Six Sigma Green Belt Training

TQM International Pvt. Ltd. (TQMI) was established in July 1992.
It is recognized as one of the leaders in the field of training and consultancy in Quality Management and Business Process Improvement in India and theMiddle East.

TQMI has offices in all over India and also provides services in MiddleEast & South East Asia. TQMI clients include many of India’s top 100 private sector companies in manufacturing and service business, several ofthe MNCs, as also the PSUs and SMEs.

TQMI has served over 1000 clients andmany of them have given repeat assignments.Apart from consultancy and In-house Trainings we also conduct PublicTraining courses which are as follows :

1)Name of the Course :Internal Auditor Training Course ISO 9001:2000 (IRCA & NRBPT Approved)Dates :7-8 May,08Location :Mumbai - Non-residential

2)Name of the Course : Lead Auditor Training Course on ISO 9001:2000 (IRCA & NRBPT Approved)Dates : 12-16 May, 2008Location : Mumbai- Non-Residential

3)Name of the course : Six Sigma Green Belt Training –A joint initiative of Motorola University and TQM International Pvt. Ltd.Dates : 09-14 June,08Location : Mumbai -Non-residential

4)Name of the course : Six Sigma Green Belt Training –A joint initiative of Motorola University and TQM International Pvt. Ltd.
Dates : 18-23 August,08Location : Pune -Non-residential5)Name of the course :Six Sigma Black Belt Training –A joint initiative of Motorola University and TQM International Pvt. Ltd.Dates :Week-1 : 15-19 September,08 , Week-2: 20-24 October,08 Week-3 : 17-21 November,08 , Week-4 : 15-20 December,08
Location :Mumbai -Non-residentialAs seats are limited to 20 participants only, we look forward to receiveyour nominations at an early date.For further details please feel free to contact the undersigned or Mr.Ashwani Sharma / Ms. Aarti Mahude 022-26830601 / 3632 / 2790 or by email atmumbai@tqmi.com, ashwani@tqmi.com , krishna@tqmi.com.

With Best regards,
Krishna Maheshwaram
Manager – Business Promotion
Mob. 98204 20604

The wonder of Six Sigma

Take quality. Add accuracy. And the result is a tool that's making TQM transcend the shopfloor, driving defects out of companies, and bringing mathematical precision to process-improvement. BT presents the CEO's primer on Six Sigma.
By Jaideep Lahiri

3.4 defects in 1,000,000. If you precision-engineered total quality, that is what you'd get. Around the world, quality-obsessed CEOs are chasing that magic figure as they wield what could turn out to be the sharpest tool to please customers, pump up profits, and eliminate flaws. Invented at Motorola, perfected at General Electric (GE), and now practised by a handful of corporations in India, Six Sigma is converting defect-prone businesses into powerhouses of perfection.

Such force flows from the simple, but stunningly sharp objective of Six Sigma: design, operate, and control every one of the processes in your company in such a way that none of them yields more than 3.4 defects out of every 1 million units of output. With breathtaking clarity, Six Sigma is telling companies in clear, accurate, mathematical terms how good--or, more likely, bad--their quality-levels are, how much they can improve, and what progress they're making on that journey. And the Six Sigma strategists are leveraging this knowledge to consummate exciting improvements in quality--not just on the shopfloor, but all over their organisation.

SIX SIGMA@ALLIED SIGNAL
At alliedSignal, Six Sigma is an overall strategy to accelerate improvements in its processes, products, and services. It is also a measurement of total quality to let the company know how effective it is in eliminating defects and variations from its processes. It encompasses tools from all improvement initiatives, including those in operational, technical, and customer excellence. It also applies to every function in the company, not just the factory floor. Although the businesses that make up AlliedSignal are different, the company now has a single, common way to describe its work by applying Six Sigma to all its processes. The company's objective: to use Six Sigma to achieve a growth of 12 per cent and a productivity improvement of 7 per cent by 2000. Workers at AlliedSignal Inc. are using Six Sigma-driven robust efficiency to make turbo-chargers, carpet-fibres, and avionics. The company has saved $1.50 billion through Six Sigma, and wants to slash another $500 million of waste this year. Reducing waste helps AlliedSignal raise profit margins. "Six Sigma is crucial for us," says Lawrence Bossidy, the CEO of AlliedSignal. "We're trying to broaden it outside manufacturing, and we're off to a good start. You've got to have growth and productivity in business these days."

Want to know where we stand? The global mean isn't inspiring to begin with. Explains Charles Loew, 59, Managing Consultant, Consulting & Training Services, Motorola University: "Companies that haven't begun their quality journey are usually at One or Two Sigma levels. The worldwide average is about Three Sigma." That's 66,807 defects per million parts. As for companies in India, estimates made by Six Sigma consultant S.C. Bajaj, a GE veteran of 23 years, place our progress at 308,537 defects. Or, a lowly Two Sigma.

Against this backdrop, corporate India's Six Sigma success stories are looking miraculous. In 1998-99, its first year of implementing Six Sigma, Wipro recorded savings of Rs 4.40 crore. The company expects to be a Four Sigma corporation in key processes by March, 2000, and hit Six Sigma levels by end-2002. Wipro's first essay at Six Sigma was to purge the defects from Letters of Credit (LC) at its peripherals division in Bangalore in April, 1997. The project was hugely successful, and cloned at Wipro's peripherals unit in Mysore in February, 1998. The Six Sigma team worked on a mistake-proofing plan with 27 vendors for a set of LCs that had to be opened through 2 bankers. By December, 1998, the Mysore office was keeping pace with the head-office. In the past 24 months, Wipro has taken up more than 70 such projects, generating savings from different projects ranging from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 2 crore. Declares Azim Premji, 54, CEO, Wipro: "We look at Six Sigma as a powerful locomotive carrying us along."

On Godrej-GE's assembly-lines at Vikhroli, Mohali, and Pune, defective components were coming in at the rate of 300,000 for every million parts. By GE standards, this was simply unacceptable. Applying Six Sigma, Godrej-GE now expects to bring down the defects to 1,000 per million parts, between Four and Five Sigma. In 1998-99, it whittled down its fixed costs by Rs 4 crore after 5 of its Six Sigma projects were completed, with the first defect-free consignment being shipped in December, 1998. And the company is targeting cost-savings of Rs 10 crore in the next 2 years. Confirms Vijay Crishna, 54, CEO, Godrej-GE: `'We're not talking about intangible savings here. Six Sigma has given us the power to measure and control costs. And that goes straight to our bottomline."

The list of converts is swelling rapidly. Despite its faith in Japanese quality practices, Maruti Udyog has started a Six Sigma pilot-project in its spares department. Hero Motors is using Six Sigma to bring down warranty-costs. Bajaj Auto is on the verge of converting too. Confirms S. Ravi Kumar, 42, Senior Manager (Business Development), Bajaj Auto: "We are studying the feasibility of adopting Six Sigma as a religion across the company."

