Which tools are available for implementing Six Sigma

Are you needing to implement Six Sigma in your manufacturing plant? What type of Six Sigma tools are available and which ones should you use for your business? Here are some tips on how you can implement Six Sigma and the various tools you need to use in your strategy.

Understand the Design
The first thing you need to do in order to implement Six Sigma is by understanding the design of Six Sigma and the tools you need to use. Most companies that turn to Six Sigma tend to implement it in the production process, but by starting it in the design process, you have a better chance to save money and reduce waste.There are 3 basic designs to successful implementation:

1. Engineering. Implementing Six Sigma with the engineering phase is a great option as you can get to the problems before they become worse. In the engineering phase it is common to turn to implementation tactics that are centered around the push-pull method and the takt time. By using these tools in this phase, you have a better opportunity to start fixing problems and reducing waste.

2. Design. The entire design and purpose of Six Sigma is to focus on getting your error ratio down to 3.4 defects per million opportunities. This means you must be able to use the right type of design for your company. Color coding is a popular method to use as it aids in proper communication and design flow of the manufacturing process.

3. Development. What is meant by the development phase? During this phase you are using Six Sigma to actually impact products during development. You must pick the right design for this phase in order to be successful. Evaluate your supply chain to see how the various Six Sigma methods will work and can provide you better results.

Choose your method
It doesn't matter what type of success other companies have had, you need to choose your method and focus on how it will be able to improve your company. You do not need to do a complete overhaul of the company to implement Six Sigma and instead you can choose to implement it in the various phases. For example, if you feel your product design is flawless, there is no need to look into Six Sigma. However if you notice the product comes out with a defect during the manufacturing phase, this is the phase you will need to focus on and work on improving the product to reduce or eliminate the defects.

Complete change
In order for Six Sigma to work successfully within your company, you do need to focus on a complete change by the entire company. Everyone within the company focuses on how to reduce or eliminate defects and they must follow the new rules pertaining the program if it is going to be successful. This comes by selecting the right people to be the managers of the implementation process (like your Master Black Belts, Green Belts, etc.)

Sending your employees to training seminars will give you an advantage when it comes to implementing Six Sigma. They will be out of their traditional work environment and will be able to focus completely on Six Sigma and learning the tactics and tools that are essential to Six Sigma. Then you need to bring your employees to various training sessions with each team in order as it will also help you acquire the experience and knowledge with Six Sigma that is necessary to improve your business.

Six Sigma is not something you can implement once and expect to work, this is a process and you need to continue to practice and monitor it in order for it to be successful and work correctly.