Angela Scammell Lean Six Sigma Process Improvement

	What is Lean Six Sigma? Business processes describe the way that things get done in an organization. They answer these questions: Who performs which actions? In what sequence? How do they do it? What tools and documents do they use to do it?, and How long does it take? Lean Six Sigma is an advanced set of quality tools applied in a structured way to improve an organization’s processes, and the services or products produced by those processes. The proven results of Lean Six Sigma projects include improved quality and speed, decreased costs, improved customer satisfaction, and improved employee morale and engagement. Lean Six Sigma changes the game. Since the mid-1980s, the most successful organizations have used it to enable people across an organization to make a direct difference through the use of sound business processes aligned with strategy for the benefit of the customer. Problems are identified, fixed, and stay fixed.
	How Does it Work? Lean Six Sigma Projects are led by a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. The Black Belt leads a small team of people who regularly work with the business process to be improved. The Black Belt and team report to a project sponsor who "owns" the business process. The Black Belt leads the project and performs the quantitative analysis. The team provides critical information about how the process actually works, its context, data sources and quality, and helps the Black Belt interpret what the results of the data analysis really mean. The team is also instrumental in designing and implementing solutions that will work in the organization and be accepted by colleagues. The project progresses through five stages: Define - Customer (internal or external) needs are clarified, the problem to be addressed is defined and scoped, the team is selected, and a charter is written. Measure - The team creates a process map of the existing process, and identifies pain points. It also gathers quantitative data about the process and determines how effective and efficient the process is at creating its intended products, services, or transactions. Improvement goals are quantified. Analyze - The team analyzes how the process inputs and steps work together to create the outcomes identified at the Measure stage. Three main streams of analysis include quantitative analysis (hypothesis testing), waste analysis, and process principle best practice analysis. Upon completion, the root causes of the process problem are crystal clear - and often very surprising. The combination of statistical analysis with front-line insight is unbeatable. Improve - Project improvement focuses on addressing root causes identified in the Analyze stage. A new version of the process is created and pilot tested. Innovations and technology are incorporated as appropriate, with overall simplicity as a key principle. Risk analysis is performed and risks are mitigated. Control - The team creates a Control Plan for ongoing use by the Sponsor (or his/her designate). Use of the Control Plan provides ongoing real-time critical information about the new process's performance. It also provides instructions regarding what to do if the process results begin to drift away from the target. Use of the Control Plan ensures that the process stays on track and that process customers never experience poor results.
	How We Can Bring Lean Six Sigma to your Organization Angela has been Lean Six Sigma Black Belt since 2002. She received her training and certification from General Electric. The GE program is recognized as the best in the world, and is not available to the public. She has extensive project leadership experience, and trains and certifies Lean Six Sigma Green Belts and Yellow Belts in partnership with Dalhousie University and QualityAmerica. Angela can provide your organization with a variety of Lean Six Sigma services, including: Full Lean Six Sigma Project Leadership - as described above Evaluation of your business processes - identifying waste, quality risks, and cycle time risks Team-based process improvement sessions - blending process evaluation with employee experience and insights to improve processes Lean Six Sigma training - including Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification, Quality Tools Practitioner, Business Process Mapping, and more. Click here to see the full series.
	© Angela Scammell & Associates Contact Us to explore ideas!