Vishwadeep Khatri
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Everything posted by Vishwadeep Khatri
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Dear Namrata, In most situations, it is best to try out some Six Sigma success at current place because you are so familiar with processes. As you attend the training in a forthcoming batch, I am sure we can generate some ideas that can be put into immediate use. It may or may not not be a full fledged Six Sigma project. My point of view for most participants is: If you can apply one technique at a time to generate some benefit, do that. If you can apply a series of tools and reach a recommendation (which may not be accepted), do that. Atleast try and reach a recommendation based on fact based techniques. Nobody can take away the learning that you derive from each application. If you are conceptually sound, you will get opportunities of applying the philosophy, concepts, tools at numerous places. I agree that the "taste of the pudding is in the eating". and - Taste of Six Sigma is in the results. But to start with - if you get the right ingredients, cook well - you will find people willing to try and taste your pudding (this one or the next one) sooner or later. I have nothing against exploring an opening that helps implementation in a more supported manner. The caution is - beware of time gaps between learning and practice. Do not wait for an ideal time to put Six Sigma concepts into use. Start on "here and now" basis.
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Dear All, To explain how human elements affect performance and how Six Sigma deals with them, let me give you an example. One of my friends is a Sales Wiz with wonderful selling skills with little Six Sigma knowledge. In his previous job, he was leading Sales in an IT company. His job profile rotated mainly around closing deals initiated by junior Sales Executives. He spent a lot of time in resolving quotation related issues with clients. Issues arose almost everyday because Clients used to call different Sales persons in the company and used to get different pricing or discount offers. These different quotes for the same models to clients were within the discount authority available to Salespersons. Even after lot of counselling sessions, these issues continued and were accepted as a way of life. My friend as a Sales Head, had a challenging job of reaching each disilllusioned client (some of them feigned it to get an advantage) >>>explaining why the difference in quotations arose>>>>doing some numbers jugglary and >>>finally getting the Order. He used to get most Orders as he was too good with his Sales pitch and relation building abilities and the product was quite good. This sequence of tasks also provided him a feeling that he was doing a really worthwhile job resolving some big issues and an achievement feeling almost every day. He was made to feel special by juniors who honestly respected and admired him for his special abilities that succeeded in bringing them out of troubles so many times. He recently joined a process driven (Six Sigma implementing) company where some good Six Sigma projects had been done. One Six Sigma project had ensured that there was absolutely no possibility of different quotes landing up with a clients for the same model, even if different Sales persons are reached by the client. He found the new job boring as the entire fascination in his previous job was due to troubleshooting and firefighting which was a daily affair. Here the scope was little as he found the working to be quite streamlined. There were no quotation disputes, no erroneous invoices, no delayed invoicing, lesser delays in shipments, rare mismatches between order and delivery to name some of the areas. (All this was achieved through persistent Six Sigma afforts project by project) After some time with this new company, this person realized that the only way he could use his creative energies was by working on some futuristic tasks. This led him to work and succeed with some big deals which were reached with collaborative efforts with associate companies. He had to spend very little time here with juniors. And whatever time he spent went into discussions about strategic clients and deals. He realized that this was impossible in his previous job as his creativity was being utilized in firefighting issues (those issues did need a lot of creativity as each case had to be managed in a unique fashion). This brings us to the questions Are their ways to which we can spend more of our time in futuristic tasks that can bring success and laurels for self/ company/ nation? Are we using our creative energies in futuristic tasks (like worthwhile projects and improvement activities)? or are we losing ourselves in repetitive work? Warm Regards, VK This post has been promoted to an article
