Quality Control & Six Sigma - ESD

Fig. 2. Business process management matrixTraining and Process OwnershipWhat businesses need to do now is train employees inthe proper use of DCOV and DMAIC methodology tools.Employees must be empowered to lead and to use Six Sigma tosuccessfully innovate. Without innovation, a business cannotlong exist.Whether we are improving an existing process or designinga new one (innovation), the most critical issue is processownership. Even the best processes fail to deliver the rightproduct or service if they do not have an “owner” who tracksprocess performance indicators. Process ownership can provevery difficult for processes spanning several functional groupsand connecting to other major processes. Although establishingprocess ownership is challenging, it is necessary to sustainprocess improvement.To assist with establishing process ownership, Six Sigmamethodology offers the concept of Business Process ManagementMatrix (BPMM). While this concept is not new, it is not usedas frequently as it should be. BPMM is a tool that includes stepsto plan, organize, control, analyze and improve the process tomaximize overall business results (Fig. 2). In reference to Fig. 2,traditional management structures are built around functionalorganization (vertical silos).Our purpose is to control and improve each individual functionwith respect to its own local goals and objectives. It is verychallenging to optimize overall process performance when aprocess path crosses several functional boundaries. Managingeffectively across boundaries is difficult because, often, no oneis in charge. Therefore, someone must be put in charge andthat person becomes the process owner, responsible for overallprocess performance, including accountability for the system’seffectiveness, efficiency and flexibility.Maria Staab, PhD, Six Sigma Specialist,Master Black Belt, has experience in thesteel industry, environmental services,facility management and process qualityimprovement. Ms. Staab has worked atFord Land, Dearborn, Michigan, and hastaught Six Sigma Green Belt training atFord Land and at Wayne State University,Detroit, Michigan, and specializes in process waste reduction toimprove business profitability.32 | Technology Century | OCTOBER–NOVEMBER 2006