Doing so is another vital element in improving flow and performance, generally. The Japanese refer to waste as Muda; they describe two broad types and seven categories of waste. Of course, if you can prevent waste in the first place, then so much the better (see Chapters 9 and 10 on how to do this).
✔ Manage by fact and reduce variation. Managing by fact, using accurate data, helps you avoid jumping to conclusions and solutions. You need the facts! And that means measuring the right things in the right way. Data collection is a process and needs to be managed accordingly. Using control charts (Chapter 7 has more on these) enables you to interpret the data correctly and understand the process variation. You then know when to take action and when not to.
✔ Involve and equip the people in the process. You need to involve the people in the process, equipping them to both feel and be able to challenge and improve their processes and the way they work. Involving people is what has to be done if organisations are to be truly effective, but, like so many of the Lean Six Sigma principles, it requires different thinking if it’s to happen. (See Chapter 18 for more on understanding the ‘people issues’.)
✔ Undertake improvement activity in a systematic way. DMAIC comes into play here: Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve and Control. One of the criticisms sometimes aimed at ‘stand-alone’ Lean is that improvement action tends not to be taken in a systematic and standard way. In Six Sigma, DMAIC is used to improve existing processes, but the framework is equally applicable to Lean and, of course, Lean Six Sigma. Where a new process needs to be designed, the DMADV method is used.
The focus in the following section is on improving existing processes with DMAIC using the appropriate tools and techniques from the Lean Six Sigma toolkit. But these tools, and the seven principles, identified earlier in this chapter also provide a framework to improve the day-to-day management and operation of processes. We look at this aspect of Lean Six Sigma, which we refer to as ‘Everyday Operational Excellence’, in Chapter 17.
Improving Existing Processes: Introducing DMAIC
Now you can Analyse the situation by using facts and data to determine the root cause(s) of the problem that’s inhibiting your performance. With the root cause identified, you can now move to the Improve phase, identifying potential solutions, selecting the most suitable, and testing or piloting it to validate your approach, using data where appropriate. You’re then ready to implement the solution in the Control phase.
The Control phase is especially important. You need to implement your solution, checking that your customers feel the difference in your performance. You’ll need to use data to determine the extent of the improvement and to help you hold the gains. After all your hard work, you don’t want the problem you’ve solved to recur. With the right ongoing measures in place, you should also be able to prompt new opportunities (see Chapter 8 for more on getting the right balance of measures).
The following sections provide a little more detail about the five DMAIC phases. Figure 2-1 shows how the phases link together, though the process is not necessarily linear. It could be that in the Define phase, for example, the problem that you are planning to tackle can’t be adequately quantified. In the Measure phase, you’ll be collecting data that enables you to go back to Define and update your description of the problem.
© John Morgan and Martin Brenig-Jones
Figure 2-1: The five phases of DMAIC.
When you start an improvement project, ensuring that you and your team understand why you’re undertaking the project and what you want to achieve is an essential ingredient for success. With a DMAIC project, you start with a problem that needs to be solved. Before you can solve the problem, you need to define it – not always as straightforward a process as you may think. One of the key outputs from the Define phase is a completed improvement charter.
The improvement charter is an agreed document defining the purpose and goals for an improvement team. It can help address some of the elements that typically go wrong in projects by providing a helpful framework to gain commitment and understanding from the team. Keep your charter simple and try to contain the document to one or two sides of A4 in line with the example shown in Figure 2-2.
© John Morgan and Martin Brenig-Jones
Figure 2-2: A sample improvement charter.
The improvement charter contains the following key elements:
✔ A high-level business case providing an explanation of why undertaking the project is important.
✔ A problem statement defining the issue to be resolved.
✔ A goal statement describing the objective of the project.
✔ The project scope defining the parameters and identifying any constraints.
✔ The CTQs specifying the problem from the customer’s perspective. Unless you already have the CTQs, these may not be known until the Measure phase.
✔ Roles identifying the people involved in and around the project, expectations of them and their responsibilities. The improvement charter forms a contract between the members of the improvement team, and the champion or sponsor.
✔ Milestones summarising the key steps and provisional dates for achieving the goal.
The improvement charter needs to be seen as a ‘living document’ and be updated throughout the various DMAIC phases, especially as your understanding of the problem you’re tackling becomes clearer.
