On Wednesday, I listened to an Industry Week webcast on Six Sigma deployment strategies for small and mid-sized

companies. Terence T. Burton, President of The Center for Excellence in Operations, Inc., delivered a well thought-out
presentation covering an intro to Six Sigma, the Scaleable Six Sigma approach for small companies and lessons from
the trenches.

Scaleable Six Sigma ("Affordable Six Sigma") in a nutshell: Develop strategy, train Green Belts and Yellow Belts first,
outsource experienced Black Belts for support and in time the Green Belts receive modular training and become Black
Belts. (More about Scaleable Six Sigma can be found here)

Lessons from the Trenches:

1. Six Sigma is about results, not belts and tools.

2. Strategic improvement is a core competency.
3. Leadership, strategy, infrastructure and deployment planning are the most important elements of Six
Sigma.
4. A one sized fits all approach to Six Sigma is doomed to failure.
5. DMAIC is the structured roadmap to individual and Six Sigma project success.
6. Transactional Six Sigma represents the highest impact opportunities.
7. Project selection is a critical element of Six Sigma.
8. Performance measurement is the true gauge of Six Sigma success. Everything begins and ends with
financial performance, one project at a time.
9. Integration of Six Sigma with other improvement opportunities equals a powerhouse improvement
initiative. (Missing the boat if you are a master of only one of these. Learning to integrate is key.)
10. Six Sigma is powerful stuff for small and mid-sized organizations.

He also emphasized the necessity to engage the finance department in the projects. Overall it was a very good
webcast. Terence has written several articles for iSixSigma.com covering the topics Six Sigma, Kaizen and Lean.

iSixSigma articles on Six Sigma for small companies:

Is Six Sigma Just For Large Companies? What About Small Companies?

Ask the Expert, The Topic: Six Sigma Deployment At Large And Small Companies

Faster Deployment for Europe’s Small/Medium Businesses

By Thomas Bertels

Large multinational firms such as General Electric, Honeywell and Motorola proved the value of Six Sigma by devoting
substantial amounts of resources (people, time and money) and creating new infrastructure. By applying Six Sigma, the
companies managed to overcome the inherent inertia and resistance to change that characterize large companies. And they
achieved stunning results. The deployment strategy of Six Sigma is, in itself, a solution to a particular problem – how to
make change last in large, complex bureaucracies.

Six Sigma, with its traditional emphasis on intensive training and extensive analysis, does not seem like a good fit with the
needs of small and medium-sized businesses, which do not have as many resources as larger companies. And, in most
cases, these companies are already relatively nimble, flexible and focused on results.
But the fact is that the techniques of Six Sigma work in every company, no matter what its size or style. So, to initiate a
continuous improvement program, small and medium-sized businesses must refine the deployment model to meet their
needs. This is particularly important in Europe, with the typical European company being much smaller than its American
equivalent. The average business in the United States employs 19 people; the average number of employees in Europe is
six. In Europe, two-thirds of all employees work for small and medium-sized businesses, defined by the European Union as
businesses with fewer than 250 employees and revenues of less than €40 million. In the United States, only 46 percent of
employees work for small and medium-sized businesses.
Less Training and More Results

The traditional training model, with its emphasis on filling classrooms and extensive training curricula, clearly does not work
for small and medium-sized businesses. Not only do they struggle to free up the necessary number of people to make the
classroom model work, they also cannot afford to wait for six to nine months until the Black Belt returns with the answer to
the problem. In any small business, six to nine months is an eternity. And while dedicated Black Belts make a lot of sense for
large companies, which need to insulate the change agent against being pulled in numerous directions, smaller businesses
live in a much less complex world. Decisions can be made much quicker and access to leadership is never a problem.
Dedicating an employee to be a full-time improvement specialist is difficult in a company where everyone already plays
multiple roles. And most businesses in this category are hesitant to add indirect labor cost.

While chambers of commerce, universities and other institutions have tried to respond to the training needs by providing
local, open-enrollment training specifically to small and medium-sized businesses, the response has been muted. Sending a
single employee to Black Belt training is simply not enough to make sure that a project is a success. No matter what size the
business is, Black Belt candidates always need plenty of coaching and support during the first couple of projects to make
sure they gain the experience necessary to make good use of the Six Sigma toolkit.

And while large businesses often struggle to make sure that improvement initiatives deliver real savings instead of
productivity gains that cannot be verified, small and medium-sized businesses rarely fail to focus on results. In a less
complex environment, it is easier to verify whether a particular idea has resulted in savings. In addition, the fact that many of
these businesses are family-owned ensures that everybody watches the bottom line.

Compared to a large business where competing initiatives, complex processes and organizational inertia make it easy for
middle management to avoid dealing with a particular problem, small and medium-sized businesses are guided missiles.
They focus on very specific markets, are generally close to the customer and their complexity is limited. Of course, that does
not mean that they are automatically successful – poor leadership can be found everywhere. But making change happen
and making sure the organization buys into the change is less of an issue.
Project-Based Learning: A Revised Model for Europe

While extensive training classes are appropriate for large companies, small and medium-sized businesses need to avoid the
time lag between knowing and doing by having Black Belts candidates learn the tools through direct application to a project.
In this model, candidates pick a project and learn the tools through a series of workshops that focus only on those tools that
can be applied immediately. No more three-day modules on design of experiments when the problem does not require it.

