This multi-part blogpost series presents practical answers to frequently asked questions on improving business entities. 

Its objective is to assist business leaders in these trying times, whether they are learning the basics of business process improvement, planning their first business improvement project, or evangelizing process-oriented thinking throughout their organization.
 
So, let’s get started …
 
Six Sigma can be applied to service industry. Though, variety of engagements faced by service firms makes it more difficult to apply Six Sigma. Yet Six Sigma methodology has been successfully applied in service sectors be it airlines, health care, banking, restaurant chains, IT, call center management, etc.
 
One of the biggest challenges to applying Six Sigma in a service industry is high number of variations than a standard product manufacturing process. This is because, service quality is ‘perceived’ by an individual, as against ‘use’ of a standard product.
 
One may not require applying all Six Sigma tools to all service process. For example Minitab application is un-necessary for a service process improvement. However, the general concept of Six Sigma can certainly be applied successfully.
 
Hence, metrics score of 3.6 million or lesser defects per million opportunities is efficiently achievable for manufacturing processes rather than service processes.
 
In addition, the return on investment (ROI) achieved from a Six Sigma service process, usually, has been found not worth the input cost for the transformation.
 
Service industries usually aim lower than 3.6 million dpmo metric score. The Cost–Need quotient is often evaluated prior to rebalancing the existing process to a 3.6 million dpmo level.
 
To clarify this point, let me take example of two important processes within Air transportation service industry- the first one is, landing gear assembly-operation for planes, while second one, is correct passenger bag arrivals at destination, on time.
 
The first process has to be a complete Six Sigma process i.e. with less than or equal to 3.6 million dpmo score, since, any failure of landing-gear operations can result in a plane crash catastrophe!
 
As regards the second process- i.e. passenger bag arrivals, one needs to check out what is the level of existing process on a sigma scale. Then calculate costs involved for transformation, its impact on business, potential loss of business due to unsatisfied customers, etc. and decide appropriately. Usually airlines follow 3- sigma level for baggage handling processes.
 
In my decade-long experience as a successful Continuous Improvement consultant, Lean Six Sigma methodology (instead of Six Sigma) works best in the service industry, showing great results, from doing the basics right, as well as cutting down waste and variations in the end-to-end process.
 
Check out more about Six Sigma, Lean Six Sigma and eighteen different business process improvement techniques here.
 
I shall discuss more FAQs concerning effective & efficient business process improvement in upcoming parts of this blog post series...
 
By the way, if you run a company that is facing a challenge to thrive in these difficult times, I would suggest that you please revisit your business processes in order to accelerate growth and bring a quick turnaround.

Keywords and Tags:
​
#businessprocessimprovement #sixsigmamethodology #whatissixsigmamethdology #sixsigmaexplained #sixsigma
#businessprocessmodification #businessprocessreengineering #processimprovement #continuousimprovement    #Japanesecontinuousimprovement  #businesstransformation #businessturnaround

​This multi-part blogpost series presents practical answers to frequently asked questions on improving business entities. 

Its objective is to assist business leaders in these trying times, whether they are learning the basics of business process improvement, planning their first business improvement project, or evangelizing process-oriented thinking throughout their organization.
 
So, let’s get started …
 
At the outset, there is no ultimate business improvement or continuous improvement methodology. Please do not waste your time to search for one.
 
Over the years, several business process improvement methodologies have been suggested and successfully applied to various industry sectors.

Eighteen such continuous improvement methodologies applicable to manufacturing and service sectors are explained in my book entitled ‘Business Process Improvement for Manufacturing and Service Industry’. Check it out here-https://www.amazon.com/Business-Process-Improvement-Manufacturing-Industry/dp/1988663075/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1503707949&sr=8-1&keywords=shruti+bhat
 
Built upon each other, these methodologies often employ common tools for problem solving. They represent the experiences and thoughts about process improvement by workers, managers, consultants, and scholars throughout the entire industrial age. They are still evolving today, as more and more organizations have started to implement them.
 
The Six Sigma process improvement methodology was developed in Motorola company around 1986. Their aim was to improve processes, minimize variations and eliminate defects from their operations and products.
 
