The UH-72 Lakota is a twin-engine helicopter with a single, four-bladed main rotor. The UH-72 is a militarized version of the Eurocopter EC145 and was built by American Eurocopter (now Airbus Helicopters, Inc.). Initially marketed as the UH-145, the helicopter was selected as the winner of the United States Army’s Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) program on June 30, 2006. In October 2006, American Eurocopter was awarded a production contract for 345 aircraft to replace aging UH-1H/V ‘Huey’ and the OH-58A/C ‘Kiowa’ helicopters in the U.S. Army. It combines operational capability, reliability and affordability, fulfilling all of the Army’s requirements for speed, range, endurance and overall performance.

Learn more about the UH-72 Lakota here.

https://youtu.be/aI3bGLANAME

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The company culture is what makes Six Sigma a success in the long run. The success rate in saving company costs speaks for itself. Just ask Toyota, Motorola, GE or any of the Fortune 500 companies who subscribe to the Six Sigma methodologies. These five benefits listed in the below infographic are just the beginning of how powerful Six Sigma is for your business or organization.

For more information on our Six Sigma training courses or services, please visit 6sigma.com.

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Lean Six Sigma and Politics A Surprisingly Good Mix

Even though there have been some attempts to introduce Lean and Six Sigma concepts into the world of politics, and they’re usually met with a lot of success and positive responses, there is still some skepticism towards the idea from most mainstream governments. At this stage, it looks like it will take some time before we start to see the real benefits of lean and Six Sigma thinking in this sphere.

The results are already there however (State of Washington). There have been multiple successful experiments in introducing Lean Six Sigma to various government bodies, mainly in the United States.

In fact, here are some of the states with their own Lean departments or initiatives:

• Arizona (Arizona Management System)
• Iowa (Office of Lean Enterprise)
• Ohio (LeanOhio)
• Washington (Results Washington)
• Minnesota (Minnesota Enterprise Lean)

Here are some cities and municipalities that have launched successful initiatives as well:

• Ft. Wayne, Indiana
• Gahanna, Ohio
• Irving, Texas
• Cape Coral, Florida
• Grand Rapids, Michigan
• Jacksonville, Florida

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is another good example of this. Even though they tend to be understandably more secretive about the nature of their work compared to other parts of the government, we’ve still caught some interesting glimpses into their progress, and it’s clear that they’re moving forward quite fast thanks to the benefits of Six Sigma.

Why it’s a natural fit for government work

The primary function of a government is to ensure that its citizens are satisfied. Measuring results and working towards constant improvement naturally accompany this, and the implementation of lean practices in government work makes perfect sense in this regard. Of course, not everything about lean is automatically applicable to government work, but the majority of it can be applied.

The first challenge is to visualize the work, since many processes are transactional in nature, where the work is not easy to see. Making the work visual is one of the first steps to making improvements. A great resource on this topic is from Ken Miller, in his book “We Don’t Make Widgets”

It’s also important for a government to reduce its expenses as much as possible while still maintaining a good level of quality in its services. Unnecessary expenses are one of the most common types of waste addressed by lean and Six Sigma methodologies, and a lot has been discovered over time with regards to how this can be tackled efficiently in any kind of environment.

The focus should not be about reducing budgets and laying off government employees, but in providing more services with the existing budget and taxes that are currently available.

There is another common, problematic type of waste that can be commonly seen in the work of governments bureaucratic one. Lean methodologies have a proven track record in simplifying unnecessarily complex processes, and resolving bottlenecks in such situations. Governments that have attempted to implement improvement in their own work have often reported an increased ability to handle citizens’ requests, while maintaining a high level of precision in the work done to service those requests.

What we can learn from recent examples

As we pointed out above, the US Army and US Navy have seen some very good results in terms of financial savings from their Lean and Six Sigma programs, and the reports that have been coming out of their departments are nothing but positive year after year.

Savings in the range of billions have been reported so far, and there are projections that speculate that these numbers could grow by another zero in the coming decade. It will be interesting to see how much the work of one of the most resource-hungry units of the US government can be affected by additional implementation.