Similarly, the Indian operations of transnationals that have already adopted the tool globally are being compelled to take it up too. AlliedSignal's Indian facility at Gurgaon has been following Six Sigma since its first day of operations. Admits D.P. Roy, 54, Executive Director (Quality & Development), Modi Xerox: "Xerox has now taken up Six Sigma at its locations in the US and Europe, and it is just a matter of time before it is introduced here. We think Six Sigma will blend neatly with our on-going quality programmes, like quality policy deployment. What's more, we'll be in a better position to quantify what we have been doing all along."

SIX SIGMA@MOTOROLA
In addition to the use of statistical methods, Motorola's Six Sigma programme includes monetary performance incentives for participating employees as well as extensive in-house training. During the first year of the Six Sigma programme alone, Motorola spent more than $25 million on an initial top-down training programme. As of 1992, out of a total of 100,000 workers, nearly 70,000 had participated in the company's Understanding The Six Steps To Six Sigma course. By 1992, Motorola had achieved an 80 per cent reduction in the cost of quality per unit shipped, yielding a total savings of nearly $4 billion. Just one year after Six Sigma, Motorola saved $250 million on failure costs. Products such as Motorola's Micro TAC cellular phone reflect the impact of the Six Sigma programme. The Micro TAC contains one-third the number of parts of the product it replaced and 90 per cent of Micro TAC components were manufactured by Motorola to comply with Six Sigma requirements. In 1991, the communications division was reorganised from multiple locations to one central location when it was discovered that it was impossible to maintain a Six Sigma level of service with a decentralised structure. As of 1990, Motorola's marketing department had achieved nearly Six Sigma in typos and has since been instituting measures of error in areas such as photography, pricing, and grammar.

All of them have been looking at the gains made by the global Six Sigma stars. Pioneers like Motorola reported savings of upto $2 billion over 10 years of implementation while a recent convert like GE totted up $750 million in shaved-off costs in 1998. Similarly, by pursuing Six Sigma quality-levels throughout the company, Raytheon expects to burn away over $1 billion in costs annually by 2001. Just like every classic TQM tool, Six Sigma has a direct link with profitability by reducing the cost of poor quality, which firms have to incur through rework, rejects, and lost customers. Analyses Sarita Nagpal, 44, TQM Co-ordinator, Confederation of Indian Industry: "The pursuit of cost-management during the recession explains why Six Sigma appears such an attractive tool."

Need six times more?
You've got it. For, Six Sigma at its most powerful is a tool that can ratchet up quality-levels in every single process in your company--not just on the shopfloor. In fact, that's precisely where its versatility stems from. >From your accounts to your customer-service, from your supply-chain management to your advertising, every process can be evaluated on the basis of its adherence to Critical To Quality (CTQ) parameters. After all, defects can--and do--occur in an engineering design, in the time it takes to treat a patient--or even in a banking transaction. All your processes, therefore, can deviate from the ideal level, and cost you additional time, labour, and material.

But, using the sigma scale from 1 to 6, you can study competing levels of capability and, then, raise yours to those standards. GE, for instance, has used Six Sigma with great success at GE Caps, whose processes are transactions-driven. Says Pramod Bhasin, 46, President, GE Capital Asia: "In a services company, you measure your output. A courier company carries so many parcels, and you say so many of them reached on time. What Six Sigma does is to allow you an efficient way of finding out where your greatest need is and what your softest point is, and of addressing them in a measurable, analytical, and objective way."

You can also expect your Six Sigma analysis to show up faults you weren't even aware of. Recalls Anand Dutta, 40, President, GE Motors: "We thought there was a bias against us when our parent began insisting on a Pareto rating of our products before shipment. But, when we quantified our defects using Six Sigma tools, we realised that we were generating 20,000 faults per million spares. And the faults weren't even major; most of them were just the results of carelessness." Adds V. Rama Kumar, 45, Corporate Vice-President, Wipro: "In addition to the quantitative gains, Six Sigma has helped us streamline our processes. That will help us in future too."

Itching to ask the obvious question--especially if, like other companies, you've also set off a TQM or TPM, or both, movement in your company?
Well, Six Sigma can certainly be plugged into such initiatives. After all, its philosophy is the same as that of TQM: reducing defects. So are the tools that it can use. In fact, what Six Sigma can really do is to add octane to your TQM fuel. For, its metrics of performance are more sharply-defined than is the case with most quality programmes, which have a multiplicity of objectives, ranging from broad operational goals, like reducing cycle-times, to micro-level ones, like reducing waste. Points out Scott Bayman, 52, President and CEO, GE India: "The difference between Six Sigma and the other quality approaches is that the others measure your abilities to meet some quality. Six Sigma actually measures the output of your processes. So, it's less theoretical and more real world."

Agrees R. Dayal, 48, General Manager (Quality), Maruti Udyog: "We have been using quality-control tools for a number of years, but Six Sigma introduces a certain rigour and robustness which isn't there in TQM. We've found that the harder our targets get, the more difficult it is to use conventional TQM tools to meet them." Adds A.K. Singh, 44, General Manager (Technical), Jindal Strips: "Measurement is key here. If your metrics are ambiguous, you won't be able to control your defects, which means you won't be able to control your processes." Simply put, Six Sigma implementors know what they are chasing, and can measure their progress in objective terms. So can you.

What Makes Six Sigma So Powerful?
The explanation--drawing on the original work in statistical process control theorised by the grandfather of quality, Walter Shewhart--is deceptively simple. The mathematical translation states that a process that operates at six sigma allows only 3.40 defects per million parts of output. The Six, of course, is the culmination of a progression that starts, for all practical purposes, at Three Sigma (66,807 defects per million), and traverses Four (6,210) and Five (233).

But there is much more to Six Sigma than merely lowering the number of defects. The Greek letter, Sigma, is the statistical shorthand for standard deviation--and what the metric really refers to is the extent to which a process is capable of deviating from pre-set specifications without causing errors. The higher the sigma rating, the greater is this capability, with Six Sigma allowing variations of upto 6 times the standard deviation without causing flaws.

The mathematical interpretation of Six Sigma is crucial to implementing the tool. The output of any process in your company--the products rolling off your assembly-lines, the bills created by your accounts people, the pay-cheques delivered--can be analysed in terms of the number of errors in it. What Six Sigma analysis does is to measure every process on each of the CTQ factors.

Consider, for instance, a process which, every hour, produces 100 units of a particular component which should measure 100 mm in length. Measurements may show that while 95 out of the 100 units produced are, indeed, 100-mm long, the remaining 5 deviate from that ideal, each to a different extent. This data can be used to calculate the standard deviation, or sigma--the likelihood and extent of deviations from the norm--of the process. Assume that the value of sigma for this process turns out to be 0.01.