As much as 3.6 million defects are reduced per million opportunities in a Six Sigma process. The number of defects decrease further as the ‘sigma’ level of the process increases. But so will the cost of running operations.
 
Usually a mix of 3-sigma and 6-sigma processes give optimal rewards.
 
Also, combining Six Sigma with other process improvement techniques such as Lean, Kaizen, Agile or Hoshin further improves process efficiency and reduces operational cost.
 
But no matter what the process improvement methodology or what benefits it claims to generate, it can never be the only solution to improve organizational performance. In fact, over-commitment to it can actually weaken an organization’s competitive advantage. And it is advisable to combine two to three process improvement methodologies to achieve best rewards.
 
To grow, an organization must balance process improvement with other initiatives such as innovation, improved product/ service features, employee development.
 
Although process improvement can improve lead-time, productivity, inventories, cost, and quality, it can never replace an innovative product.
 
In other words, a new product needed and wanted by customers will generate a dramatic demand in the marketplace that the organization can succeed even without process improvement. Having said that, if such a customer-centric innovative company were to follow process improvement techniques, it would augment its profits exponentially.
 
Similarly, process improvement methodologies can never replace commitment of competent employees. When innovative and job-trained employees of an organization are committed, they will improve the processes even without any formal process improvement initiatives.
 
Hence, I iterate that none of the process improvement methods, including Six Sigma is ultimate. You must select the methodology best suited for your workplace. Check out more about how to choose a business process improvement methodology for your organization here.
  
I shall discuss more FAQs concerning effective & efficient business process improvement in upcoming parts of this blog post series...
 
By the way, if you run a company that is facing a challenge to thrive in these difficult times, I would suggest that you please revisit your business processes in order to accelerate growth and bring a quick turnaround.

Keywords and Tags:

#businessprocessimprovement #sixsigmaexplained #whatissixsigma #whatissixsigmamethodology #sixsigma #sixsigmacontinuousimprovement #sixsigmamemoryjogger #processimprovement #continuousimprovement   #howtousesixsigmamethodology #businessprocessmodification #businessprocessreengineering     #strategicplanning   #strategymanagement  

This multi-part blog post series presents practical answers to frequently asked questions on improving business entities. 

Its objective is to assist business leaders in these trying times, whether they are learning the basics of business process improvement, planning their first business improvement project, or evangelizing process-oriented thinking throughout their organization.
 
So, let’s get started…

Often, CMMI is compared to ISO 9001, and rightly so since they are similar in terms of improving quality systems. However, CMMI aims to create a system that allows business process improvement through measuring and defining the various stages that are ‘to be used’, whereas ISO 9001 quality levels are less specific and easier to obtain.
 
As regards ISO Vs Six Sigma, a comparison is impossible since they perform quite different functions. ISO 9000 family indicates ‘what and how’ an organization will manage the quality of its products and services; while Six Sigma focuses on reducing or eliminating errors, variations, and increasing customer satisfaction’.
 
I shall discuss more FAQs concerning effective & efficient business process improvement in upcoming parts of this blog post series...
 
By the way, if you run a company that is facing a challenge to thrive in these difficult times, I would suggest that you please revisit your business processes in order to accelerate growth and bring a quick turnaround.

Keywords and Tags:

#businessprocessimprovement #ISO #SixSigma #CMMI #qualitymanagement #businessprocessmodification #businessprocessreengineering #processimprovement #continuousimprovement 

To learn more about how Shruti can help your organization achieve new heights or to book a Workshop, Contact Dr. Shruti Bhat via Form or WhatsApp

Follow Shruti on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn
​
​​Keywords and Tags:
#ContinuousImprovement #Innovation  #SixSigma  #DesignThinking  #DOE  #Biotech

In this blog post I shall touch upon business transformation via three most popular Continuous Improvement methodologies, namely-  Lean, Six Sigma and Kaizen.

Lean concept though has been cited in ancient Japanese folklore, it was introduced as a Management methodology by Toyota around 1940s to improve their auto business. Since then there has been no looking back for Lean. Several organizations both from Manufacturing and Service sectors have embraced Lean and reaped huge dividends.

