MPMP y ROB: Opciones Realistas para Nicaragua?

Six Sigma is a quality initiative that attempts to make breakthrough process improvements as opposed to the more gradual improvements characterizing a con- tinuous improvement initiative. The Six Sigma quality initiative began at Motorola in response to competitive threats to its consumer electronics business from Japan. However, by the early 1990s the Six Sigma deployment was more of a continuous rather than breakthrough improvement program. In response to a need to signifi- cantly improve productivity, Richard Schroeder, a former Motorola executive, and Larry Bossidy, the CEO of AlliedSignal, reinvigorated Six Sigma and deployed the program in late 1994. I became a part of the AlliedSignal deployment in January 1995 in Dallas, Texas, along with Erik Lawson, Kevin Rucinski, and Peter Behmke. The Six Sigma program, Lean, and Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) quickly became top productivity drivers at AlliedSignal, contributing approximately 2 to 4 percent year-over-year productivity on top of other improvement initiatives, such as purchasing price reductions and reengineering activities. These three operational initiatives were quickly folded into AlliedSignal’s Operational Excellence initiative in late 1995. In 1996, the Six Sigma program was also deployed at General Electric (GE). By 1997, several major organizations also began to deploy Six Sigma, and the program diffused across the world. The effectiveness of the program is indisputable

Organizational Change in a Competitive World n 43

to those who have been part of successful deployments, but many organizations often develop ineffective versions of the program, and it falls into disuse for many reasons.

The Six Sigma deployment success factors include:

Complete alignment of the program with an organization’s strategic business n

goals and objectives

Control of the program at a high level by senior executives in the form of an n

executive steering committee

Identification of applied projects that will increase productivity between 1 n

and 2 percent per year

Selection of full-time and high-caliber belts who are trained to execute the n

identified project portfolio

A successful Six Sigma and Lean deployment for organizations over $1 billion should provide productivity increases in the range of 2 to 4 percent. If your organi- zation is not driving productivity at this level, then something is wrong with your deployment strategy and project execution.

Six Sigma is characterized by five sequential phases. These are described by the acronym DMAIC. The DMAIC methodology is applied by green belts and black belts to complete aligned projects. The DMAIC phases are define the project, mea-

sure the process key metric, also called the key process output variable (KPOV), analyze collected data, improve the KPOV by changing one or more key process

input variables (KPIVs), and put the process into control. The initial Six Sigma deployment followed a MAIC methodology, which resulted in many false starts relative to project identification. GE inserted the define phase into the program as well as the concept of the voice of the customer (VOC) to ensure the projects were focused on customer satisfaction issues as well as the voice of the business (VOB). A Six Sigma initiative starts after executives have been trained in its basic concepts and deployment strategy. This process is usually initiated by external consultants. After executive training, project champions are trained to select projects and guide the program’s deployment through their organization. The champions also help select the “belts” that will be trained to work the DMAIC methodology using applied and aligned projects. These belts will use DMAIC tools and methods to investigate the root causes for process breakdowns and develop countermeasures to eliminate them.

Table 2.6 lists ten steps an organization must take to develop and deploy a successful Six Sigma initiative. The first and most important step is to execute the actions listed in Table 2.2 and Table 2.4 regarding organizational alignment, exec- utive engagement, and deployment of the initiative. No initiative can be successful without organizational alignment. After organizational alignment, the Six Sigma initiative is deployed at successively lower levels of an organization. Once the

executive steering committee has been selected and is operative, champions are selected and trained to guide the tactical aspects of the Six Sigma deployment. Deployment champions guide the initiative at a divisional level, ensuring that the selection process for projects (through the project champions) and belts remains on target. Project champions provide organizational support to the belts project- by-project to ensure projects are closed on schedule and the business benefits are properly assigned by the organization to the initiative. The development of proj- ect charters has been discussed above in the section “Building High-Performance Teams.” Project selection, i.e., charters, is a good foundation on which to build the

table 2.6 10 key Steps to deploy Six Sigma Systems

1. Execute the actions listed in Table 2.2 and Table 2.4 regarding

organizational alignment, executive engagement, and deployment of the initiative. In addition, select and train project champions to assess project opportunities throughout the organization.

2. Develop project charters for the black belts and green belts. Select and train the belts to execute the projects using the information contained in Table 2.3 and Table 2.5.

3. Refine the project’s problem statement, objective, and key process output variables (KPOVs), i.e., output metric baselines relative to the voice of the customer (VOC) and voice of the business (VOB). Develop a high-level map of the process showing inputs, outputs, and how the process works. 4. Ensure the KPOVs can be accurately measured and performance gaps

have been calculated, i.e., process capability on the KPOVs, or Y’s. Recalculate business benefits.

5. Brainstorm all possible input variables (X’s) that may impact the KPOVs, develop a data collection plan, and collect data on the X’s and Y’s. 6. Analyze data to identify the root causes for the process breakdowns

(KPIVs), eliminate trivial inputs (X’s), and select key inputs (X’s) to build the process model Y = f(X).

7. Experiment and test the model Y = f(X) under controlled conditions, i.e., process pilot and scale up the solution.

8. Develop countermeasures to the root causes and build an integrated control plan on the inputs (X’s) using tools and methods such as 5-S, failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA), modified work instructions and training, mistake-proofing, elimination of unnecessary operations, and related improvement activities.

9. Verify business benefits.

Organizational Change in a Competitive World n 45

success of any initiative. The specific business opportunities, i.e., projects, deter- mine the selection of the belts who will execute the applied projects.

After a belt has been assigned to a project, the project team refines the project’s problem statement and objective. This process involves analyzing and refining the project’s KPOVs. These are output metrics related to the VOC and VOB. Integral to this evaluation process is development of a high-level map of the process showing inputs, outputs, and how the process works. As the team enters the measure phase of the project, a second important task is to accurately measure the performance gaps of the KPOV variables using various process capability tools and methods. The project’s business benefits are verified at this point. In other words, the team now has quantitative data showing the current process performance baseline of each KPOV versus the original project goals and objectives. At the conclusion of the measure phase or beginning of the analyze phase, the team will brainstorm all potential causes for the poor performance of the KPOV. These potential causes are called input variables (X’s). Through data collection and analysis, one or more of these input variables may be found to significantly impact the project’s KPOVs. After the team develops a list of potential input variables, a data collection plan is created to gather the required process data.

In the analysis phase of the project, analytical tools and methods are used to identify the major root causes for the process breakdowns. These are called the key process input variables. These KPIVs are used to build the famous Six Sigma model Y = f(X). This relationship shows the output (Y), or KPOV, is driven by the interrelationships among the process inputs (X’s), or KPIVs. In the improve phase of the project, the project team experiments with various levels of the KPIVs and evaluates their joint impact on the KPOV. This process experimentation is con- ducted under controlled conditions called a process pilot. Once the project team understands the levels of the KPIVs that will optimize the KPOV, countermeasures tied to the root causes of the problem are developed and integrated within a project control plan using tools and methods such as 5-S, failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA), modified work instructions and training, mistake-proofing, elimination of unnecessary operations, and related improvement activities. After the process pilot is completed, the best or optimum solution to the problem is selected for implementation. At this point, a cost–benefit analysis is made to determine the business impacts of the project on the organization. Finally, the team identifies the lessons learned from the project and leverages the solution opportunities through the organization.