� Before beginning a Six Sigma initiative, be sure everyoneinvolved in the effort understands the basic terminologyand concepts.

� Knowing how machines and processes work is a funda-mental requirement for any process control or Six Sigma

initiative and must go well beyond the level of “push thisbutton and let the machine fly.”

� Manufacturing processes should be standardized beforeany problem-solving or design-of-experiment initiativestake place.

QUALITY TECH TIPS

These nine steps can help your company live up to its Six Sigma investments.

BY CRAIG SUTTON

Get the Most Out of

Six SigmaGet the Most Out of

Six SigmaGet the Most Out of

Six SigmaSince its success at General Electricin the early ’80s, Six Sigma hasbecome the process improvementmethod of choice within manufac-turing environments. But a growingchorus of experts has begun to won-der whether their often sizableinvestment in pursuing near-zerodefects is paying off. Here are nineactions to ensure Six Sigma lives upto its promise.

1 MAKE SURE THAT EMPLOY-EES UNDERSTAND THECONCEPT

OF PROCESS CONTROL.Invite a cross-section of engineers,supervisors, manufacturing man-agers and shop-floor personnel intoyour office and ask them a few sim-ple questions: What is quality?What does variation mean, andhow does it impact quality? Whatare Cp and Cpk, and how are theycalculated? What is the differencebetween special cause and common

cause? What does Six Sigma actual-ly refer to?

Don’t be surprised if your ques-tions evoke shrugs. Very few peoplein organizations understand thebasics of process control. Manyquality practitioners and consult-ants make the mistake, when talk-ing to line operators and otherworkers, of immediately plunginginto the deep waters of “normalcurves,” and flow charts. Mostemployees don’t have a statisticalbackground, which explains whyvariation reduction remains a keymanufacturing challenge. Beforebeginning a Six Sigma initiative,everyone involved in the effortshould understand the basic termi-nology and concepts.

2 USE A COMMON, STAN-DARDIZED METHODOLOGYFOR SIX SIGMA INITIATIVES.

Every organization has countlessprocedures and processes in place to

minimize product and service vari-ance. Yet, in many organizationsthere is scant evidence of a uniformprocess for controlling variance inhow information is gathered, organ-ized and analyzed to pinpoint rootcauses of problems and take correc-tive action.

Pick up just about any bookabout process control and you willfind many focus on tools and tech-niques. But apart from generalexhortations to “define, measure,analyze, improve and control(DMAIC),” there is little substanceabout how these tools and tech-niques fit together in an integrat-ed, common process for achievingSix Sigma.

Take the case of a high-techelectronics manufacturing facility,with a diverse range of processes,supported by a staff of competentengineers. The engineers were wellversed in statistics and all thenuances of variation reduction.

Reprinted from Quality, Copyright March 2006

| QUAL ITY MANAGEMENT |

| QUAL ITY MANAGEMENT |

But, without a common languageand approach, it was difficult tomanage all the variation reductioninitiatives that the plant sought toput in place. Once a common, vis-ible Six Sigma process was intro-duced across the portfolio of proj-ects, both teamwork and results,improved. Six Sigma tools andtechniques then were effectivelytransferred, and others outside theengineering group were enlisted tosupport projects.

3 CONCENTRATE ON KEY PRODUCT ATTRIBUTES.If you were a soft-drink

manufacturer, which product attrib-utes would be decisive in satisfyingyour customers? Without an answer,and without a common understand-ing of the “why” behind the answer,you risk consuming a great deal oftime and resources attempting tocontrol the wrong attribute.

Think of operators on the manu-facturing floor. If they do not under-stand why it is important to controla certain product attribute and whatthe downstream long- and short-term effects might be of high varia-tion related to the attribute, it wouldbe difficult to gain buy-in and sup-port for any process control efforts.

Case in point: A coated steelmanufacturer experienced difficul-ty getting its operators to measureand control coating thickness, acritical product attribute. Becausethe failure to successfully controlthis attribute would be evidentonly after several years, there waslittle interest in the standard oper-ating procedures supplied by quali-ty control for measuring and con-trolling this attribute.Concentration on coating thicknessimproved after in-depth technicaldiscussions with those responsiblefor researching and designing the

product, selling and making it,along with those customers whopurchased it.