Potential problems and solutions

Governments are traditionally resilient to change, and major reforms tend to take time. This is an obvious clash with the core ideas behind Six Sigma and lean, and we will probably need to take a more fundamental overview at the way governments function, and start with those changes.

Otherwise, progress will inevitably be slow. But by using lean to pave the way for more complex ideas and approaches, governments can easily be prepared for a major change like this. In fact, this also has the potential to bring even more changes in the way those governments work, as it will reform their basic way of thinking.

Conclusion

We’ve already seen plenty of successful examples of how lean methodologies can be implemented in the work of modern governments, but we’re likely just “scratching the surface” at this point.

We expect to see even more interesting developments in the very near future, and it wouldn’t be surprising if the global adoption of lean into the work of government bodies happens in the form of a wave, with a few important governments accepting it and triggering the change in everyone else.

Want to see more examples of Lean in Government? Check out LeanSixSigmaGovernment.com >>>

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Overview 

If you achieve Six Sigma Green Belt certification, you will be qualified to work part-time as a team member alongside other CSSGB members or manage less complex projects as a project manager. Furthermore, your qualification makes you the “workhorse” of projects. This means you will work, hands-on with your team, completing tasks on the production floor as well as in the office with management.

Benefits of Six Sigma Green Belt Certification 

First, the most noticeable benefit to your career will be enhanced customer satisfaction. By implementing the Six Sigma methodology, you conduct operations in a more efficient manner. This, in return, creates a better product for your customers, at a faster rate.

Next, you will experience an overall better employee experience, at your employer or your own company. With Six Sigma certification, you will work more effectively as a team, manage projects with greater ease, and oversee process efficiency better than before. This in return provides better production and manufacturing results, boosting your employee satisfaction across the board.

Third, a solid understanding of the Six Sigma methodology under your Green Belt certification entitles you to a greater annual salary.  As of 2016, the national average salary for Green Belt employees exceeds $84,000. With more training and formal certification, you can expect to receive further salary growth.

Last, and often the most prospers benefit is that you will be qualified to offer Six Sigma training. As a CSSGB, you can train counterparts or clients of yours for their very own Six Sigma certification examination. At this point, most Green Belts take this opportunity to do one of two things. Either, they change positions with their current employers and become an official Six Sigma trainer for the company; or, start their own consulting firm, offering Six Sigma training to new clients in different industries. For most, becoming a full-time consultant or entrepreneur is the end goal! With this certification, you will be on the fast track to becoming your own boss.

Conclusion 

While not all Six Sigma certifications are equal, each represents a certain level of understanding the methodology at hand. Whether you are just beginning your program or have risen the ranks to Master Black Belt, the knowledge you possess allows you to work smarter, more efficiently, and create value to any project.

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Once embraced, Six Sigma is worth its weight in gold. It’s not a secret that General Electric saved $12 billion in their first 5 years after they had implemented Six Sigma.

Today, General Electric continues to grow and is implementing the same Six Sigma proven methods into its GE Global Learning Team.

Virtual global learning will teach quality improvement through highly collaborative and integrated work processes using the same Six Sigma proven methods they used when they first started.

Five Important Benefits from Implementation of Six Sigma

• Increased Productivity
• Improved Quality
• Reduced Operation Costs
• Higher Customer Satisfaction
• Improved Communication among Team Members

DMAIC: The All Mighty Acronym

D= Define
M=Measure
A=Analysis
I=Improve
C=Control

The Tactics of Six Sigma

It’s elementary, my dear Watson. The Six Sigma tactics are based on the scientific method we all learned in elementary school, which is:

• Defining the problem
• Measuring the impact of the problem
• Finding the root causes of the problem
• Determining and testing hypotheses

Six Sigma works! It has been proven over and over again by major players in the Fortune 500 as well as other elite lists of top globally rated companies. It works because there is an organized etiquette that is followed, that is both universal and specific to each and every type of business or organization in every industry.

The genius is in its simplicity…

Learn more information about 6Sigma.com’s Lean Six Sigma training, available as a classroom, onsite, or online options. We have several new classes coming up, so be sure to enroll now!

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