The question, of course, is whether these deviations will be counted as flaws under the given CTQ. This is determined by the upper and lower specification limits of the product. If they allow those deviations--that is, if the upper and lower control limits of the process fall beyond the upper and lower specification-levels--the customer won't have a problem. What if they don't? That's when the capability of the process has to be changed.

Six Sigma offers 2 approaches. One is to change the design of the product in which this component is used so that it can accommodate some of the variations in the length without malfunctioning. Thus, for instance, the so-called design-width could be Three Sigma--accommodating components with 3 times the standard deviation of the process. In other words, components that measure between 99.07 mm and 100.03 mm will also be acceptable. Of course, that will still mean eliminating those units whose sigma exceeds 3, but this will, at least, lessen the number of defects in every sample.

The second approach is to make improvements in the process itself so that the chances of defects are lowered. That will reduce the value of the standard deviation, or sigma, of the process. If, say, the value of the sigma can be halved through this method to 0.005, the acceptable specification-limits--99.07 mm and 100.03 mm, respectively--will automatically become 6 times--and not 3 times--the standard deviation. Et voila! A Six Sigma process will be yours. The implication? To take a process to Six Sigma level, you must, ideally, adopt both approaches: changing the design to increase the range of acceptability in the CTQ; and improving the process to reduce its chances of variance.

In practical terms, this means that Six Sigma is a tool that must be wielded both at the design stage and at the process stage. As a matter of fact, a Six Sigma rating, in ideal conditions, should produce no errors at all. If it does lead to those 3.40 defects out of every million parts, that's because even the best processes, over a period of time, tend to generate deviations of upto 1.50 sigma. Thus, the effective extent of deviation can go upto 7.50 sigma while the process allows only 6 sigma without defects. That translates into those 3.40 flaws. Admits Sunder Mulchandani, 44, CEO, AlliedSignal India: "It sounds intricate, but the underlying principles are simple enough."

Wondering whether 3.40 defects per million isn't too high to aim for? Why isn't 6,210 (Three Sigma) flaws per million parts--the upper end of the corporate average in the US--also good enough, particularly since it can be achieved with less effort? Just a minute. The average product rolling off your assembly lines today could consist of as many as 10,000 different parts, components, and designs--any of which runs the risk of being defective. Thus, 3.40 flaws per million parts actually amounts to 34 defective products out of every 1,000. In other words, an average of 34 out of 1,000 customers will still be unhappy about your product--explaining why even Six Sigma is not the ceiling.

Want to know what Four Sigma could mean? Here's a horrifying shortlist: 1,24,200 wrong prescriptions a year; 4.60 hours of toxic water supply a month; 62.10 minutes of telephone services shutdown a week. At Four Sigma levels, the cost of poor quality is estimated to be between 15 and 20 per cent of your sales--compared to less than 10 per cent in a Six Sigma company. Sums up Soumesh Bagchi, 54, a Professor at the Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta: "In traditional statistical analysis, we used to talk in terms of Three or Four Sigma as acceptable levels of tolerance. If companies are thinking in terms of Six Sigma, we're looking for quantum improvements."

How Was Six Sigma Developed?
Its genesis lies in a classic stretch-target set in 1981 by Motorola's CEO, Bob Galvin, to his people: effect a ten-fold improvement in product-failure levels over a 5-year period. Bill Smith, an engineer at the company, realised that such results could not be achieved without going into the core of what caused defects in the first place. So, he conducted a statistical correlation between the field-life of a product and the number of flaws that had been spotted--and corrected--while the product was being manufactured. The correlations, arrived at in 1985, turned out to be positive. In other words, if a product had been found defective and corrected during the production-process, chances were high that other defects had been missed, and would show up later during usage.

On the other hand, error-free products rarely failed in the first 3 years of customer-usage. Evidently, the simplest way to prevent product-breakdowns was to ensure that the process prevented defects of any kind, making detection and repair redundant. External support for this argument came from the best-in-class benchmarking that Motorola had been conducting simultaneously. It showed that total quality companies were turning out products that had not been reworked at all. The question: how could Motorola minimise--and, ideally, eliminate--defects from the manufacturing process?

That was when another engineer, Mikel J. Harry, introduced the concept of Six Sigma to Motorola. The idea was to set a steep quantitative target for all processes--and then, parse each process into smaller and smaller sequences, each of which could be examined for their potential for errors, and changed to eliminate that potential. Explains T. Ganguly, 61, Director, Crompton Greaves: "Breaking down and studying processes is a key element of result-oriented quality programmes. This helps in tracking down the root-cause of defects."

Until 1994, Six Sigma remained a closely-guarded secret at Motorola. The outside world knew about it, but not how to use it. In 1995, however, CEO Gary L. Tooker decided to throw open the source-code. One of the earliest to pick it up was AlliedSignal, where CEO Lawrence Bossidy led the conversion. But it wasn't until GE's CEO, Jack Welch, introduced Six Sigma across the length and breadth of his organisation that the tool grabbed the limelight--and stayed put. Four years after `Neutron' Jack pushed Six Sigma hard into the innards at GE, it contributes 20 per cent to the conglomerate's earnings. That has spurred many others to follow suit.
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Six Sigma Green Belt & Black Belt training program at Mumbai

Thanks a lot for your interest in BSI Training services. We are pleased to inform you that we are holding an open house Six Sigma Green Belt & Black Belt training program at Mumbai.

The details of this training program are as follows. Six Sigma Green Belt (certificate) Date: 14th to 18th May 2008 Venue: Hotel The Mirador New Link Road, Chakala, Andheri (E), Mumbai – 400 099 Timing: Day 1-5: 09:00 Hrs to 18:00 Hrs. Fees: INR.25,000/- (Rupees Twenty Five Thousand only) + Service Tax @ 12.36% per delegate.

Six Sigma Green Belt (Advance) Date: 1-5 May 2008 (Module 1) & 4-8 June 2008 (Module 2) Venue: Hotel The Mirador New Link Road, Chakala, Andheri (E), Mumbai – 400 099 Timing: Day 1-5: 09:00 Hrs to 18:00 Hrs. Fees: INR.50,000/- (Rupees Fifty Thousand only) + Service Tax @ 12.36% per delegate.

