In order to pick a good Six Sigma project, the following items have to be considered:

a.) Strategic Importance

The problem that you pick as a Six Sigma project must be important for the company and must support the company's strategy. There is no point working on things that are not important for the company. A project that solves critical problems for the company will not only benefit the company but also ensure that company management will support the project and provide resources to ensure its success.

b.)Root Cause / Solution Unknown

It is important to pick a problem that does not already have a known root cause or solution. If the solution is known, just go ahead and implement it. Don't waste Six Sigma resources to identify the root cause and come up with the same solution.

c.) Chronic Issue

Select a problem that is a chronic issue (happens often). If you pick a problem that only occurs once and will not repeat, there is no point in spending time to develop a solution if it never happens again. Also, it would be difficult to collect past data to analyze the causes because the problem occurred only once in the past.

d.) Well Managed Scope

Select a project that can be completed in a reasonable period of time (3 months for GB, 6 months for BB max). The project that you pick should be in your control. You should be able to make the recommended changes in order to improve the process. If things are not in your control, then it would be difficult to deploy your project recommendations and hence complete the project.

I am currently pursuining my regular MBA, & i am Six Sigma trained also at GE capital, & initiated a project also which later taken as a BB project, However i couldnot get certified as i left the company for MBA. Please guide me if i can get a GB certification now?????????

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

Can i get a certification if i submit my Project to benchmark, which i initiated in GENPACT just before leaving the organization????? & is exam based certification recognized in the organizations?????

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). 

 

Dear VK

If i complete my GB training how can i proceed for the project certificate? My current company is not that large and i dont think there wud be any emphasis in carrying out sixsigma project even though there are a lot of problem ares clearly visible! So what can i do? How will i take up a project?

namrata

Dear Namrata,

Would your organization let you work on a project and implement its findings? As you indicate there are a lot of problem areas - so if you pick a project that will benefit the company? Will your management allow you time to work on improving it?

If they are not familiar with Six Sigma, they may not provide any emphasis for you to work on it using Six Sigma. But you could still follow the DMAIC methodology and the appropriate tools to make the right conclusions and recommendations on your own. But, what is important is that they agree with your recommendations and implement your project findings so that you can track improvements and report progress and benefits.

When you submit this project for certification, we would validate that you have followed the right approach/methodology. You will have to get a letter from the sponsor stating that this project is complete and that recommendations have been implemented.

Hope this helps.

Best Regards,

SJ

Dear Mr. Jayaram,

as Namrata said, like my company, even not allow you to take time to work in such project. may I get the GB certification only to prommote my career future ?

Dear Mohd Elzubair, 

There are thousands of professional trained by Benchmark Six Sigma who did not have a project when they attended their first training. 

There are two levels in a Green Belt program. The first one is getting qualified (on the basis of training and globally recognised examination). The second level relates to carrying out a real  life project and getting a project completion certificate.

Benchmark Six Sigma programs provide support for the first Green Belt project carried out by a participant within three years of training. 

You can definitely consider Green Belt through training and examination to enhance your career prospects. 

 

Regards, 

VK

Dear VK

I completed six sigma green belt training from benchmark and planning to do a project on the same. please let me know what are the supporting documents required, inorder for me to get Project completion certificate. Thanks

 

Regards

Senzeer

Hello all ..

This is Krishna working with IBM .I am persuing MBA in distance and because of my work timings unable to take out time for my project preperation.

I need your help for the project submission.Here i am attaching the project list in operations.Can you please get me any of the project listed below.

Suggested List of Topics for Project Work

Production /Operations Management

1.Comparison between Product Layout and

Process Layout in an organization

2.Cost Analysis of Layout

3.To study and analyze systematic layout procedure in a plant

4.Study of Production, Planning and Control in an organization

An analysis of Demand and Capacity

5.A study of Planning Strategies in public sector

6.A study of JIT in a government organization

7.JIT Manufacturing

8.JIT Purchasing

9.KANBAN-An Integrated JIT System in a Japanese company

10.Six sigma applications

Waiting for your reply.

Thank you,

Krishna.

Dear Senzeer

FYI, there is a list of supporting documents in the CD that you were provided during the training. Please search that CD for the file. It is in an Excel sheet. 

