| There are many versions of process improvement in | | | | things required for employees to reach Maslow's |
| use. Six Sigma and total quality management (TQM) | | | | highest level of needs fulfillment, i.e. self actualization. |
| are two popular versions. Kaizan is a Japanese term | | | | Second, employees at any level know more about the |
| for continuous improvement and many organizations | | | | processes they own than their supervisors, or any |
| use this term to describe their process improvement | | | | specialist, because they are more intimately involved |
| work. Sometimes Kaizan is used to simplify processes | | | | with the processes. They feel, see, smell, hear and |
| without gathering data and some quality gurus are | | | | experience details of their process that supervisors or |
| critical of non data driven process improvement. | | | | specialists do not experience. They are better at |
| Another term used by manufacturing organizations is | | | | recognizing what aspects of their processes need |
| Lean. Lean is using a set of tools or methods that | | | | improvement first, second and so on. They are also |
| improves manufacturing processes by eliminating | | | | better at developing improvement approaches |
| waste and errors. Some organizations combine Lean | | | | because often they have been thinking about better |
| and Six Sigma into Lean Six Sigma. Whereas both Six | | | | ways to do their job for a long time. They are inclined |
| Sigma and TQM are proven to be effective I favor | | | | to look for improvements that make their job easier as |
| TQM, or data driven Kaizen if you prefer the | | | | well as more cost effective. |
| Japanese term. Let me give short descriptions of the | | | | The disadvantages of the Six Sigma type approaches |
| two approaches and then discuss the reasons I favor | | | | from my experience are that sometimes the workers |
| TQM. | | | | resent outside experts coming to change their work |
| Six Sigma thoroughly trains a small number of people | | | | processes and the outside experts aren't as familiar |
| and then empowers these trained specialists to work | | | | with the work processes as are the employees that |
| with other workers and managers to improve | | | | own the processes. I have observed that the process |
| processes throughout the enterprise. These specialists | | | | owners tend to create simple and effective |
| get titles according to the amount of training they have | | | | improvements whereas the highly trained experts tend |
| received, e.g. those with extensive training are usually | | | | to go for elegant and expensive improvements, but not |
| called black belts or master black belts. An | | | | necessarily any better improvements. Another |
| experienced manager is selected to manage the | | | | disadvantage is that the experts attack the most |
| specialists and their process improvement activities. | | | | important processes first and work their way through |
| Other managers are given overview training so that | | | | enterprise processes a few at a time, depending on |
| they know what to expect and what is expected of | | | | how many experts there are. With TQM all processes |
| them. | | | | are subject to attention at any time. The process |
| In the version of TQM that I have practiced all | | | | owners naturally prioritize processes they own but |
| employees in the enterprise, workers and managers, | | | | even simple processes get attention that are unlikely |
| receive about 50 hours of basic training in process | | | | to be addressed in a Six Sigma approach until all higher |
| improvement techniques. A very few receive | | | | priority processes have been addressed. |
| additional training in special techniques and serve as a | | | | An apparent disadvantage of TQM is that all |
| resource to all the workers and managers. After | | | | employees must be trained and therefore the training |
| training, all workers and managers are empowered to | | | | costs tend to be higher than for Six Sigma, assuming |
| work on process improvement of the processes they | | | | only a few employees are given the full Six Sigma |
| own, i.e. the processes they use in their day to day | | | | training. I believe this extra cost is more than offset by |
| work. There is a coordinator to authorize teams and | | | | the more comprehensive attack on process |
| facilitate access to any data needed by the teams or | | | | improvement that TQM achieves and from the |
| to the specialists that provide analysis beyond the | | | | increase in employee motivation that results from |
| capabilities of the team. The authorization is necessary | | | | empowering employees to have control over their |
| to prevent workers from getting involved in several | | | | own processes. TQM also requires a more careful |
| teams at once and impacting productivity by spending | | | | introduction to empowering employees after they |
| too much time on process improvement at the | | | | have been trained. There must be boundaries to the |
| expense of process execution. | | | | empowerment and these boundaries must be carefully |
| Either of these approaches is effective and if your | | | | communicated to the employees as they are |
| enterprise is already involved in one of these or a | | | | empowered. Otherwise employees adapt their |
| related approach then stick with it. If your enterprise is | | | | individual definitions of empowerment and some |
| not yet involved in process improvement then I strongly | | | | naturally expand the boundaries beyond what is |
| recommend the TQM approach. The advantage of | | | | acceptable in an efficient enterprise that is under |
| TQM is that it empowers every employee to control | | | | control. Obvious examples of items employees are not |
| processes they own. This empowerment results in | | | | empowered to change include recipes, standards and |
| two benefits compared to approaches like Six Sigma | | | | accounting rules; changes of which must be handled |
| that empower only a few specially trained personnel. | | | | very carefully and usually with management |
| First, empowering employees to have control over | | | | involvement. |
| their own processes is highly motivating. It is one of the | | | | |