Ibrahim
The name of the game – if I can call it is “Improvement”. Not going on BB training and then obtaining certification. Project identification and selection (Project Y) – is key for a successful introduction of SS program in initial phase.
Some time needs to be spend on this analysis, discussion, benefit vs risk, VOC, people committment and buying into the project Y and improvement. I find beside SS skill, one needs to have project management and soft skills.
In SS, we asking people or organisation to change the way there have been doing their jobs or running their businesses, in past. This isn’t easy, to communicate and get it right each time. One needs to work at it and win partners and create new partnership and Alliance. Here are few pointers:
Then, as one rolls out the prog, to wider group of staff within in the organisation – the focus should be
(a) What are defects we can improve upon or reduce, or remove/eliminate.
(b) VOC – listen to people and talk to shop floor and operating team (if you are manufacturing organisation) – if not “non-manufacturing” organisation, investigative the Customer Complaint Log/database, suggestion boxes, feedback forum or profroma – whatever is your company format in reporting problem, defects, hassle, complaint, etc.
(c) Project id and selection – must have a bottom line impact and reduce waste or remove non-value adding processes with your organisation. Few examples:
For internal features of business: Free Time, Revenue, Capital
For external feature: Increase Customer Business Volume and/or Satisfaction scale.
(d) Then you need to consider Type of Project – I usually ref. to them as GB or BB – because the impact and improvement need to be on a scale. In our organisation anything over $150K in term of delivering this benefit is a BB. GB’s project in initial days did not have an financial benefit – but we say today, there should delivery atl east $30K to the bottom. As you may realise – initial we did not focus GB to delivery benefit as the requirement was to get number of GB with in the workplace with SS skills – while undergoing training their were allow to target “low hanging fruits”. “Soft benefit”. But know – the low hanging fruit are not there, as we have mop up them all. Now we need “hard benefit” in GB projects, too.
(e) You may also need to consider the X’s vital one.
Finally, have a word with your QA or Improvement Managers, he/she may have the projects, line up. A Good QA or Improvement Managers, has been using these approaches (both improvement philophies and statistical methodologies for process and business improvement programs), however today we package it differently and call it SS and use Minitab or Jump. Great, makes improvement an agenda item on board level.
This should be sufficient to get started, if you need any more drop me any email or post your reply and email here. Will response!
regards
Ali Askari
