Category: Wastes

Using Lean to be Green & DLSU Green Archers

10/14/2013

Last week, I wrote about a review for 7 focus areas of eliminating wastes and their impacts to our environment. Now, let's take a look at this info graphic about using Lean methodology to not only save your company from wastes, but also care for our environment. We only have one planet so we have to take care of it. The following can be used to analyze not only manufacturing but also service processes like banking, BPOs, IT.

It is time that all companies review and integrate being green to its mission, vision and values.

Could you share at least 1 waste you see in your workplace and how to improve it? We need your inputs. We want to hear and learn from you.

(Image Credit: Bishop-Wisecarver Group)

Congratulations De La Salle University Green Archers for winning the ring- UAAP Season 76!

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Review on 7 Focus Areas for Eliminating Wastes

10/10/2013

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I know that several times, you have heard about the 7 types of wastes. If you reduce these wastes, then you make your processes lean. When you make your processes lean, you reduce the cost of delays which could help add to your bottom line.

More importantly, in this technological era of immediate gratification, where patience level of customers is at all time low, cheaper product is not anymore the king, but the service delivery speed of your products or services.

How to do it first time? Map out your processes with those who do the job everyday. Then do a qualitative analysis on each step- in your customers' point of view, is this step a waste or a value adding step (customers are willing to pay for it)?

Move over "cheaper products", we have a new King.

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Six Sigma VS ISO 9001 (QMS)

9/20/2013

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On one of my previous posts, I asked what is more important to you, and to your organization, is it Six Sigma or Innovation?

This time, let's talk about Six Sigma vs ISO (specifically ISO 9001, or Quality Management Systems, since there are hundreds of ISO standards).

I am not fond of comparing Six Sigma to other quality initiatives, but these are usual questions I get from executives and quality practitioners.

In fact, I remember this question from iSixSigma thread way back in 2007, where one executive asked:

"ISO and Six Sigma – where is the connection? Why do we need both? Can we live without one or the other? Should they both remain as they serve different purposes? Should one yield to the other and integrate before dissolving? What are your thoughts?"

The scope of comparing the two quality initiatives is as wide as the pacific ocean. Since this blog post is only as big as a surfboard, it would be impossible for me to cover everything. I would also like to get insights from you, dear readers, and fellow quality practitioners so we could learn from one another.

Main Goal
The goal of ISO 9001 are standardization and compliance.

Standardization means making your processes the same, which would result to having your customers receive a "similar" service or product every time, all the time, whenever, wherever. It means receiving a "similar quality" burger from your favorite fast food chain wherever (branch), whenever, every time, all the time. It also means, that even if you have 3 people making your burger in a branch, all three would create "same quality" burger.

Compliance means ensuring that what is "really" happening on your production floor, offices, warehouse, etc. are SIMILAR to the processes written on your Operations Manual and Work instructions. If there are differences, you should either update your documentation, or align actual processes to your manuals.

Six Sigma, on the other hand, drives change for the better. The heart of six sigma initiatives are process improvement projects, which aims to "change" the current process to the ideal process and in turn would lead to reduction of process defects, delays, and variations.

What is interesting is this: in the CONTROL Phase, the last phase of DMAIC (Six Sigma methodology), project teams ensure that the "new/ improved" process shall be the new standard to avoid recurring of defects. If Six Sigma is also used by an ISO company, it is a must for the team and process owners update their operations manual to reflect the improved process and make it the new standard, and let everyone comply to it.

Certification
Six Sigma certifies individuals, while ISO certifies companies. ISO certifying bodies certify companies that complies to ISO standards. Six Sigma initiatives certify individuals, after satisfying requirements set by the person or institution. ISO has a central certifying body, while Six Sigma has none. Due to that, one big risk companies and individuals should look into is the quality of a Six Sigma training program. You will only be as good as the person or institution that will certify you.

At iAcademy School of Continuing Education, where I am the Lean Six Sigma Program Director, we strictly maintain the following standards before we certify an individual as Six Sigma Green or Black Belt:.

1. Attend learning sessions/ lectures (100% attendance for Green Belt; 85% Black Belt)
2 . Pass practical and written examinations (60% passing score)
3. Complete an actual Six Sigma project by hitting the goal and show proper use of six sigma tools and methodology.
4. Mentor a green belt candidate to complete his/her project (For Black Belt only)

ROI
This is where Six Sigma is way ahead than ISO. Both programs require significant investments in terms of money, time, and resources, but in Six Sigma, you can get your ROI as fast as you finish your first few projects. Projects produce quantifiable soft & hard savings (affects your P&L), and executives love that. This is one main cause why Six Sigma is still widely used today.