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One of my friends is a Sales Wiz with wonderful selling skills with little Six Sigma knowledge. In his previous job, he was leading Sales in an IT company. His job profile rotated mainly around closing deals initiated by junior Sales Executives. He spent a lot of time in resolving quotation related issues with clients. Issues arose almost everyday because Clients used to call different Sales persons in the company and used to get different pricing or discount offers. These different quotes for the same models to clients were within the discount authority available to Salespersons. Even after lot of counselling sessions, these issues continued and were accepted as a way of life. My friend as a Sales Head, had a challenging job of reaching each disilllusioned client (some of them feigned it to get an advantage) >>>explaining why the difference in quotations arose>>>>doing some numbers jugglary and >>>finally getting the Order. He used to get most Orders as he was too good with his Sales pitch and relation building abilities and the product was quite good. This sequence of tasks also provided him a feeling that he was doing a really worthwhile job resolving some big issues and an achievement feeling almost every day. He was made to feel special by juniors who honestly respected and admired him for his special abilities that succeeded in bringing them out of troubles so many times. He recently joined a process driven (Six Sigma implementing) company where some good Six Sigma projects had been done. One Six Sigma project had ensured that there was absolutely no possibility of different quotes landing up with a clients for the same model, even if different Sales persons are reached by the client. He found the new job boring as the entire fascination in his previous job was due to troubleshooting and firefighting which was a daily affair. Here the scope was little as he found the working to be quite streamlined. There were no quotation disputes, no erroneous invoices, no delayed invoicing, lesser delays in shipments, rare mismatches between order and delivery to name some of the areas. (All this was achieved through persistent Six Sigma afforts project by project) After some time with this new company, this person realized that the only way he could use his creative energies was by working on some futuristic tasks. This led him to work and succeed with some big deals which were reached with collaborative efforts with associate companies. He had to spend very little time here with juniors. And whatever time he spent went into discussions about strategic clients and deals. He realized that this was impossible in his previous job as his creativity was being utilized in firefighting issues (those issues did need a lot of creativity as each case had to be managed in a unique fashion). This brings us to some important questions - Are their ways by which we can spend more of our time in futuristic tasks that can bring success and laurels for self/ company/ nation? Are we using our creative energies in furturistic tasks (like worthwhile projects and improvement activities)? or are we losing ourselves in repetitive work? Coming back to my friend's example, it is not difficult to visualize the benefits he and his company could have realized if they had utilized the power behind Six Sigma early? (To share with you, the company he left still continues to provide the same job profile to Sales leaders and they derive the same kind of daily appreciation from juniors for doing great troubleshooting. Sales folks at that place still think that there is no better way of working.) -
Education Publsihing has its own common pain areas like. Selecting good and impressive graphics. Avoiding errors in spellings, grammar, layout, etc Eliminating errors in answers and examples. Covering the curriculum in a fashion that fulfills examination criteria and provides the right scope. Having the right volumes as per demand and fluctuations. Addressing pending orders and delays. Managing customer (includes academician feedbacks) feedbacks and versions. Managing availability at the stock points and retailers. Generating demand. Using the right vocabulary to suit the culture and age group of readers. Most of these challenges can be suitably managed with Six Sigma techniques and projects. If you have any specific questions please let me know. Regards, VK
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Hello Namrata, You have two options: Go for Black Belt Training Carry out a Green belt project. Six Sigma is a preferred additional qualification at Green Belt level. Black Belts are recruited for two types of roles. To work with Six Sigma as exclusive focus area. To carry out Black Belt projects as an additional responsibility in addition to the functional role.
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Hello Namrata, You have mentioned that your organization is small. I know one father and daughter company that implemented Six Sigma very well and got wonderful business success.Small companies have advantages of quick decision making and less bureaucracy. However, some management buy-in may be required depending on your position. Can you highlight about the industry you are in and your role to explore the subject more?
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To add to this, in a skewed distribution, 3 sigma from mean may cover most data on one side and may not cover enough on the other side. So as SJ said, chances of false signals exist. However, IMR is used for attribute data (which is non-normal) as well by some companies for symmetric distributions (not skewed) and several authors support it by saying that it works reasonably well.
