Six Sigma Projects

Six Sigma Projects are built to implement Six Sigma methods for reducing variation in manufacturing, service or other business processes. Six Sigma projects primarily measure the cost benefit of improving processes that produce substandard products or services be it in manufacturing or service industries, such projects quantify the effect of process changes on delays or rework. The primarily objective of each successful Six Sigma project is to generate statistically significant improvements in a process such that over a period of time, multiple Six Sigma projects produce virtually defect-free performance.

Six Sigma uses generic tools. The six sigma projects have their structure and the associated process based on level of execution. Also the financial impact as an outcome is also better when compared to other projects.

The following examples are not all-inclusive, but will provide examples of acceptable and unacceptable projects.

Characteristics of a Six Sigma projects that qualify

• Manufacturing product defect reduction.
• Human resources recruitment cycle time reduction.
• Reduced accounts payable invoice processing costs.
• Reduced Manufacturing machine setup time.

Characteristics of a Six Sigma projects that do not qualify

• Prepackaged or classroom exercise that are mock, or simulated projects that were previously completed and/or that do not include actual “hands on” work.
• No real organization or business unit; no current problem or cost benefit.
• Basic product improvement projects not associated with process improvements.
• Software maintenance or remediation without detailed process measurements.
• Any project without measured before-and-after cost benefits.

When organizations start implementing Six Sigma, there are several considerations they need to take into account. Some of the crucial points to be taken into account are –

• It is extremely critical that top management has bought into the strategic and operational goals of Six Sigma deployment within their organization.
• In case Six Sigma has been chosen as the path forward, then management needs to choose the most appropriate projects from those currently within the organization that link to those strategic and operational goals.
• Note, Six Sigma initiatives may not always be suitable to all improvement projects within the organization. The best Six Sigma projects are those that are linked to the organizational goals. Choose the projects where the benefits of applying Six Sigma will be the greatest and they are the most influential.
• Implementing a Six Sigma initiative is a very large undertaking and management may want to start with a few smaller projects before implementing the initiative throughout the organization. This will also help grow momentum as people see the success of those small initial projects. Once the organization has analyzed the need for change and we’ve decided upon a revolutionary approach, then they are most likely to start considering implementing Six Sigma or a combination of Six Sigma and Lean.