01 Aug PHLLY YOUNG NLY PLEASE
Six Sigma is a method that offers organizations tools for enhancing the capability of their business processes. When it comes to supply chain, it increases the performance and brings down process variation lead to improvement in quality of services and products, morale of workers, and profit. It also brings down defect reduction. Where a process is properly controlled in supply chain management, the commonly used term is Six Sigma quality. The purpose of this paper is to explain how Six Sigma works, its advantages and disadvantages, how it improves supply chain efficiency, and some companies that have implemented it.
How Six Sigma works
Due to the Six Sigma, systems are easily set up for improvement through the use of defined metrics for manufacturing and service. This makes it possible to determine and properly select the correct business project in line with business goals of an organization. Selecting and training the right individuals to occupy various positions in a company can be improved through the use of Six Sigma (Bozarth, Handfield, & Weiss, 2008). A supply chain management that has been improved will adhere to a disciplined process, which is defined by a system of four macro phases. The phases are measure, analyze, improve, and control (MAIC).
Measure phase – this phase measures the supply chain system that is in existence. Reliable and valid metrics for monitoring progress has to be established. The expectation of customers is established. The potential critical process or product has to be identified and described. Another thing that is needed is doing the measurement system analysis. This will relate to determining reproducibility, repeatability, accuracy, and precision of each and every instrument utilized in the process so as to make sure everything is capable.
Analyze phase – this phase entails examining the system with the goals of determining ways to do away with the gaps that is present between the desired goal and current performance of a process or system. The reason why defects are evident in the supply chain is determined during this phase. So as come up with potential variables, statistical analysis is used. The variables that are determined are those that impacts the outcome. Variables can easily tell the root cause of a problem (Christopher, & Rutherford, 2004). Developing a list of factors that can impact the desired outcome becomes easier here. Two things that should be done during this phase are isolating and verifying critical process and carry out studies relating to the measurement system.
Improve phase – this phase relates to seeking optimal solution as well as creating test plan regarding actions to be implemented and confirming solution. One the process is modified, the outcome can be measured. This will help ensure whether the method that has been revised gives out results that are required in the supply chain management. Some of the things that should be carried out are conducting design of experiment and implementing variability reduction assessment or design.
Control phase – this final phase is about controlling the new system. Measures that are continuous should be introduced so as to make sure that the problem is not evident again. A new system or process in the supply chain can be instructionalized. This can be achieved through operating instructions, procedures, policies, and other management systems.
Advantages and disadvantages of Six Sigma
Advantages
One major advantage of Six Sigma is that it makes workers at all levels of the organization to think about the manner in which the organization as a whole can be improved. The more everyone is thinking of ways through which the organization can be improved, the higher the chances of coming up with an idea that can work properly. A natural passion will be born due to this, and workers in the organization will be committed to the company. Due to this, an organization will be able to cut costs, and workers will become increasingly loyal to the organization; hence a reduction in employee turnover.
Six Sigma ensures that most of the activities carried out in an organization are customer driven. Quality control will be adhered to, where the number of defects in any given process will be significantly reduced. Anything that is not acceptable to customers will be avoided since it is a defect. The entire process of supply chain will be addressed by Six Sigma. The process of production and completion of a service will be properly dealt with. Attention is not only directed to the final outcome, but other areas of production. The use of Six Sigma makes the process to be proactive instead of reactive. This is because it is after determining ways through which improvements can be attained before shortcomings or defects are established.
Due to Six Sigma, goals will be put in front of every person’s mind, that is, in the organization. This will make it easy for the organization as well as all its departments to attain the defined goals. An organization will be able to attain better performance when everyone is thinking about the same thing, which is ways of attaining goals.
Disadvantages
Six Sigma has managed to cement its place in most organizations. However, there is never a process that is usually perfect. There are cases where making use of Six Sigma is not good when it comes to better performance of an organization. Since Six Sigma may be used in all aspects of the production together with the planning process, it may bring in an element of bureaucracy and rigidity. Bureaucracy and rigidity can stifle and delay creativity. “ In addition, its customer focus may be taken to extremes, where internal quality-control measures that make sense for a company are not taken because of the overlying goal of achieving the Six Sigma-stipulated level of consumer satisfaction” (Bozarth et al., 2008, p. 384). For instance, a measure that seems not to be expensive and has a risk relating to defects that are slightly higher may be rejected and one that is more expensive considered. This may end up impacting profitability of the organization.
Six Sigma can only be used for processes that are complex or those that have many steps. The process turns out to be so much expensive for businesses that are small. Workers have to get training from institutes that are Six Sigma certified. This is necessary for the organization to get Sig Sigma certification. Workers have to understand the system as well as how it works. Many small organizations have got no ability to afford this training that is expensive. Another thing is that small businesses have to remain creative, but the use of Six Sigma will interfere with this process.
How Six Sigma improves supply chain efficiency
Efficiency has been attained by supply chain management of many organization due to the use of Six Sigma. The efficiency has been attained due to the following reasons made possible by Six Sigma:
· Reduce waste – it ensures that less amount of waste is produced at the end of supply chain process. In this case, waste can mean many things, such as extra processing time and wasted time while waiting for the next thing.
