A flattening of company organizational structure was necessary in order to make a complete overhaul of the company’s operations using Six Sigma. A key factor in success when working with Six Sigma in your organization is having support from top management. Running a Six Sigma project requires the allotment of dedicated resources toward the cause, and this means top management will need to give approval for the use of these resources. Doing so will keep the project on target as well as do a great deal toward convincing other employees to give their full support to maintaining the integrity of the project as well.
Making a Six Sigma project work will require that everyone involved is on board. Include any employee who is working with the system. The desired results come through proper training as well as making the employees accountable for the project’s success. Regular communication and the sharing of success stories will also help keep employees enthusiastic about the program. It will also be necessary to not divert employee attention away from the Six Sigma project with other tasks that are outside of the project parameters.
By recognizing and rewarding employees that had an impact on Six Sigma projects, the organization must be able to maintain support and enthusiasm for the program. Showing your employees their value and how integral they are to the success of these projects will not only go a long way toward the project’s outcome but will be a key factor in their active involvement in further improvement efforts.
Each of improvement projects utilized the Six Sigma tool known as DMAIC. The company quickly saw the value of Six Sigma and this tool and worked towards incorporating it into every aspect of its operations in order to become the industry leader that it is today.
The integration of Six Sigma expanded to utilize the Six Sigma DMAIC process in manufacturing and the design stage of developing new products. This process is a cornerstone of the Six Sigma method and involves five phases. These phases are: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control.
During the Define phase of DMAIC, the problem to be addressed is defined. Also defined are the goals of the project, areas for improvement, and the requirements of the customer. Six Sigma tools implemented during this phase include Voice of the Customer and value stream maps.
In the Measure phase, the primary activity involves measuring how the current process is performing in relation to the expectations of customers. Six Sigma tools utilized during this phase include process maps, capability analysis, and Pareto charts. With a process map, the activities that are part of the process are recorded. In capability analysis, the ability of the current process to meet requirements is assessed. A Pareto chart is used to analyze the frequency of issues.
In the Analyze phase of DMAIC, the root causes are found through analysis of the process. This is accomplished using Six Sigma tools like root cause analysis, failure mode and effects analysis (FEMA), and a multi-vari chart. In root cause analysis, the actual root cause of problems is found. With FEMA, product, service, and process failures are identified. A multi-vari chart detects different types of variations that are occurring within a process.
The Improve phase of DMAIC is the actual improvement effort that is implemented. This involves actually addressing the root causes that were determined during the Analyze phase and eliminating them. Six Sigma tools typically used during this phase include design of experiments (DOE) and Kaizen events. The use of DOE aims to solve problems derived from complex processes and systems where there may be several factors that are influencing the outcome and where isolation of one variable from the others is impossible.
The final phase of DMAIC is Control, and its purpose is to lock down the improvements that have been made so that the issues do not occur again. Six Sigma tools used during this phase include statistical process control, mistake proofing, 5S, and the use of a control plan. Statistical process control is a tool that monitors process behavior. Mistake proofing serves to make errors immediately detectable or even impossible. 5S is a tool that creates visual control in a workplace, and a control plan documents what is needed to maintain the improvement of a process.
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