Six Sigma Black Belt (Transaction) Date: 21-25 May 2008 (Module1), 16-20 June 2008 (Module 2) & 14-18 July 2008 (Module 3) Venue: Hotel The Mirador New Link Road, Chakala, Andheri (E), Mumbai – 400 099 Timing: Day 1-5: 09:00 Hrs to 18:00 Hrs. Fees: INR.75,000/- (Rupees Seventy Five Thousand only) + Service Tax @ 12.36% per delegate

Six Sigma Black Belt (Oprational) Date: 21-25 April 2008 (Module 1), 19-23 May 2008 (Module 2), 16-20 June 2008 (Module 3) & 14-18 July 2008 (Module 4) Venue: Hotel The Mirador New Link Road, Chakala, Andheri (E), Mumbai – 400 099 Timing: Day 1-5: 09:00 Hrs to 18:00 Hrs. Fees: INR.1,00,000/- (Rupees One Lac Only) + Service Tax @ 12.36% per delegate

These are the non-residential programmes and the course fee includes tutor fees, course material and all meals. Please find enclosed Brochure and Course booking form for your reference. Kindly inform us your availability to book the seats for these trainings and we encourage you to depute delegates for these trainings. We request you to return us duly filled Course Booking Form along with the respective fees to confirm your nominations.

Thanks & best regards, Minal Patil ---------------------------------------------------
BSI Management Systems India Pvt. Ltd. 701, Samarpan Complex, Andheri Link Road, Chakala, Next to Hotel The Mirador, Andheri (E), Mumbai -400 099 Tel: +91-22-28260606/07 +91-22-28262611/12 Mobile: 9867643081 Email: http://us.f541.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=minal.patil@bsigroup.com Web: http://www.bsigroup.co.in/

Six Sigma Black Belt Certification - Body of Knowledge

Download the Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge (PDF, 35 KB). -->
Download the current Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge (PDF, 159 KB).

The topics in this Body of Knowledge include additional detail in the form of subtext explanations and the cognitive level at which the questions will be written. This information will provide useful guidance for both the Examination Development Committee and the candidates preparing to take the exam. The subtext is not intended to limit the subject matter or be all-inclusive of what might be covered in an exam. It is meant to clarify the type of content to be included in the exam. The descriptor in parentheses at the end of each entry refers to the maximum cognitive level at which the topic will be tested. A more complete description of cognitive levels is provided at the end of this document.

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Six Sigma and Quality News & Press Releases

Submit A Press Release
This is your source for the latest Six Sigma and Quality news and press releases from around the world. News is updated throughout the day -- every day -- so please check back often.
To learn how to submit a press release for your company/organization, please click the link to the right labeled "Submit A Press Release" and visit the iSixSigma Media Kit for more information.

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List of companies that have implemented 6 Sigma

List of companies that have implemented 6 Sigma
(this is not a complete listing)

Six Sigma - The truths, the half truths, and just plain lies

The Top Ten Six Sigma Myths
1. Six Sigma is a new concept
Six Sigma is Total Quality Management (TQM) with a focus on process, results, and return on investment as a result reduction in variation. It's not the tools or process of Six Sigma, it's how you implement it that counts. The tools have been around for a many years, they are statistical in nature and now aided by computer to make them more user friendly. Start by leveraging Business Process Management and your understanding of the core processes in your business. Then apply it with a clear focus to drive significant results in your company.

2. Culture change is difficult
Culture change is easy when you give employees what they need to do a better job and don't waste their time. Employees don’t come to work to do a bad job, we don’t always give them the processes, tools and training to do the job correctly. By working on the core business processes that are problematic, then the next, and the next, your ongoing success will convert the rest of the organization to Six Sigma.

3. Setting big goals may prevent the success of Six Sigma
While Six Sigma equates to 3.4 defects per million operations is a very lofty goal, moving up a sigma level or two can give some impressive results. Since many enterprises operate their core business processes at the 3 to 4 sigma level, an improvement of even one sigma level represents a huge step forward in reducing defects or errors, and in turn improving customer satisfaction and reducing costs. Through a better understanding of their core processes, businesses can make significant improvements rapidly. For example, if a businesses which has an order fulfillment process (a core process) operating at 3.0 sigma or 66,000 defects per million opportunities (DPMO) could improve performance to the 4.0 sigma level (6,210 DPMO), it would realize a gain of approximately 10X performance. Imagine if each error cost as little as $10.00 to fix, then the cost savings would be in the range of $600,000.00.

4. You have to train everyone
Many Six Sigma consulting organizations make their money by training the organization in volume. You don't want to measure the number of employees trained, you want what you expect training will do to provide significant improvements. Also, restricting participation helps build interest and desire among the rest of the work force.

5. It takes weeks to train team members
No one has time or money to spend on training. Using Just-in-Time training, you can train team members in a short time and throw them right into DMAIC process with a skilled facilitator. They will learn more from a timely introduction and real experience. Most employees can learn the Six Sigma tools, the people issues in this area are harder to learn and require real hands on experience.

6. You need Blackbelts & Greenbelts
Most successful companies hover around 3-3.5 sigma (1-6% defects,10000-60000 defects/million). I have found that you can get to 4 sigma (6200 defects/million) with common sense and some problem solving skills. That means you need a few capable greenbelts. Meanwhile you'll save a ton of money and add it to the bottom line.

You need motivated people who can help you successfully start making dramatic improvements in your business. You bring in a consultant who has a proven track record of making dramatic improvements to help you jumpstart the process. Once you start making progress, you'll discover the employees who are adept at employing Six Sigma tools and delivering results. These are your greenbelts and future blackbelts.

7. Teams can figure out what to work on
I have found that if leadership, assisted by an experienced professional or consultant, can't narrow the focus to the processes that causes most of the problems, your teams can't do it either. Projects are the responsibility of the leadership team and should be based upon fixing issues in the core processes that have an affect on your customers. Every Six Sigma project should deliver $250,000 in savings that fall straight to the bottom line. As a leader, you wouldn't let teams define their own work projects, so why would you delegate focusing the improvement effort?

8. Solving problems takes time
A facilitated team can identify the real root causes of key process problems in anywhere from 4-8 weeks, without dramatically taking away from their normal work. Properly focused by data collected and a clear understand of the process, the team can analyze process and make recommendations to improve the process.

9. Teams can implement their solutions
Robust solutions to process problems often cross organizational boundaries. Leadership needs to manage the implementation of identified improvements. It may take time and money to make all of the changes in people, process, and technology required to maximize your benefit. The implementation team may involve members of the root cause team, but don't get the two teams confused.

10. Six Sigma and BPM can’t work together
Once businesses get beyond the big myths surrounding Six Sigma, then they must start to apply the methodology. The strength of Six Sigma lies in its rigorous approach to data collection and analysis. Through this methodology it is can identify even the smallest opportunities for process improvement, maximizing an organization’s ability to institute necessary changes. It is not as strong, however, in its ability to monitor process improvements and ensure they are applied across the board.

One of the most powerful ways to improve business performance is combining business process management (BPM) strategies with Six Sigma strategies. BPM strategies emphasize process improvements and automation to drive performance, while Six Sigma uses statistical analysis to drive quality improvements. The two strategies are not mutually exclusive, however, and some savvy companies have discovered that combining BPM and Six Sigma can create dramatic results.