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I welcome you to Benchmark Six Sigma Community! I urge you to become a member here. You may like to make a note of the privileges. Open Forum Members - You have great priviledges as a member (including job notifications) not found elsewhere. Participate in discussions in the Open Forum.Get job notifications (just like our past participants)Write Articles and enhance your personal profile.We are striving to become the largest moderated Six Sigma Forum. Enjoy your stay Benchmark Six Sigma Past Participants have exclusive access to Past Participant Forum. (which appears below the Open Forum). As a member of Past Participant Forum, you are entitled to the following High quality moderated discussionCareer supportDirect employer access to your databaseCity specific knowledge sharing networking meets.Get job notificationsWrite Articles and enhance your personal profileAre you a Past Participant (attended a program by Benchmark Six Sigma) but not having access to restricted forum? - Please reply to this message with your contact number and program attended. We shall soon do the checks and make you a member. Best Regards, Vishwadeep Khatri Lead Facilitator http://www.linkedin....ishwadeepkhatri
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Dear All, This is an important question. Let us see if someone can come up with the right answer. VK
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Dear Mohit, Unfortunately project completion certification is offered only to Benchmark Six Sigma training participants. Projects carried out prior to training are not recognized. Exam based certification has its own value as it recognizes conceptual understanding. In my experience, if a candidate has good inherent capability, he or she finds her way even by practising techniques (although a complete DMAIC project may not come their way soon) If you are Green Belt Trained, the option for you with Benchmark Six Sigma is that of attending Black Belt training and opt for BB project certification (whenever you complete one after training).
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Dear Mohit, Project Certification can be obtained when you complete a worthwhile project. However, Benchmark Six Sigma can provide you exam based certification if you clear the green belt examination that we conduct at the end of the four day Green Belt program. Similar is the case with Black Belt. You can earn exam based certification by clearing the exam and project completion certification can be issued when you complete and report a successful project. VK
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Here is a counter-argument Have a look at the following article which says - "Batching makes me productive" Click here to reach the batching article related to everyday life. In this article, do you think Darren has made the correct reference to batching that we know as batch processing in lean principles? When we work on emails or posts one after the other - is it one piece flow or is it batch processing? Any comments.
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One example that I commonly use is that of flagged emails in the inbox waiting to be worked upon. If you have many of these, the turnaround time of email processing can be very large. (This means any new email coming in may take weeks to be processed as you have a large queue). Instead if you respond to emails at the moment you see them, you reduce rework (it takes time and energy to refocus) and you reduce turn-around-time. Another everyday example relates to inventory and flow. - Let us assume your subordinate has 550 tasks to be worked upon, and he gets 10-12 new ones everyday. On one specific day, if he does not work due to a lazy feeling and you question him, his obvious response would be - "Even if I worked on the pending tasks today, there would not be a big change. My everyday work makes a minor difference" This is exactly what happens when we sit in a "sea of inventory". 550 pending tasks are nothing but inventory. Inventory hides inefficiency in a company. Compare the above with a situation where your subordinate is given exactly 12 tasks everyday with a visible dashboard. Is it possible for him to get that feeling of "not making a difference"? If his tasks is linked with others tasks that need inputs from him everyday, he would feel involved, important and "making a difference" everyday. Do you have other Lean examples to share? You can share them here by replying to this message.
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Dear Pankaj, Taking this discussion further, if and when applicable, option 1 and option 2 (among the seven ways given at the top) work out as better choices as compared to 100% inspection. Prevention is better than cure. As we all know, inspection is some times unavoidable (whenever we fail to find a perfect mistake proofing option) VK
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Dear All, In principle, if the values could be measured, data is said to be continuous. Being a part of a continuum, there can always be a value between any two given values for continuous data. For example, between 2mm and 3mm, you can have 2.5 mm. Therefore, linear measurement (length width, height) obtained by using a measuring instrument is continuous data. In reality, continuous variables can only be measured to a certain accuracy. Let us consider bank balance. The degree of accuracy is 1 paisa. So, technically balance is discrete, i.e the number of values is finite or perhaps countable. However, as in this bank balance example, if the number of possible values is very large, it is often considered to be continuous. There are several situations where you may have a debate on whether data should be considered continuous. Any Comments?