Please feel free to contact me if your issue is not resolved.

Warm regards

AbhishekM

Hi

I need clarification or perceptive on how to choose a project. See, I can do a 6sigma project for my company in service sector and decided location to take up the project is Mumbai. But no clue where to locate an exact problem. I mean, the problem persist in all the areas say

What strategy to be followed, (discipline or Control or Optimization or Break Through)

In service, material issue added to that discipline issue ( people not being prompt and attentive, call centre not updating back to sap once the system comes up from the up gradation, the temp. comp. folder has been forwarded to the respective location but there people don’t follow up 100%

So this kind of several issue filled; where to use six sigma. There is no black belt and I am the only green belt in my company. Also, I need to go through a lot, to understand exactly and completely the green belt provided material (CD) etc…

I need a successful black belt from Mumbai so that I could get appointment and meet personally to make my road map clear.

Approached Benchmark, they guided me to forum; Forum could help for short questions or for discussion….etc…

Anyone is there to help in this?

Regards

Renjith

Yes, Renjith,

In case you have undergone Green Belt from Benchmark, you can fix up a telephonic discussion with me.

Best Regards,

VK

 

In order to pick a good Six Sigma project, the following items have to be considered:

a) Strategic Importance : kindly elobarate further.

Root Cause / Solution Unknown : kindly elobare further

c) Chronic Issue : kindly elobare further

d) Well Managed Scope : kindly elobare further

Select a project that can be completed in a reasonable period of time (3 months for GB, 6 months for BB max). The project that you pick should be in your control. You should be able to make the recommended changes in order to improve the process. If things are not in your control, then it would be difficult to deploy your project recommendations and hence complete the project.

Most of the projects i worked on is the same what ur system is saying. But the end users are not adopting, can you asses and recommonds as per their strtagic plan. trail and error..or hit and miss methods adoption.

To my experiance nothing is religiously adopting these butiful systems,even SAP/ERP.. you professionals are designing ,building. what is he result? why we are not asessing the human errors,where in projects is highly influenced by human resource.

thanks .

warm regards.

Muneeb.

Team,

Can any one help me what are the tools can be used for assessing the bb sixsigma project and for each phase how to find which tool will be suitable to proceed the next step.

There are lot of tools available in each phase. Who will be right person to guide me which tool can be used for the each phase project.

Thanks,

Shan

 

 

Dear Vk.

This is Praphul kumar from Chennai (Benchmark six sigma GB training at Chennai 14-17 April 2010).I am having some doubts regarding the project as I am in an e-publishing company (typesetting company)as a Process quality assurance and internal auditor. I have chosen my project as PROCESS IMPROVEMENT using DMAIC (i.e. eliminating or reducing rework and NVA work), so my doubts are:

1. Whether I can go for this project as my GB project, will it be valid? If possible suggest some projects which I can go for.

2. My second doubt is I think I may not require some tools for this project, mostly I will be dealing with FMEA, SIPOC, VA/NVA etc, will then it be valid for my project completion certificate?

3. I want to clear my hypothesis testing concept, suggest me some forum article or just illustrate with some example.

4. Do I necessarily need to show business benefits in terms of money, here in this project?

5. My next doubt is that I have seen here management and production people both have a mindset that this is industry where humans are involve (as a creative work) so mistakes ,correction are liable (currently we are doing heavy rework,which is the pain area) . How to convince them that the change is possible.

Kindly clear my doubts, so that I can start with my first GB project.

Regards,

Praphul Kumar

Dear Praphul,

1. The project that you take should have unknown or unverified causes and unknown solution (when you begin). If solution can be found just by process mapping and brainstorming, there is no need to term it as a Six Sigma project. But you should still carry it out as the main objective is improvement.

2. Six Sigma requires use of Data Driven techniques. If you are not using data, it shall not be considered for project completion certificate.

3. Please post the hypothesis query in past participant forum.

4. Monetary benefits is not a mandatory requirement. However, good impact on a KPI should be visible.

5. To convince people that change is possible, you can carry out mistake proofing for some type of defects and showcase it. Also you may like to show with examples how extraordinary processes can make a difference.

Best Regards,

VK