BPM fills this gap by providing tools to automate process improvements and connect those improvements across the entire organization. The strength of BPM lies in its ability to automate processes and workflow through modeling and examination of inputs, outputs and performance. It is not as strong, however, in its ability to analyze data associated with very difficult or multifaceted problems.

Both BPM and Six Sigma represent significant commitments on the part of a business or organization, and they take time to implement them thoroughly. Organizational change is often required, leading most companies to start with a single department or pilot project and expand their use over a multi-year period. It is well worth the time and effort, though, to generate the substantial business improvements that are typical with BPM and Six Sigma.

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The Enigma Of Six Sigma

Take quality. Add accuracy. And the result is a tool that's making TQM transcend the shopfloor, driving defects out of companies, and bringing mathematical precision to process-improvement. BT presents the CEO's primer on Six Sigma.
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Six Sima - a new approach

In This Issue
An Analytical Method for Estimating Project Benefits
Quantify the Benefits of Six Sigma Projects
New Six Sigma Job Openings
Recent Quality Discussions
Aligning KPIs
Researching Six Sigma Certification Programs in Europe
Completing a Gage R&R
Using Change Management Tools
The Latest News & Press Releases
Upcoming Conferences & Training Events
iSixSigma Exclusive: 16 Memory Joggers on Flash Drive, Only $99

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Six Sigma gives immediate gains

Says NC Narayanan, founder, Six Sigma Alchemy, “Six sigma, and Lean Six Sigma
have been more well received in the Indian industry unlike ISO or CMM certifications.

The latter are more of marketing tools but Six Sigma actually adds to the bottomline.”
Changes in organisational processes are often limited if only compliance tools are used.


Mr Silverstein says investments in companies could vary between 0.1 and 0.2% of the
overall revenues. If companies were to invest in training a Six Sigma black belt, it would
cost them just Rs 4-5 lakh. The gains in efficiency are almost immediate, with returns
accruing to the company after just one quarter of implementation of Lean Six Sigma
processes.

Within nine months, companies often see returns of 4-5 times their initial investment, and
the net savings could be as much as 10-15 times the initial investment. Asian Paints
recorded savings of $4 million in a year after implementing one Six Sigma project, while
capacities in their Patancheru and Ankleshwar plants increased by 100% each, without
any capital investment while the capacity of a third plant in Kasna increased by 220%.

The returns from services are likely to be much higher, says Mr Silverstein.
Manufacturing and engineering processes are meant to drive down costs, but inherent
inefficiencies are much higher in processes in services, he feels. Also, feels Mr
Narayanan, “The defect is more easily identifiable in services than it would be in
manufacturing.” With this focus on bottomline, there is always a possibility that a lot of
companies will not invest in improving processes, as much as they would in chasing
growth.

Six Sigma practitioners concede that this could happen for a few companies, but it isn’t
the norm. Says Mr Silverstein, “In India, the airlines and telecommunication industries
are showing signs of poor service with the high growth that they’ve seen. The quality of
service will be the only differentiator in the near future.”

He feels there will be a tipping point India will encounter when the cost of labour and the
wage bill goes up and today’s small companies become large. That’s when Six Sigma
processes will gain more acceptance amongst the service companies.
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Implementing Six Sigma brings immediate gains

Lean Six Sigma, with applications in both manufacturing and services industries, has been adapted by Indian companies in a big way. In 1998, Mumbai Tiffin Suppliers Association (MTSA), or the Mumbai Dabbawallahs famously got the thumbs up from Forbes magazine for Six Sigma processes, with just one incorrect delivery in every 8
million.

A network of (dabba)wallas picks up the boxes from customers’ homes or from people who cook lunches to order, then delivers the meals to a local railway station. The boxes are hand-sorted for delivery to different stations in central Mumbai, and then re-sorted and carried to their destinations. After lunch, the service reverses, and the empty boxes are delivered back home.

The secret of the system is in the colored codes painted on the side of the boxes, which tell the dabbawalas where the food comes from and which railway stations it must pass through on its way to a specific office in a specific building in downtown Mumbai.

A business that is still growing at the rate of 5 to 10 percent, it has received the Six Sigma award from the Forbes Magazine. Only those organizations get the Six Sigma award that can keep their defects at around 1 defect every 6,000,000 (six million) deliveries. This is amazing, and they don’t even get any special management training.

Seth Godin in his post rightly says:
The dabbawalas know their customers. If they rotated the people around, it would never work. There’s trust, and along with the trust is responsibility. By creating a flat organization and building relationships, the system even survives monsoon season.
You can apply for a dabba service at MyDabbaWala.com.
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The stock market has taken cognisance of Six Sigma’s significance. Manish Sonthalia,
portfolio manager, Motilal Oswal Securities says, “We give strong weightages to
companies that use Six Sigma processes because in the long run, process-driven
companies are the only companies that are successful.”
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A colorful assortment of dabbasA dabbawala is a person whose job is to collect lunch boxes from homes, which are packed in an aluminum container, known locally as dabba, which they deliver to customers in their respective offices. How it came into existence was a matter of necessity for the British during the Raj, who, for want of good hygienic food scarcely available on the streets of Mumbai, had to depend on meals prepared at home. They would hire locals to carry the lunch boxes from home to their workplace. Since then, these lunch box carriers have become popularly known as dabbawalas.Mumbai is densely populated, and traffic fairly bursts out at its seams. It is the financial hub of India and has a large number of corporate offices, concentrated in south Mumbai. The working class, residing in far-off suburbs and who relish homemade dishes, patronize the dabbawalas.This wide network, a unique human chain, is instrumental in bringing mother's recipe to the worker's desk. Every morning the dabbawala visits each home client, collects the lunch boxes, and then transports them through the suburban rail network. They are then handed over to another group of dabbawalas assembled at different railway stations. Each container of lunch boxes bears a distinguishing number and is then sorted out, allocated to each pick-up man for the onward journey, and handed out to the rightful owners.Balancing wooden cart on a dabbawala's head©2006 Rajen NairIt is a common sight to see the dabbawalas attired in their traditional white kurta (pajama) and a topi (hat), wheeling a bicycle with loads of cylindrical aluminum containers tucked on either side. These lunch boxes are delivered on every working day without fail, despite deluges during the monsoon season or a strike announcement made by a political party. Again, in the evening the empty containers are collected from offices and delivered back to homes for another round of errands the next day morning.More than 200,000 lunch boxes are transported to and fro every day by a dabbawala force of about 5,000 strong. In today's globalization that boasts of modern transport systems, this unique human feat of delivering lunch boxes, using a non-polluting and cost-effective primitive mode of transport like bicycles and pullers of wooden carts, is unparalleled anywhere in the world.The dabbawalas may be semi-literate, but their efficient delivery and time management skills would shame some professionally managed corporations. The American business magazine Forbes has given a six-sigma performance rating to them. The dabbawalas were also featured in a BBC documentary.The dabbawalas achieved worldwide fame when Prince Charles, during one of his visits to Mumbai, paid a special visit to them and evidenced keen interest in how they worked. He was so impressed with them that later, during his wedding, he extended an invitation to these dabbawalas. In a way, the dabbawala does yeoman service in maintaining healthy food habits for workers in Mumbai by keeping them away from fast food joints.
posted by Lean Six Sigma News Update at 8:35 PM

