Vishwadeep Khatri

If your company has not been using Six Sigma in the past, this learning should provide you some "unfair advantage" over others. You get the ability to get better results than others by utilizing Six Sigma techniques in your own process/function/department/business unit. Six Sigma provides you sound concepts and powerful thought patterns that make other people listen when you speak. With Six Sigma, you also learn how to link with leadership language. On completion of training, you should be able to start with a small improvement assignment and move on to bigger and bigger assignments in the company (like many of our past participants).

We provide Minitab trial versions (valid for 1 month each) & XLSTAT an Excel based software. Minitab versions work only on MS Windows operating system. Kindly note the following. There is no compulsion to use only Minitab software. Participants are free to use Excel based software provided during training. We have chosen Minitab because it is the leading software for statistical analysis and its usage is referred in good number of statistical and six sigma books.

At Benchmark Six Sigma, there are three programs that are in a strict sequence and need completion of previous level. These are SIX SIGMA GREEN BELT SIX SIGMA BLACK BELT SIX SIGMA MASTER BLACK BELT While Lean basics are included in Green Belt training, Lean Management Certification (LMC) is a program that provides detailed insight into Lean methodology. The LMC program does not fit in the above mentioned hierarchy and can be undertaken anytime.

Yes, online support is provided in multiple ways. Master Black Belts provide support for the first real project that the candidate carries out at workplace. Collaborative online forum helps in exploring multiple view points. Example projects on the forum provide guidelines. Online discussion provides useful clues and direction. Benchmark Global News provides 50+ online project examples. The project completion certification adds credibility to your Six Sigma qualification. Whenever a participant completes the first project within THREE YEARS of examination, he should send it to us for review and approval.

A Benchmark Green Belt or Black Belt participant who has cleared the exam is eligible for a project completion certificate. This real project should be completed within three years of training. Project report with sufficient detail needs to be submitted. Exact guidelines are provided during training. This project completion certificate is optional and is provided at no extra cost. During project, a participant can ask questions and clear doubts on this forum at no extra cost.

Yes. Benchmark Six Sigma offers unparalleled International recognition. Benchmark Six Sigma is certified as a Training Provider for Lean Six Sigma by Exemplar Global (Previously RABQSA). When a candidate completes a Benchmark program successfully, a globally recognized certificate is issued. There is no extra exam fee for this. Exemplar Global (Previously RABQSA - http://www.exemplarglobal.org/) is a globally recognized organization that accredits training providers and has offices located in USA, Australia, China and several other countries. It collaborates with several international bodies like ASQ for standards and certifications. In India, it has association with Quality Council of India (QCI) http://www.rabqsa.com/docs/bulletin/bulletin091.pdf

We do not provide job placement as a service. However, we regularly display requirements from various renowned organizations regarding various Six Sigma related positions within their organization. Please click on the following link to preview our Job Section: http://www.benchmarksixsigma.com/professionals/Career-support

It is here - http://www.benchmarksixsigma.com/calendar

With offices across India, Six Sigma programs in 10 cities, more than 10,000 participants, Benchmark is the biggest Six Sigma network in the country. Our Lean Six Sigma community comprises of 35000 plus participants making it the largest in India. We manage free recruitment and job support sections to add value for our community.

Six Sigma helps businesses in primarily two ways. 1. As a full fledged strategy approach. - This uses the classical Six Sigma implementation roadmap. Business Goals are converted into Six Sigma projects. Voice of Customer is captured systematically to identify design and improvement opportunities. Green Belts and Black Belts are trained and coached on projects. Completion of good projects has a linkage with appraisals. A central Six Sigma project management team takes care of project progress and support. 2. As a set of great improvement and decision making techniques. This approach is not uncommon Key people from all functions are trained on Lean Six Sigma. Decision making is aided by Six Sigma techniques. The emphasis is shifted on data driven decision making against gut feel decision making. Any new process development makes use of appropriate Lean Six Sigma techniques. Use of appropriate decision making approaches paves way for leadership positions in the company.

