How to Begin a Six Sigma Project

Six Sigma is a workplace methodology developed by Motorola in the 1980s. Six Sigma involves training an entire organization, from the management to the customer service representatives. Six Sigma focuses on optimized process flow and improved customer satisfaction. Implementation is simple on paper, but requires a large amount of effort and time on the part of an organization.

Difficulty:

Challenging

Instructions

1. Train the team. Train executives, champions, black belts and green belts. Training takes up to four months as a black belt and employees will often need to leave their daily duties.

2. Define an opportunity. Decide what is most important for the customer. Collect any background information pertaining to the process.

3. Collect data to measure the performance of the process. Use parameters set when the opportunity was defined.

4. Use statistical tools to analyze the data. Use the procedures learned during Six Sigma training.

5. Implement solutions. Use what was learned from data analysis. All levels of the team need to support the solutions and believe in them.

6. Check the improvements. Don't take anything for granted. Don't get frustrated because progress is slow.

Tips & Warnings

• Six Sigma normally take years to begin producing results and the costs of implementation are high. Scrutinize the pros and cons of the process before beginning it.

References

• Six Sigma