Ross Farrelly, Commercial Sales Representative, Minitab

Eight Top Reasons why Six Sigma Projects Fail (and how to avoid them)

Getting people to talk about their successes is relatively easy, but we can learn a lot by hearing about what went wrong so we can avoid repeating their mistakes.

This presentation is based on research conducted this year by US based Minitab technical trainer, Lou Johnson. Lou surveyed 180 six sigma practitioners from 114 companies. He asked them why their projects failed and what they could have done to prevent it. This presentation comprises the eight most common reasons that six sigma projects fail, how to recognised if your project is susceptible to such a failure mode and what you can do to avoid it.

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Kerri Gill, National Business Improvement Manager, Coca-Cola Amatil

Carrying out business improvement projects requires a significant investment of company time, resources and effort. To gain the greatest benefit from this investment, it is vital that we select projects that will have the biggest impact on the things that customers care about. This presentation outlines a simple framework for prioritising projects based on the customer value proposition. Through the link to customer value proposition, organisations can use Lean and Six Sigma to maximise their competitive advantage.

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Nigel Grigg, Senior Lecturer, Massey University

Six Sigma in the Southern Hemisphere: Bonzer or Bull Dust?

This presentation begins by charting the parallel development of six sigma and related quality and continuous improvement initiatives, and providing survey and documentary evidence as to the current pervasiveness of the six sigma approach within certain organisational contexts and vis à vis other initiatives on the world scene.

The contemporary meaning and theoretical basis of six sigma as a quality management philosophy and continuous improvement approach is explored with reference to both academic and practitioner literature.

The appropriateness of the six sigma approach within the cultural and demographic context of Australian and New Zealand enterprises is considered, together with the practical implications for organisations at varying levels of maturity seeking to engage initially or more fully with the technique. Potential avenues for further useful research in the area are also discussed.

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Roger Hilton, Principal, Six Sigma Academy and Chair, Lean Six Sigma Division, AOQ Qld

There are a large number of organisations in Australia that have deployed either Lean, Six Sigma or both and in some cases leveraging from the previous quality and continuous improvement initiatives like BPR and TQM.

Evidence of this can be seen from the following:

• Government based initiatives like the Innovations Insights program
• The existence of the Australasian Association of Six Sigma Practitioners
• The existence of the Association of Manufacturing Excellence
• Workplace training courses in Competitive Manufacturing
• The existence of the Lean Six Sigma division of the Australian Organisation for Quality

In each organisation either Lean or Six Sigma or both or variations to both have been deployed in various ways.

The aim of this paper is to highlights the main characteristics of each deployment strategy and the strengths and weaknesses of each.

Case studies in Australia will be used as references.

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Peter John Martin , Senior Lecturer in Statistics, University of Ballarat

Assessment and Evaluation of a Lean Six Sigma Program

The training of industrial or business personnel in using various tools and techniques to enhance quality assurance programs presents a challenge to all concerned. The trainer needs to be familiar with the features underlying adult learning as well as the workplace context within which the training will apply. The training material needs to be relevant to participants' work practices if commitment is to be achieved. In addition, there seems to be an increasing interest in assessing the knowledge and skills of the trainees participating in such programs. As such, the traditional forms of assessment, such as written assignments and examinations, are of little practical use in settings where the primary focus is upon using the tools to improve processes to save dollars.

This presentation will describe the procedures used to assess trainees who recently participated in such a training program, specifically with respect to their participation, knowledge gained and application.

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Mario Pennisi, Chairman, Australian Organisation for Quality Queensland Inc, and Managing Director, World Conference Systems

The AOQ/Progressing Business Institute

What is the AOQ?
What does it do?
How does it go about its business?
Certification.

What is teh Progressing Busienss institute?
What does it do?
How does it go about its busienss?

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Ian Ritchie,Director, Process2Customer (P2C).

The Challenge - Creating a Continuous Improvement Culture
Culture is often the "X" factor that distinguishes successful organisations . In this paper, we present both the concepts and the track record to show that culture can be changed rapidly by building capability in process improvement . Both administration (back office) and client-facing people can and do benefit from a "process view" of their work . By embedding simple process methods across an organisation, customer service, problem solving, capacity and efficiency are all improved, along with peoples' sense of engagement in delivering great customer service . We'll present details of the process tools most applicable to organisations, and HOW TO IMPLEMENT them in a way that creates a sustained capability to view activities through the "process lens"
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JP Santosh, Vice President, Re-Engineering - AN&Z, Genpact

Re-engineering Overview and Case Studies.
The presentation covers the approach, methodology and rigor in delivering business transformation and efficiencies with some of our strategic customers around the world. The case studies should help trigger ideas on similar challenges and opportunities that organisations come across in their quest for sustainable growth Go to Program or Go to Speakers

Six Sigma and Climate Change.
Companies should be using their business improvement programs to manage their approach to climate change mitigation and adaptation. While some companies are already doing this, the goals of most business improvement programs still relate primarily to financial measures.

The introduction of a carbon trading scheme in Australia in 2010 will dramatically change the environment within which businesses operate and those businesses that have already developed programs to reduce their emissions will do better than those companies that do nothing to prepare in the meantime.

The presentation will be broken down into three broad topics:

• The latest science and politics behind climate change - why should companies dedicate scarce resources to climate change adaptation and mitigation;
• How Six Sigma programs can be used by companies to mitigate climate change risks and to adapt to changes imposed by climate change;
• How an engagement might be structured to allow a smooth transition from a purely finance-focussed business program to a program that also delivers improvements to the carbon footprint of the company.

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