If one looks at the link - http://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/12/1105/problems-in-dyeing-and-their-remedies3.asp the article provides insight on fabric defects during processing. The key element to be noted here is that the actual (validated) causes are not mentioned. The column heading mentions "probable causes". This is where Six Sigma comes in. If a chronic problem is to be addresses, we need to dig deeper and move from probable causes to the real validated causes. Six Sigma techniques help in this (this becomes the primary purpose of the Analyze phase in the D-M-A-I-C sequence). A Six Sigma project focuses on a systematic approach towards chronic problem solving. To ensure that this write up portrays the right message, I must add that chronic problems are not just related to technical defects. Reducing the dyeing process time or matching customer dye color requirements perfectly could be taken up as Six Sigma projects as well. Overview on DMAIC can be understood from this article - http://forum.benchmarksixsigma.com/topic/702-what-is-six-sigma/

Two ideas from my side. Is there a method by which price can be stamped (in your premises) while the label without price is provided by supplier? Stamping may be faster than complete label removal and affixing activity. Supplier lead time to ship a product is 3 months. Is it possible that supplier be communicated the label details just a week before dispatch from supplier end? Hope this helps. Best Regards, VK

You may also have a look at http://forum.benchmarksixsigma.com/topic/785-six-sigma-in-database-marketing-marketing-research/ Best Regards, VK

Hi Gyana, Absolutely. People in Market Research use most of the Six Sigma techniques extensively. Let us understand it this way. Promotional activities or advertising has definite goals to accomplish. Advertisers generally need to see the impact of change in promotional strategy on number of leads or Revenue generation. Let us assume that an advertiser has made a change in advertisement to improve the results. Let us say there was a small increase in Revenue after the advert change. Small changes in Revenue should not be attributed to change in advertising plan (as we all know - small changes can happen by chance) To verify the statistical significance of change in advertising approach, the advertiser (or the market researcher) should test this hypothesis with the use of sample data. If the significance of change is not established statistically, wrong conclusions may be drawn about effect of change in advertising on Revenues resulting in further wasteful expenditures. Hope this helps

Hi Aniket, Sorry, I missed your query earlier. Age of 23 is not too early considering the fact that you are already in business excellence function. Industry change is always feasible after Black Belt. Recruiters looking for Six Sigma competence commonly are open for cross Industry candidates. Have a look at sixsigmaindia.com

Hi Tharun, Please refer to http://www.benchmarksixsigma.com/globalnews/

Hi Tharun, Yes Tharun, good points there. Six Sigma is a business result focused approach. Improvements made with a Six Sigma project need to be validated statistically as well as practically.

Hi Anoop, Operational definition written for a CTQ - It should be written in a manner that eliminates the possibility of ambiguity or misunderstanding. This definition may include reference to a standard or a diagram (or may even be supported by SIPOC or in-scope/ out-of-scope explanation) if needed. Hope this helps.

Six Sigma differs from traditional performance improvement programs in its focus on input variables and on the process. While traditional methods depend on measuring outputs and establishing control plans to shield customers from organizational defects, Six Sigma program demands that problems be addressed at the root level, eliminating the need for unnecessary inspection and rework processes. Also, while other programs mention philosophies, ideas, and requirements (e.g. ISO 9001 specifies requirements), Six Sigma provides a data driven structured road-map on how to bring improvement and change that leads to business benefits. Six Sigma as a strategic tool is customer focused and is ultimately designed to increase profits through enhanced customer satisfaction.

Professionals from various streams (like HR, marketing, production/ operations, research, supply chain, retail, quality, development, general management, strategic management, finance/accounts, administration, customer care/ helpdesk, maintenance have been benefiting from Benchmark Six Sigma programs. Manufacturing companies of various kinds - machinery/ equipment, pharmaceutical/ chemicals, FMCG/ food items, plastics/ rubber, electronic/ white goods, automotive/ component, agricultural - processing, have realized benefits worth billions of dollars. Similarly service sector companies into banking, financial services, BPO’s, Information technology, construction, logistics, transport services, health services, airlines, IT infrastructure, HR services, consulting, etc have been benefiting with Six Sigma implementation. Six Sigma provides the ability to deliver business benefits through projects. It provides the knowledge and skill set to enhance efficiency of processes and workflows. Six Sigma competences are highly demanded in the industry. Six Sigma competences include skill sets on Analytical, Statistical, Team Facilitation and Project Management - all focused on improvement assignments. Six Sigma learning provides the ideal preparation for a leadership role.