What this model requires are consultants with practical experience who can consult and coach. Also, in this model, learning
the tools is not limited to the Black Belt. The entire Six Sigma project team participates in these workshops. That reduces the
length of the project. This model also makes it easier to get leadership involved. Instead of conducting formal review
sessions, training business leaders as Six Sigma Champions or implementing large-scale tracking systems, business
leaders participate in a workshop that focuses on a specific project. And usually it is easier to interest leadership in a specific
project instead of a new methodology to solve problems.

Another advantage of this model is that results can be achieved faster than through the typical Six Sigma model, which
assumes projects generally take four to six months. At the end of a project, both the Black Belt and his team have learned a
number of tools and have seen how these tools can be applied to solving a particular problem. Additional tools can be taught
by providing the Black Belt candidate with access to an experienced coach who can help with subsequent projects.

The benefits of this approach are that it:

• Increases the probability of success dramatically

• Reduces time to complete the project
• Focuses on learning just-in-time instead of all-at-once
 • Limits training to what is needed
• Allows adapting to the pace of the team and the needs of the business

The initial investment in consulting support significantly exceeds the cost of typical Black Belt classroom training. However,
the return on investment is often higher due to a much higher completion rate for trainees than in a traditional large-scale
deployment.

This model – designed for small to medium-sized businesses – has started to attract some large companies which are not
interested in adopting Six Sigma as an entirely new management style, yet want to use the methodology as a practical
approach to solving real-world problems. Maybe the needs of small and medium-sized businesses will help redefine the Six
Sigma deployment model to overcome limitations of the training factory concept.

About the Author: Thomas Bertels is a partner of Valeocon Management Consulting, and serves as the global firm's
regional director for the Americas. He has worked with clients such as TRW, Siemens, Vanguard and Johnson & Johnson,
and also served as the editor of and main contributor to a Six Sigma leadership handbook. Mr. Bertels started his career at
ABB (Asea Brown Boveri), one of the early adopters of Six Sigma. Fluent in German and English, he is based in New York,
N.Y., USA, and can be reached at thomas.bertels@valeocon.com.

Ask the Expert

The Topic: Six Sigma Deployment At Large And Small Companies

I
Q: What should a company interested in
mplementing Six Sigma: A financial decision deploying Six Sigma look for in a Six Sigma
or a strategic one? consulting company?
Implementing a company-wide initiative like Six
Sigma is best accomplished when it becomes part of
a strategic plan. A strategic plan is a long term (3 - 5
Years) business plan which defines the long term
goals and resources required to achieve the goals.
More than likely it is also a financial decision that led
to selecting Six Sigma as the long term initiative.
Most organizational long term plans are financially
focused. Goals do not become part of a plan unless
they will achieve some financial benefit for the
company. So it seems that you cannot have one
without the other.
Although Six Sigma projects can and are, completed
in a few months, creating a customer focused, Six
Sigma focused company requires multiple projects
over a number of years. Without management on
board with a long term plan, the implementation of
Six Sigma could be derailed too early to gain the true
benefits. Benefits such as enhanced customer
loyalty, reduction in costs of poor quality, improved
profitability, and greater shareholder value, will not
occur in the short term (less than one or two years).
To achieve these benefits management must be able
to devote resources long enough to gain the results.
Only initiatives that are part of the strategic plan will
survive long enough to reap these benefits.
Q: Can all companies -- large and small -- save
money by implementing Six Sigma?
A: All companies can save money by reducing the
causes of defects in products, deficiencies in services
and processes, and by improving sales through
greater customer satisfaction. However, a small
company (less than 100 employees) will have fewer
resources available than a larger company (1000
employees) to complete projects. The magnitude of
improvement will be different between large and
small companies. A small company also may have a
lesser need to improve than a larger company. Small
companies have fewer employees wearing "multiple
hats" when carrying out tasks in a process. With
fewer employees involved there may be fewer
deficiencies to improve on. A larger company will
have multiple employees and functions involved,
creating complexity and possibly a greater amount of
deficiency in the processes.
The main difference between small and large
companies will be how to train employees in the tools
and techniques of Six Sigma. The short term costs
for training and the length of time to complete
projects may take longer than in a large company.
This mainly occurs because smaller companies
cannot free up too many individuals in a short period
of time to make the improvements.
A: With 24 years of service Juran Institute has tried
to focus on this question to make sure our clients
gain the benefits of its improvement initiative in the
least intrusive and most sustainable way.
When selecting a consulting firm one should look at
the firm's history, credibility, integrity and the ability to
transfer knowledge.
For history: understand how the consulting firm
originated, what kind of experiences have they had,
who were their customers.
For credibility: check to see if the firm is well written
about in the journals, frequently invited to speak at
conferences, and if they sustained a good track
record of results for other clients.
For integrity: ask the firm's competitors what they
think about the firm they want to select. Good firms
are not only liked by their clients but also by their
competitors as well. A firm speaking badly of a
competitor most likely lacks the integrity needed to
develop good relationships with.
Transferring knowledge is an important aspect of a
successful consulting firm. One should evaluate if the
firm gives you the tools, techniques, and materials
necessary to operate without the consulting firm after
the initial implementation.
Q: Who should Champion the Six Sigma
deployment within a company?
A: Champions at all levels are key to deploying and
sustaining a Six Sigma initiative. However, to gain a
credible start the Champion should initially come
from top management. The candidate must be well
regarded in the organization and understand the key
business drivers in the company. Most of the Six
Sigma Champions come from operations, finance,
quality or office of the CEO. In most cases a senior
executive is assigned the task of leading the initiative.
For projects a good Champion is one who will lead
the way for a Black Belt. Challenge the system,
remove obstacles. These Champions are usually mid
to upper level executives willing to challenge the
status quo and have the authority to do so.
In a small company the owner may be the Champion
and the executive staff may be the Black Belts. So it
is important to not make a generalization as to what
makes a good champion.
Q: Are there other reasons to look to Six Sigma
You Can Ask the Expert
besides financial ones?
Do you have a Six Sigma topic on which you
A: If an organization's Six Sigma effort is only
would like an expert opinion? We will arrange to
focused on costs savings it will be missing a valuable
have your area of interest explored by an industry
opportunity. Institutionalizing Six Sigma means
expert. Just write down the topic and a series of
having an organization become so knowledgeable
four or five questions focused on that topic. Please
about its customers it can create a competitive
make sure the topic and questions are general
advantage. Knowledge of what is critical to
enough to be helpful to a broad audience. Submit
customers becomes the focus of improvement
your topic and questions to iSixSigma Experts.
projects. By focusing on customers and eliminating
problems for customers an organization it should be
able to reduce costs and enhance customer
satisfaction. By having products and services
designed with the customer in mind should lead to
improved sales. The combination of the two will
provide a solid financial return for the organization.
Focusing on the cost side will be a short term benefit
only.