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CPI Tools & Techniques

Lean Six Sigma
The root of both Lean and Six Sigma reach back to the time when the greatest pressure for quality and speed were on manufacturing. Lean rose as a method for optimizing automotive manufacturing; Six Sigma evolved as a quality initiative to eliminate defects by reducing variation in processes in the semiconductor industry. It is not surprising that the earliest adopters of Lean Six Sigma arose in the service support functions of manufacturing organizations like GE Capital, Caterpillar Finance, and Lockheed Martin.

Key Concept
In short, what sets Lean Six Sigma apart from its individual components is the recognition that you cannot do "just quality" or "just speed," you need the balanced process that can help an organization to focus on improving service quality, as defined by the customer within a set time limit.

Lean Six Sigma for services is a business improvement methodology (details on DMAIC) that maximizes shareholder value by achieving the fastest rate of improvement in customer satisfaction, cost, quality, process speed, and invested capital.

The fusion of Lean and Six Sigma improvement methods is required because:
Lean cannot bring a process under statistical control
Six Sigma alone cannot dramatically improve process speed or reduce invested capital
Both enable the reduction of the cost of complexity

Ironically, Six Sigma and Lean have often been regarded as rival initiatives. Lean enthusiasts note that Six Sigma pays little attention to anything related to speed and flow, while Six Sigma supporters point out that Lean fails to address key concepts like customer needs and variation. Both sides are right. Yet these arguments are more often used to advocate choosing one over the other, rather than to support the more logical conclusion that we blend Lean and Six Sigma.

How is it that Six Sigma and Lean are complementary? Here’s a quick overview
Six Sigma:
Emphasizes the need to recognize opportunities and eliminate defects as defined by customers
Recognizes that variation hinders our ability to reliably deliver high quality services
Requires data driven decisions and incorporates a comprehensive set of quality tools under a powerful framework for effective problem solving
Provides a highly prescriptive cultural infrastructure effective in obtaining sustainable results
When implemented correctly, promises and delivers $500,000+ of improved operating profit per Black Belt per year (a hard dollar figure many companies consistently achieve)

Lean:
Focuses on maximizing process velocity
Provides tools for analyzing process flow and delay times at each activity in a process
Centers on the separation of "value-added" from "non-value-added" work with tools to eliminate the root causes of non-valued activities and their cost

The 8 types of waste / non-value added work
Wasted human talent – Damage to people
Defects – "Stuff" that’s not right & needs fixing
Inventory - "Stuff" waiting to be worked
Overproduction – "Stuff" too much/too early
Waiting Time – People waiting for "Stuff" to arrive
Motion – Unnecessary human movement
Transportation – Moving people & "Stuff"
Processing Waste – "Stuff" we have to do that doesn’t add value to the product or service we are supposed to be producing.
Provides a means for quantifying and eliminating the cost of complexity

Did You Know?
Approximately 30% to 50% of the cost in service organizations is caused by costs related to slow speed or performing rework to satisfy customer needs.
The two methodologies interact and reinforce one another, such that percentage gains in Return on Investment Capital (ROIC%) are much faster if Lean and Six Sigma are implemented together.
more
and more

CPI Tools & Techniques

Lean Six Sigma
The root of both Lean and Six Sigma reach back to the time when the greatest pressure for quality and speed were on manufacturing. Lean rose as a method for optimizing automotive manufacturing; Six Sigma evolved as a quality initiative to eliminate defects by reducing variation in processes in the semiconductor industry. It is not surprising that the earliest adopters of Lean Six Sigma arose in the service support functions of manufacturing organizations like GE Capital, Caterpillar Finance, and Lockheed Martin.

Key Concept
In short, what sets Lean Six Sigma apart from its individual components is the recognition that you cannot do "just quality" or "just speed," you need the balanced process that can help an organization to focus on improving service quality, as defined by the customer within a set time limit.

Lean Six Sigma for services is a business improvement methodology (details on DMAIC) that maximizes shareholder value by achieving the fastest rate of improvement in customer satisfaction, cost, quality, process speed, and invested capital.

The fusion of Lean and Six Sigma improvement methods is required because:
Lean cannot bring a process under statistical control
Six Sigma alone cannot dramatically improve process speed or reduce invested capital
Both enable the reduction of the cost of complexity

Ironically, Six Sigma and Lean have often been regarded as rival initiatives. Lean enthusiasts note that Six Sigma pays little attention to anything related to speed and flow, while Six Sigma supporters point out that Lean fails to address key concepts like customer needs and variation. Both sides are right. Yet these arguments are more often used to advocate choosing one over the other, rather than to support the more logical conclusion that we blend Lean and Six Sigma.

How is it that Six Sigma and Lean are complementary? Here’s a quick overview
Six Sigma:
Emphasizes the need to recognize opportunities and eliminate defects as defined by customers
Recognizes that variation hinders our ability to reliably deliver high quality services
Requires data driven decisions and incorporates a comprehensive set of quality tools under a powerful framework for effective problem solving
Provides a highly prescriptive cultural infrastructure effective in obtaining sustainable results
When implemented correctly, promises and delivers $500,000+ of improved operating profit per Black Belt per year (a hard dollar figure many companies consistently achieve)

Lean:
Focuses on maximizing process velocity
Provides tools for analyzing process flow and delay times at each activity in a process
Centers on the separation of "value-added" from "non-value-added" work with tools to eliminate the root causes of non-valued activities and their cost

The 8 types of waste / non-value added work
Wasted human talent – Damage to people
Defects – "Stuff" that’s not right & needs fixing
Inventory - "Stuff" waiting to be worked
Overproduction – "Stuff" too much/too early
Waiting Time – People waiting for "Stuff" to arrive
Motion – Unnecessary human movement
Transportation – Moving people & "Stuff"
Processing Waste – "Stuff" we have to do that doesn’t add value to the product or service we are supposed to be producing.
Provides a means for quantifying and eliminating the cost of complexity

Did You Know?
Approximately 30% to 50% of the cost in service organizations is caused by costs related to slow speed or performing rework to satisfy customer needs.
The two methodologies interact and reinforce one another, such that percentage gains in Return on Investment Capital (ROIC%) are much faster if Lean and Six Sigma are implemented together.
more

Six Sigma world wide

The Enigma Of Six Sigma
Take quality. Add accuracy. And the result is a tool that's making TQM transcend the shopfloor, driving defects out of companies, and bringing mathematical precision to process-improvement. BT presents the CEO's primer on Six Sigma.

