Vishwadeep Khatri

Well said, Nagendra. Should absolutely take into account the upstream and downstream flow. If signals are too close, small batches are the better bet. Regards, VK

Hi, Rajesh, thanks for sharing this. Sequencing of signals should be workable in several key areas. Regards, VK

As I wait at a traffic signal to turn green in peak hours, I have noticed something peculiar. Even the last vehicle crossing the intersection before signal change is seen to be crawling. In my opinion this should not be the case. The commuter sequence at the intersection mostly seems to go like this. You wait at the signal for the light to turn green. As it turns green, there is a time lag before your vehicle starts moving. As the turtle pace starts to improve, the signal is again red and you stop but do not turn off the engine as it is likely to turn green again soon. While there are automated traffic signal management systems in other parts of the world (that sense traffic density and react), India does not have them yet. For traffic management, each intersection has its own timer activated at different frequencies which might be altered based on time of the day. Traffic police person mans the important intersections and also decides if lights/ timers should be used at all. While I am not exposed much to the art and science of manual traffic management, my thinking for peak times with manual management without auto-timers goes like this. As traffic starts moving in one direction, it should be allowed to reach a speed of 30 kmph or so before the signals change. When the speed reaches 30 kmph, more number of vehicles pass the intersection per second. As the signal is switched, the moving traffic in the new direction should again be allowed to reach a 30 kmph speed. The traffic flow rate is finally dependent on average speed at the intersection. Even for a single commuter's experience, It is better to wait longer, and then move once and clear the signal in one motion rather than crawl and stop multiple times. People shall save fuel in this approach as they can turn the vehicle off and relax for some time. The views are based on normal circumstances. There might be several other factors to be taken into account like traffic congestion upstream or downstream, VIP movement etc. If you put on your lean six sigma hat, the above theory is similar to batch processing being recommended against single piece flow (in this case). Allowing small duration intermittent flows does not help the cause as the changeover time has its adverse impact. The simplest mistake proofing solution to ensure continuous flow is to eliminate signal switch and have flyovers everywhere. While flyovers may take their own sweet time to appear or may not be feasible at some places, there should be a good manual traffic management approach in use at important interrsections that create bottlenecks. Traffic policemen at intersection may have their own approach towards signal switching which I am unaware about, but I do observe often that the speed of moving traffic at the time of signal change is very low. I invite your views and participation on this subject. Do you also feel the same way as I do for manually controlled traffic intersections? Does this situation seem to have any parallels with organizational processes? Benchmark Six Sigma is the best in class provider of Lean Six Sigma and Project Management training and consulting solutions. Have a look at why benchmark six sigma to know more about us.

Another location for healthcare case studies is http://globalnews.benchmarksixsigma.com/category/green-belt-qualified/example-green-belt-projects-health-care/

Good question, Inderjeet. Generally, DPM (defects per million) is a preferred approach as PPM (Parts per million) corresponds to defectives per million. Defects data is considered more useful and powerful for process owners. At the same time customers may be concerned about PPM, as it is the defectives that affect them. If you look around in automotive component manufacturing, many companies initially target 100 PPM for a part that has not yet reached a high process maturity level. It is important to visualize that DPM ensures a stricter and safer approach and 100 DPM is more difficult to achieve than 100 PPM.

I agree with Suri. Pareto analysis should be used to capture and target top few RPN's. A caution point here is - If a threshold is fixed, there is tendency of some people manipulating data to keep values within threshold so that no action is needed.

SIPOC - a) Process capability - d) Most important factor - d) Main objective of analyze - a)

Companies like to differentiate GB and BB using one or more of the following criteria. Cross functionality Business impact Complexity. While many Six Sigma experts prefer the third criterion, the second one becomes the driver at many places. Hope this helps.

We may look at it this way. Do the following have a role to play in an HR professional's profile? Data driven decision making Problem solving Process improvement. If any of the above three seems relevant, there is a case for usage of Lean Six Sigma.

Hi Dhiraj, You may like to try the following. 1. Process mapping with VA/NVA analysis. 2. Analysis of pain points based on data on delays or errors. Hope this helps. VK

Hi Arik, Sigma level cannot be calculated in this situation. This is the disadvantage of discrete data. Unless you get defects/defectives, you cannot assess the z value. Best Regards, VK

Hi Priya, New entries and amendments may be taken separately if they have reasonably different process steps and pain points. To assess process capability, you may use a missed entry or amendment as a process defect. As this data is discrete, you may not find a need to calculate standard deviation.

Hi Mayank, This kind of analyses are used in mixture designs while doing DoE. You may like to try exploring that area. Hope this helps.

Hi Shiva, Such carefully selected samples by marketing teams may not represent the population. A good way to try would be to request random customer selected sample. Well, once you have already purchased data and want to check whether the initial sample represented the population, you may use one proportion or a 2 proportion test to check for correctness. Hope this helps.

Hi Nagaraj, Thanks for posting this question. I think this is so because Quality Assurance is the function that poses as customer's advocate. QMS and EMS implementation also consider and assure different customer groups about no adverse impact and commitment to VoC.