Is Six Sigma Just For Large Companies? What About

Small Companies?
By Charles Waxer

Almost all Quality professionals have heard of the benefits of Six Sigma Quality. How can it be ignored? Companies like GE,
Motorola, and AlliedSignal have already saved billions of dollars with their Six Sigma Quality initiatives. According to Jack
Welch, GE CEO, "the financial rationale for embarking on this quality journey is clear." But are the results of a Six Sigma
implementation as clear for small companies?

The Requirements of Six Sigma

Let's first start with a short list of requirements for successfully implementing Six Sigma quality in any organization. Then
we'll discuss the requirement differences in relation to large and small companies.

While many other requirements are applicable, I personally believe that these are the most important:
Management Team Buy-In and Support
Education and Training
Resource Committment
Link to Compensation

Management Team Buy-In and Support

If your executive team is not fully supportive and proactive in establishing your Six Sigma Quality initiative, you will be
wasting everyone's time. As with any successful initiative implementation, everyone's actions need to be tied to the initiative.

A useful exercise in determining buy-in is to list out all the individuals of the management team on a piece of paper. Then
assign a positive, neutral or negative to each person signifying what you believe to be their support for the initiative. Your job,
before beginning the implementation, is to move every single person to at least a neutral position, if not positive. Education
can help with this goal.
Education and Training
Many educational programs currently exist; most provided by consulting companies. A list of the most reputable consultants
can be found in the Six Sigma Consultants category of the iSixSigma library.

What training is necessary? Well, it depends on who is getting trained. Here's a snapshot table identifying the major groups
of individuals, the suggested training agenda, approximate cost and duration of the training.

Training Your Business or Organization

Group MajorTopics ApproximateCost Per Person Duration
Management * Six Sigma Overview $1,000-$2,500 1-5days
Team and * Benefits and Case Studies
Champions * How To Implement Six Sigma
* Tools and Resources
Selected Six * Six Sigma Overview $12,000-$50,000 4 weeks delivered
Sigma Leaders * Six Sigma Methodology and over a period of 2-6
(Black Belts and Tools months
Master Black * Statistics Training
Belts) * Computer Application Training
* ProjectSelection and Execution
All Employees * Six Sigma Overview Variable, depending on if taught in-house 0.5-1day
* Benefits or if consultant (approximately $2,000 per
* What To Expect Going Forward day plus expenses) is used
* Simple Case Study and
Exercise

Resource Committment
As discussed above, Black Belts (BBs) and/or Master Black Belts (MBBs) need to be identified and trained. But more
importantly, they need to be assigned to your Six Sigma efforts almost 100%; 50% application yields less than a 50% result.
In addition to BBs and MBBs, you should be ready to assign 5-15% of key employees' time to specific projects.

Link to Compensation
We all work and perform responsibilities for a paycheck, right? Just as you expect your factory to produce Y widgets per hour
and your bank to process Z deposits per day, you should expect projects to be contributed to and successfully completed in
a prescribed time period. And employees executing well should be compensated well. The quickest way to initiative success
is to tie results to the business bottom line, create performance goals, and compensate employees appropriately.