By Jaideep Lahiri

3.4 defects in 1,000,000. If you precision-engineered total quality, that is what you'd get. Around the world, quality-obsessed CEOs are chasing that magic figure as they wield what could turn out to be the sharpest tool to please customers, pump up profits, and eliminate flaws. Invented at Motorola, perfected at General Electric (GE), and now practised by a handful of corporations in India, Six Sigma is converting defect-prone businesses into powerhouses of perfection.

What Makes Six Sigma So Powerful?
The explanation--drawing on the original work in statistical process control theorised by the grandfather of quality, Walter Shewhart--is deceptively simple. The mathematical translation states that a process that operates at six sigma allows only 3.40 defects per million parts of output. The Six, of course, is the culmination of a progression that starts, for all practical purposes, at Three Sigma (66,807 defects per million), and traverses Four (6,210) and Five (233).

But there is much more to Six Sigma than merely lowering the number of defects. The Greek letter, Sigma, is the statistical shorthand for standard deviation--and what the metric really refers to is the extent to which a process is capable of deviating from pre-set specifications without causing errors. The higher the sigma rating, the greater is this capability, with Six Sigma allowing variations of upto 6 times the standard deviation without causing flaws.

The mathematical interpretation of Six Sigma is crucial to implementing the tool. The output of any process in your company--the products rolling off your assembly-lines, the bills created by your accounts people, the pay-cheques delivered--can be analysed in terms of the number of errors in it. What Six Sigma analysis does is to measure every process on each of the CTQ factors.

Consider, for instance, a process which, every hour, produces 100 units of a particular component which should measure 100 mm in length. Measurements may show that while 95 out of the 100 units produced are, indeed, 100-mm long, the remaining 5 deviate from that ideal, each to a different extent. This data can be used to calculate the standard deviation, or sigma--the likelihood and extent of deviations from the norm--of the process. Assume that the value of sigma for this process turns out to be 0.01.

The question, of course, is whether these deviations will be counted as flaws under the given CTQ. This is determined by the upper and lower specification limits of the product. If they allow those deviations--that is, if the upper and lower control limits of the process fall beyond the upper and lower specification-levels--the customer won't have a problem. What if they don't? That's when the capability of the process has to be changed.

Six Sigma offers 2 approaches. One is to change the design of the product in which this component is used so that it can accommodate some of the variations in the length without malfunctioning. Thus, for instance, the so-called design-width could be Three Sigma--accommodating components with 3 times the standard deviation of the process. In other words, components that measure between 99.07 mm and 100.03 mm will also be acceptable. Of course, that will still mean eliminating those units whose sigma exceeds 3, but this will, at least, lessen the number of defects in every sample.

The second approach is to make improvements in the process itself so that the chances of defects are lowered. That will reduce the value of the standard deviation, or sigma, of the process. If, say, the value of the sigma can be halved through this method to 0.005, the acceptable specification-limits--99.07 mm and 100.03 mm, respectively--will automatically become 6 times--and not 3 times--the standard deviation. Et voila! A Six Sigma process will be yours.

The implication? To take a process to Six Sigma level, you must, ideally, adopt both approaches: changing the design to increase the range of acceptability in the CTQ; and improving the process to reduce its chances of variance.

In practical terms, this means that Six Sigma is a tool that must be wielded both at the design stage and at the process stage. As a matter of fact, a Six Sigma rating, in ideal conditions, should produce no errors at all. If it does lead to those 3.40 defects out of every million parts, that's because even the best processes, over a period of time, tend to generate deviations of upto 1.50 sigma. Thus, the effective extent of deviation can go upto 7.50 sigma while the process allows only 6 sigma without defects. That translates into those 3.40 flaws. Admits Sunder Mulchandani, 44, CEO, AlliedSignal India: "It sounds intricate, but the underlying principles are simple enough."

Wondering whether 3.40 defects per million isn't too high to aim for? Why isn't 6,210 (Three Sigma) flaws per million parts--the upper end of the corporate average in the US--also good enough, particularly since it can be achieved with less effort? Just a minute. The average product rolling off your assembly lines today could consist of as many as 10,000 different parts, components, and designs--any of which runs the risk of being defective. Thus, 3.40 flaws per million parts actually amounts to 34 defective products out of every 1,000. In other words, an average of 34 out of 1,000 customers will still be unhappy about your product--explaining why even Six Sigma is not the ceiling.

Want to know what Four Sigma could mean? Here's a horrifying shortlist: 1,24,200 wrong prescriptions a year; 4.60 hours of toxic water supply a month; 62.10 minutes of telephone services shutdown a week. At Four Sigma levels, the cost of poor quality is estimated to be between 15 and 20 per cent of your sales--compared to less than 10 per cent in a Six Sigma company. Sums up Soumesh Bagchi, 54, a Professor at the Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta: "In traditional statistical analysis, we used to talk in terms of Three or Four Sigma as acceptable levels of tolerance. If companies are thinking in terms of Six Sigma, we're looking for quantum improvements."

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STATISTICAL PROCESS CONTROL

go here for DOE

Six Sigma for FREE

We will do a six sigma project with you
You just pay us 10% of your net savings in the first year

- TQMC

DMAIC Versus DMADV

DMAIC Versus DMADV
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DMADV / DFSS / New Product & Service Introduction
go here

What Is DFSS?
And how does Design For Six Sigma compare to DMAIC?
go here

About Lean Six Sigma:

Lean Six Sigma: A business improvement methodology that maximizes shareholder value by achieving the fastest rate of improvement in customer satisfaction, cost, quality, process speed, and invested capital. [Lean Six Sigma Institute]

History of Lean Six Sigma: Lean Six Sigma is a combination of two business improvement techniques, Lean and Six Sigma. Lean focuses on eliminating waste and constantly shortening the cycle time. On the other hand, Six Sigma has a focus on quality and variability reduction. The combination of the two, Lean Six Sigma, methodologies to help improve lead time, cost and quality.