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Dear Basker, If you have a flawless product that is made with care, you still have multiple opportunities to apply Lean Six Sigma methodology. Some examples are -- Increasing production per day. Increasing sales. Reducing new product development time. Reducing delivery delays Eliminating packaging or labeling errors. Creating designs that are accepted better by customers. Enhancing buyer, dealer or end user satisfaction. Enhancing repeat sales or repeat business (improving customer retention) Reducing inventory thereby reducing costs. Reducing variability within batch production Reducing rejections Reducing account receivables (pending payments) Increasing tender or quote acceptance Reducing turnaround time per model Reducing the manufacturing cost. And much more.... Hope you got an idea that the methodology focuses not just on tangible product defect reductions but many areas of business interest. Regards, VK
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Vishwadeep Khatri replied to Vishwadeep Khatri's topic in Applicability in Services other than IT/ITESDear All, This article appeared in 2005 where efforts of some of the Pharma Companies were highlighted. I highlighted at that forum that it is a mistake to consider GMP as the greatest achievement. Without revealing the names of companies, I am happy to say that our association has paid some rich dividends in this sector. Click Here to Read an Article about Six Sigma in Pharma
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A TV manufacturer recently commented that they do not need Six Sigma as they have been achieving zero defect targets and achieving them already. My Response - The TVs may be defect free. But are all critical processes defect free? Is the stage by stage receiving and production processes 100% defect free? Are there no errors being fixed in in-process inspections or final inspections? Are there no warranty claims due to defects? Let us also look at other processes? Are there no errors in recruitment and selection processes? How good are the production planning processes? Are billing processes error free? Is customer satisfaction 100%? Are sales and delivery processes timely and error free? Are all promises (within departments and inter department) met? Is the employee satisfaction at its peak? Is there n scope for reduction in cost? Does efficiency always remain at desired levels? And how about management review processes? how effective are they? Are there zero nonconformities in internal audits? If there are findings, are internal audit findings closed effectively every time? Are there no recurrences of defects? Also, are all management targets achieved every time? Are all KPI's (Key Performance Indicators) performing perfectly? Is there no scope for improvement anywhere? Six Sigma is for solving business problems. If an organization believes that there are no business problems currently, Six Sigma can be very effective in addressing business challenges (both - current and futuristic challenges). Comments welcome!!
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One question I got recently is- How can an individual benefit from Lean Six Sigma? My answer was - Lean Six Sigma builds the following in an individual. Ability to identify improvement projects and shortlist the best out of them. Ability to attack problems and challenges in a structured manner. Ability to guide and involve teams in complex situations through stimulating exercises that yield results. Ability to generate powerful recommendations for top/ senior management based on data driven approach. Ability to present recommendations to senior management effectively. Ability to implement recommendations with very high success rates. Ability to sustain/ control process improvements.
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The more difficult question is - Who is not using Six Sigma? or Who cannot use Six Sigma? Six Sigma can be applied in all industries/companies as work always takes place in processes and the following hold true for every company (in any industry). Everything that anyone does is a part of a process. A process is efficient or inefficient depending on the output to input ratio. (this ratio could be productivity measure, cost measure, time measure or any other useful metric) Very few processes are defect free and most have unacceptable level of defects or delays (as per industry standards, company's own philosophy towards defects or based on customer expectations). Here, for many processes there is an internal customer (instead of or in addition to an external customer). Meeting customer (internal, external or both) expectations with reasonable cost is a key success criterion. Variation in process inputs or improper controls result in reduced efficiency or dissatisfied customers, which increases costs and breeds further inefficiency. Six Sigma requires that you define success criteria for key processes, eliminate defects (or reduce their severity or occurrences), and measure outcomes for exceeding industry standards or creating new benchmarks, thereby leading to competitive advantage in terms of cost or value for customers.
