award. The award will be presented at The Global Six Sigma Awards Gala Dinner on June 28 in Las Vegas. The Six Sigma CEO of the Year Award is sponsored by Breakthrough Management Group. This is the premium category of The Global Six Sigma Awards program. According to the reports, Ms. Considine was selected from the list of finalists by an independent judging panel.

DTCC is the world's largest post-trade infrastructure organization and, last year, settled in excess of 1.4 quadrillion dollars in securities transactions. With operating facilities in multiple locations in the United States and overseas, the company provides clearance, settlement and information services for equities, corporate and municipal bonds, government and mortgage-backed securities and over-the-counter credit and equity derivatives. Yahoo News has published an article on the Same Topic.

Six Sigma in Small Businesses

Small businesses eventually senses the need for Six Sigma implementation in their businesses. Six Sigma tools have been considered useful for larger organizations for a long time. That perception has changed significantly over the years. A small company planning to expand it operations to meet growing customer expectations will find Six Sigma implementation beneficial in order to optimize its resources on generating more sales than ever.

There is a need for proper assessment to find out how many resources can be afforded and whether Six Sigma is really needed for that particular organization. The cost of hiring consultants is not easily affordable. Companies have to explore options like hiring a Black Belt to train their employees in-house for Green Belt positions. Hiring a Black Belt may be expensive. But the benefits they will provide to the companies will be greater than that cost. An experienced Black Belt helps companies focus immediately on a pressing issue that is critically important for the respective organizations.

Six Sigma Training from ACC

Six Sigma training has always been useful for individuals, organizations and businesses who desire to excel with top quality performance and aim for best results. The trend has been continuing for more than 20 years. Many big and small organizations have used Six Sigma training from ACC (Alvin Community College) in order to eliminate defects and streamline operations to maximize customer satisfaction, cost-effectiveness and profits. One of the major benefits provided by ACC's Six Sigma training is the selection and prioritization of timely projects that are targeted to address specific organizational concerns.

ACC is now making this training program available in an interactive, blended learning format for distance education or live classroom settings. The program is offered through the Virtual College of Texas and ACC. There are different levels of Six Sigma training that include Black Belt and Green Belt for project managers. Thefacts.com has published an article on the Same Topic.