Six Sigma is a powerful methodology that can be used to improve business processes. It is a structured approach to problem-solving that can be applied to any process - manufacturing, sales, marketing, IT, BPO, accounting, purchasing, you name it. Six Sigma as a management methodology has helped thousands of professionals world over to reduce cycle times, increase productivity and improve quality and delivery of processes. Six Sigma can also be defined as a set of extraordinary techniques that improve decision making in a wide variety of situations. Some people think that Six Sigma techniques are like rocket science. This is not true. Six Sigma methodology and techniques can be learned in a down-to-earth daily application oriented language The most common methodology that is used to improve existing processes is called DMAIC. The acronym DMAIC stands for Define - Measure - Analyze - Improve - Control. If you think about it - this methodology is common sense. Before we start working on a problem, we need to have a good definition of what is the problem, why we are working on it, where is the pain area, what is in the scope of the project etc. All of these are accomplished in the Define phase. Secondly, in the Measure phase, we are interested in ensuring that the data used for further analysis is free of measurement errors. Six Sigma is about making decisions based on facts & data. If the data is inaccurate, we would end up making the wrong decisions. Hence, the measured phase ensures good data. Before making any improvements, it is also important to establish a baseline so that we can clearly communicate the benefits obtained from our project to other key stakeholders. The next phase, Analyze, is all about making a hypothesis and using data to either prove or disprove our hypothesis. We make a hypothesis about what is causing the problem and then establish the real root causes. The fourth phase, Improve, focus on getting the best possible solution to solve the root cause of the problem. The solution is optimized and any potential failure modes are resolved before the solution is deployed in the real world. The last phase, Control, is all about ensuring that the solution is sustainable in the long run. Any financial benefits obtained from the project are also quantified. Finally, the improved process is transitioned over to the process owner. Key Characteristics of Six Sigma are - Business Process Improvement Methodology Data driven approach. It provides a structured step by step sequence It uses the best tried and tested management techniques in each phase. Long term objective is to reach Zero Defects.

Internationally, there are a large number of people who opt for a Black Belt program (without opting for a shorter duration Green Belt training). However, such a program includes GB + BB learning in a single training sequence (normally 10-12 days). Benchmark offers BB in a split format (even to people desirous of Black Belt right at the beginning) just to allow people some time before they proceed to Black Belt. Hope this answers your question.

Dear Anantha, 1) what project shall i take? on what basis should i select? Criteria's for GB projects? Give me some base ideas. It seems your boss wants you to take up a low risk project initially. Look for a project where you can make use of basic tools like fishbone analysis, pareto analysis, graphical techniques, or mistake proofing. Do not worry if it does not qualify to be a Green Belt project. Get some tools practice. A green Belt project is one where causes and solutions are unknown. Take up such a project when your boss is ready to support. 2) If the project was derived from balanced scorecard, could GB can take lead without any BB and MBB in a team. because none of my colleagues are done with BB and MBB ? Yes, this is possible. You need to make sure that the project does not become a high scope cross-functional project of "boil the ocean" kind. You can take guidance from Benchmark. Hope this answers your queries. Best Regards, VK

As we are progressing towards our first program in South East Asia, I thought we should check the trend in Singapore. Here is the outcome from the Google Keyword Tool. Keyword: Six Sigma Certification Trend in Singapore Time Period: 2004 to Present Click to enlarge

While some people have been mentioning that Lean Six Sigma is a thing of the past, Google Keyword Tool shows an entirely different picture. Have a look at the two results below. Keyword: Lean Six Sigma Global Trend Time Period: 2004 to Present Click to enlarge Using training and certification related keywords, we get another interesting trendline. Keywords: Lean Six Sigma Training (Blue) and Lean Six Sigma Certification(Red) Global Trend Time Period: 2004- Present Click to enlarge