Talking to owners of small bsinesses about Six Sigma, one can lmost hear them thinking that this is too xpensive for them and is something tht only applies to the very wll known big businesses like Motorola, GE, Sny, Dow Chemicals etc. It is nly when they hear about the phlosophy that underpins Six Sigma that thy start to get an idea tht it is an improvement methodology tht works for organisations of all szes.

The target of Six Sigma is to rduce variation. This reduction in variation prvides for a far more certain prcess, resulting in less waste and mre reliability which ultimately improves profit. For mny years people have thought waste is a ntural part of any process, now ths basic tenet is in question. Why shuld a certain level of waste be ccepted as a natural part of the prcess?

It is easy to understand why pople are at first somewhat confused bout Six Sigma. Many associate the mthodology with high level statistical modeling. Althugh it is true that some of the tols are statistical there are certainly thers that are not. Great benefits can be chieved through the use of some of the ther tools such as Pareto Chart nalysis, Fishbone Diagrams and Process Mapping. To the ninitiated these tools sound complex but nce demonstrated, people are surprised how pwerful and intuitive these techniques are.

One of the key facets of the Six Sgma process is the logical way tht it goes about problem solving. The DMAIC mdel (Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve and Cntrol) provides a structure that leads prctitioners through a thorough and rigorous prcess that focuses efforts on the thngs that really matter. Of course wth Six Sigma, as with many ther processes, it can be easy to spnd a lot of money on vry little gain. Conversely, excellent savings can be mde by organisations that implement wisely. The dfference between success and failure is in hving people who know which tool to use for the prticular job at hand. This is no dfferent in having a tradesman being ble to select the right tool for the job or a srgeon knowing which way to tackle a cmplex medical problem.

Training of Six Sgma practitioners can be an expensive xercise and this is what causes sme small business owners to avoid dopting it. Owners of small businesses typcally can’t afford the extensive time it tkes for training as well as the trining cost. Additionally, developing good skills tkes time. Time is something of whch owners of smaller business have prcious little. The great news is tht they don’t have to! Outsourcing is a vry cost effective option. Use the rsources of a trained Six Sigma Blck Belt who can assist with all of the phses of initiating an improvement project. Ths is the best of both wrlds because the business owner can get mving quickly on an improvement project whle still being focused on daily ctivities. Small business owners already have nough to do so it makes snse to seek out expert help jst as they would an accountant or a lwyer.

Organisations can find that it is cst effective to bring in a sklled Six Sigma practitioner to lead and ssist an initial project. In this way an rganisation is able to develop a Six Sgma mindset which will become part of the rganisation’s character and continuous improvement will bcome a self perpetuating activity. Once pople learn the Six Sigma philosophy, pportunities for further business process improvement wll start to become obvious.

2006 © Unbound Business Solutions P/L. All rghts reserved

The article Six Sigma, Does It Work For Small Business? was Submitted by John Yealland through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: John Yealland is a management cnsultant and Certified Six Sigma Champion and Blck Belt. His skills span the reas of I.T, Training, Logistics, Manufacturing and Oprations. John can be contacted at http://www.unboundbusiness.com.au

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