Businesses across the globe are struggling to figure out ways to eliminate waste and, at the same time, improve the overall quality of the product. One of the best ways to approach such matters is to deploy Six Sigma techniques across the organization.
Six Sigma is an approach that involves a group of people coming together with solutions that can identify loopholes or defects in a business process. Six Sigma is not for product creation, but it is for overall product development. Many SMBs and large organizations always look for such improvements in their business models. Many changes like cost reduction, increased engagement rate, personal growth, stakeholder trust, and many more positive outcomes are on display when Six Sigma is executed with proper knowledge and skill.
When discussing the execution process, one needs to understand the learning part that was done before it. There are six main lessons that one learns when they get associated with Lean Six Sigma certification. To know more about each lesson, continue reading until the very end.
Lesson 1- Problem Solving Skills
The most important lesson is the very first one itself. One would understand the different processes used for problem identification and elimination. For ease of understanding, the entire framework is divided into five simple phases. These five phases help one know what the problem is and teach them different techniques for implementation.
- Define- The first question that pops into your head is always which problem exists that needs immediate assistance. This phase helps the team to outline the customer needs. After processing different outline maps, one gets to define the problem statement. Soon after identifying the problem, the team will set goal statements to meet user requirements.
- Measure- In this phase, one will figure out the magnitude of the problem. Much time is dedicated to acquiring vast amounts of data regarding existing processes and the value requested by customers. Gathering baseline data is all one aims in this phase of problem-solving.
- Analyze- So, now you know what the problem statement is and understand its magnitude. The next step is to put all our efforts in analyzing the situation. The team members will try to figure out the root cause of the problems and try to scale it back to square one. Verification of the data gathered in phase two is the crux of the analysis phase. In this phase, solutions are not provided, but proper reasons are stated for why the problems are arising.
- Improve- How will the team put the right actions into place to solve the problem? That is what one learns in the improvement phase, to come up with answers to the above question. A lot of brainstorming sessions are conducted, and each team member’s idea is taken into account. A structured plan that involves robust solutions is implemented. Planning and execution are the primary goals in this fourth phase of problem-solving.
- Control- If you think improvement is good enough, then think again. Sustaining growth or improvements is more reliable than a sudden spike in revenue. To maintain such consistency in the growth, the team implements a monitoring plan to look over daily tasks and results.
Lesson 2- Leadership and Camaraderie
In every Six Sigma project, each member gets opportunities to build their leadership skills. Having a good camaraderie with other team members will help in the long term as well. Individuals with various Lean Six Sigma certifications and knowledge can lead different teams on a variety of projects. Everything from facilitation to conflict resolution is achieved. Guiding a team to success is not always possible, and this teaches people to never back down from a challenge. Commitment to doing the right thing and not the profitable thing is one such quality that people will learn in Six Sigma.
Lesson 3- Factors That Influence The Growth Of An Organization
Every member enrolling for Lean Six Sigma will understand the concept of the 3Ps: they are policy, process, and procedure. Each factor has its specialty and purpose for the growth of the organization. Team members are guided by the strategies to make valid judgments that lead to the overall improvement of the organization. Next comes the process, and many tend to overlook the process with tools. The process involves creating new solutions that can reduce waste and yield more significant results. At last, comes the procedure; it is a documented form of all the implemented processes. Each step of the implementation process is analyzed and correctly pursued in this lesson.
Lesson 4- Tools For Data Acquisition
One understands that data is of paramount importance in business management. The fourth lesson of Six Sigma helps employees to acquire real-time data on customers using different tools and methodologies. With data acquisition, they will have the ability to read the numbers effectively and arrive at an accurate conclusion regarding customer problems. Pinpointing pain areas is a skill taught in Six Sigma, and it helps in deciding whether the problem is in the process or behavior, which depends on the data gathered. Reading facts and figures that are highly accurate to the very decimal points are highlighted through the improvement tools of data acquisition.
Lesson 5- Root Cause Analysis
Root cause analysis teaches professionals to define a problem and empowers them to facilitate the whole process. The question “why” is asked repeatedly until the root cause is identified. The team lead usually poses the questions, and the rest of the members project their views. The 5 WHYs create a matrix with many core branches meaning that there may be more than one root cause for the same problem. Root cause analysis keeps the team focused on finding out the core problem than just addressing the symptoms. The confidence of each member is uplifted when they figure out the leading cause of all the problems. Root cause analysis also helps in the continuous growth of an individual by sharing ideas and perspectives.
Lesson 6- Goal-oriented mindset
One develops a goal-oriented mindset throughout Six Sigma, which will eventually help eliminate all defects and waste. To promote such a culture in any organization, one must always aim to target a win-win situation. All of this happens when people start to prioritize their tasks and focus on one single company goal. Setting goals is not sufficient, making them specific leads to a much more meaningful process. Being specific should include statistics, graphs, facts, and any other data one can get hold of. One more thing to add when specifying your goals is to make sure to mention their magnitude or quantify them in your terms.
To Conclude…
Any methodology of Six Sigma has a different outcome altogether. Each lesson teaches people to grow skills in a particular area and, along with that, also develop their personality. Analytical abilities skyrocket with skills like problem-solving and root cause analysis. They always put you in a space where the process of generating new ideas never stops running. With leadership comes responsibility is so true in the case of Six Sigma projects. A great mix of workforce with different skill sets and proper Six Sigma and Quality Management courses help enterprises to scale their business exponentially. Having said all that, the things that Six Sigma teaches are limitless for any individual and are often understated in many organizations.
Some of the popular certification training programs under quality management are:
Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Training & Certification
