Six Sigma principles use numeric and statistical techniques to reduce the number of flaws in output to a very low level. The main goal of these principles is to simplify the process. The principles also give the utmost importance to the quality of supplies and parts. Further, these principles insist on the responsibility of employees to achieve the outcomes promised.
The straight engagement of the workforce in introducing Six Sigma strategies can play a major role in the successful implementation of Six Sigma. An important prerequisite is training important employees in Six Sigma techniques. Businesses that ensure the successful following of the Six Sigma implementation steps can see a considerable improvement in the company's performance as a whole. In turn, they can expect better returns financially as well. If you are wondering how to implement Six Sigma in your organization to eliminate waste and get other benefits, here are the Six Sigma implementation steps to be aware of:
Six Sigma Implementation Steps:
For any business, the initial step in implementing Six Sigma is to decide to use this methodology. When one person in an organization recommends Six Sigma implementation, others should also accept it. This person suggested that Six Sigma convince the organization's leadership by letting them know the benefits of implementation. Once the leaders in an organization start believing that they can profit with Lean Six Sigma, they will give their fullest support for the successful implementation of Six Sigma practices. Once every person involved in key decision-making in an organization accepts the implementation of Six Sigma, here are the steps to follow when you learn how to implement Lean Six Sigma.
1. Creation of a Burning Point:
The burning point will give the most convincing reasons for the question of why implement Lean Six Sigma. Here are a few examples of the burning point:
- Our organization is experiencing a huge capital loss, which accounts for a major portion of our costs. Six Sigma should be implemented to reduce the loss.
- Our competitors have started to capture our market by 12%, which happens gradually every quarter.
Without a burning platform, which means convincing reasons to implement Six Sigma, employees will likely lose interest and motivation to implement ongoing improvements. The working employees and the organization's leadership should be aware of the burning platform. The forerunning team should understand the ways Lean Six Sigma can help address the issues in the burning platform statement.
2. Bring Resources in Place:
As you intend to find the answer to the question of how to apply Six Sigma in an organization, you should not hesitate to hire the right resources. Also, the gathering of resources should be done with a fitting price tag. This rule applies to any resource, be it human resources, technology or material. However, resources alone cannot ensure successful Six Sigma implementation. They should be in a position to work together as a team and they should be powerful enough to carry out initiatives themselves.
When gathering suitable human resources for the Six Sigma implementation process, you should know what to look for in a potential hire. For instance, you should not hire someone who loves to work in isolation without communicating with others, as he is not a suitable resource for this implementation.
3. Let the Team Learn the Technique:
You can ensure the survival of Lean Six Sigma for the entire life of your organization, you should ensure that the people engaged in its implementation are taught how to function as powerful change agents. It will be possible to increase organizational awareness with skilled mentors along with black belt, green belt and yellow belt training. The employees spotted for training should share the vision of the organization.
4. Prioritize Activities:
Once the right resources are spotted and trained, the team can find a lot of activities to be completed in front of them. This is where prioritizing becomes important. Organizations should make it a priority to:
- Make sure that Lean Six Sigma efforts stay connected to the business goals.
- Spot critical-to-quality criteria
- Listen to the customer
Learning what to overlook and the right places to take risks is crucial. Further, if you wish to implement Six Sigma correctly, you should also ensure that the activities are evaluated. This should ensure that they meet the expectations of the overall organizational goals.
5. Establish Ownership:
One of the important Six Sigma implementation steps is clearly defining who owns the Lean Six Sigma initiative. You can decide the ownership by appointing a group of people to determine who will be responsible for the entire team’s activities. When a person gets ownership, he will get the power and, of course, a sense of pride. When they have a person to report to, team members will feel more engaged, accountable, and committed as well.
6. Taking the Right Measurements:
When something cannot be measured, it cannot be improved. So, to ensure the success of Lean Six Sigma implementation, you should create a measurement system. With this system, team members can spot baseline performance. They can also use the data to analyze variations and make objective decisions.
The important aspect of measurement is to get the cost of quality correct. Organizations will have to spot a method to evaluate process performance to ensure they get data quickly. When the scorecard has a lot of items, team members' attention might shift from a few crucial metrics. They must spot and evaluate the vital leading pointers rather than measuring the many filling pointers.
7. Governing the Program:
You should not overlook this step if you wish to know how to implement Lean Six Sigma correctly. Yes, the appropriate governance system in place can help a program retain momentum. When discussing governance, it should not be too low or too high. Both can lead the vision to fall away. With proper management, team members can also create the best practice sharing form that aids projects to be replicated. It may help with spotting and highlighting common challenges. Without regularly scheduled, review sessions and productive meetings, the program can leave away from the track and the team members might face a lack of guidance.
8. Rewards Contributions:
Recognition and rewards can ensure that team members stay content in their roles. They can develop enthusiasm for the program from the grassroots and top-down levels. Recognition and rewards even aid with driving innovation throughout the organization.
In this step, any employee's contributions should be recognized appropriately with a reward or a promotion. This will motivate the person getting the reward to come up with the best ideas and other team members. When the contributions are rightly recognized, improving employee retention will also be possible.
Now, you know the steps to follow as the answer to your question of how to apply Six Sigma in an organization.
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Tips For Better Implementation:
Now you know the answer to the question of how to implement Six Sigma in the form of steps involved in the process. Here are some tips to make this process easier and simple further:
- The best technique you can follow to implement Six Sigma is to try it out via a pilot project.
- Also, every participant in the implementation process should get through training. This training aims to ensure that the participants have the best knowledge of Six Sigma principles and methods.
- Further, when forming a team to implement Six Sigma, it is better to ensure that a black belt holder leads the team. It would also be better to engage the same group of people who participated in the pilot project.
- Then, the team members together under leadership should discuss and plan for the implementation.
- Whatever was planned earlier should be executed rightly.
- Finally, evaluating the progress is equally important. Only when evaluations are done can errors be spotted, and appropriate corrective measures can be to your question of how to apply Six Sigma in an organization.
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