Six Sigma developed at Motorola around 1970s specially to sort out quality problems. Six Sigma takes the idea of quality to a whole new level. A process that operates at Six Sigma has 3.4 or lower defects per million opportunities.

Six Sigma is far and away the most mathematically driven method for reducing waste and errors in an organization. Measuring your business from a Six Sigma perspective requires time, dedication and company-wide participation; hence, it is definitely not for everyone. Though there is a certain magic to seeing a company from a purely mathematical perspective. For one it can transfer a desperate business situation into one that can be optimistically turnaround. All one must do is reduce € in the equation y = F(x) + €

Tip: Use a Pivot Table to perform fast, detailed analysis on large data sets. Once you set up a Pivot Table the way you want it, it will continue to operate and update as you add to or modify the data behind it.

Tip: Pareto principle is that 80% of negative results are due to 20% of inefficiencies. Identifying the inefficiencies that make the biggest impact can lead to fast and tremendous improvements in efficiency across an organization via Six Sigma.

Kaizen as a concept is even older than Lean. Kaizen in Japanese means ‘Make Better’. Kaizen is the art and science of consistently and continually improving a process in small steps. Accrued over time, such incremental improvements result in huge benefits. Kaizen is best for Lean organizations, small teams and organizations that give employees some degree of autonomy and responsibilities.

Kaizen is not a one-time planned process but rather an approach to work that places the focus on greater business efficiency e.g. Kaizen in a series of constant small improvement. Kaizen improvement would never add difficulty or unpleasantness to an employee’s workflow. Employees are highly involved in the Kaizen-based business improvement process via all types of Kaizen be it Gemba Kaizen, Modular Kaizen etc.

Tip: Get people that don’t know the process involved in the Gemba Walk, as they come in with open mind and are more likely to ask critical questions.

Working Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen or any other continuous improvement methodology requires good amount of research into existing processes, identification of problems & their causes and potential solutions.

What tools are available for researching the far-reaching implications of a potential solution before you implement it?

There are over 100 Continuous Improvement tools to choose from. The  choice of tool depends on the size of the organization and the size of its problem. However, Value Stream Mapping is a favorite tool to begin with, to take a bird’s eye view of the process, problems and decide whether improvement is required and what would be its impact on company’s over all financials.

It’s said a leaky pot never gets filled-up. Same is true for a problematic business process. The process will never truly gets sorted out unless root cause(s) for the inefficiencies are identified and solved. Brainstorming, 5 Whys, Control Charts, Ishikawa diagram may be used to identify root causes of problem.

To learn more about how Shruti can help your organization achieve new heights or to book a Workshop, Contact Dr. Shruti Bhat via Form or WhatsApp

Follow Shruti on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn
 ​
​
Keywords and Tags:

#ContinuousImprovement #Kaizen #sixsigma #lean #leansixsigma #QualityImprovement  #BPM #ServiceIndustry  #ManufacturingManagement #BusinessTransformation  #ProcessExcellence   

Follow Shruti on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn
 
Keywords and Tags:

​#Manufacturing #ContinuousImprovement #ProcessImprovement #QualityImprovement #Quality #SixSigma #BusinessProcessManagement  #ServiceIndustry  #ManufacturingManagement  #BPM  #LeanManagement  #LeanSixSigma  #RiskManagement   #Motorola

About Shruti Bhat PhD, MBA, Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt
 
Dr. Shruti Bhat is an award-winning Business Excellence Leader, Global Continuous Improvement Mastermind, Best-selling Author and Speaker. She is Continuous Improvement Advisor to several start-ups, mid-size and growing firms in Canada, USA, India, Africa and Emerging markets. She has authored eight business books and is an invited speaker at several national and international conferences, symposia and workshops.


​Follow Shruti on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn

Keywords and Tags:

​#Manufacturing #Lean #ContinuousImprovement #Kaizen  #QualityImprovement  #Innoworks   #Quality  #eLearning    #BusinessProcessManagement  #ManufacturingManagement  #BPM  #LeanManagement  #KaizenLeaderMasterclass  #LeanSixSigma  #Kanban  #FMEA  #RiskManagement  #Workshops