Lean Six Sigma

Understanding the Voice of the Customer in Education

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Voice of the CustomerA critical component of Lean Six Sigma is understanding the Voice of the Customer. This concept is essential to identifying activities that are value-added and non-value added or wasteful.

In education it may be agreed that the student is the customer as they are the recipients of the outcomes of the institution. Some disagree with this concept thinking that we are unable to satisfy the customer. At one of my presentations someone in the audience indicated that satisfying the customer in education “the student” means giving them all “As” and that was impossible. Of course this is not correct – this is not what customer satisfaction is about.

Norma Simons, President of Performance Innovation LLC and AEC Solution Partner

Norma Simons, President of Performance Innovation LLC and AEC Solution Partner

In the education space the concept of the “Voice of the Customer” has a different meaning than it does in the broad world of consumerism. We tend to think that customer satisfaction rests only on the fact that there is a financial exchange between the customer and the person delivering the goods and that the customer finds value in the purchase.

We need to satisfy the needs of the customer – the student, but what does that mean? It means we need to deliver what is considered as a quality education -one that is delivered so that the student is functional in the wider society. If individuals are able to graduate but cannot either get a job or function at their required capacity, then regardless of what was learned and the grades earned then a quality education was not delivered.

Customer satisfaction therefore is not a passive interaction. For the student to be satisfied, it requires the student to collaborate with the instructor and several different individuals within the institution. The student’s success requires a partnership with the institution which should be promoted and nurtured.

Understanding the Voice of the Customer is a process, a mind-set, a shift in thinking, a culture that needs to be embraced by the entire institution.

Apart from the student, there are several customers who are vested in the education outcome:

  • The parents of the students who might bare some financial responsibility regarding payment of fees and physical and emotional support of the student
  • The loan institutions who might provide assistance to the students
  • All the areas of the institution (business office, book store, advisors, job placement office and other areas) which support or interact with the students directly or indirectly
  • The potential employers who expect a certain level of performance of the students after graduation
  • The institution itself who expects that the performance of students and their ability to be received in the wider society will build the reputation for the school

Well this is my opinion.

To read more on this topic, see the New York Times January 3, 2010 article below:

http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/are-they-students-or-customers/#edward

In this article “Are They Students or Customers” five professors from different business schools weigh in on the debate.

“Students are investing time and money with a purpose in mind. The school that does not serve that purpose will not survive.” Stephen Joel Trachtenberg is president emeritus and professor of public services at the George Washington University.

This blog is dedicated to the team at Alber Enterprise Center of The Ohio State University.

Norma Simons is a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, president of Performance Innovation LLC, and an AEC Solution Partner.  Norma heads a team of qualified professionals in the areas of Lean and Six Sigma.  Her success is attributed to her unique integration of performance improvement systems such as Lean, Six Sigma, Design for Six Sigma, quality management systems, business operating systems, and balanced scorecards that have enabled the effective execution of organizational strategy and, ultimately, bottom-line results.

 

Using the SIPOC Model to Break the Silo Culture

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Managers often see large and complex organizations from a functional or vertical view.  This works in some cases where individuals are close to subject matter experts.  In this environment subordinate managers tend to perceive other functions as enemies rather than partners.

This silo structure prevents interdepartmental issues from being resolved.

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Each department has its goals and there is often competition for limited resources.  The result is sub-optimization of the organization – one department being able to meet its goals at the expense of the organization.

The traditional approach shows a silo structure where separate and autonomous groups are unconnected and each department’s manager becomes the customer.  Activities take place but value to the end customer may be compromised.

If the organization is small, then the traditional vertical organization may be sufficient to get things done and still meet the requirements of the customer.

 

The traditional mindset is- if each piece is managed then the needs of the end customer are met.  This is erroneous.

The silo structure often gives rise to a silo culture, one that does not encourage collaboration, but instead perpetuates the “blame game” and “finger-pointing”.  There are several structures within the organization that supports this behavior.  In some cases, there are functional metrics which conflict with the overall direction of the company, in other cases the reward and recognition system supports the silo culture.

The SIPOC template moves organizations away from this and provides the steps to create a customer focused organization.

What is SIPOC

The acronym means – Supplier, Input, Process, Output, Customer

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In the SIPOC model, it is necessary to have a feedback system – feedback between the customer and the process, and between the process and the supplier.  The feedback loop ensures that the process is sustained and the organization does not revert to the old ways of doing things.

