Six Sigma

employees on what Six Sigma actually is, how to use, and how it helps them perform

1. Six Sigma is a management philosophy that sets objectives, collects data and analyzes results as a way to remove wasted expenses from its processes and help reduce the number of defective products produced. Six Sigma uses quality measures to strive for near perfection by eliminating errors and variables.

The driving factors for a success or failure of implementing Six Sigma is largely dependent on the inputs set forth at the conception and duration of the integration. This whitepaper will compare and contrast these critical inputs for a successful deployment. In order to accomplish this five various companies: GE Electric, W.R. Grace, Royal Chemicals, Diversified Paper and Lemforder. Some of these organizations had very successful results while others failed to reach their full potential. What is clear is the similarities of those that succeed and those that failed.

Due to ineffective management systems, inefficiency is increasing, which often leads to congested emergency rooms, customer complaints, and lost revenue. Over the past seven years, Six Sigma concepts are increasingly being implemented in the healthcare industry. Despite the challenges of adopting these concepts, the healthcare industry uses them to improve services rendered quality, increase efficiency and reduce fatal human errors. Primarily because Six Sigma is based on a comprehensive approach on improving the human and transactional aspects of the process (human performance and task completion). In the case of JPS, the factors that determine quality and efficiency are the flow of information and interaction with the patients. Using the Six Sigma DMAIC process improvement approach, JPS Emergency Department should be able to streamline information flow and achieve strategic business results (p.

The first phase is to define the objective the organization is trying to meet by indentifying and collecting the needed data. The second phase is measuring which means to measure how any new process will affect the organization. The third phase is analyze which means to look at the data that was previously collected. The fourth phase is to improve the area that was defined in the beginning. The fifth phase is control which means to take control of the information and situation to make it better. To accomplish quality improvement Six Sigma uses strong leadership and statistical thinking (Joshi, Nash, Ransom, & Ransom, 2008). The pro of this method is it allows the organization a structured way to process the information in order to make the necessary improvement. The con to this method is in the long run it could cost the company a lot of money.

Six Sigma (SS) has emerged above other QI models with its innovative use of extensive data analysis and problem-solving methods to provide consistent healthcare services. SS identifies and analyzes the root cause

I would like to first familiarize my fellow classmate with some thoughts and ideas that Six Sigma uses. Six Sigma thoughts and ideas are used within my workplace to improve processes that will indefinitely improve the output or quality of healthcare for children that may suffer from debilitating diseases or life altering diagnoses. As Six Sigma suggests “There are many industries that can use the ANOVA test to identify issues or variances between samples” (2010).  The ANOVA is a suitable statistical technique for testing many items within the healthcare field. An extremely important study by the name of the Framingham Heart Study in 1948 analyzed participants blood pressure and cholesterol levels. The clinical trials compared two separate groups with different variables in hopes of developing standards to monitor people well being.

Once the team is satisfied with their data and determined that no additional analysis is needed to understanding the problem, it’s time to move on to the improve phase. The team would start collecting improvement ideas. The control phase is when the team would begin to document how they should pass the structure on to the employees who will work within the process (goLEANSIXSIGMA.com, n.d.). The Lean Six Sigma helps the healthcare industry find several basic and standardized solutions for many of their organizational and procedural issues. The Lean Six Sigma can enhance the visual management procedures and reduces the complexity and time of processes. It can also be used in various ways within the healthcare industry and enable healthcare professionals to offer sound and efficient care to the human general public (Six Sigma Online, n.d.). In healthcare organizations where the Lean Six Sigma has become a part of the overall business strategy, the leadership realized that it’s not about the training or the tools. It’s about looking at things from a new and different angle and using a reliable approach to manage and lead change. It's also about making an investment in people by equipping the staff with solid skills and empowering them to solve the problems they are face with in their daily work (Pexton,

A quantitative study conducted by Lifvergren, Gremyr, Hellstrom, Chakhunashvili, and Bergman (2010) analyzed the experiences and from a hospital group during a three-year period after the introduction of Six Sigma. It reports on 22 large Six Sigma improvement projects, their results and influence on other improvement activities. The study shows that 75% of the completed projects reached their goals within 18 months. The average net cost savings per completed project/year was $55,300. Overall, the results showed that Six Sigma is a useful concept when trying to improve healthcare processes. They recommend that Six Sigma should be an addition to the improvement practices used in healthcare development initiatives. It was also observed that the Six Sigma program can create much organizational pull regarding quality management and improvement efforts if teamwork is applied.

GHANA TELECOM UNIVERSITY AND COVENTRY UNIVERSITY ECM29EKM: Quality Management and Six Sigma Individual Written Assignment–April 2013 IMLOs Covered: 1,2,3,4,5 Module Leader: Andrew Nunekpeku Submission Date

The concept of Six Sigma was developed in the early 1980’s at Motorola Corporation (Harry and Schroeder, 2000). Six Sigma can be defined as a statistical measure of the performance of a process or product (Kumi et. al., 2006). It is used as a quality control mechanism, which seeks to reduce defects or variations in a process to 3.4 per million opportunities thereby optimizing output and increasing customer satisfaction (Sambhe, 2012). Sigma is representing the standard deviation, a unit of measurement that designates the distribution or spread about the mean of a process (Six Sigma Academy, 2002). In addition, the Six Sigma uniquely driven by close understanding of customer needs, disciplined use of fact, data, and statistical analysis, and diligent attention to managing improving, and reinventing business processes (Pande, P., et. al. 2000). The Six Sigma methodology uses statistical tools to identify the factors that matter most for improving the quality of processes and generating bottom-line results. The Six Sigma DMAIC (Define, Measure,

Six Sigma professionals make decisions based on data, not emotions, share responsibility and know how to generate results. They are enthusiastic and passionate about what they do. These are the skills and qualities that make Six Sigma professionals most successful and that Six Sigma helps build in future leaders.”

It is not well known, however, how organizational learning and continuous improvement work dynamically and mutually. For studying the mutual dynamics of these two widely known concepts in the organization theory and quality management fields, the six sigma approach – an improvement methodology for business processes – forms a fertile context for examination. There are not yet too many scientifically sound reports and case studies of six sigma implementation in real-life. In the dynamic developments of pursuing organizational effectiveness, the six sigma approach is currently gaining more and more ground in high-performance organizations aiming at the highest level of quality (six sigma by definition). Managers allocate resources to the improvement activities they regard as crucial for increasing organizational performance. Six sigma is an improvement method that aims to increase business performance through solid and accurate business focus. The applying of six sigma is progressing in Finnish business life, and this paper reports on a preliminary case study in three companies. Conclusions are made and on how learning and continuous improvement practices support each other, and on the type of learning in the six sigma implementation The findings show that in a procedural implementation of six sigma learning mechanisms and continuous improvement practices are intertwined creating mainly a single-loop type of learning. The type reminds a technical

Looking at the success of Motorola, many companies like Texas Instruments, Allied Signal etc started using Six Sigma methodology to bring organization-wide improvements.

The case deals with the evolution of Six Sigma, talks of its implementation and gives an understanding of Consultancy in Six Sigma at Wipro.