Critical Success Factors
Both programs in my opinion, share similar critical success factors: Support from the top management; Competent program manager (Black Belt for Six Sigma, QMR for ISO); Alignment of initiatives to support management strategies; and support from critical mass.

Now, I give you back the question asked by the Executive on iSixSigma forum. Share your thoughts and let everyone learn something new today.

"ISO and Six Sigma – where is the connection? Why do we need both? Can we live without one or the other? Should they both remain as they serve different purposes? Should one yield to the other and integrate before dissolving? What are your thoughts?"

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Can YOU Tear Down Walls Between Departments?

9/4/2013

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One BIG source of process delays, defects and variations that I always see are walls between departments. This is no surprise since companies usually set-up their structures according to functional activities: Sales, Marketing, Operations, Logistics, Accounting, HR, etc. This tried and tested way of organizing people are not really wrong. It makes planning, organizing, leading, and controlling employees more efficient because each employee that performs the same function works as a team and reports to the same manager.

The problem lies when we start talking in terms of process. Processes produce the products and services that the company sells to its customers, and processes, are almost always, cross-functional. Meaning, for every process, it involves at least 2 departments, and the outputs of one department are inputs of another. Since departments work in silos, they usually have conflicting agendas.

Every department has its own set of targets, metrics, goals, and sad to say, personal interests. I have seen it with my own eyes:

Sales prioritizing volume while downplaying unnecessary quality;
Marketing prioritizing speed while downplaying expenses;
Logistics prioritizing efficiency while downplaying the need to have allowances in stocks;
Operations prioritizing speed to satisfy orders in time while downplaying defects and rework resulting to hidden costs;
Audit insisting all thousand transactions of a process conform to a control designed to avoid a repeat of an error happened only once, due to a special cause, resulting to delays.

And the list goes on and on.

One school of thought is to cure this conflicting agendas is to structure an organization according to "process" and not "functions". Advocates of this idea say that this strategy shall make all departments that form a process look to a common goal and tear down silo mentality.

Your thoughts please? Everyone is listening.

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5S Your Virtual Life

8/4/2013

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We are all guilty of this--- remember the time when you were looking for a file? You then realized that you have spent more than 15 minutes clicking each folder, opening each file, using the search command trying different combination of words and file extensions but still failed to find that one important file.

A file that you couldn't find, because your desktop, your libraries, and your personal folders were cluttered with different types of icons. Some, you don't remember saving, and some you were surprised still exist.

Then suddenly, like a needle in a haystack, you got the file! You double-clicked it at an instant, and... BOOM! It was an older version of the file you were looking for. You were back to square one, and

I know you've experienced that both on your online e-mail account and offline computer files. It sucks. Maybe its time to use the 5S lean tool to put order to your virtual life.

"There's a place for everything, and everything in its place."

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PLEASE Like, share, and comment: Could you share some virtual 5S tips?

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6 Sigma PH goes to University Belt- Manila

7/12/2013

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FEU- Manila, Philippines --- 6sigmaPH.com visited Manila's University Belt last July 11, 2013, at Far Eastern University, to promote the Six Sigma discipline. More than 100 graduating B.S. in Industrial Engineering students from Far Eastern University- EAC, Rizal Technological University and Polytechnic University of the Philippines attended the Six Sigma Overview.

Rex Tuozo, Six Sigma Master Black Belt, author of the 1st Six Sigma Book in the Philippines, and Six Sigma Program Director of iAcademy, covered three topics: Six Sigma Overview, Case Study of an actual Six Sigma project, and Six Sigma career for Industrial Engineers.

"I am honored to promote Lean Six Sigma to the future managers and leaders of our country. For both government institutions and private companies, we all see and experience process delays and defects which translate to waste of time, resources and money of our people and our country. Lean Six Sigma is one key in reducing these cost of poor quality, and it's good to instill the importance of 'quality' to the future of the Philippines," Tuozo said.

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Interested with Lean Six Sigma, and how can it help your company, business, school/ university?

Invite 6 Sigma PH.
Send us an e-mail: ask@6sigmaPH.com

www.6sigmaPH.com
Our mission is to make Six Sigma practical, affordable, and effective.

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What really is the goal of Six Sigma?

7/5/2013

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Quality Control vs Quality Assurance

7/3/2013

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Quality Control (QC) prevents defective products to be out from your plant so your customers could not get their hands on it.

But would it be better if there are no defects in the first place?

No rework, no defective expenses. That's Quality Assurance (QA).

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