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Value of SIPOC

  • Promotes cross-functional collaboration – teams are able to work together to see the big picture
  • Improves knowledge on what happens outside of the department
  • Provides measurement not only on activities within a department but how they add value to the customer
  • A big tool for motivation -as employees begin to see the “big picture” and understand the role they play
  • In Lean Six Sigma the SIPOC model is vital for:
  • Promotes and helps sustain a process focus
  • Provides a foundation for process mapping and process management

Although organizations may be designed by specialties, the SIPOC model is useful to change how work gets done, and ensure that the needs of the external customers are met.  The tool provides the template for changing the culture of the organization from one that is confrontational to one that works across functional boundaries.  When this is allowed to happen, teams can identify and remove waste – activities that are non-value added in terms of meeting customer requirements.

The bottom-line is that the SIPOC model and Lean Six Sigma have the ability to change the thinking of individuals in the organization.  For more information, contact us or call 740-725-6325.

Norma Simons is Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, president of Performance Innovation LLC, and an AEC Solution Partner.  Norma heads a team of qualified professionals in the areas of Lean and Six Sigma.  Her success is attributed to her unique integration of performance improvement systems such as Lean, Six Sigma, Design for Six Sigma, quality management systems, business operating systems, and balanced scorecards that have enabled the effective execution of organizational strategy and, ultimately, bottom-line results.

Begin Your Green Belt Journey Today: Lean Six Sigma Registration

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Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Program

The Ohio State University’s Alber Enterprise Center Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Program

Lean Six Sigma (LSS) is a methodology and way of thinking that enhances the performance of an organization.  It first was applied in the manufacturing industry but now it is being utilized in healthcare, government, education and several institutions.  LSS provides a template to simultaneously reduce waste, improve the quality of products and services, improve customer satisfaction and increase profitability.  Lean Six Sigma certification requires participants to not only learn the concepts but to demonstrate understanding of concepts through application in simulation projects.

Norma Simons, President of Performance Innovation LLC and AEC Solution Partner

Norma Simons, President of Performance Innovation LLC and AEC Solution Partner

What is a Blended Approach?

This approach combines the traditional classroom style with online self-paced learning using technology.  The extent to which this approach is used will vary depending on the type of technology, the organization, and the material that needs to be covered.  Because Blended Learning combines several different learning styles, it allows participants to work at their own pace and at their own convenience. Class time is then designed for discussing applications of concepts to the work environment and clarifying areas that might not have been clear.

What are the Benefits of a Blended Approach?

  • 24/7 online learning access.  Prior to class, participants learn the core material.  After class they are able to use the information as job aids.
  • Consistent training delivery.  The material as presented ensures that everyone receives the same message which ultimately ensures alignment of company processes.
  • More effective use of classroom time.  With participants at the same level, classroom time focuses more on knowledge application, discussions and hands-on simulations or application to company projects.
  • High retention & better mentoring.  Retention increases when users are able to control their own pace and can review material outside of the class, leaving class time for coaching.
  • Increased access to knowledge, overtime.  The online job aids provides the means to reinforce the learning process at the completion of the program.

What are the components of Blended Learning?

Flip through the “Lean Six Sigma” SlideShare to get a few ideas on the components of blended learning.  The slides also outline the requirements for our certification program.

Now that you have been introduced to the components of the blended learning program for LSS Green Belt, sign up for our next course by September 4, 2015.  For registration details about our Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Program, visit:  http://go.osu.edu/green-belt-registration or call 740-725-6325.

Norma Simons is Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, president of Performance Innovation LLC, and an AEC Solution Partner.  Norma heads a team of qualified professionals in the areas of Lean and Six Sigma. Her success is attributed to her unique integration of performance improvement systems such as Lean, Six Sigma, Design for Six Sigma, quality management systems, business operating systems, and balanced scorecards that have enabled the effective execution of organizational strategy and, ultimately, bottom-line results.

 

 

Three techniques in boosting your organization’s capacity

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Continuous Process Improvement Graphic

Environmental and Quality Management Systems Consulting-Continuous Improvement Process (ISO-14001-2004 EMS & ISO 9001-2008 QMS)

When starting a continuous improvement (CI) project, the simplest and the most important thing to do is to communicate to your organization and clients that you want to continually improve the services provided.  State this intention through strategy reviews and team briefings.  This is the most effective way to get the CI culture moving.

Environmental & Quality Management Systems Consultant for Certified Environmental, Inc and JAS & Associates of Ohio, LLC

Larry W. Sheppard, Environmental & Quality Management Systems Consultant for The Ohio State University’s Alber Enterprise Center, Certified Environmental, Inc. and JAS & Associates of Ohio, LLC

To help us improve faster than the competition we should aim to empower the team to make improvement directly.  This has the advantage of boosting your improvement capacity; it also allows for far more hidden improvement opportunities to be realized.  Some organizations may tend to channel improvement activity through dedicated improvement teams or individuals.  This approach can be limited due to the lack of improvement capacity.  All team members can be encouraged to engage in improvement activity, maximizing the volume of change and improvement that can be achieved.  To achieve total team empowerment, a robust but simple change process should be introduced that allows all team members to make changes.

