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An alternate form of Six Sigma Training is Lean Six Sigma. Although it is an altered form it has many of its own capacities, and knowing the differences can add to your quality improvement projects, more then you may think possible. Although the basis fundamentals of Six Sigma are still evident in Lean, there are a few additions that set it apart.

Lean Six Sigma focuses on eight elements of waste, or work that doesn’t add value to an organization or company. It has been found that many places that eliminate these wasteful areas can actually improve quality with just that elimination alone. The following is a list of the wastes according to the Lean process, along with examples of what each one alludes to:

-Wasted human talent: this includes people who don’t have a specific job function within the process or are simply slowing down the process with their presence.

-Defects: This can be products or processes that are not right. These obviously need solutions to fix them before they can be eliminated.

-Inventory: This refers to an over sized “To Do” list of work. You never want to have to much product waiting to be worked on. A doctors office, for example, does not want to have to many patients in the waiting room at one time.

-Overproduction: You never want to have to much of something before it is needed. This can get in the way of a well-organized operation.

-Wasted Time: The amount of time that is spent waiting for a product. Any down time should be spent on needed areas of various activities or process. For example, you should never have five employees just standing around waiting for a supply truck to arrive, instead find other areas that they can be useful while they wait.

-Motion: When you are moving people around and it is not necessary to do so. An example of this would be, when a clinic send a patient that has an appointment to triage. Instead the patient should be going straight to the exam room.

-Transportation: Ineffective transportation that moves people and products can be wasteful when it isn’t needed. Imagine a warehouse using a forklift to deliver items across the factory to a truck, when the production line could be streamlined to deliver right into the truck off of the line.

-Process Waste: Things that have to be done, but don’t add value to the process, product, or service at hand. For example, a bank manager has to process a lot of paperwork, but this doesn’t help customers or increase the banks ability to serve those customers in most cases.

By utilizing Lean Six Sigma and understanding the areas of waste, you are sure to improve the quailty of the product that is produced by you company.

Create the most of your business skills with six sigma training. Getting green belt six sigma will benefit yourself in addition to your business. To learn more check out www.sixsigmaonline.org.

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It’s hard to ignore that times have change when you hear every Tom, Dick and Harry talking about the recession that is happening today. Whether or not we are in recession is no longer the question. What is more relevant are the rising unemployment rate and the massive layoffs happening to many multinational companies.

I was talking to a friend the other day about being irreplaceable. The old adage is that the company was there a long time before you came along and will be for a long time afterwards. These days, that may NOT be the case for the company. But there are things you can do to be an asset to your company.

Technology

It is at times like these that companies start laying off people who whose skills are obsolete or below average. The age of information technology has made it easy for people to multitask and perform more efficiently. Staffs who acquire valuable technology skills are deem to be more valuable and efficient than those who are still typing with 2 index fingers.

Even if you don’t have the necessary skills, that is not an excuse to slack off. Sign up for a course, attend a seminar and to really make an impression - pay for them yourself. That should say how committed you are to your job.

Invest in Yourself.

IT courses are not the only ones you could sign up. Invest in quality and useful courses that will help you manage your job better. There are many business development courses, customer relations classes, marketing seminars that could give add credibility to your name.

Increased Efficiency.

Like everything else in life, if you don’t practise what you learn you will never be good at it. Having all those certificates and knowledge under your belt will not help you if you don’t put to work what you learn. Use your skills to help you produce more in less time. When you are efficient you will find yourself with more responsibilities and thus becoming indispensable.

Don’t ask for too much.

The financial crisis we are facing has forced us to re-evaluate our financial standards and material needs. Presently, it is better to be contended with a secure job than it is to ask unreasonably for a huge pay rise or big year end bonus. These are some of the items that you should avoid:

1. Asking for a big raise. Companies are in a tight financial spot right now and giving a huge raise (if any) is the last on their agendas. Be patient, and consider this as an opportunity to show your loyalty to your company by sticking through the thick and thin. Once times get better, your sacrifice will be rewarded.

2. Don’t ask for perks like a car allowance, extra mileage or meal money you aren’t entitled to.

3. Do not abuse company properties. It is not a good idea to be printing your manuscript from the office printer or making a personal long distance call from your office.

4. Involve in office gossips. Stay away from topics / rumours that are not related to work.

The most vital thing to keep in mind this year is to market yourself as a commodity. Invest in yourself and do your job well. Once you are recognised by your employer as indispensable you will not be replaced. The better equipped you are this year, the better your chances of surviving this year’s downturn.

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