5 Things

Every
Lean Six Sigma Belt
Should Learn
In Their Training



ForrestW.BreyfogleIII
Forrest@SmarterSolutions.com
SmarterSolutions,Inc.
www.SmarterSolutions.com

 Five Things Every Lean Six Sigma Belt Should Learn In Their Training

Lean Six Sigma training can impact how one looks at data and how an organization makes
improvements. However, there are differences between what is taught in various Lean Six Sigma
trainingofferings.LeanSixSigmatraineesbenefitwhenthefollowingareaddressedintheirtraining:

1. Recognizing how to baseline all processes

Whenundertakingprocessimprovementefforts,itisimportanttoknowhowtheprocessisperforming
beforemakinganyprocessalterations.Ifaprocessbaselineisnotestablished,howwillonebeableto
knowiftherehasbeenanimprovementaftercompletinganyLeanSixSigmaprojectorkaizenevent?

WefindthatmostLeanSixSigmastudentshavebeentaughttobaselinetheirprocessesaspartofthe
define or measure phases in a Lean Six Sigma DefineMeasureAnalyzeImproveControl (DMAIC)
projectexecution roadmap. Practitioners tell us that they often skip this step because existing data
appeartobeoutofcontrolornotinaformthatiseasilycharted.

Typical Lean Six Sigma training involves Statistical Process Control (SPC) charting along with process
capabilitystatements.Withthisinstruction,thestudentistaughttotestforprocessstability,andifthe
processisstable,oneistoreporthowtheprocessisperforming.Forprocessesthathaveacontinuous
response,theprocesscapabilityisthentobereportedinprocesscapabilityindicessuchasCp,Cpk,Pp,
andPpk.

However,thisapproachcanhaveissuesthatleadmanystudentstoskippingthisstep.Foronething,
process capability indices can be difficult to understand and explain to others. In addition, process
capabilityindicescanbedependentuponhowoneselectstosamplefromtheprocess.Theotherthing
that often occurs with processmetric reporting is that an xbar and R chart, along with a pchart, c
chart, or uchart, indicates that the process is not stable, when stability actually exists. Unlike an
individualscontrolchart,commonSPCchartssuchasXbarandRcharts,pcharts,ccharts,anducharts
donotconsidervariabilitybetweensubgroupsasasourceofcommoncausevariability.

This charting difference is a big deal when establishing a process baseline, since betweensubgroup
variabilityistypicallyasourceofcommoncausevariability.Thereasonformakingthisstatementisthat
withbaseliningwearenotreallytryingtocontrolaprocessbetweensubgroupvariability,whichisa
primaryobjectiveforusingxbarandRcharts,pcharts,ccharts,anducharts.

An approach to overcome this traditional controlcharting shortcoming is 30,000footlevel reporting.

This approach to baseline reporting considers betweensubgroup variability as a source of common
cause variability. For a given process, an xbar and R chart that shows an outofcontrol condition

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 Five Things Every Lean Six Sigma Belt Should Learn In Their Training

because of betweensubgroup variability often indicates stability with a 30,000footlevel reporting

format.Iftheprocessisnowreportedasstableusinga30,000footlevelreportingapproach,aprocess
capabilitystatementcanlegitimatelybemade.Foramorelengthydiscussiononthistopic,seetheX
barandRControlChart:IssuesandResolutionarticle,whichisreferencedbelow.

Anotherimportantaspectof30,000footlevelreportingisratherthanareportusingprocesscapability
indices,whichcanbeafunctionoftheprocedureforsampling aprocess,theestimated percent non
conformanceisreported,whentheprocessisstable,inaformatthatcaneasilybeunderstood.

With30,000footlevelreporting,regionsofprocessstabilitycanbedetermined.Whenthereisarecent
region of stability, one can state that the process is predictable. With this form of reporting, if the
processhasaspecification,thenanestimatednonconformanceratecanbereported,asillustratedin
Figure 1 where there are specification limits of 80 100. If there is no specification (e.g., lead time,
inventory,cycletime,andprofitmargins),thenamedianresponsecanbereportedwith80%frequency
ofoccurrence,asillustratedinFigure2.

