Six Sigma Implementation Bottlenecks

Analysis of past six sigma project debacles indicatessuccess of any implementation.
that the main cause of redundancies is often theIt is difficult for these organizations to speed up the
inability of the Six Sigma team to identify bottlenecksimplementation process, as they have to juggle
related to the implementation process. Although sixbetween meeting existing obligations and overseeing
sigma teams consist of experienced employees andthe project implementation at the same time. These
six sigma professionals such as Black Belts andlimitations can create different types of problems such
Master Black Belts, it is very much possible that theyas the unavailability of the requisite tools and methods
might miss out on some vital aspects of the targetedthat are necessary for effective and timely
business process.implementation of the Six Sigma project. The limitations
Keeping in mind the past failures and redundancies,also increase the risk of generating outdated and
companies nowadays are stressing on identifyingineffective solutions aimed at redesigning the product,
implementation bottlenecks before the actualservice or the business process. These limitations can
implementation. By identifying the bottlenecks ineasily prolong the deployment cycle time because
advance, the Six Sigma team and the organization canchances are high that errors start occurring at the initial
ensure that all the benefits of the implementations aredeployment stages, which ultimately can trigger a
harnessed to their full potential.series of multiple errors.
Why Bottlenecks OccurSome Common Bottlenecks Of The Deployment
Some of the most common six sigma implementationPhase
bottlenecks arise due to errors in the decision makingPoor project selection is often the root cause of
process, which ultimately leads to higher COPQ (costbottlenecks in the deployment phase and can lead to
of poor quality). The basic characteristic and intensitybottlenecks in all stages of the implementation. In the
of these bottlenecks varies, depending on the'Define' phase, the organization may fail to clearly
organization's size and the number of processes itdefine the real objectives of the implementation
currently employs. The process of identifyingproject, which in turn can create problems during the
bottlenecks is quite complicated as the bottlenecksactual implementation. In the 'Measure' phase,
can occur at any stage of the implementation.bottlenecks may arise due to lack of proper
Common Bottlenecks In Small Organizationsmeasurement systems and due to time lost in data
Although Six Sigma is applicable in both large as wellcollection. In the 'Design' phase, problems may arise
as small organizations, the problem is that smalldue to lack of innovative design improvement ideas. In
organizations often do not have adequate resourcesthe 'Control' phase, bottlenecks may occur due to
to carry out the implementation effectively. By optingnon-adherence to VOC (voice of customer), which is
for Six Sigma implementation, small companies oftenvital for the success of any Six Sigma implementation
expose themselves to several limitations. Lack ofproject.
adequate resources, both human and financial leads toAn organization that wants to eliminate bottlenecks
increased employee dissatisfaction, as they have toshould give due consideration to all the above stated
work extra hours all throughout the implementationfactors. This will help in timely implementation,
stage. Small organizations may also face difficulties innecessary for deriving the benefits of Six Sigma
hiring Six Sigma professionals, who are vital for theinitiatives.