3 List of questions for Louann?

Before listing the questions for Louann, the senior manager, there are several issues which need to be considered, which forms the basis of this meeting. Anthony has already said “yes” to Louann’s request to implement Six Sigma @ the Edge at Rivermede plant. So it is certain that Six Sigma @ the Edge will be implemented. Further, Anthony has already worked as the plant manager of Rivermede plant for 19 months (From Dec 2003 [1] to Jul 2005 [2]). He has been through many Six Sigma projects. In only one month in August 2005, there were seven Six Sigma projects underway in his plant, and two of them were championed by him[3]. Anthony is a specialist in Six Sigma project. He is experienced. He knows how to deal with the detail.

These are the list of questions that could be posed to Louann :

The Resource and the support that would be provided to implement Six Sigma @ the Edge: The resource required could be monetary or nonmonetary.Every change or project require funds to implement. Six Sigma @ the Edge may not need large amount of money to be implemented since there is no need to purchase any expensive equipment. However, it is still necessary to know if there is a fund limit. Although there were many Six Sigma projects that have been implemented in Rivermede plant and almost one third of the hourly workforce were involved, there still are too few black belts in Rivermede. The project needs to be supervised and the employee need to be trained. To facilitate Six Sigma implementation, senior leaders and managers must commit dedicated resources to lead projects and mentor others who are working to make process improvements[4]. It is necessary to know how many black belts Anthony can get from other plants of MLF, and how uch training support Anthony can get.

Time to implement Six Sigma @ the Edge: A certain deadline or a series of milestone are required for making schedule. So, it is necessary to know this.

Degree of freedom to implement Six Sigma @ the Edge: Six Sigma @ the Edge is an initiative that brings methodology and role changes for the employees. There might be need to adjust the organization structure to fit the new way of working. Although Anthony is the plant manager of the Rivermede plant, change in structure is still not likely to be permitted. It is necessary to know how much degree of freedom Anthony has.

Acceptable decrease in production rate is for high level management and stakeholders: Six Sigma @ the Edge is initiative that will change the plant. It has risk. The production rate of the plant could decrease for a while. Although this situation won’t happen in the most cases, it is still not impossible. It is necessary to know how much risk high level management and stakeholders are willing to take.

Employees incentive: During a change in a process, It is more likely that the employees will get demotivated and they might , in certain cases resist it. To keep them motivated and engaged its is necessary to know what could be the possible employee incentives

Also, one would want to know who takes what role and responsibility. Because when a change is involved, it is important to handle the transition. For Six Sigma to be successful, a steering committee has to be created[5]

References:

[1] Johnson P.F., Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods, Richard Ivey School Of Business, Jan 17, 2006, p5

[2] Johnson P.F., Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods, Richard Ivey School Of Business, Jan 17, 2006, p1

[3] Johnson P.F., Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods, Richard Ivey School Of Business, Jan 17, 2006, p7

[4] DeRuntz , Meier, An Evaluative Approach to Successfully Implementing Six Sigma, the Technology Interface Journal/Spring Special 2010

[5] Johnson P.F., Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods, Richard Ivey School Of Business, Jan 17, 2006, p8

4 Criteria to evaluate the readiness of the Rivermede plant to proceed with implementation of Six Sigma @ the Edge:

Six Sigma should be used in situations where management has built, or is actively building, a fact-based, scientific, transparent, open and customer-focused environment. Six Sigma also requires a readiness and ability to work pro-actively, the discipline required from high performance, and the ability to conduct organized projects across functions, locations and businesses[1].

The criteria which the Independent Operating Companies(IOC) used to nominate potential pilot sites [2] can be a good reference and guideline to evaluate the readiness of Rivermede plant:

Management and Structure: Management and structure of the Rivermede plant is a vital issue which decide how capable the site is to implement Six Sigma @ the Edge Any mistake in the management level will directly lead to failure in implementation.

o Is the top management willing to participate in Six Sigma @ the Edge?Since Anthony Scire is the plant manager in this case, without doubt the top management of Rivermede plant is willing to participate in Six Sigma @ the Edge.

o Is the plant management team capable and progressive? Anthony is an experienced manager who has worked in various roles including production manager, maintenance manager, business unit manager and plant manager. There were 7 Six Sigma projects which were successful under Anthony’s management in August 2005.Two of them were under Anthony’s direct championship. [3] Facts proved that Anthony’s management team is capable and progressive.

o Is Rivermede plant able to assign a site coordinator during the pilot? Firstly, there is no fact that can prove that Rivermede plant can’t assign a coordinator. Secondly, based on the historical record of Rivermede plant, both external and internal issue were well coordinated. So there is no reason for us to doubt Rivermede plant can assign a coordinator.

o Is the communication level adequate within the organization? Is the whole organization willing to change?

o Personal readiness: do the individuals and front line employees have the passion, creativity and enthusiasm required for change? Are they willing to learn new tools which is required for the project? Do employees understand the objectives of the project? Is everything done to educate the employees about the project and its objectives? Are they willing to do the additional work and take the additional responsibility required for the Six Sigma @ the Edge? Is the rewards and incentive enough to engage and motivate team members?

Labour situation: Six Sigma @ the Edge is a project aimed at engaging front line employees in Six Sigma methodology and tools to improve its quality. a project must have training and commitment involved. A stable labour situation will make the training efficient.

o Is the labour situation in Rivermede site stable and good? The 175 current hourly employees of Rivermede plant are unionized, which means they are well organized. And Anthony considered labour relation to be good. So the labour situation will not be a problem. But it is to be noted that in 2 years the Rivermede Plant reduced the number of employees by half [4] .Although the reduction is a result of a project, it still rings the bell.

Historical Records: The two aspects above only tell how capable the Rivermede plant is theoretically. But the historical data tell the answer to the same question in real cases.

o Does Rivermede plant have local black belts who have strong performance in previous projects? Yes. Chihab Kaab, one of local black belts, acted as the project leader in the new mixers project. He made the suggestion that using the DOE methodology in the project and successfully completed the project. [5]

o Does Rivermede plant have a good record of previous six sigma projects? Yes. Only in August 2005 there were 7 Six Sigma projects under way.

o How many hourly workers and supervisors in Rivermede plant were involved in previous Six Sigma projects? After the success of the first Six Sigma project in Rivermede plant, both supervisory and hourly ranks strongly participated in the following projects. As Anthony estimated, one-third of the hour workforce took their participation in at least one Six Sigma project. Almost everyone in Rivermede plant is experienced.

After answering all these questions, Rivermede plant has been assessed by the criteria above. The answer is yes, Rivermede plant is ready.

References:

[1] P.Fraser Johnson, 2006, SIX SIGMA IMPLEMENTATION AT MAPLE LEAF FOODS, Ivey Management Service. p3

[2] ] P.Fraser Johnson, 2006, SIX SIGMA IMPLEMENTATION AT MAPLE LEAF FOODS, Ivey Management Service. p5

[3] ] P.Fraser Johnson, 2006, SIX SIGMA IMPLEMENTATION AT MAPLE LEAF FOODS, Ivey Management Service. p7

[4] ] P.Fraser Johnson, 2006, SIX SIGMA IMPLEMENTATION AT MAPLE LEAF FOODS, Ivey Management Service. p5

[5] ] P.Fraser Johnson, 2006, SIX SIGMA IMPLEMENTATION AT MAPLE LEAF FOODS, Ivey Management Service. p6