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 Five Things Every Lean Six Sigma Belt Should Learn In Their Training

IEE Scorecard for the Process Output

I-chart of Mean I-chart of Std. Deviation

105 10.0
UCL=104.01 UCL=9.49

Subgroup Std. Deviation

Subgroup Mean

100 7.5
_
X=96.95 _
5.0 X=4.75
95

2.5
90 LCL=89.89

28 67
1 35 22 15 09 00
6 42 59 06
7
0.0 LCL=0.00
.8 0. .2 .5 .8 .6 6. .2 .8 8.
97 10 91 96 93 95 10 94 91 10 97.828 100.671 91.235 96.522 93.815 95.609 106.006 94.242 91.859 108.067
Subgroup Period Subgroup Period

Probability plot
Normal
Mean 96.95
99 StDev 5.016
N 150
90 AD 0.335
72.873 P-Value 0.506
Percent

50

10

100
0.036
80

0.01
80 90 100 110
Data values

The process is predictable.

The estimated non-conformance rate is 27.163%.

Figure1:30,000footlevelperformancereportingillustrationwhenaspecificationexists.

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 Five Things Every Lean Six Sigma Belt Should Learn In Their Training

IEE Scorecard for the Process Output

I-chart of Mean I-chart of Std. Deviation

105 10.0
UCL=104.01 UCL=9.49

Subgroup Std. Deviation

Subgroup Mean

100 7.5
_
X=96.95 _
5.0 X=4.75
95

2.5
90 LCL=89.89

28 67
1 35 22 15 09 00
6 42 59 06
7
0.0 LCL=0.00
.8 0. .2 .5 .8 .6 6. .2 .8 8.
97 10 91 96 93 95 10 94 91 10 97.828 100.671 91.235 96.522 93.815 95.609 106.006 94.242 91.859 108.067
Subgroup Period Subgroup Period

Probability plot
Normal
99.9
Mean 96.95
99 StDev 5.016
N 150
90 90 AD 0.335
P-Value 0.506
Percent

50 50

10 10

103.37
90.52

96.95
1
0.1
80 90 100 110
Data values

The current process is predictable.

The est. median is 96.945 with 80% of the events between 90.517 and 103.37.

Figure2:30,000footlevelperformancereportingillustrationwhennospecificationexists.

Onlydatafromtherecentregionofprocessstabilityshouldbeusedtotestvarioushypothesesofwhat
might be done to improve a process; e.g., differences between departments, personnel, days of the
week,andtimeofday.

References:

XbarandRControlChart:IssuesandResolution

ProcessCapabilityCp,Cpk,Pp,PpkIssuesandResolution

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 Five Things Every Lean Six Sigma Belt Should Learn In Their Training

30,000footlevel Performance Metric Reporting, Forrest W. Breyfogle III, Six Sigma Forum
Magazine,February2014,pages1832.

Chapters 12 and 13: Integrated Enterprise Excellence, Volume III: Improvement Project
Execution,ForrestW.BreyfogleIII,CitiusPublishing,2008.

2.Demonstrating the value of an improvement

Toooften,studentsofLeanSixSigmawillseethebenefitsofaprocessimprovementprojectasbeingso
obvious that they do not even attempt to measure the impact. However, for all projects, we should
statistically validate the change and estimate the amount of improvement. This can be done using a
simple twosample ttest or a test of two proportions. The new performance could be demonstrated
usingacontrolchartorevenatimeseriesplottodescribeachange,butitisonlywithahypothesistest
thatyoudemonstratewhethertheimpactissignificantandthattheobservedchangeisnottheresultof
arandomperiodofgoodperformance.

But too often, organizations might execute a kaizen event or some other total quality management
(TQM) improvement effort without the result of these efforts being reported with a true statistical
analysis.Youmayjustseeareportwrittenwithtestimonialsoftheeffortsbenefit.Withallofthetools
we have been taught, why do many improvements finish with a qualitative assessment of the benefit
ratherthanaquantitativemeasure?