· Improve speed – the best supply chain efficiency benefit that a company can get due to the use of Six Sigma is improved speed. The reason for this is because Six Sigma ensures that all processes are completed as fast as possible. Those processes that are unnecessary are removed.
· Increased predictability – those supply chain processes that were out of sort in the past become more predictable through the use of Six Sigma. This is possible because a steady process is being applied to the supply chain management of an organization. Most of the things will be carried out accurately, such as delivery time, inventory budget, and orders.
· Reduce costs – most supply chains are usually faced with the problem of rising costs, such as those of employment, delivery of goods, and raw materials among others. This interferes with supply chain budgets of most organizations. The good thing with Six Sigma is that it refines and reduces costs. Due to this, a buffer will be created between a budget and supply chain costs that are unexpected.
· Better indentify problems – once the Six Sigma of an organization starts working properly. The benefit that will be seen is that problems will be identified even before they take place. It is easier to see things that go wrong coming. Solution to a problem can be created very easily due to this.
Some companies that have implemented it
There are a number of companies that have implemented Six Sigma. Among the companies are:
· Ford Motor Company – the company has been able to reduce costs due to the use of Six Sigma. Its consumer-driven Six Sigma strategy entails performing frequent analysis of scorecard metric. This is meant to detect performance trend. Before the introduction of Six Sigma, the company had issues relating to increased costs from basecoat paint consumption and higher levels of volatile organic compound emissions. Both the environmental issue and costs were addressed through the use of Six Sigma.
· Motorola company – Motorola managed to use Six Sigma training to return to the market and become huge again. The company was about to be finished by the financial recession. But the company has now become one of the known cell phone brands in the world. The company has now captured a large market share thanks to Six Sigma training (Mo Yang, Seok Choi, Jin Park, Soo Suh, & Chae, 2007). Through Six Sigma, the company managed to save a lot of money that was being wasted. Apart from that, it has also managed to create products that are in line with the needs of the market, where most of its cell phones are now on the hands of many customers. The company did not hire people from outside to help it recover. It trained its existing workers on proper ways of using Six Sigma in design and production of its products. This worked and the company is back on its feet.
· Sigma White Belt
· The six sigma has allowed the project members team to know their expectations and responsibilities even before the project starts or underway. To each new project, it is the structure that brings stability and grounding by giving those who are participating a role that is well defined to follow. This is done by utilizing the system of the belts which is the same system that is used by in the martial arts. It is because of the belt system that the six sigma are able to work together very well together. It also allows the members of the team to generally know their role and what they are expected to do. The employees are assigned different training and certification that will handle different roles in the advancing project. (Bruce, et al. 2010)
· The Importance of the White Belt
· All the ranking of the belt help or assist the Six Sigma projects in improving their quality including the white belt because it plays the most supporting role. The white belt is very important and is vital to the Six Sigma process for the two main reasons which include the assistance or support they provide is excellent and incredible. The white belts can also lend extra pairs of eyes and hands in the collection of data and offer insight proficiently into how the process works. Another importance of the white belt that should be noted is that it is where the recruitment of all the future six sigma practitioners are done and educated. The companies that use the white belt sigma in the introduction of the organization’s employees usually have a great relationship with their employees therefore employers are advised to use white belt for good relationship with their employees.
· Yellow Belt
· The Yellow belt is sometimes referred to as the Green Belt and it varies from business to business. Just like other belts, the yellow belt typically has the basic knowledge of the six sigma though the yellow belt does not lead projects on their own as does the black belt or the green belt. It is always responsible for the process development of maps to assist or support the six sigma projects. A Yellow Belt participates as one of the most important and core team member of the subject matter expert on projects or project. (Moren, 2013)
· Furthermore, yellow belts are usually responsible for the running of the improvement projects process using the Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA) methodology. The Deming Wheel is the one that is always referred to as PDCA which helps the Yellow Belt to identify the processes that are likely to benefit from the improvement. The smaller projects of Yellow Belt usually get escalated to the Black Belt or Green Belt level where the methodology of DMAIC is used in maximizing the cost savings using the process of Statistical Control.
· The importance of Six Sigma on individuals
· There are various benefits of six sigma to individuals. The first benefit is that the six sigma distinguished features like end to end improvement process and improvements connected to objectives that are strategic. It also focuses on the defect reduction and variation. It also has the ability to develop leadership skills and employees thinking. Six sigma help the individuals have good structure in problem solving. This has made these individuals to be preferred by different organizations as employees. This is because these individuals have the impact of the six sigma belts. The six sigma also bring in good characters on an individual hence they become the most preferred employees all over. (Michael, 2002)
References
Bozarth, C. C., Handfield, R. B., & Weiss, H. J. (2008). Introduction to operations and
supply chain management. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Christopher, M., & Rutherford, C. (2004). Creating supply chain resilience through agile six
sigma. Critical eye, 24, 28.
Mo Yang, H., Seok Choi, B., Jin Park, H., Soo Suh, M., & Chae, B. (2007). Supply chain
management six sigma: a management innovation methodology at the Samsung Group. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 12(2), 88-95.
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