srikanth_icl

well, in this case i think, the time alone can not be the measure. Preferable is 'output/time' measure and some qualifying levels/ rating chart for that. This is what we call as productivity.

Well Rajesh......to my understanding it appears that the said approach may not yield wanton results and certainly not a long term solution, because basically Six Sigma is a culture to be embraced by the whole organisation, which thus doesn't rest upon learning some problem solving tools alone but is a transformation of mindset. Hence one or few black belts may not be able to cut the ice if at first the attitudinal change is not brought about and people start feeling the merits of such a change. Hence it may not be wise for the BBs alone to shoulder every step of process but to involve the stakeholders along the hierarchy too and hold them equally responsible.

Well, Prabhu and Cyril, to clear the air a bit, Six Sigma universe of knowledge is collection of different statistical tools under the DMAIC process flow. Having understood this, now let us appreciate that MOST and PMTS etc. existed even much before Six Sigma came into being, as process flow charting, and time measurement techniques and mainly that's what we do under 'Lean' (to identify and eliminate NVAs and/ or combine set of activities in order to improve system efficiency and hence effectiveness). Thus the techniques are not away from Six Sigma fraternity. The only observation one need to make is in choice of tools under each process stage. Right selection of tool to measure and analyse right set of data to get the desired result!! There lies the crux and expertise of practitioner of Six Sigma. Thus, man is not turned into machine, but at the same time the tool identifies gaps for resource optimisation. Hope the team will tend to see the merit of such use of tools in the light of above submission.

Yogesh.........pl draw a circle and draw a run out around that and see if the centre of runout is half away (of radial difference between original circle and runout) from the original centre!! Srikanth

What you want to do? Project management or process improvement? 2.5 yrs of experience of what sort?Can you elaborate! - S.Srikanth

Sujeet........you and me are not talking difft language. Both are stressing the same point, albeit differently. That's why i said cost is internal. Having accepted the customer order with SLAs and quality parameters defined, at a particular revenue flow, then the customer is going to see only the quality and time, the 2 governing parameters, in order to release the payments. Hence, after getting order, the cost reduction, rationalisation, elimination all are internal and customer is not bothered abt it. If one's costing was not right while obtaining the order, and now he is squeezing in to make some margin, or feels that he has bitten more than he can chew, then the cost cutting becomes internal priority, but certainly not at the expense of loosing the order by compromising on quality parameters or other SLAs. rgds//Srikanth

Hi Vikram........objectives of cost reduction, cost control are internal to company and therefore no direct correlation with the customer. In general, customer specific areas and parameters are considered for improvement using DMAIC or redesigning the process by using DFSS. Having said that, this is not a GB and certainly not a BB project. But nevertheless, nobody is stopping you from adopting the approach as a method of foolproofing, so that at the end of the day all the process owners are convinced of the fact that you have approached the problem in a scientific manner and left no room for further cost and process improvement unless there is a radical change in the product or customer requirement. Thus, courtesy Mahendra, you need to get your Quality plan approved by customer first. Then weave the operations around that. Redoing in any scenario is always costly and avoidable, and more so in Civil and structural works. Hence develop a plan to get everything 'First time right'. Try 'Eliminating' wasteful activities/ processes in the whole operations and quality check process cycle, which will automatically lead you to the 'Optimum cost operations'. Rgds//Srikanth

Dear Varun....GB and BB are add-ons and not primary or post graduate qualifications. It tries to mould the individual minds to look at things around them in qualitative terms. So basically it is a mindset. Having understood this, it never guarantees you any job change or career growth opportunities unless it is coupled with other operations, project management or practical exposure of similar nature or in quality management itself. Thus, if otherwise, you are already into something of those kind of roles, nobody is stopping you from practicing that in your current work area. Also you can take the help of your current HR/ management in the company and inform them that you will be interested in taking up assignments pertaining to your new found area of interest. And then follow it passionately.

Dear Bhaskar.......there is a difference w.r.t. a professional and just a certificate holder. 4 days of training giving a new comer a exposure into statistical techniques can never make him a professional or an expert. It is in the interest of the concerned individuals to augment their expertise and wisdom in the area by subjecting themselves to more continued learning and involvement with the subject so as to call themselves as professionals. It certainly takes more than 4 days!!

Holding Black Belts Accountable for Positive Project Results: - Yes, in all right earnest that should happen, and that only will prevent the Belts from falling into departmental goal traps or swaying to organisational power groups. This will automatically result in more independence for the Belts in selection of projects and also be stand convinced about larger end benefits. Ofcourse, the project may be focussed on either 'short term tangible goals' or 'long term' intangible goals (or whose tangibility will be evidnet only on a longer time horizon). Short term cost saving objectives can act as motivator but should not make the long term picture look hazy.

Dear Sir............very very good thought and I welcome it whole heartedly. Even sometime people may not know as to where lies their weakness. So a prelim test can hightlight where the individuals need to focus. And for that matter, any knowledge gathered but not put to use, slowly but surely wanes away! Once again, welcome the approach. ......rgds//S Srikanth

Well, for once, logic may go like this! The end result envisaged, defines the purpose! The purpose is a combination of efforts and direction. In order to set the direction, tone and pace of efforts, one needs the data and its analytical results. The effectiveness of this depends on effective and timely communication of data (processes and results). Thus one may see that it is elementary to have data to achieve end results. Thus management process can be summarised as management of this communication channels effectively to achieve end result. Having said that, in a larger span of time, no operational data is irrelevant or NVA. They have their significance under varying business circumstances. The question is which data to be considered at what time? This, if the organisation has sufficiently organised its data collection, assimilation and analysis process (say by employing some automation tools) much of the chores (considered VA and NVA by some) is taken care. Thus one can conveniently say that AN ORGANISATION DOESN'T EXIST WITHOUT THE WELL DEFINED MANAGEMENT PROCESSES BINDING ITS VARIOUS FUNCTIONS. WITHOUT PROCESSES IT MAY FAIL TO ACHIEVE ITS ULTIMATE OBJECTIVE OF CUSTOMER DELIVERY AND SATISFACTION, AND HENCE MAY SOON BECOME A REDUNDENT ENTITY.