Project practitioners usually mention a common reason: the project failed because the recommended solution was never implemented during the whole project.
1. We need to know why the solution has not been put into practice.
In the further exploration, we got some interesting information and different reasons. The most common reason is that the owner of the process did not participate in the project from the beginning.
If you consider using many models of quality improvement plan to build an independent quality improvement team or a department in charge to implement the project, instead of the whole company, it is easy to find that the owner of the process is excluded from the project. Perhaps the process leader is very busy during the day and has little time to devote to the project; Or for various reasons, the process leader has been uninterested in the project; Perhaps the owner of the process wants to control the process and find the solution himself; Perhaps being in charge of this project team can make the process more efficient and simplify the process, but the person in charge of the process may lose his job. These may be the reasons why the process owner never implemented the solution.
Other feedback also shows that the solution can never be put into practice, because the project team only completed the definition, measurement and analysis stages according to the DMAIC method, and never entered the real improvement or control stage. In other words, after completing the DMA of DMAIC, they handed over the project and hoped that the process owner would improve and control the work. Other practitioners told us that the project plan was not implemented because the project team completed all the work and designed a new process, and then reported it to the upper management, only to be told that "this is not what we expected". Management may reject the project solution for the following reasons, for example, it is too complicated to achieve, or simply because it is not their own solution.
2. Avoid similar situations.
It seems simple, but what you can do is to create a comprehensive project charter before each project starts. What is the project charter? This is a document, usually completed in the definition stage, to answer some basic questions about the project:
Why is this project very important?
Who will guarantee the success of this project?
(3) What is the expected income of this project?
(4) When can you see the expected benefits and how long can the benefits last?
⑤ Where will the improvement work be concentrated?
The information in the project charter is very important for obtaining the commitment of the leadership and providing the necessary resources to complete the project, and sometimes it can even be your "passport" to promote the project. This tool is the principle for all project participants to communicate, so it is very important to fill in this document clearly and accurately, and update the possible changes as the project progresses.
Remember, it is very important to involve process owners from the beginning, because they are usually responsible for implementing the solutions recommended by your team. If you have done a comprehensive job in the project charter, you should be able to avoid some of the above problems and successfully complete the project in your way!
Second, the implementation of lean six sigma management failure reasons
Lean Six Sigma is a methodology with strong systematicness, long development history and wide application. Through the practice test of Toyota, General Electric Company and other enterprises in different industries, Lean Six Sigma has been proved to be an effective tool to optimize internal resources and improve production efficiency, and it is being adopted and popularized by more and more companies. However, in the process of implementation, many companies did encounter many difficulties and obstacles, and some even gave up halfway. To sum up, the reasons for the failure of implementation are nothing more than the following. I hope that the companies that are about to implement and are implementing Lean Six Sigma can get some enlightenment:
1. Lack of commitment of senior leaders to lean six sigma project.
Leadership commitment refers to the commitment and support to the project 100%, not a form. It is not enough to just stay in writing or send emails. Real commitment and support must be practical actions. The leadership should make the principle of lean six horses a part of their lives. In many enterprises, many CEOs think that their role in Lean Six Sigma is nothing more than choosing a black belt and a black belt master. This is also one of the failed routes of the official Lean Six Sigma project. As an advocate or person in charge of implementation, you should have a good understanding of the methodology of Lean Six Sigma. If the person in charge of implementation knows little about the relevant methodology, it will be difficult for him to get the support and trust of other people.
2. Part-time black belt
Many enterprises choose part-time jobs instead of full-time black belts, which leads to the failure of lean six sigma projects. A black belt must be a full-time black belt, which requires a lot of technical and practical skills. The black belt must devote itself to improvement projects related to the company's strategy, and only in this way can it achieve the expected results. It is normal for a black belt to earn several times the personal salary a year, and it can complete multiple projects a year. A part-time black belt is actually only equivalent to a green belt. Enterprises should choose the best employees to receive black belt training and certification. Black belts should be candidates for enterprises to train future leaders.
3. The improvement project has nothing to do with the company's strategic objectives.
As the output return of lean six sigma project, it must be linked to the company's strategic objectives. There is no room for manoeuvre at this point. The selection of projects must balance top-down and bottom-up. Without considering the promotion of organizational goals, it is of no commercial value, and at the same time it can't get the support of senior management. Therefore, it is difficult to achieve ultimate success and management recognition.
4. Only focus on the number of projects, ignoring the quality of projects.
Although extensive participation-especially in the initial implementation stage of lean six sigma-is what we expect, this orientation of pursuing project quantity will be at the expense of project quality. The completion of a large number of projects will certainly look good, but the projects that bring rich returns to enterprises are often not these trivial small projects. These small projects will consume our limited project resources and cannot guarantee the effective implementation of key projects related to the company's development strategy.
5. No monitoring mechanism.
It is a common phenomenon that lean Six Sigma projects lack inspectors and then abandon them. If the improvement project is not inspected and evaluated regularly, the project will be aborted slowly, and the membership fee will be more energetic from the beginning. Therefore, establishing a perfect regular inspection mechanism is an important factor to ensure the ultimate success of the project. Remember, regular inspection and evaluation need to invite the leaders of the company to participate.
6. There is no effective reward mechanism.
As a successful factor of lean six-horse, an effective reward mechanism is essential.
Rewards can be material or spiritual, such as public recognition and certification. Some successful enterprises have achieved good results by linking the performance of Lean Six Sigma with the year-end evaluation, or giving cash rewards to the project team according to the actual completion of the project.
7. Lack of infrastructure to provide necessary support for the project.
The team implementing the project needs corresponding support from all sides. This means that some infrastructure, such as statistical software and the support of consultants, is indispensable. The support of these infrastructures plays a very important role in the ultimate success of the project.
8. Implementation project of mechanical reproduction
The implementation of any project needs a specific environment and process, and it will not be successful to simply copy the knowledge learned from other places mechanically. You need to know your company's specific organizational structure and customer needs based on facts to be effective, because Lean Six Sigma is a tool to analyze and get solutions based on statistical facts.
9. Pay too much attention to the use of statistical tools
As mentioned above, Lean Six Sigma is based on statistical facts, but we should be careful not to be bound by these tools. Because we use these tools for improvement activities, not just using them. In fact, according to the survey, about 60%-70% of the improvement activities do not need to use statistical tools. Therefore, in the process of implementation, whether to use statistical tools and which tools need to be used depends on the actual situation of the project.
10. Expect the project to be effective as soon as possible.
Because lean six sigma can fundamentally improve some key problems of the company, the leadership often has high expectations for the project. However, it is unrealistic to expect too much from the whole project and hope to see the effect in a short time. Because lean six sigma is a systematic project, it needs a lot of investment. Under normal circumstances, it takes three years to get results gradually. Too high and too early to require the project to be effective will make the project only pursue short-term effects and ignore the solution of key problems of the whole company.
Third, focus on providing six sigma open class training and project counseling. (Six Sigma, Lean Six Sigma, design for six sigma)
1. Six Sigma training is divided into: green belt, black belt and green belt and black belt.
2. The training cost of Zhang Chi Liusima open class is between 8,000 and 40,000 yuan. There are fixed courses every month.
3. There are three training methods: open class, internal training and consulting (project counseling).
Assist customers to use the overall methodology of lean six sigma consulting to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of enterprise operation, improve the quality of products and services, reduce the cost waste in the whole operation process, consolidate and continuously improve the organizational culture of pursuing perfection, thus achieving excellent operational performance, ensuring the best business profitability of the organization and bringing more lucrative profits to the enterprise.