Next, to assess the downstreamimpact of off-spec thickness, themanufacturer made field visits toboth poor-performing installationsand the accelerated testing facility—putting the focus squarely on theproduct attribute during criticalmanufacturing steps. The actionshelped everyone clearly see—andaccept—the “why.” Variation relatedto coating thickness quickly declined.

4 UNDERSTAND HOWPROCESSES AND EQUIP-MENT DELIVER KEY PROD-

UCT ATTRIBUTES.Knowing how machines andprocesses work is a fundamentalrequirement for any process controlor Six Sigma initiative and shouldgo well beyond the level of “pushthis button and let the machine fly.”Variation often comes from manyinteracting variables in a system.This puts a premium on detailedknowledge of what these variablesare, what settings the specificationcalls for, and how and why thesevariables impact the critical prod-uct attributes.

One client had an urgent need tosolve a problem related to an expen-sive, sophisticated power generator.The client was advised to structureup-front technical training in orderto provide everyone involved in theproblem-solving initiative with acommon understanding of how theequipment worked.

The client felt that the trainingwould be unnecessary, given thatthe machine had been in servicefor more than five years.Nevertheless, the companyplanned a half-day of technicaltraining, which began by havingthe electricians, fitters, engineers,

quality personnel and operatorsprepare a “teach” on how theequipment worked. Large-formattechnical drawings were posted onthe wall to facilitate the learning-transfer process.

First, the electricians stood upto explain the equipment. Tenminutes into the electricians’ pres-entation, it became obvious thattheir understanding of how themachine functioned and of thebasic terminology related tomachine parts differed from thatof the other groups. No twogroups could agree.

The half-day session turned intoa full day, which proved highlyvaluable to participants. The needfor a common, troubleshootingapproach surfaced during the ses-sion. Subsequent training led to sig-nificant improvements in equip-ment performance.

5 STANDARDIZE MANUFAC-TURING PROCESSES.Before undertaking any

problem-solving or design-of-experiment initiatives, the processneeds to be standardized. There isonly one right way to run theprocess; therefore, the process mustbe run the same way from operatorto operator, shift to shift, day today, and week to week. The processmust be understood, agreed uponby everyone—and consistentlydeployed. Most operators under-stand the dictum that, “there is onebest way to run the line.”Unfortunately, they also believetheir way is best.

After struggling for weeks tostandardize the output of a large,complex machine used for rollingsteel, a plant engineer threw up hishands and called the supplier forhelp. After a site inspection, thesupplier’s troubleshooter rendered

his verdict: the machine was so dif-ferent from the one that had beensupplied originally that a fix couldnot be made. Years of “Band-Aiding” had caused massive devia-tions from the machine’s designspecification—another victim ofhelter-skelter problem solving.

6 USE EFFECTIVE TOOLS TO REMOVE SPECIAL-CAUSE PROBLEMS.

It’s an all-too-typical scenario: Theprocesses are standardized, data is col-lected and teams of employees standready to solve the remaining prob-lems. Yet, getting to the root cause ofthe problems remains illusive.

Many techniques, such as cause-and-effect or fishbone diagrams,brainstorming and decision trees,masquerade as fully formed prob-lem-solving and decision-makingapproaches. In reality, such tech-niques are job aids that, howeveruseful, are not integrated plat-forms for taking problem solversfrom systematically gathering facts,making judgments about them,homing in on root causes and thentaking action.

With the current spate of popu-lar tools, it is important to recog-nize that there are different toolsrequired for special- vs. common-cause problems. In some cases weneed to be versed in tools relatedto both situations.

7 PROVIDE PROBLEM-SOLVING TRAINING.A great gap exists in many

companies between having theright set of tools and having manu-facturers properly trained to usethem. Putting employees through atwo- or three-day training sessionmay provide an understanding ofthe concepts involved, but rarelywill it provide the skill level to

transfer those concepts to the job.Just as good craftspeople must betaught how to use the “tools of thetrade,” so too must good problemsolvers and decision makers betaught. Asking the right questions,in the proper sequence, is a disci-plined skill.

