Software solutions to help you establish your Six Sigma Process

Six Sigma is commonly used in the manufacturing industry to reduce costs and improve quality. Six Sigma measures the results of a particular process and identifies the root causes of any problems and fixes them. There are many consulting firms that offer software to enhance the Six Sigma process. The toolkits are useful for developing customer requirements and help chart customer satisfaction. Six Sigma applications help reach beyond the improvement of existing and current processes and products.

The overall goal of Six Sigma is to achieve a defect ratio of 3.4 million, which means you will get flawless production 99.99966% of the time. The Six Sigma software focuses on providing tools for risk analysis, design, customer needs, decision-making process, and problem solving strategies. There are 3 common Six Sigma software solutions: excel-based solutions, web-based solutions, and desk top applications.

Excel-Based Solutions

Excel- based Six Sigma solutions cost roughly $195 and include 4 main features on top of hundreds of smaller, individualized features.

The main features of excel-based solutions include:

• Macros for key charts
• Blank templates for Six Sigma tools and charts
• Statistical tools
• Data transformation tools that can change and analyze data.

Excel-based Six Sigma software solutions are popular because they are easy to use. Microsoft Excel allows you create professional looking control charts, histograms, and other data analysis charts. Black Belts are even able to train a front-line worker to use the macros to create control charts. Another benefit to Excel-based Six Sigma software includes the automatic formula and number conversion. The macros will work directly from the data you input and save you time and effort from calculating the numbers on your own. You can begin analyzing every aspect of your business to create improvements in your overall productivity and profitability. Excel-based software solutions also include flowcharts, fishbone charts, and DOE.

Web-Based Six Sigma Software

Web-based solutions are quickly becoming more and more popular due to their easy access and accessibility. Your entire Six Sigma training can be done online with several companies. There are Black Belt, Green Belt, and Yellow Belt certifications that can be done online. Online Six Sigma allows manufacturing organizations to train at a self-paced approach instead of sending their employees to training courses.

Along with the training programs, you can also purchase a web-hosted software solution. Your employees can log into any work-related computer and access the program at multiple sites. Each employee with access will be able to input their data that will go through a series of evaluations and can be sent directly to the person in charge.

Six Sigma Academy is one company who provides web-based Six Sigma software solutions. Their program, Essenteq is designed to provide project management and training services together in a Six Sigma web-based portal.

Essenteq can provide several functions for your business including a data collecting and measuring system, idea management, document tracking, and knowledge management. Essenteq reduces the amount of cycle time in Black Belt projects and can save your company thousands of dollars by increasing the velocity of your existing business strategy.

Instead of focusing on the project management needs of Black Belts and Green Belts, it focuses on the entire structure of your Six Sigma process. The Six Sigma Academy has been around since 1994 and has been providing Six Sigma tools to businesses since this time. The Six Sigma Academy provides training and software tools to help companies reduce waste and increase profitability, customer and employee satisfaction.

Desk Top Six Sigma Applications

If you hire a consulting firm to implement Six Sigma at your organization, you are can probably purchase Six Sigma Software as part of a package deal. There are several companies who offer various types of Desk Top Six Sigma software. One company, Breakthrough Management Group actually sells four different software solutions: The Wizard, PowerProjX, the eHandbook and RapAnalyst. Each program is designed to track the Six Sigma process you have implemented. Six Sigma software can be purchased for around $50 on up, depending upon the type of software you select and the methodology you are implementing.

Another company, Blue Spring Software offers Six Sigma, BPM software. Their software is designed to work with the DMAIC Six Sigma methodology. The BPM software provides companies with extra ways to analyze and visualize their Six Sigma processes with other ways besides statistical analysis. BPM is designed to reduce the errors when data is entered and simplify the way baseline metrics are captured, processes are modeled, and how the information is analyzed.

Blue Spring states that their BPM Software will yield "faster, more accurate and sustainable results at each stage of the DMAIC approach through BPM software's ability to automate data collection, model the process dynamically, present actionable information, facilitate improvements, and enforce internal controls."

Some of the biggest selling points for BPM software include:

• Easy User Adoption - This is a process where people can interact with the software through common desktop applications like email, Excel and Internet Explorer.
• No Code Deployments - There is no need to write code with BPM software because it facilitates the process design and deployment from a single desktop.
• Balance of Automation and Human Worker Interaction - With your Six Sigma method, the majority of the work will be performed by people. The BPM software can eliminate the need for added work like re-keying data. BPM software is able to automate processes and eliminate the need to take up extra time by your employees.
• Reduce Cycle Time - BPM also identifies and quantifies non-value-added business activities and finds ways to eliminate them or automate them. BPM can also capture metrics, identify problems, and track your progress.

Another company to contact for Six Sigma software is Enterprise Solutions. Their software, StatSoft specializes in allowing multiple users to collaborate data.

They have reported over the years from their clients the following about their enterprise solution:

• Ease of use: Regardless of the power of an analytics platform, if it is not intuitive, the vast majority of users within an organization will not adopt it.
• Integration with Data Repositories: Access to data often involves a time-consuming collaboration between the individuals who know the definition of the data they need and those individuals who understand the data repository and the approach to extracting the required data set.
• Collaboration: Activities within an organization are rarely a single individual operating in isolation. Instead, these activities are programs that require collaboration among many individuals." Many companies like Enterprise Solutions not only provide the consulting services, but come to your offices and train your company on how to use the software and how you can obtain success by implementing Six Sigma.

Companies with Results

In the 1980s large manufacturing firms such as Motorola, General Electric, and Allied Signal starting using Six Sigma to collect data, improve quality, lower costs, and eliminate defects in processes and products.

Maintaining customer satisfaction and business profitability is essential to running a successful Six Sigma process. Northrop Grumman Mission Systems reported that all of their engineers and managers attended a 2 week training course. After a 6 month process they were able to move their company from a Maturity Level 3 to a 5. They believe Six Sigma and the processes involved are a direct factor in listening to the voice of the customer.

Choosing the Software

Once you have completed your research on which type of software you want to use with your Six Sigma process, you need to find who sells the best one. Referrals from other companies who have used a consulting firm and their software are always a great place to start. The internet search engines can provide you with numerous companies you can contact and most will provide you will a trial period of their software.

One last resource to purchase is Black Belt Memory Jogger: A Desktop Guide for Six SIGMA Success by the Six Sigma Academy. This book costs $18.95 and is an excellent source to refer to with your Six Sigma process. It discusses additional information to help your Black Belts move into the roles of teachers, mentors, and leaders. The book describes the DMAIC methodology and the different roles and responsibilities of each person involved in the Six Sigma process. The book consists of 272 pages of information for Black Belts.

Some of the concepts included in the book are as follows:

• Roles and Responsibilities
• Project Management
• Sigma Values
• Process Maps
• Flowdown
• Graphical Analysis
• Hypothesis
• Testing
• Design of Experiments
• Control Charts
• Transforming Data
• Measure Systems Analysis

Each person in your Six Sigma process plays an important role from the White Belts to the Black Belts. Without proper training and the complete belief in the Six Sigma process, you will not be able to succeed. Remember, the goal is to get as close to perfection as possible and this must begin from the top and work its way down through the entire company.