The focus should be on allowing all team members to make controlled changes by following a well-designed change process.  Improvement culture can be measured by the number of improvements identified and actioned by the organization.  It’s good practice to routinely report on CI progress back to the team and clients; this can underpin the organization’s commitment to continual improvement activity.

There are obvious commercial advantages that can be gained from a healthy and robust CI culture. However, it should also be pointed out that an empowered team will tend to be more productive due to the direct input from the owners into the business’s success.  Team moral can be greatly improved by encouraging their involvement.  Managed correctly, this team member responsibility can further improve an organization’s responsiveness and change of pace.  CI organizations are nice places to be, where team members are more likely to use their full potential.

There are many tools and techniques that can be used to help boost your team’s improvement capacity. Usually these require some training to be effective.  But it should be pointed out that specialized tools are not necessarily required to enable a successful CI culture.

3 Steps in Revamping Your Business Culture:

  • Kaizen:  Kaizen, or Continuous Improvement Teams can be encouraged to evolve to tackle specific improvement opportunities.  Groups can be trained to be more effective, but teams can also evolve organically without specific training.
  • Lean:  This training will help your team to become faster and reduce costs.  Lean training allows staff to identify and reduce wasted effort.  Usually deployed within an organization or group, this is the perfect training to support an established CI culture.
  • Six Sigma:  Six Sigma is best used to improve the standard of products and services by reducing output variation.  Six Sigma should only be used following good Lean and 5S development.

CI can be developed into any organization relatively easily and with little cost.  

Good management and leadership is the key to success.  By following the three simple steps above an improvement culture can flourish in your business.

Most CI projects require little or no cost.  An accumulation of several small improvements are sometime better than one large improvement.

Larry W. Sheppard is an Environmental & Quality Management Systems Consultant for The Ohio State University’s Alber Enterprise Center, JAS & Associates of Ohio, LLC, and Certified Environmental, Inc. His expertise is in implementing Environmental and Quality Management Systems for companies, preparing companies for their ISO Standards third party certification, providing Internal Auditor training and much more.

Visit our Contact Us Page or call 740-725-6325 to find out how our team can assist you or your organization in reaching your optimal success.

Register Now for Lean Six Sigma Executive Belt Training–Deadline: Jan. 8, 2015

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Norma Simons, President of Performance Innovation LLC and AEC Solution Partner

Norma Simons, President of Performance Innovation LLC and AEC Solution Partner

Executive BeltLean Six Sigma (LSS) is a methodology and way of thinking that enhances the performance of an organization.  It first was applied in the manufacturing industry but now it is being applied in healthcare, government, education and several institutions.  LSS provides a template to simultaneously reduce waste, improve the quality of products and services, improve customer satisfaction and increase profitability.

In order to transform the enterprise and leadership as well as develop and sustain a culture to support the news changes, the leaders need to have a basic understanding of the concepts of Lean Six Sigma.  This program is therefore designed for executives, leaders and managers who will lead or deploy the LSS initiative.

The Lean Six Sigma program is offered using a blended approach to learning.

What is a Blended Approach? 

This approach combines the traditional classroom style with online self-paced learning, using technology.  The extent to which this approach is used will vary depending on the type of technology, the organization, and the material that needs to be covered. Because Blended Learning combines several different learning styles, it allows participants to work at their own pace and at their own convenience.  Class time is then designed for discussing applications of concepts to the work environment and clarifying areas that might not have been clear.

LSS Executive Belt Banner

Components of LSS Executive Belt

  • Access to E-learning modules 24/7– Each week participants will be required to cover the assigned material prior to the live webinars.
  • On-line student guides– There are guides that can be downloaded with each video that allows participants to retain their own reference material.
  • Live weekly webinars with the instructor– Handouts that support the weekly webinars will be sent ahead of time to the participants.
  • On-line discussion sessions– Weekly webinars will allow for online discussions pertaining to the application of LSS in each facility.
  • Access to the instructor when needed– Participants will be able to gain access to the instructor at specified times to discuss or clarify issues that might not be clear in applying LSS.

Lean Six Sigma is a comprehensive systems improvement program that assists organizations in executing their strategy and establishing processes that better serves the customers.  Executives will have the opportunity to gain understanding of the concepts and discuss some of the barriers that might occur while applying these ideas in their respective organizations.  They will be able to learn on their own, learn from the instructor as well as from other class participants.

The Lean Six Sigma Executive Belt Blended Learning Program is sponsored by The Ohio State University Alber Enterprise Center and Performance Innovation LLC.

To find out more about the program, visit osutrainingtoyou.com and SIGN UP NOW. For Special Offers and Group Discounts, please contact Annette Shuster at shuster.18@osu.edu. Deadline:  January 8, 2015.

