e-Zsigma December
2002 Newsletter
Six Sigma SpotLight: Forrest W. Breyfogle III |
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Six Sigma SpotLight is a regular feature of the e-Zsigma newsletter, and allows us to introduce one of the global six sigma community's superstars. In
this issue, we are delighted to feature Forrest Breyfogle III, Founder and
President of Smarter Solutions, Inc., (www.smartersolutions.com),
an Austin, Texas based firm that has been helping companies throughout the
world improve their bottom line through the wise implementation of Six Sigma
techniques since 1992. Forrest has 24 years of experience with IBM in both
development and product testing, and also holds a MS in Mechanical Engineering
from the University of Texas. Forrest's many accomplishments include the authoring or co-authoring of three major Six Sigma books, including 1999's acclaimed "Implementing Six Sigma" which sold over 20,000 copies within the first two years of its release. (Editor's note: The second edition of "Implementing Six Sigma" is scheduled for release on March 21, 2003). Mr. Breyfogle's other literary credits now include over forty published technical papers that have appeared in a variety of notable publications worldwide, including "ASQ Quality Progress" and "Quality Engineering". Always
an extremely visible and active member of the global quality community,
Forrest has conducted Six Sigma sessions throughout the world working with a
variety of organizations. In 2001 he was the Six Sigma Subject Matter Expert (SME)
for a Six Sigma Benchmarking study undertaken by APQC. Mr. Breyfogle is an ASQ
Fellow. -------------------------------- 1. News: "It seems like only yesterday, Forrest, that I was sitting in your Six Sigma Black Belt class at Bombardier, (www.bombardier.com), in Toronto, Canada. In reality, it was the winter of 1997, and since then, we have seen many changes in the global Six Sigma community. What would you consider to be the most significant, positive change for Six Sigma in the last few years, and why? All things being equal, what have you seen that has not been beneficial - perhaps even damaging to the maturing Six Sigma global community?" 1. Forrest: "It is hard to believe that it has been over five years since I conducted your black belt training at Bombardier. I remember the Forrest Gump skit you orchestrated during week 4, where you were my dad and Dani, (Daniela Koehn), was my mother. You did a great job putting the skit together and executing it! Could you have missed a calling? Since that time there has been an evolution that has both positive and negative attributes. On the positive side more small companies are now involved with Six Sigma. Virtually every type of industry has some involvement with Six Sigma. For example, now many hospitals and financial industries are implementing Six Sigma. However, not all has been positive. In many cases I see organizations just going through the motions of implementing Six Sigma by conducting a few classes and taking on a few projects without dedicated resources of their best people. I also have seen organizations spend a lot of time creating and tracking metrics that do not make sense. When someone new to Six Sigma observes this they can either get turned-off by this activity or attempt to implement Six Sigma in a manner that has low probability of significant success." 2. News: "In late 2001, you did some work with Insightful Corporation, in the area of Six Sigma and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology. Can you explain a bit about the link of Six Sigma to CRM, analytic, and other technologies, and how you became involved in this?" 2. Forrest: "I think that there are some major opportunities and challenges with CRM. One challenge is that customers and suppliers need to communicate using a meaningful set of success measures, where these measurements are reported in a high-level, time-series format. Often people don't see the importance of this form of reporting. Also systems need to be put in place that give timely feedback to changing customer needs so appropriate adjustments can be made." 3. News: "Your book, Wisdom on The Green, has received tremendous reviews. What was the inspiration for this book, which uses a golf course as the setting for explaining Six Sigma?" 3. Forrest: "It has been my experience that organizations typically answer the wrong question - perhaps to the third decimal place. I wanted to create an easy-to-read book that would help all types of organizations see the value of tracking their enterprise as a system of cascading time-series metrics that can get them out of the fire-fighting mode. For this measurement strategy, I call the high-level business metrics "satellite-level metrics" and the high-level operational metrics "30,000-foot-level metrics." When organizations are viewed in this fashion Six Sigma projects can be pulled (using a lean term) for creation, if the system is not capable of achieving the desired response consistently. In my opinion the Enrons and Kmarts of the day would not be having the problems they are experiencing if they used the measurements and improvement strategies described in this book." 4. News: "We understand that you also have another book coming out early this year. Can you give us a bit of insight as to what this book is about, and what motivated you to take on a project of this size, considering your extremely busy schedule?" 4. Forrest: "I am really excited about the second edition of "Implementing Six Sigma," which is to be available March 21, 2003. I have added many topics that I believe the reader will find very helpful. The book now will be over 1100 pages. Among other things I have included a 9-step DMAIC roadmap where all the steps are cross referenced to sections of the book. Among other things I integrated Lean and Theory of Constraints within the overall roadmap. It is not reasonable to summarize all the "Beyond traditional Six Sigma methods" included in this book; hopefully your readers will check out the preface and table of contents links at www.smartersolutions.com. Oh yes, you asked why did I do this - I have a passion for this stuff and want to help organizations take Six Sigma to its next level." 5. News: "I still remember sitting in your class for the first week of Black Belt training and hearing your impassioned description of our forthcoming projects as that of exciting detective stories. Later, when we started exploring the world of data analysis, you referred to the goosebumps that came with the uncovering of new and, perhaps, unexpected results. Has any of your enthusiasm for statistical analysis and Six Sigma waned over the years, or is this still a voyage of discovery, even for you?" 5. Forrest: "I get goosebumps when I help someone solve a problem. I also get goosebumps when I see during black belt training someone starting to get their own set of goosebumps. People can really get turned on to the methods when they see the benefits of a Smarter Six Sigma Solutions (S4) approach to their immediate project or problem."