About two weeks of intensivetraining enables most people toreach a base competency level inproblem solving and decision mak-ing. The latest approaches to train-ing process-control gurus and SixSigma black belts span a minimumof eight weeks and combine formaltraining with hands-on projectwork. In my experience, the bestresults come from combining for-mal skill development with on-the-job application, coaching and ongo-ing mentoring by seasoned profes-sionals. It is how master tradespeo-ple teach apprentices.

8 INVOLVE THE RIGHT PEOPLE.Problem solving begins notjust with a clear definition

of the problem, but with having theright people involved—those withaccess to the right technical andoperating data. Involving the rightpeople ensures that you have theright information, along with buy-in and commitment.

Take, for example, a team ofskilled production workers that setout to attack a scrap problem onthe plant floor. After extensiveanalysis, they isolated the likelyroot cause of the deviation, butwhen they proceeded to verifytheir conclusion with the lineoperator, to their dismay theyfound that the analysis was offbase. The suspected culprit was apiece of equipment that had beenremoved months earlier. If onlythey had spoken to the operatorbefore beginning their analysis.

9 ALIGN THE PERFORM-ANCE SYSTEM.Many organizations fail to

understand the criticality of man-aging the performance environ-ment to sustain top performanceand continually improve results.Such results require a commitmentto ongoing technical training;availability of the most effectivetools and equipment in the mostappropriate locations; the exis-tence of clear and commonlyunderstood expectations; theimmediacy and quality of feed-back; and the use of positive andnegative consequences to encour-age expected behavior.

One company went to greatlengths to provide a positive per-formance system for its change ini-tiatives. It did everything by thebook—clear goals; training; thelatest equipment; accurate, fre-quent feedback; and the right bal-ance of positive and negative con-sequences to produce desiredbehavior. But the managers’ andsupervisors’ attitudes really distin-guished this company. Theybelieved that to be credible theyhad to master the same Six Sigmaskills as the people they managed.This attitude drove their manage-ment team with a relentless andpassionate approach to developthemselves as practitioners of themany tools and techniques neededto be successful in Six Sigma, andto create a high-achieving perform-ance environment. Q

Craig Sutton is a practice leader within

Kepner-Tregoe Inc.’s Industrial Products

Practice, based in Sydney, Australia. He can

be contacted at csutton@kepner-

tregoe.com. Visit Kepner-Tregoe, a

Princeton, NJ-based international consult-

ing and human resource development firm,

at www.kepner-tregoe.com.

For information worldwidee-mail info@kepner-tregoe.comor visit www.kepner-tregoe.com

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Kepner-Tregoe, Inc.P.O. Box 704Princeton, NJ 08542609-921-2806Fax 609-497-0130www.kepner-tregoe.come-mail: info@kepner-tregoe.com

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About Kepner-Tregoe

Kepner-Tregoe provides consulting and training services to organizations throughout the world. We build competitive advantage using powerful, systematic processes for resolving business issues and achieving targeted performance improvements.

Since 1958, Kepner-Tregoe has studied how effective business leaders manage diffi cult business challenges. We incorporated their habits into logical, repeatable methods for rapidly resolving problems, making decisions, planning ahead, and managing people and projects. This world-renowned, rational-process approach helps maximize the critical thinking skills, knowledge, and expertise of individuals and organizations.

Kepner-Tregoe collaborates with many of the largest and most successful companies in the world to improve the way work is done and facilitate new approaches to quality, competitiveness, cost, cycle time, business strategy, and other issues. Many organizations integrate our systematic methods into their business processes, embedding a common language approach for identifying objectives, resolving issues, and integrating change.

At a time when organizations face multiple challenges—intense global competition, crushing growth and cost pressures, rapid technological advances—Kepner-Tregoe plays a vital role in helping them improve the clarity of their strategic thinking and the effectiveness of their operations.

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