Project Control Phase

Control Phase

 

Tools used in the final Control Stage

Realized CBA
Control Chart (Primary Measure)
Sustaining Results
Process Training (key to sustaining results)
Learning’s & Future plans

Realized Cost & Benefit Analysis

Calculation for the CBA at this point is awaiting verification from Pizza group accountant which will happen week 17 (next week).  At this point results look very positive and as a team we are expecting verification of exceeding target set and coming very close to our strength target which is an excellent result for the team and this project.

Control Chart (Primary Measure)

When something visual was required this was the tool that filled the slot, it tells the complete story of the impact from  15 weeks of norming, lots of storming, forming and most important of all the PERFORMING. As Project leader and with my learning’s over the last two years in six sigma, Control Charts was one tool I really wanted the team to get a strong understanding off. The step change in the performance provided the perfect outcome as it shows how improving the stability will reduce significantly the variation in a process.  Below is a screen shot taken of the Control Chart.

Sustaining Results & Process Training

The following are the control measures we as a team agreed to ensure the benefits are maintained in the Bakery process going forward for the foreseeable future.

Ø  Review of Bakery Waste weekly at site Management meeting

Ø  Scheduled review of Engineers machine ownership program on a bi-weekly basis by site GM (General Manager) & EM (Engineering Manager)

Ø  Scheduled review of Cell Leaders shift performance on a bi-weekly basis by Bakery Production Manager and site GM

Ø  Complete scheduled training on Dough Process with Smiths as per plan (plan attached as the importance of this cannot be highlighted enough)

Learning’s

Ø  Focusing in on a particular part of the process allowed us to get underneath the on-going weaknesses

Ø  Once we understood the difficulties we were able to implement a plan which had no capital cost but delivered results that exceeded our expectations

Future Plans

Ø   Break down waste information to enable shift performance analysis.

Ø  Use waste analysis to implement further six sigma projects.

Ø  Continue to use these tools to reduce waste further and make further improvements to Bakery Process.

Conclusion

The experience of leading this project has been one of my most challenging tasks undertaken in my career to date yet I feel that we as a team have learned how to diagnose a problem (VOC), understood the causes and implement s a fix which is sustainable.

The one stumbling block which sticks out was the number of team members included but as the project went on, it was the team and having the right people on the team delivered the final result. Also the fact that some of these members had experience of six sigma helped significantly.      

Finally the benefits of this project will improve the sustainability of our production site going forward as we are facing a constant challenge to reduce costs in a low margin business affected heavily by the current economic climate.



 

Improve Phase

Improve Phase

 

Tools the Team focused on in the Improve Phase

• Potential Solution Identification + Selection of Preferred Solution
• Risk Analysis on Preferred Solution
• Process Map on Solution
• Force Field Analysis
• Force Field Analysis Action Plan
• Revised Gantt Chart

Potential Solution Identification

This was really a brain storming session where the team identified a number of solutions to the key problems identified in the Analyse phase.

Risk Analysis on Preferred Solution

Out of the solutions the top 3 were selected and we then moved on to complete a Risk Analysis for the Preferred Solution for which I have shown a screen shot of below.

This is one of two tools used in this stage of the project which I would like to describe as not only useful but fundamental decision making tools to insure there is real fact to back up the decision of the project team. It clearly identified how each possible solution could satisfy the customers” musts”. On its second area of scoring the” wants” the output score insured the team were moving in the right direction in what we planned  to implement.

Process Map on Solution

This did not contain a new Process Map but instead laid out the process showing an owner to each piece of key process equipment who would  develop through the ownership program improved performance, increased reliability and greater knowledge

 

Force Field Analysis                                                                                                                                                        

(Force Field Analysis Action Plan)

This is the second of the tools in the Improve phase which was of real benefit. Once the driving forces were identified the real debate then started in working on the restraining forces. This led to the development of an action plan so force could be applied to drive the changes while also reducing the restraining issues.

Some key information for reference in understanding the Force Field Analyses can be found on the following website, http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_06.htm , I have also included an image from this site which shows how both the driving and restraining forces relate back to the Proposed Change.

Example reference “http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_06.htm”

 

Revised Gantt Chart

This is the final tool used in this phase of the project. It was used to evaluate at which point we had reached as a team in delivering against the initial timeframe agreed.  Understanding it was not