Using the Blended Learning Approach in Lean Six Sigma

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Blended Approach

Norma Simons, President of Performance Innovation LLC and AEC Solution Partner

Norma Simons, President of Performance Innovation LLC and AEC Solution Partner

Blended learning can be defined as a mix of e-learning, face-to-face classroom style instruction, coaching and live or recorded sessions designed to reach a large audience and a wide range of employees.

The approach to learning can be customized using more of each component and will depend on the objectives of the training session and the tools and skills that are needed for employees.

Benefits of the Blended Learning Approach in Lean Six Sigma:

  • Reduces Waste– allowing students to learn modules for Lean Six Sigma ahead of time and allows classroom time to be focused primarily on project application.
  • Reduces Cost– using the Blended learning model reduces face-to-face instruction time as well as travel costs and material costs.
  • Increases Capability of Students – because students are able to go through the online learning component, they are able to go at their own pace, using assessment methods to evaluate their understanding with an option to return to review and update information.
  • Provides Coaching– this is done either in person or virtually and helps students to ensure that they are making progress and fulfilling the requirements at each tollgate.
  • Promotes Just-in-time Learning– students are able to learn each tool at the time when they need to be applied, which avoids learning large volumes of material when they are not needed.

The approach to blended learning is innovative and varies depending on companies, students and objectives of the training session.  The traditional methods of learning focus on one-way communication and in some cases do not always allow the type of participation that would encourage effective learning. Blended learning on the other hand delivers a large volume of ideas in a short time, encourages class participants to experiment under the supervision of the instructor and provides the participants with greater skill and a higher level of confidence with the class material when they return to the work environment.

E-learning compliments classroom training rather than replace it.  The approach is innovative and varies depending on companies, students and objectives of the training session.

Lean Six Sigma covers a wider area of content and requires individuals to be ready to implement or apply concepts to company projects in a short time.  The approach to learning allows instructors to focus more on coaching or mentoring rather than lecturing on the basics.

As companies move to implement Lean Six Sigma, it is important that attention is given not only to Lean Six Sigma training to ensure that there is a common language that is clearly understood but also the process of implementation.

Why We Love Lean Six Sigma and You Should Too: Get Started

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Norma Simons, President of Performance Innovation LLC and AEC Solution Partner

Norma Simons, President of Performance Innovation LLC and AEC Solution Partner

In today’s environment it is evident that the survival of organizations rests with their ability to innovate- to do things differently in order to grow.  In general we can consider two forms of innovation – radical innovation and incremental innovation.  Radical innovation can be considered as the ability to produce new products or services to the world that never appeared before – such as digital photography, Internet, Amazon, iPods, etc. Incremental innovation on the other hand can be thought of as new approaches, building on current products or processes to enhance performance.  In the end innovation of products, processes and services must add value to the customer.

Lean Six Sigma can be considered as an incremental innovative model that enables an organization to move beyond its traditional performance to new heights.

The figure below shows the definition of both concepts.

Lean and Six Sigma are complementary and if performed properly, represent a long-term model that can produce unprecedented results.

Lean and Six Sigma are complementary and if performed properly, represent a long-term model that can produce unprecedented results.

We Love Lean Six Sigma because it provides:

  1. Focus on the customer – helping each area of the organization to understand the value of their service.  This concept is fundamental as without an understanding of needs and requirements of internal and external customers, the work provided is non-value added.
  2. Focus on process improvement – this concept is fundamental to Lean Six Sigma, without being able to identify and define processes, conditions cannot improve.
  3. Opportunities for collaboration – applying the concepts opens opportunities for collaboration as individuals now use tools to communicate across departments and encourage problem solving.
  4. Constant and continuous drive for perfection – it creates the mindset of dissatisfaction with the status quo and the need to be dedicated to a culture of continuous improvement.
  5. Standard Training – it provides common tools and language and a structured methodology for problem solving.  There are different levels of training provided to different individuals depending on their role in the organization:  Champion, Green Belt, Black Belt.
  6. Structure for change- it provides a project based approach that allows an organization to identify and instill a discipline for project management with project reviews conducted with process owners, champions and senior management.
  7. A means to provide total employee involvement –  all individuals are involved as they provide input and support problem solving activities.
  8. Demonstrates bottom-line Business Results – the bottom-line impact of every project must be measured, reported and documented.

Overall, we love it because it lays a path from strategy to execution.  Many companies have a vision but are weak on execution.  Through the structure, training, organization of tools Lean Six Sigma provides a path for achieving required results.  In addition, it can be customized to any industry and any organization.

Please contact us to use the Lean Six Sigma assessment to diagnose current weaknesses and establish a strategy for improvement.