The efficiency of the internal production factors implemented by your company will be determined by the business methodologies you wish to adopt.
Do you want to eliminate waste from your internal procedures and increase profitability and overall worker efficiency?
In this case, a good idea would be to use the elements presented in the Lean methodology. Is your priority to create a working environment that encourages continuous innovation and product development?
Then, you will probably be interested in the Kaizen philosophy. And, if you are a company based in manufacturing, healthcare, or finance, and your profit margins are low, most likely, you’ll want to invest in Lean Six Sigma techniques.
Six Sigma is a versatile philosophy that can be used successfully in various industries, both for companies at the beginning of their professional journey and for international conglomerates that have to juggle tight deadlines and feel the pressure of investors.
Six Sigma, being a philosophy first popularized by Motorola in the 1980s, is well suited for these types of organizations, where competition is fierce, and lowering defect rates of marketed products is essential.
However, especially when combined with other methodologies like TQM, Six Sigma’s DMAIC framework is flexible and can be enhanced by obtaining multiple Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt certifications.
For What Industries Is Six Sigma Ideal?
Six Sigma, since its mass adoption in the mid-90s, has been recognized as a versatile methodology that has been adaptable to the different currents of thought and the internal production lines of companies on separate continents.
From GE in the USA, Motorola in Asia, and Philips in Europe, Six Sigma became, in a short time, the business methodology favored by most large-scale enterprises.
However, although it is characterized by flexibility and adaptability, Six Sigma is primarily a methodology that is suitable for companies active in manufacturing.
In the electronics, automotive, and consumer goods manufacturing industries, Six Sigma is a tool that can increase worker productivity, streamline production means, reduce defects, and increase brand recognition.
But there are other sectors where Six Sigma is well suited. In healthcare, for example, the DMAIC framework can be applied to reduce the number of medical errors, increase efficiency in the procurement of medical supplies, and better organize patient care operations.
In financing, Six Sigma is helpful in reducing financial error rates, while in telecommunications, the techniques used in DMAIC can decrease downtime.
However, there are industries where Six Sigma is a less viable alternative. Are you the owner of a company active in a creative field where innovation is essential? In this case, Six Sigma can be too rigid for the needs of your staff.
While the DMAIC framework works best for established production lines, in which the problem is the defect rate of marketed products, for creative industries, where dynamics and originality are essential, methodologies such as Agile, Kanban, and Design Thinking will be more suitable.
Going for a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt is a worthwhile endeavor. But you must be sure you’ll take full advantage of the elements behind the methodology.
What Other Business Methodologies Can Work with Six Sigma?
Going for a professional Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt certification is an excellent option if your company operates in an industry where the margins of error for marketed products are low.
But at the same time, due to its focus on effectiveness and defect elimination, Six Sigma could be a limited methodology for specific niche industries.
Do you need even more flexibility? Then, you could combine the DMAIC principles of Six Sigma with those of other business philosophies. What are these philosophies?
For one thing, there are the Lean principles, whose purpose is the elimination of waste from the production line and improving overall business efficiency.
The combination of Lean and Six Sigma led to the creation of the Lean Six Sigma concept, which was first proposed in 2001 with the release of the book Leaning into Six Sigma by Barbara Wheat, Chuck Mills, and Mike Carnell.
Because they approach the factors of production that influence overall business efficiency from a similar point of view, Six Sigma and Lean are complementary theories, so much so that nowadays, when discussing Six Sigma, we mainly refer to the Lean Six Sigma concept popularized in the mid-2000s.
Other business philosophies that can be used in conjunction with Six Sigma are TQM and Kaizen, both concepts popularized in Japan in the 1980s and whose main idea is to create a business environment in which the goal is continuous product improvements.
Six Sigma can also be used in conjunction with Agile, TOC, or BPR. However, these methodologies are more commonly employed for flexible work projects and may not precisely fit the requirements expected in the DMAIC framework.
Why Get A Black Belt Certification?
Do you want to improve the qualification of your employees and increase the likelihood of Six Sigma success? In this case, an excellent idea would be to invest in a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt Certification.
Black belt certification owners are experts in Six Sigma methodology and can act as team leaders and implement and oversee internal projects developed by Champions.
What are the elements that your employees will learn in such a course? Firstly, they will become familiar with advanced statistical analysis concepts such as regression or multivariate examinations.
Then, they will learn how to create from scratch experiments that contribute to the development and optimization of internal processes influencing the interaction between variables.
These experiments are crucial for identifying the elements that lead to the decrease in efficiency of the used internal processes and are necessary for the implementation of hypothesis testing and SPC.
Since nowadays Six Sigma is strongly related to Lean, Black Belt graduates will also become familiar with the framework of the Lean philosophy, learn how to apply project definition exercises, and perform fractional fact reviews.
An Excellent Idea For Long-Term Development
Why should you invest in a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt program? For one thing, it’s all about the expertise of your workers.
Six Sigma is a set of analytical procedures that involves the use of professional software.
To use these programs and stay up to date with the techniques necessary for success, your staff must be trained and given the support needed to implement DMAIC on a large scale.
Going for an official certification is beneficial to all parties and can ultimately lead to a significant increase in brand recognition and business profitability.
Suppose you are a company active in manufacturing, financing, or healthcare. In that case, the Six Sigma methodology can be successfully used to increase the profitability of your goods, reduce manufacturing defect rates, and increase brand recognition.
Are you active in a different domain, and do you need more flexibility? Then, Six Sigma can be combined with Kaizen or Lean.
DMAIC concepts are not suitable for every type of business. Still, they are flexible enough to find their place in the professional business landscape of the 21st century and influence the profitability of many international enterprises such as Toyota or Amazon.
Ella Marcotte
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