Six Sigma Deployment

A Six Sigma deployment is an interesting and challenging initiative undertaken by forward thinking enterprises. A well strategized Six Sigma deployment can give a face-lift to your company, thereby allowing you to obtain best results. However, a Six Sigma deployment strategy can differ between enterprises, based on their corporate culture and strategic business objectives. Once a company has made the decision to deploy Six Sigma, it has two basic choices:

To deploy a Six Sigma initiative/program

To set up a Six Sigma infrastructure

Six Sigma Deployment Models:
One of the crucial factors for developing a successful Six Sigma deployment strategy is setting up appropriate project starting points through accurate outlining of problems. How can this be approached? The 1-2-3 model is one of the basic Six Sigma deployment models that help to explain the roles and responsibilities in choosing projects. According to the 1-2-3 Six Sigma deployment model, the strategic enhancement practices should get initiated at top for it to have a natural downward flow, where everyone concerned has a clear understanding of his or her role.
The 1-2-3 Six Sigma deployment model includes:

Level 1- Here the top management decides on launching Six Sigma to deal with major business challenges

Level 2 - This step is all about generating people, mostly in the middle management, as the project sponsors and process owners. The project sponsors can be recruited from the senior management in case their influence helps the team to seamlessly overcome bottlenecks. The role of a process owner is crucial to any enterprise concerned about efficient process management

The Level 2 participants usually look for the potential to enhance within a corporate process sphere. For this, they require to turn the business objectives into process objectives. They are also required to recognize the processes whose results are presently not catering to the targets and acting more as limitations on the path to attain higher business objectives.

Level 3 - The ideas for improvement that sources out of Level 2 gets disseminated between the project leaders – the Black Belts and the Green Belts, as initial daft project definitions. Here, the Belts modify their allocated project definitions, collect information and evaluate the primary causes of differences in their allocated variables

This Six Sigma deployment model might appear simple in theory, but some companies fail at the start to grasp it or sometimes overlook the significance of following the steps as is. They at times end up following 1-3-2 rather than 1-2-3 levels. On the other hand, there are some benefits associated with this model as well. For instance, an enterprise might directly jump from Level 1 to launch projects at Level 3 for attaining quick process enhancement and financial outcomes.
Six Sigma Deployment maps:
The primary objective of a Six Sigma deployment map is to drive end-to-end improvement. For this companies can follow the DMAIC or the DMADV (Define, Measure, Analyze, Design and Verify) methods. The DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control) methodology acts as one of the significant Six Sigma deployment maps. It is a data-drive process that ensures constant optimization and improvement of the business processes. It can be elucidated as follows:

Define: This phase is all about defining the business issues, set objectives and understanding project scopes and limitations, outlining consumers, defining the timelines for high-level projects and carry on work concerning the same

Measure: This phase focuses on the need to recognize the baselines for enhancements. Data collection takes place here. Furthermore the performance baselines are also set up depending on the collected data. Post this, there is a comparison of the baseline metrics with the ones at the concluding stage

Analyze: During this stage of the deployment map, all the vital actions are undertaken for recognizing, authenticating as well as selecting the main cause for removal. A data collection process is set up that helps a company to understand the contribution of every root cause. Furthermore, detailed Six Sigma deployment maps allow the team to identify all the concern areas

Improve: This phase include unique solutions for removing the root cause. There is increased focus given to easy and simple solutions

Control: In this phase all the enhancements are managed for guaranteeing ongoing success. Training and document upgradation and channeling business records gains importance here

Six Sigma projects have a timeline to adhere. When you are initiating a new project it is essential to set up a project charter that enables you to decide on the timeline for the project. Though there is no specific Six Sigma deployment timeline to follow, still the main objective is to be as efficient and fast as possible. This helps in project progress and success.

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Six Sigma Deployment

To deploy a Six Sigma initiative/program

To set up a Six Sigma infrastructure

Level 1- Here the top management decides on launching Six Sigma to deal with major business challenges

Level 2 - This step is all about generating people, mostly in the middle management, as the project sponsors and process owners. The project sponsors can be recruited from the senior management in case their influence helps the team to seamlessly overcome bottlenecks. The role of a process owner is crucial to any enterprise concerned about efficient process management

Level 3 - The ideas for improvement that sources out of Level 2 gets disseminated between the project leaders – the Black Belts and the Green Belts, as initial daft project definitions. Here, the Belts modify their allocated project definitions, collect information and evaluate the primary causes of differences in their allocated variables

Define: This phase is all about defining the business issues, set objectives and understanding project scopes and limitations, outlining consumers, defining the timelines for high-level projects and carry on work concerning the same

Measure: This phase focuses on the need to recognize the baselines for enhancements. Data collection takes place here. Furthermore the performance baselines are also set up depending on the collected data. Post this, there is a comparison of the baseline metrics with the ones at the concluding stage

Analyze: During this stage of the deployment map, all the vital actions are undertaken for recognizing, authenticating as well as selecting the main cause for removal. A data collection process is set up that helps a company to understand the contribution of every root cause. Furthermore, detailed Six Sigma deployment maps allow the team to identify all the concern areas

Improve: This phase include unique solutions for removing the root cause. There is increased focus given to easy and simple solutions

Control: In this phase all the enhancements are managed for guaranteeing ongoing success. Training and document upgradation and channeling business records gains importance here