Six Sigma Blog

It's a 1000 for Mercury Marine

For nearly three years, Lean Six Sigma has been a way of doing business for Mercury Marine. In end-August this year, Mercury completed 1000 projects using the Six Sigma improvement process.

These projects have been marked by an elimination of waste and a speeding up of almost all business process at Mercury Marine, including product design, manufacturing, planning, sales, distribution, and service. Reliable Plant reports:

Since [Mercury President] Mackey launched the cultural transformation of Mercury three years ago, nearly 700 management and production employees have been formally trained in Lean Six Sigma methods, with dozens more attending training every quarter.

Six Sigma for IT Management: Now on the stands!

Six experts have contributed to a book on the applicability of Six Sigma in IT management. A first of its kind, the book targets both the initiated and the uninitiated, and looks into the benefits of Six Sigma in the IT environment, the right timing for utilizing the Six Sigma principles, and the practical techniques that will help IT practitioners minimize defects in their business processes.

The book also talks about the ITIL approach, and how this can be combined with Six Sigma to produce the desired result in the IT industry. Published by itSMF, the book is available across the globe at local outlets and on the stores of Amazon.com and Van Haren Publishing.

For more information on this important publication, click here.

How Six Sigma Affects You

Six Sigma affects your organization in the following ways:

• Recognize the benefits of being part of a Six Sigma implementation
• Match the Six Sigma roles to the business activities of employees involved in Six Sigma
• Sequence the DMAIC team life cycle
• Identify the steps in the DMAIC problem-solving model
• Identify examples of the challenges that are faced by the employees when Six Sigma is implemented within an organization
• Associate the capabilities for successful Six Sigma participation
• Apply Six Sigma capabilities to participate in the Six Sigma initiative of an organization.

Read my previous post titled "Applying Lean Manufacturing to Six Sigma" to know about lean manufacturing.

Six Sigma Training

There has been an increased interest in Six Sigma in recent years. There are several Six Sigma training processes that will help you learn how poor quality harms your business. Six Sigma training will enable you explore what Six Sigma means and the critical elements of the approach. You will gain an understanding of the new roles that some employees will fill.

Six Sigma training methods will introduce you to a straightforward framework for satisfying your customers, reducing waster and increasing efficiency and quality in your organization. You will be then in a position to examine how you can meet Six Sigma challenges and the skills that is needed for the growth of the organization.

Read my previous post titled "Developing E-Learning With Six Sigma" to know more about E-Learning with Six Sigma.

How Six Sigma Differs from Traditional Quality Model

Six Sigma is completely different from the traditional quality model of process capability. Traditional quality model was applied only to manufacturing processes, while Six Sigma is applied to all important business processes. Traditional quality model was known as Three Sigma.

Three Sigma had a process standard deviation of less than one-sixth of the total allowable spread. Six Sigma requires the process standard deviation at less than one-twelfth of the total allowable spread. These differences are far more reflective than one might realize.

Read my previous post titled "Driving Value through Lean Six Sigma" to know more about Lean Six Sigma.

Dual Certification Offered at ISSSC

ISSSC, in association with the Harrington Institute, is the first national company to offer dual certifications during Six Sigma Training and Certification courses. Students in ISSSC's Green Belt courses can obtain their Six Sigma Green Belt and their Certified Manager Process Improvement (CMPI).

Tests for both certifications will be conducted at the end of 3-day course. Six Sigma and Project Management certifications are beneficial in today's business world for job placement and advancement. Six Sigma's methodology is essential in consistently delivering projects on time.

You can get a detailed information on Six Sigma certification from my previous post titled "What Is Involved In Six Sigma Certification?".

Instantis Publishes Six Sigma Maturity Model

Instantis, the leading provider of on-demand software for managing top-down performance improvement initiatives like Six Sigma. We all know that Six Sigma methodology is being adopted by thousands of global enterprises to measure and improve a company's operational performance through rigorous use of data and statistical analysis.

Dr. Prasad Raje, Instantis CEO and founder, developed the model and authored the white paper that defines the commonly experienced stages of Six Sigma maturity. The model is said to have tremendous practical value for organizations that want to benchmark their progress against industry norms, assess implementation strengths and performance gaps.

My previous post titled "Identifying Six Sigma Steps" will give you information on Six Sigma steps.

Six Sigma Online Training

Six Sigma e-Learning (Six Sigma online training) is delivered via the Internet, CD/DVDS, personal digital assistants, television, MP3 players and phones. e-Learning can be passive or interactive and is found in lectures, tutorials and simulations. More than one format is often involved in e-learning programs. In the case of Six Sigma online training, an entire e-learning industry of e-learning service providers has developed to help organizations facilitate the in-house development of the continuous improvement methodology and culture.

Read our previous post titled “Are you Ready For Six Sigma?” to get useful information on Six Sigma.