The best practices would be to monitor the process response over time to ensure that the improved
process performance remains at its improved level with a proper process control chart, such as the
30,000footlevelmethoddescribedabove.Whenstabilityisobserved,thenahypothesistestshouldbe
performedtoestimatethesignificanceofthechange.WhenIseeabusinessimprovementprojectavoid
these two steps, as a manager, I question if the improvement only feels good and does not actually
improveperformance.

Figure3sresponseafterachangecouldbecomparedtoFigure1sresponsetovisuallyrepresentthe
change along with recognition that the new process performance is consistent and predictable. This
predictability assessment would allow a new capability assessment to be estimated and a hypothesis
testtobecompletedtoshowthesignificanceofthechange.

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 Five Things Every Lean Six Sigma Belt Should Learn In Their Training

IEE Scorecard for the Process Output

I-chart of Mean I-chart of Std. Deviation

Before Change After Change Before Change After Change
105 10.0

Subgroup Std. Deviation

UCL=8.81
UCL=101.91
100 7.5
Subgroup Mean

95 5.0 _
_
X=92.79 X=3.83
90 2.5

0.0
85
LCL=83.67 LCL=-1.14
1 5 9 13 17 21 25 29 33 37 1 5 9 13 17 21 25 29 33 37
Subgroup Period Subgroup Period

Probability plot
Normal
99
Mean 92.79
95.488 StDev 4.258
90 N 50
AD 0.224
P-Value 0.816
Percent

50

10

100
80

0.1 0.134
80 85 90 95 100
Data values in current stage

The process is predictable.

The estimated non-conformance rate is 4.6457%.

Figure 3: Utilizing a 30,000footlevel performance reporting to describe the impact of a process

improvement.

Reference:

Chapter37:IntegratedEnterpriseExcellence,VolumeIII:ImprovementProjectExecution,ForrestW.
BreyfogleIII,CitiusPublishing,2008

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 Five Things Every Lean Six Sigma Belt Should Learn In Their Training

3. Knowing how your project impacts the enterprise

InLeanSixSigmadeploymentsimprovementprojectstoundertakeareoftendeterminedfromalistof
projectsthatexecutivesorothershavedeterminedcouldbebeneficial.Or,someonemightbestarting
toundertakeLeanSixSigmatrainingnextweekandaprojectneedstobefoundforhis/hertraining.

I am sure you have seen many improvement projects about which no one seems to care if they are
completedsuccessfully.Someorganizationswillallownonimportantprojectstobeusedforatraining
project,butIconsideritirresponsibletoallowabusinesstoexecuteanimprovementeffortthatwillnot
provideameasurableimpactontheenterprise.Ifanorganizationisgoingtoassignresourcestosolvea
problem, there should be a management expectation that the cost of the effort is recovered at the
enterpriselevel.

Ourpreferredwaytoensurethateveryimprovementprojectislinkedtoanenterprisegainusesaform
ofafaulttreeoradecisiontreediagram.IntheIntegratedEnterpriseExcellence(IEE)LeanSixSigma
system,wecallthistheEnterpriseImprovementPlan(EIP),asillustratedinfigure4.ThisEIPdiagram
demonstrates a clear linkage between the existing organizational goals and strategies to all
improvement effort, even nonsixsigma efforts. Using this tool to derive the needed improvement
effortsfromtheacknowledgedbusinessgoalsandalignedstrategiesleadstoauniqueconditionwhere
thebusinessmeasurementimprovementneedspullsforimprovementprojectstomeetthesegoals,
ratherthanthecommonsituationwheretheimprovementteamshuntforprojectstowork.

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 Five Things Every Lean Six Sigma Belt Should Learn In Their Training

Figure4:AnEnterpriseImprovementPlan(EIP)

References:

ProjectSelectionwithWholeenterpriseBenefit

Chapter12:IntegratedEnterpriseExcellence,VolumeII:BusinessDeployment,ForrestW.
BreyfogleIII,CitiusPublishing,2008.

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 Five Things Every Lean Six Sigma Belt Should Learn In Their Training

Figure9.3:TheBusinessProcessManagementGuidebook:AnIntegratedEnterpriseExcellence
BPMSystem,ForrestW.BreyfogleIII,CitiusPublishing,2013.