Scroll up to right-hand side of page to continue interview... |
Forrest
W. Breyfogle III, President, Smarter Solutions, Inc.. Click on image to go to Smarter Solutions website Continued from left panel... 6. News: "In 2001, you invested a lot of personal time as the Six Sigma Subject Matter Expert for a Six Sigma Benchmarking study conducted by the American Productivity and Quality Center, APQC, (www.apqc.org). Can you share with our readers a bit about how this benchmarking study was conducted, the role you played, and what were some of the key takeaways, including any unexpected findings?" 6. Forrest: "You were right that this took a lot of time, but it was a great experience serving as the Six Sigma subject matter expert. The study had partner companies who agreed to openly share their Six Sigma experiences during an on-site visit to their company. During a kick-off meeting, the companies that financially sponsored the study selected six companies to study, called benchmarking Partners. Deliverables from the study included a two-day knowledge transfer session (KTS) and a final report. During this study the companies who financed the study and I visited each of the six benchmarking Partner companies. In many ways a primary output of the study was the confirmation of things I believed I already knew; e.g., the importance of having dedicated full-time black belts who were high performing people that worked on the right project. A summary of my KTS presentation is in the 2nd edition appendix of "Implementing Six Sigma." 7. News: "On many occasions, you have commented on the importance of creating the right (project/process) metric for a given situation as a way to avoid wasting valuable time and resources during data collection exercises, as well as ensuring that the organization is always measuring itself the right way… that a one-size-fits-all metric strategy doesn't work. Can you explain what you mean by this to our readers?" 7. Forrest: "That is true. For example, I discourage the use of the commonly used metric, sigma quality level; e.g., a 3.4 parts per million defect rate equals a six sigma quality level. There are several reasons for taking this position. One issue is that this metric is a quality metric. For someone to apply this metric to the other measures of the business, such as a reduction of cycle time and waste, one has to define a specification. This creation of a specification often leads to playing games with a value in order to make the sigma quality level number look good. This is one reason why many organizations are having trouble integrating Six Sigma with Lean methodologies; i.e., cycle time and waste do not really have specification limits like manufactured products. In addition, the logistics and cost to calculate this metric, which has little if any value, can be very expensive." 8. News: "I want to thank you for participating in this interview, Forrest, but before we close, I wanted to leave our hard-core, six sigma managers/Black Belts with some food for thought, so here goes… Forrest Breyfogle gets a frantic emergency call to lead a Six Sigma project. Due to time constraints and baggage size limitations, you are only able to pack six tools for your journey to the project site. In terms of a standard six sigma project methodology, what would the six project tools be that you would bring with you to get the job done, and why?" 8. Forrest: "Rod, enjoyed working with you on this interview. I cannot figure out how to restrict myself to using only six tools. Instead I will comment on a couple activities that are not typically done when executing a Six Sigma project. Within the measure phase I think that it is important to: 1. Create a high-level 30,000-foot-level control chart for the project's key process output variable (KPOV). This chart is to have infrequent subgrouping/sampling that separates common cause variability from special cause. The 30,000-foot-level metric should have alignment with the satellite-level metrics of the organization. 2. Conduct a process capability/performance metric assessment, which quantifies how well the process is performing relative to customer needs. The units for both continuous and attribute data using this S4 assessment approach are typically in ppm, dpmo, or percentage beyond criteria, which ever makes the most sense. This is in contrast to a capability assessment using the metrics of Cp, Cpk, Pp, and/or Ppk. These indices can cause much confusion and can be dramatically affected by how data are collected from the process. EDITOR'S NOTE: As part of his public engagements, Forrest is scheduled to give a presentation at the AQC this year, as well as conducting a one-day session for the AME (Association for Manufacturing Excellence) in San Antonio on February 20, 2003. Further information on Forrest's speaking and teaching schedule can be obtained from his website at www.smartersolutions.com. Rod Morgan, e-Zsigma, Inc. --------------------------------
If you have a six sigma "superstar" you would like to have featured in SpotLight, send your submission to news@e-zsigma.com. Please include in your email; 1. a brief biography of the person you are recommending 2. the reason you are submitting their name 3. a photograph or "action shot" if you have one 4. your nominee's contact information (so that the e-Zsigma news team can obtain their consent as well as conduct an brief interview)
If you have any questions regarding Six Sigma Spotlight, please contact e-Zsigma at news@e-zsigma.com. Your feedback is always appreciated.
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