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Although HR is not a big department in most organizations, HR processes have a major impact on the employee's efforts for delivering services or product. HR people handle the responsibility of retaining the employees while balancing the financial needs of the company. Compensation and benefit areas taken care of by the HR department include payroll administration, time and attendance management, leave policy, stock options and so on. Six Sigma Projects such as reducing time for the paycheck deposition process, faster performance review systems and eligibility study for ESOPs can be considered for the betterment of these activities of the HR. There could be a need for Six Sigma projects like improving multiple payroll systems for remote locations and reducing errors in employee information database. HR personnel have to take care of areas like employee absenteeism, dispute resolution, health and safety issues, union negotiations, interpersonal communication and discrimination and harassment issues. Six Sigma projects can be undertaken to address the discrimination and harassment by way of monitoring and compliance audit, systems for improved communication among employees and executives Six Sigma projects can aim at overall organizational development with regards to improvements in the career and succession planning, leadership, change management, workplace planning and organization, performance improvement and communication programs. Staffing, Training and Retention - One basic responsibility of the HR department is staffing, background checks, selection and training and retention of employees. They have to design and schedule training and development programs for new employees, as well as existing ones. They also have to handle employee contracts for permanent and temporary employees and manage the process of relocation and outsourcing of employees. They have to manage the retrenchment issues and exit interviews. There can be projects like creating self-learning and evaluation modules for the employees. Projects to improve the hit rate for job postings followed by quick responses to the applicants, reduction in unnecessary security checks and so on can be undertaken by the HR department as Six Sigma projects.
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As per our experience, good improvement projects are feasible in most processes in Retail industry including inventory management waste reduction & waste management stock replenishment barcoding effectiveness transportation efficiency repacking effectiveness managing returns turnaround times in queues consumer satisfaction enhancement, etc.
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Vishwadeep Khatri replied to Vishwadeep Khatri's topic in Applicability in Services other than IT/ITESThe number of drug recalls has risen sharply in recent years - three-quarters of which are attributed to manufacturing defects. The reject percentage in the pharmaceutical industry ranges from 5 percent to 10 percent (<2 Sigma), compared to 0.0001 (6 Sigma) in the semiconductor industry. This reject-percentage costs the industry between US$ 4.5 billion and US$ 9 billion per year based on US$ 90 billion/year spent on manufacturing. Several years ago Dowpharma followed parent company Dow's lead and adopted Six Sigma and got huge benefits. There are possible improvement projects that involve determining the cost of unplanned events, or one-off occurrences that cannot be traced to systemic problems. For example, misloading a batch, temperature controls drifting out of range, or someone accidentally turning off process machinery during operation. Since it is impossible to reconfigure or re-blend a batch, significant unplanned events are always very costly in pharmaceutical manufacturing. In another successful Six Sigma project in pharma, yield improvement from 40% to 87% by more tightly controlling two process variables and increased the capacity of a plant by a factor of 7.5 through an add-on investment, amounting to just 3% of the cost of the facility. The average cycle time for manufacturing, including formulation, packaging, and quality activities, is about 60 days and average inventory turns are currently less than two per year. Cycle time can be reduced by 75% in many cases to the two-three week range and inventory turns increased to four. The combination of reduced inventory and the tremendous efficiency gains in manufacturing justify running a process more frequently. Formulation and quality operations are two areas ripe for Lean/Six Sigma improvement. Currently, these activities take about two months per batch, 90% of that time is wasted waiting for a piece of equipment to free up for signatures on various records or for changing the status of a computer from working to completed. Streamlining these non core operations through strategies as simple as better scheduling makes a huge dent in cycle time. Ref : http://www.pharmafocusasia.com...igma_manufacturing.htm
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Here is a News article about implemantation in pharma sector. Click here to read the article. Do follow up with your comments and ideas.
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Dear All, Here is an article that shall give you some examples about Six Sigma implementation in Logistics. Click here to read the article. Comments and discussion on this topic is welcome.