4. Using Design of Experiments (DOE) outside manufacturing

DesignofExperiments(DOE)examplesinLeanSixSigmatrainingtypicallyinvolveprocesseswitheasily
measurable outputs and nicely controllable inputs which might be encountered in a manufacturing
environment. These examples allow the trainee to learn the mechanics of DOE, but he/she will not
learnthefullpowerofthetools.

There are DOE uses that benefit data collection efforts. One simple use is to create a data collection
plan for a project that includes the potential causes as twolevel factors. Each DOE observation
becomesa targeted datacollectionevent. Toaccomplish this, onecouldmodifyoperationstocreate
thesetofconditionsneededintheexperimentorevenadjusttheworksequenceinordertocreatethe
experimentallevels.WithafractionalfactorialDOE,onecouldgainvaluableinsightabouttheeffectsof
upto15twolevelfactorsinonly16trials.

AnothergreatuseiswhatwecallahistoricalDOE.Theuseofthistechniqueisvaluablewhenthereisa
verylargedatabasetoanalyzeandonewishestosimplifytheanalysis.OnewouldcreatethisDOEasin
the previous example and then utilize a database administrator to submit SQL queries that pull data
fromthelargedatabasethatmatchtheplannedDOEobservations.

The most common missing DOE concept in Lean Six Sigma training is that a DOE can be set up for
assessing an attribute or even a reliability response. Traditional DOE requires a continuous response,
butwithagoodunderstandingofDOE,thepractitionerwillfindthathe/shecanusetheDOEtodefine
the data collection and then analyze the data with any tool, such as logistic regression (for attribute
responses) and life regression (for reliabilitytypecensored data). He/she can even analyze the DOE
datawithregressionorANOVAifdesired.

References:

DataCollectionTools:Surveys,InfrequentSampling,DesignofExperiments(DOE)

MinimumSampleSize,isitrelevant?

Chapters2934:IntegratedEnterpriseExcellence,VolumeIII:ImprovementProjectExecution,
ForrestW.BreyfogleIII,CitiusPublishing,2008.

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 Five Things Every Lean Six Sigma Belt Should Learn In Their Training

5. Implementing a change against resistance

Having a good answer is not significant to drive change. Too many good improvements have been
missedbecausetheLeanSixSigmabeltcouldnotsellthechangetotheorganization.Therearemany
commonreasonsforthistooccurthatinvolveorganizationalresistancetochange.Thisorganizational
resistancedevelopswhenindividualsbelievethattheriskoradditionalefforttoimplementthechange
exceedsthebenefitsofthechange.Oneshouldnotethatthisstatementdealswithindividuals,notthe
entireorganization,becausetheformeriswhereresistanceoccurs.

Many Lean Six Sigma programs will rush their students through the improve phase talking primarily
about testing and design of experiments with an assumption that the organization will accept the
change.Thisisnotbeneficialtothestudents.IntheearlydaysofSixSigma,beforetheGErollout,Six
SigmaBlackBeltsweretopickuptheiranalysisandprojectmanagementskillsontheirown,butthey
wereallrequiredtotakeaoneweekcourseinchangemanagementbecausethatwasrecognizedasthe
weakestpartoftheSixSigmamodel.ItistoobadthatmanyLeanSixSigmaprogramshaveforgotten
thislesson.

SmarterSolutionsrecognizesthatwithoutfocusingthestudentsonchangeachievement,manystudents
will become frustrated and not achieve their goals. We believe that change needs to have a
demonstratedbusinesssignificancethatalsohasanemotionalimpact.WebelievethateveryLeanSix
Sigmastudentshouldlearnatraditionalchangemanagementmodel.Kotterprovidesoneofthebest
modelsfortheresistancetochange.Kotterliststhefollowingeightstepsforchange:

1. Establishingasenseofurgency
2. Formingapowerfulguidingcoalition
3. Creatingavision
4. Communicatingthevision
5. Empoweringotherstoactonthevision
6. Planningforandcreatingshorttermwins
7. Consolidatingimprovementsandproducingstillmorechange
8. Institutionalizingnewapproaches

Byfollowingtheseeightsteps,nearlyeveryLeanSixSigmastudentcansuccessfullyimplementchanges.
In our Master Black Belt courses, we go even further to address the adoption of business changes
through the introduction of advocacy selling techniques, as described in John Dalys book, Advocacy.

