Six Sigma Training: Real Examples of How It’s a Win-Win for Employers & Employees

Are you interested in Six Sigma training for yourself or your staff, and wondering about the benefits? According to a report from Lehigh Valley Business, three manufacturing leaders recently met to discuss their own experiences with Six Sigma. Here is a bit of what they shared.

Donna Warman, production manager for Sussex Wire: Warman and her project team set out to improve the original equipment manufacturing on seven machines. As one of their short term action items, they revised the machine site, using more vertical space in order to ramp up productivity. This simple solution provided an increase in production — they now produce 2.5 million parts a week — without the need to buy additional, expensive equipment.

One of the best parts of the Six Sigma project, Warman stated, is that she never felt alone or overwhelmed in the process as she was working with a team. Employee buy-in took a bit of time, she noted, but once they were able to be involved and to see the importance, they were enthusiastic about the project as well. She found a benefit in including on the team both people who worked with production as well as those outside it.

Lauren Migliore, process improvement engineer, Crayola: Crayola was able to save about 36,000 pounds of paint and 918 labor hours each year through a Six Sigma project on its watercolor line. Some of the actions involved in the project included control checks and daily checks by team managers, as well as saving money on shipping the paint and creating other efficiencies.

John Lanford, engineering manager at Computer Designs: After implementing an on-site Green Belt training program and gaining support of staff members, a team put together a project to eliminate land scanners and create real-time monitoring of critical systems outputs. This monitoring would feature warnings and alarms. Additionally, a team worked on a new way to inspect raw material and capture data. The projects took a while to complete, but the employees understood the benefits, and the company was able to enjoy the value that the efficiencies created.