Hi Kamal, The most suitable program is the Benchmark Six Sigma Green Belt (Probably followed by the Black Belt). Both these programs have global recognition and validity. You may like to have a look at Mr. Manikandan's video (He is from Dr. Reddy's Design team) who found several benefits on completion of our programs. Do let me know if you have further queries - http://forum.benchmarksixsigma.com/page/media.html/_/manufacturing/manikandan-r89 Best Regards, VK

Dear Wani, There is one example of problem solving in credit card company which is shared here - http://www.benchmarksixsigma.com/lean-six-sigma-in-financial-services-finance-mutual-fund-credit-card Best Regards, VK

You may like to have a look at the overview of DMAIC with various examples - shown here - http://globalnews.benchmarksixsigma.com/category/green-belt-qualified/example-green-belt-projects-services/ If required - Do provide your mobile number. I shall call you to bring more clarity for your course of action.

Hi Salil, Can you please bring more clarity on "questionnaire which can show tangible results to achieve improvement". As mentioned earlier, the first step is identification of a problem area which we shall call the project Y. Please let me know - Has this been identified? Also, please look at the checklist shown at the end of Green Belt material. This shows the entire road map of 15 steps in DMAIC. Do keep posting your questions. I am right here. ​Best of luck.

I understand this situation. It can be quiet intimidating. No, you do not need to be an expert in the products but you need inputs to identify a product or process where there are more issues. You may try the following. Look for customer data - complaints, feedbacks, comparisons, unresolved queries, comments from lost customers, repeat customers, or any such information available. Look for workable metric among these. If reasons are known, try doing a pareto analysis for reasons. Speak to experts in marketing, sales, product development, version release, installation folks for 2 or 3 of the most selling or highest value products. Are there repeat issues faced by customers? Do they want some issues addressed to ensure first time right? If you are able to find main areas that can be supported by key people, you shall be on the right track. Hope this helps.

Yatha Raja, Tatha Praja - As the king, so the people - This last part of the shloka from Sanskrit is often quoted. Let us examine this. Point (In favor) - The point is emphasized often and is well accepted. Leadership at most places is likely to give an idea of the culture. Also, change in leadership can re-align an organization. It is common to see schools doing well when a dynamic Principal takes charge. Steve Jobs made a major reversal in fortunes of Apple. I am sure you have much more examples on this. Counterpoint (against) - The counterpoint is also commonly evidenced. I recently spoke to a business change leader who was planning a job switch. He was highly concerned about the average age in a company from where he had an offer. He said, "I shall join the company only if the average employee age is below 40 years". Leaders, many times want to choose the people that they wish to lead. This counterpoint explains the opposite logic - As the people, so the king or yatha Praja, tatha raja. On one hand, a dynamic leader is needed to create new mindsets and to challenge status quo. On the other hand, leaders wish to have the right team suggesting that the leader can perform well only if provided with the right team. Which view do you support more and why?

Hi Anirban, Normality test is done for continuous data so that we choose the right tests using mean or median. As you have nominal data, you may like to do tests for equality or inequality of proportions. If you imagine your nominal data in a bar chart, you are not likely to see a bell shape. For example, a head or tail outcome for toss of a coin shall have only two bars in a bar chart based on occurrences. Hope this helps.

These seem to be two different questions. MSA is ineffective if total gage R&R is more than 10% of total process variation. In some cases we may tolerate up to 30%. A process is unstable if special causes are found to occur too often. A run chart or a control chart may be used to assess stability. Process stability can be judged only when you are sure you have a reliable measurement system in place. Hope this helps.

MBB is a change agent, a knowledge bank, a facilitator, a Lean Six Sigma leader. He is a resource person for very complex Lean Six Sigma projects. His most important role, generally is to lead a change management program effectively being the link between senior most management and the LSS team. Having mentioned that, there are variations. Several companies like to hire MBBs (as they have established LSS competence) into strategic roles. Many companies like to move Black Belts to leadership roles after they have spent 2-3 years leading projects and establishing credentials as MBB.

Hello Mrityunjay, If someone is working in QA, Lean Six Sigma learning is a great value add. I can say this as - before getting in to this field of Lean Six Sigma, I was a QA expert (a third party auditor for quality assurance programs and carried out 400 plus audits). Subject Matter Expert is needed in many Lean Six Sigma projects and forms a very important part of the team. In most technical processes - a Lean Six Sigma expert is likely to be handicapped in the absence of SME. Let us understand this with a real life example. "A bank has 2500 Lean Six Sigma certified professionals (LSSCP) who are all change experts with DMAIC expertise. Every time, there is a change in a government policy anywhere in the world, an LSSCP is assigned to the change project. This LSSCP is not supposed to know about the exact legalities involved in the change. In some cases, the LSSCP does not know the exact banking (existing) process when he is assigned. In such a situation, while the LSSCP leads the DMAIC project, he needs two key people in his team - One, someone who is the process owner - knows the exact sequence and details of existing process. Two, the legal expert who knows the exact legal element in the change." To answer the other part of your question using this example, the legal expert may have gained his expertise based on his experience or qualification - not necessarily a doctorate. In a BPO, the relevant SME in a project could be a person who knows the technicalities about the dialler settings in an outbound process or could be a CRM expert who knows the existing CRM settings and the changes possible with current technology. (or approachable technologies). Some companies have progressed to ensure that Six Sigma competence is passed on to some members in each function. This ensures that SME is more easily accessible for at least the within function Lean Six Sigma projects. Hope this helps.