Six Sigma IQ Excellence Awards

The Six Sigma IQ Excellence Awards have been established to honor, recognize and promote Six Sigma projects that demonstrate best practices and to expand and increase the implementation of Six Sigma methodology globally. To reward the highest achieving individuals, teams and the projects in Six Sigma, these awards serve as a fantastic opportunity to credit the hard work and dedication devoted by many to Six Sigma. Six Sigma IQ has assembled a list of Six Sigma experts and leaders to evaluate the effectiveness of the Six Sigma projects.

Read my previous post titled "What Is Six Sigma Certification?" to know about Six Sigma Certification.

Six Sigma Black Belt Training

Recently, I have browsed through the website of Breakthrough Management Group (BMG). BMG is offering Six Sigma Black Belt Training and Certification Program that builds competent, data-driven Six Sigma practitioners. BMG's training seems to be a comprehensive training program. It follows the DMAIC phases and teaches candidates how to integrate a variety of Six Sigma tools into an overall approach to process improvement.

To know more about DMAIC, read my previous post titled "DMAIC and DMADV in Six Sigma".

BMG's training program teaches students to define and launch a project. It also gives them idea on how to transition it from phase to phase. BMG takes a real-life approach to Six Sigma Black Belt training. The Black Belt program is technically designed to ensure that all graduates learn how to implement solutions that can produce financial results.

Global Lean/Six Sigma Training from Omnex and AIAG

Omnex Inc. and the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) have announced the formation of a global training and consulting partnership between the two companies to offer Lean/Six Sigma training in Asia. According to the deal, Omnex will deliver AIAG-accredited training programs in China, India and Thailand.

Omnex began its Asia operations in 1995 with Thailand as its Asia Pacific headquarters. Now it has six fully functional offices in the Asia region. Both companies share a common vision to provide consistent state-of-the-art quality education and training that supports the emerging needs in the corporate sector.

Read my previous post titled “Why Six Sigma Has Become the Most Powerful Improvement Tool?” to know more about Six Sigma methodology.

Driving Value through Lean Six Sigma

Now companies have acknowledged that Six Sigma and Lean share a common objective: to create value-based end-customer requirements. Recently, I had written a post titled "Applying Lean Manufacturing to Six Sigma" that talked about Lean and Six Sigma. Six Sigma has stimulated the concept that if a process lies within six standard deviations of the mean, production quality is definitely guaranteed. However, quality alone is not enough for the process.

The ability to eliminate process waste in the supply chain while delivering Six Sigma levels of quality will win the current race. If you keep a close watch on industry activities, you will find that there is rush among enterprises for achieving Six Sigma and lean standards in their organizations.

Asian automotive industry gets Lean/Six Sigma training

There is good news for the automotive sector in Asia. The Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) and Omnex Inc. have come together to offer training in Lean/Six Sigma to companies in China, India, Thailand, and other Asian countries.

AIAG, which was launched in 1982 by representatives from auto leaders Ford, GM, and Chrysler, has now become a globally recognized body. Its partnership with leading automotive consulting firm Omnex is expected to usher in an era of top-rung training facilities in Lean/Six Sigma. PowerHomeBiz quotes Dr. Yilong Chen, General Director of Asia Pacific Affairs and Chief Representative in China:

AIAG looks forward to the opportunity to partner with OMNEX in both North America and Asia. We share a common vision to provide consistent state-of-the-art quality education and training that supports the emerging needs of our growing membership worldwide.

We deliver Lean and Six Sigma in Healthcare, says MMTC

At the end of a Lean/Six Sigma healthcare pilot program run by the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center (MMTC), the hospital personnel who received the training have emerged with a positive frame of mind. In terms of figures, the hospitals expect the training to pay back anything between $2.8 and $4.1 million.

The training lasted for eight months, during which participants received inputs on improving processes such as increased surgical capacities, improved patient satisfaction along with faster emergency room care, quicker lab results, and shorter patient wait times for specialty clinic appointments.

Lean and Six Sigma principles are normally applied in the manufacturing sector, but the healthcare pilot program has clearly demonstrated that the concepts can be equally effectively applied to non-manufacturing sectors as well. Encouraged by the results of the pilot program, MMTC has envisioned even more ambitious plans:

[MMTC is] inviting hospitals throughout Southeast Michigan to attend and learn about the benefits of embracing LEAN/Six Sigma principles. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear testimony from one of the alumni pilot hospitals. MMTC will host the session on September 29th from 1:30 to 4:00 p.m. at the headquarters of Automation Alley in Troy, Michigan.

Yahoo Finance has the full report.

Mercury Marine reaches magical 1000th project with Six Sigma

It all began in 2003 for Mercury Marine as far as its Six Sigma process improvement implementation is concerned. Over the next three years, Six Sigma has touched thousands of Mercury employees around the globe, helping them build better business processes. So much so, that the JD Power surveys put Mercury at the top of the list of companies that are driven by customer satisfaction. BYM News reports:

...nearly 700 management and production employees have been formally trained in Lean Six Sigma methods, with dozens more attending training every quarter. The company has also worked with its suppliers and customers to create a lean supply chain to ensure the highest quality products are manufactured and available for consumers.