IMCOM BI-LSS Deployment Strategy: •
IMCOM’s program to use Lean Six Sigma to evaluate business processes to increase productivity and reduce costs while maintaining or improving the quality of service and responsiveness to our customers. • Lean Six Sigma is IMCOM’s primary method for Business transformation to: • Improve effectiveness and increase productivity while maintaining quality to standard and improve customer satisfaction • Enable a culture of continuous process improvement through Lean Six Sigma training and execution • IMCOM will identify business processes for improvement and conduct LSS Projects/Business Improvement Events (BIE) based on: • Current enterprise-wide business processes for delivering services to installation customers (Enterprise Implementation) • Local Opportunities For Improvement (OFI) for service delivery at IMCOM Region Office and Garrison Local Implementation • IMCOM will utilize LSS and other productivity improvement tools and techniques to achieve cumulative efficiency goals including: • Enterprise and Local LSS Business Improvement Events • A-76/Competitive Sourcing • Strategic Sourcing • BRAC and GDPR •

Divestitures/Program Reductions
Training Opportunities:The Installation Management Command centrally funds a full spectrum of Lean Six Sigma training at all levels of the organization. For the most current training information and to view the FY07 training calendar, please visit the Business Improvement – Lean Six Sigma (BI-LSS) AKO website at: https://www.us.army.mil/suite/page/281441.o

Executive Awareness - The curriculum offers a clear understanding of how Lean Six Sigma fits with Army objectives and strategy. Personnel will be provided a hands-on understanding of the Lean Six Sigma methodology (DMAIC) through an interactive project simulation. Participants will gain working knowledge of the project identification and selection process. The course offers an overview of all the roles and responsibilities within Lean Six Sigma and specifically highlights the Executive Leader’s role in championing Lean Six Sigma as Department of Army Executives.o Project Sponsor - The curriculum ensures that personnel gain a clear understanding of how Lean Six Sigma fits with Army objectives and strategy. The course provides a hands-on understanding of the Lean Six Sigma methodology (DMAIC) through an interactive project simulation. Participants will gain an understanding of all the roles and responsibilities within Lean Six Sigma. The course ensures that personnel will possess a strong understanding of the project identification and selection processes and gain a detailed understanding of the Project Sponsor role in Project Charter development and Tollgate Reviews.o Green Belt - The curriculum includes all the key tools and skills needed to get fast, sustainable project results. Green Belts are taught tools to be effective team members and to lead projects or solve problems utilizing the DMAIC methodology. The course incorporates simulations, examples, team exercises, and case studies. To ensure competency and understanding, Green Belt participants are expected to demonstrate abilities through in-class evaluations, exercises, exams, and a completed project.o Black Belt – The curriculum includes all the key tools and skills needed to execute large-scale, complex projects within the Army. Personnel are taught process and statistical tools to solve problems utilizing the DMAIC methodology. The course incorporates simulations, examples, team exercises, and case studies. To ensure competency and understanding, participants are expected to demonstrate abilities through in-class evaluations, exercises, and exams. Simultaneous with the course, the Black Belt candidates will execute a LSS DMAIC project.For the most current training information, please visit the Business Improvement – Lean Six Sigma (BI-LSS) AKO website at: https://www.us.army.mil/suite/page/281441.


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Demystifying Six SIGMA: A Company-Wide Approach to Continuous Improvement

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What is Design for Six Sigma ?

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Measurement of process performance

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Discover 6 Sigma

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Probability Theory

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Statistics

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The Launch

Starting small in a big way, the six sigma way
1- Patil, Green Belt - Increase line speed in assy to 113/hr (from 85/hr)
2- Patil, Green Belt - Reduce wastage in Sheet cutting to 1 %
3- Patil, Green Belt - 5S
4- Patil, Green Belt - Reduce Energy Losses and paper consumption
5- Vijay Babu, Green Belt - Reduce powder consumption in powder coating

6 - Ashokbhai, Green Belt - Reduce fabrication cost
7 - Dharm Patel, Green Belt - Reduce COPC


Guru (role model): Jack Welch of GE

Seeking your help, cooperation and best wishes
- TQMC

80:20

The Pareto principle has many applications in quality control. It is the basis for the pareto chart, one of the key tools used in total quality control and six sigma.

The Pareto principle serves as a baseline for ABC-analysis and XYZ-analysis, widely used in logistics and procurement for the purpose of optimizing stock of goods, as well as costs of keeping and replenishing that stock.

In computer science the Pareto principle can be applied to resource optimization by observing that 80% of the resources are typically used by 20% of the operations.

In software engineering, it is often a better approximation that 90% of the execution time of a computer program is spent executing 10% of the code (known as the 90/10 law in this context).


In business, dramatic improvements can often be achieved by identifying the 20% of customers, activities, products or processes that account for the 80% of contribution to profit and maximizing the attention applied to them.

An 'inverted' application of the Pareto principle is the so-called 'long tail' focus in internet marketing. Rather than focusing on the high-popularity keywords for which there is a great deal of competition, some marketers have concentrated on the much larger number of obscure phrases that each get a few searches per month. Creating web pages that are search-engine-optimized for these is a less challenging task than for the small number of popular and highly competitive key phrases.

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Training

Six Sigma Green Belt Certificate Program
Six Sigma is a disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects in any process—from manufacturing to transactional and from product to service.

It is a measurement-based methodology that focuses on process improvement and variation reduction. It is based on the organized application of a set of statistical/analytical and problem solving tools/techniques.

Overview
Six Sigma is all about mindset and culture shift that eliminates the marginal methods that have been used in the past and replacing them with a set of simple yet sophisticated statistical/analytical tools that continually produce exceptional results in how processes operate. It helps to create a high performance organization.
This is a 4days certificate program consisting of 6 modules that is designed to teach the six sigma way of process improvement. Each module contains theory followed by case studies

These sessions include group time and teaching/applying the Six Sigma body of knowledge including:
The identification of core processes
Defining customer requirements
Measuring current performance
Defining opportunities for improvement
Measuring the relevant processes requiring improvement
Gathering and analyzing the data required to investigate causes
Improving, controlling, and redesigning the processes.

Benefits to the individual
Acquire the necessary abilities and skills to implement six sigma effectively and economically.
Acquire certification in a set of management disciplines that are fast-becoming indispensable to meeting world-class standards of performance.
In firms undertaking the six sigma transformation, this program equips participants to play a major role in its initiation and implementation.
Acquire the prerequisites for accepting a leadership role in six sigma transformations.
Acquire the understanding and skills required be a high impact player in the six sigma transformations.
Become highly visible to top management as a result of participation in successful six sigma transformations.

Benefits to the company
Develop a core group of managers and professional personnel who can work as a team in the implementation of six sigma.
Develop a comprehensive and integrated approach to six sigma that takes in to account the necessary training required in all functions and at all levels within the organization.
Develop an approach to six sigma that is appropriate for the management team, resources, technology, and work force of the organization.
Develop a more accountable and responsible management group capable of becoming industry leaders.

Become more effective operationally in the following ways:
Shorter cycle times for all key processes.
Striving for and/or meeting six sigma quality standards
Continuous cost reduction based on continuous process improvements
Increased productivity as both management, staff, and workforce become more disciplined in the six sigma methodology
Synchronous work flow