Chapter 5. Managing the Effort

“Six Sigma works if you follow the process. If Six Sigma is not working you're not following the process.”

—AlliedSignal Manager

Your Six Sigma initiative is now under way. The Executive and Champion workshops have been held. A deployment plan has been drafted, and an implementation plan is in place. The initial projects and Black Belts have been selected, and the first wave of training has been held. It is likely that the initial wave of enthusiasm has carried the Six Sigma effort this far. You are now reaching a critical transition point.

Once the first set of projects has been completed, and the initiative begins to expand rapidly, you will need to make the transition from a short-term launch to a well-managed long-term effort. The effort will simply become too large to manage informally. You will need formal infrastructure to properly manage Six Sigma deployment from this point onward. Otherwise, the initiative will become just another short-lived fad. You will also need top talent in key leadership roles to implement the infrastructure and manage the effort.

We refer to this next step in our deployment process as managing the effort. This phase goes roughly from the completion of the initial wave of Black Belt training until we have trained everyone we originally intended to train, and completed projects in all the areas mentioned in the deployment plan. It typically lasts a minimum of 18 months, although organizations must continue to manage Six Sigma deployment in subsequent phases.

It is now time to put in place those systems and processes that will enable you to effectively manage the effort. You will have worked on many of these systems in the Executive and Champion workshops, and they are part of the deployment plan. At this point, you not only create systems to manage Six Sigma but also begin to think about how to make these systems part of your culture—how we do things around here. This will help you sustain the benefits and make Six Sigma the way we work (see Chapter 7).

The list on the next page, adapted from Snee et al (1998), notes the key types of leadership support needed for successful Black Belt projects. Clearly, Black Belts will not be successful on their own, and there is too much here to manage informally. Fortunately, your deployment plan can help you with each of these infrastructure elements. This chapter will focus on the elements of the deployment plan that are most needed at this point. Specifically, we will discuss:

• Management project reviews

• Project reporting and tracking system

• Communications plan

• Reward and recognition plan

• Project identification/prioritization system

• Project closure criteria

• Inclusion of Six Sigma into budgeting processes

• Deployment processes for Champions, Black Belts, MBBs, etc.

Implementation of these systems and processes is the key deliverable for this phase. Each of these infrastructure elements is an aspect of good management. When done well and integrated with your current management system, Six Sigma becomes part of your culture. The goal is to make Six Sigma part of how you do your work and not an add-on; i.e., not something extra that you have to do (see Chapter 7). Before we discuss each of the listed elements and provide examples and guidance for its implementation, we comment on the role of managerial systems and processes to set the stage.

Leadership Support Needed for Successful Black Belt Projects

• Chartered project

  • Identified, approved and supported by management

  • Important to the organization—aligned with priorities

  • High impact—e.g. >$250K annual savings

  • Scope that can be completed in <4-6 months

  • Clear quantitative measure of success

• Time for Black Belt to work on the project

  • Recommend 100% dedicated, absolute minimum of 50-75%

  • Time for Black Belt to do the training & project work

  • Reassignment of current workload

• Directions to form project team: typically 4-6 team members

  • Access to people working on the process and others to be team members

  • Access to other specialists and subject matter experts

  • Guidance to keep the team small to speed up progress

• Training for team members as needed

• Priority use of organizational services such as lab services, access to the manufacturing line, etc.

• Regular reviews of project by management

  • Weekly by Champion

  • Monthly by leadership team

• Help with data systems to collect needed process data on a priority basis

  • Create temporary and manual systems as needed

• Communications—Inform all persons affected by project of:

  • Project purpose and value

  • Need to support work of Black Belts

• Assistance from Finance in estimating and documenting the bottom line savings ($)

• Recognize, reward and celebrate the success of the Black Belt and team appropriately