Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control - DMAIC
- Results from a recent client where we led a 5 day Process Mapping Event - Colorful details of how business works.
Implementing new technologies on top of old workflow will not yield the necessary cost, quality and efficiency benefits. A business must redesign processes and address the human side of change.
The term “Sigma” is a measurement of how far a process deviates from perfect – the number of “defects”. Six Sigma correlates to 3.4 defects per million opportunities and provides an improvement methodology using statistics to measure and reduce variation in processes. Ultimately, it's a management system that is comprehensive and flexible for achieving, sustaining, and maximizing success.
The photo above is from an actual engagement. The color key is:
- Orange - Primary business system
- Purple - Communication via phone, fax or email
- Pink - Wait for response / Delay
- Blue - Manual form completion
- Hot Green - Spreadsheet, sticky note, list of other reference
- Sea Green - Manual process - pick it up and deliver it somewhere
A recent example
We led a complete process mapping event for a manufacturing company that processed 30,000 orders last year. We worked with them to detail their processes from Quote to Cash. We divided their business into major 'functions', gathered the users in each function together and identified the steps.
Working with their controller, we then applied staff costs to the teams that performed each function and determined the average cost of a transaction.
Then we went back and looked for waste: Non value added effort. We found opportunities to reduce the steps, cutting the cost by over 50%.
