Using Process To Solve Problems From Eccles Executive Education
Using Process To Solve Problems Adjunct Professor David P. Alleman explains how Lean and Six Sigma have the power to revolutionize organizational effectiveness. BY DAVID P. ALLEMAN (AS TOLD TO SARA LANGEN) As a leader, there‘s only so much time in a day and so many problems that come up. You think, “How can I become a more effective manager? Where do I concentrate?” Six Sigma gives leaders an idea of what they should and shouldn‘t be doing. It helps them see which problems are caused by the process and which ones are caused by a fleeting situation. Managers often get confused about that and spend their time in the wrong areas, which then confuses the people who work for them. If we think of trying to improve processes rather than fixing blame on people, then we‘re going to be a lot better off in the long run. That‘s why I got involved in Six Sigma — I thought it would lead me to an idea of how to be a better manager and a better leader. I was in the Navy for 24 years as a pilot and commanding officer. I led a squadron of 330, which included training 120 student Naval aviators, making me responsible for the production of one half the Navy’s yearly
output of multi-engine pilots. I managed to reduce the time it took to train aviators to two weeks below our nearest competitor, saving taxpayers half a million dollars per year. As I neared the end of my service, I became interested in management expert W. Edward Deming’s ideas about using statistics to become a better manager and help determine what to react to in a management situation. I went into what the Navy calls “total quality leadership,” which involves team-building training. I got hooked on it and became director of the program. We taught senior leaders to apply the principles for special and common cause variation in their management techniques and to use data to make decisions. After leaving the Navy, I applied for a job at Honeywell Corporation and did their training in Six Sigma Green Belt, Black Belt and Master Black Belt. During my 10 years there, I trained more than 150 Black Belt, Lean Expert and Black Belt for Leaders candidates for a total project savings of $70 million.
Six Sigma is a problem-solving methodology. Lean is an operating system that the whole organization uses. When I heard that Eccles Executive Education was developing Six Sigma programs, I offered my Master Black Belt services to help create the curriculum. Because I’ve spent a significant amount of time in both the government and corporate sectors, I’m able to draw from my experience and provide real information and examples that are relevant to students across a wide range of industries. The best part of Six Sigma instruction is that moment when the light bulb comes on for a lot of students, and they see a way to make their organizations better. That‘s why I continue to do it. It‘s important for the country to teach tools like these. We‘ve lost half of our manufacturing capability over the last 20 to 30 years to other countries, and there‘s no reason for it. Those businesses could be competitive right here if they did things correctly. Six Sigma is a problem-solving methodology. Lean is an operating system that the whole organization uses. Everybody has to be on board with it, whereas with Six
Sigma there could be little sections within the company that do it. It wouldn‘t be very effective, but it could be done. With Lean, the senior leader has to drive it. There are tools associated with Six Sigma, and there are concepts associated with Lean. What we‘re trying to do in Lean is flow. Whatever the company produces or whatever service the organization provides, we want that to flow to the customer. For example, if a company manages mortgage applications, we want that process to flow through the system so it takes five days, rather than five weeks, for the customer to get an answer. In Six Sigma, Green Belt is the first level. Green Belts are the backbone of any organization interested in continuous improvement. Green Belts are the ones who do the continuous work that reduces costs associated with your business. We need Black Belts to help with more difficult situations. Those who go on to Black Belt are usually in manufacturing and want advanced training in technical processimprovement techniques so that they can take
what they know to the next level. Participants what happens next quarter. They don‘t think learn how to increase productivity, process about the future of the organization as much flow and customer satisfaction while also as they should. I‘d like to see more senior decreasing total defects, leadership and upper level cycle time and work-inmanagement in Six Sigma progress delays. programs learning how to The best part of One of the biggest mistakes use the power of it to improve I see is that executives don‘t their organizations. Six Sigma instruction take the proper steps to make Our Executive Education is that moment sure Lean or Six Sigma has programs are designed for a lasting effect within their anyone who is interested when the light bulb organization. They may hire in how to become a better comes on for a lot of a Black Belt or a Lean expert manager and leader. We to come in and help, but they provide the background, tools students, and they see want that person to run the and experience to solve most show. A leader can‘t delegate of the problems executives a way to make their this. He or she has to be the see in their businesses. I’ve organizations better. one who leads the charge by conducted more than 80 making sure the organization Administrative Green Belt, does what it‘s supposed to Manufacturing Green Belt, do. It’s about providing training for people to Black Belt and Lean Expert courses and be able to accomplish the cost savings they trained approximately 800 students who need, and then making sure the organization have used that expertise to save more than stays on track. $60,000,000 for their parent organizations. Six Sigma and Lean are long-term We’re revolutionizing organizational commitments and, unfortunately, senior effectiveness through the application of these leadership often isn‘t interested in long-term. principles. They‘re interested in the short-term and
M ee t DAvid Alleman Dave Alleman is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Utah and a retired Master Black Belt for Honeywell Corporation. Dave has been a Honeywell Black Belt Instructor since 2000 and a Lean Expert Instructor since 2007. Dave has trained more than 1000 Green Belts, Black Belts and Lean Experts during the last 12 years. Their combined projects have saved their organizations more than $300,000,000.
DAVID P. ALLEMAN Adjunct Professor
David Eccles School of Business University of Utah
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