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 Five Things Every Lean Six Sigma Belt Should Learn In Their Training

Wealsofindthatthereisnotenoughemphasisgivenintrainingontheuseofpilottestingtoassessthe
impactofproposedchanges.

References:

LeadingChange,JohnP.Kotter,HarvardBusinessReviewPress,2012.

Advocacy:ChampioningIdeasandInfluencingOthers,JohnA.Daly,YaleUniversityPress,2011.

Summary
TakingLeanSixSigmatrainingorobtainingcertificationasaLeanSixSigmabeltisnotsufficienttobea
successfulpractitioner.BeingabletoeffectivelyapplytheabovefivetopicswillalloweverytrainedLean
SixSigmapractitionertobesuccessfulnotonlyintheirimprovementprojectsbutalsoinotherareasof
theirjob:

1. Baseliningskillscanbeusedatanytimeyouwanttounderstandhowaprocessisperforming.

2. Understanding how to demonstrate a change is a key tool to show the benefit from an
improvement.Youmayalsofindthisskillvaluabletoevaluatechangesthatwerenotsuccessful
inallowingtheimprovementefforttobeimplementedimmediately,limitingthegainsfromthe
processenhancementefforts.

3. UsingtheEIPtolinkanimprovementprojecttothebusinessgoalsandstrategiesmayallowthe
practitioner to gain more support to complete his/her projects, but it also may help him/her
understandwhatthebusinessgoalsandstrategiesareintendedtoaccomplish,whichmaylead
toabetterselectionofprojects.

4. Using Design of Experiments concepts for data collection and to limit the size of existing data
setsmayprovetobemorevaluablethantraditionalDOEuses.

5. AdoptionoftheKotter8stepstomanagechangeforLeanSixSigmaprojectscanexpeditethe
effectiveness of the improve phase. In addition, these steps can be useful in every type of
changeenvironment,whichcouldleadtothepractitionersbecomingaheroinhis/herbusiness.

Becoming proficient in the five areas that have been described will make the student not only a
betterbeltbutalsoabetteremployee.

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 Five Things Every Lean Six Sigma Belt Should Learn In Their Training

References:

LeanSixSigmaBooks:ProjectExecutionGuide,ForrestW.BreyfogleIII,CitiusPublishing,2010.

TheIntegratedEnterpriseExcellenceSystem:AnEnhanced,UnifiedApproachtoBalanced
Scorecards,StrategicPlanning,andBusinessImprovement,ForrestW.BreyfogleIII,Citius
Publishing,2008.

About the Author

In a professional career spanning over a quarter century, Forrest Breyfogle has
establishedhimselfasaleadingedgethinker,aprolificauthor,aninnovativeconsultant,
a worldclass educator, and a successful business executive. He has authored or co
authoredoveradozenbooks.Herecentlypublishedhisfourteenthbook,TheBusiness
ProcessManagementGuidebook:AnIntegratedEnterpriseExcellenceBPMSystemwhere
Breyfoglepresentsanexecutablemethodformanagingandbenefiting thebottomline
ofbusiness.Thismethodologywasintroducedinthefivebookset,IntegratedEnterpriseExcellencethat
provides radical management advancements in the utilization and integration of scorecards, strategic
planning,andprocessimprovement.Mr.BreyfoglewasnamedQualityProfessionaloftheYearfor2011
by Quality Magazine. He also received the prestigious Crosby Medal from the American Society for
Quality(ASQ)in2004foranearlierbook,ImplementingSixSigma,2nded.Forrestiscurrentlylocatedin
Austin,TexaswherehefoundedSmarterSolutions,Inc.in1992.

ConnectwithForrestonLinkedIn,TwitterandGoogle+

FormorefreeresourcesbyForrestBreyfogle,jointheOnlineResourceLibrarytoday.

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