Before we actually start discussing on golden rules of implementing six sigma let us first discuss why any organization needs six sigma. I believe below are the reasons that drives an organization towards six sigma.
Lack of initiative in new process or design.
Delay in deliverables.
Lack of collaboration between processes.
No continuous quality improvement process in place.
Loss of customer satisfaction.
In a simple word any organization which is not meeting stakeholder's satisfaction need a change and it could be better in terms of six sigma if reasons are mentioned above.
Implementation of six sigma is a basically "Top down approach" and broadly can be treated as waterfall model.
Leadership Commitment :
By leadership here we would like to mean all categories of leaders and not only the top management of an organization.
The informal leaders are the most recognized and highly influential leaders in a Six Sigma project. The presence of quality leadership commitment trait in these informal leaders is very much essential for the success of any Six Sigma strategy. Informal leaders are a very integral part of Six Sigma implementation and maintenance team and without their involvement means sure failure of the strategy. Besides, informal leaders will resent being out of the major activity loop and will not extend cooperation in the areas they excel resulting in the lack of procedural influence. Therefore you should have well trained informal leaders. Occasional hiring of Black Belt trained informal leaders will also give an impetus to the successful implementation of Six Sigma strategy. In other words, they are the people who will help to get the ball rolling as well as rolling in the right direction.
Strategic Alignment:
This alignment required because many organizations lack a common understanding about their projects. This lack of clarity can impede progress toward achieving the organizations goals.
Strategic Alignment Ensuring how to keep projects on track and aligned with corporate strategy, while keeping key stakeholders engaged with the project
Change managers/Leaders :
This is a management skills which include leadership development, marketing and sales. Is the "black art" of Six Sigma deployment
Customer focused market knowledge :
Six sigma always driven by vision and mission of the organization. Processes are designed from the perspective of the customer and are enabled by a commitment to thinking in terms of processes across the organization. Metrics such as SLA adherence, reliability, price, on-time delivery, service and accuracy provide the targets. The customer focus creates market knowledge that can illuminate the need for process change in areas where the company can add value or implement improvements that customers themselves value most
Bottom Line Benefits :
The main aim is to improved bottom-line profitability. Satisfied customers come back for more and encourage business associates, family and friends to do the same. It is the vote of the customers, not that of an awards committee or certification board, that counts. In today’s competitive business environment, initiatives must justify themselves economically.
According to Peter Drucker, “Profit is not the explanation, cause or rationale of business behavior and business decisions, but the test of their validity.”
Process Approach : There should be only two approaches. One is DMAIC & other is DFSS. DMAIC should be applied in existing process and DFSS should be applied in new process.
Decision with measurement: The deployment of Six Sigma in a service or transactional environment usually entails working with various information systems, which may seem “data rich” at first glance but are, in fact, data poor due to their design and implementation. For this reason there should be some specific measurement system to overcome this. Some metrics are really useful in this purpose.
Continuous innovation : You have to a mindset for continuous innovation. Need to think always out of box for innovation and right people in place. Leadership team needs to be patient which is key to success.
Organizational learning :
By implementing Six Sigma Organization also moving towards a better process and quality oriented organization which is a great learning
Continuous refinement :
Continuous refinement is necessary to achieve reduce defect hence cost. Over a period of time we get controlled over the process and continuous refinement will help to improve quality.
Key Success Factor of six sigma implementation :
· Master Black Belt and Black belt should drive the organization towards six sigma.
· Training and techniques of six sigma methodologies and tools should be available to the all employees.
· Always focus on customer delight which not only reduce cost but also enable breakthrough bottom line results.
· Awards, rewards and recognition for successful six sigma project teams.
