Speed up your business for success

Training staff at all levels to ensure optimum performance has become the holy grail of business management.

And Lean Sigma Six (LSS) has become a key competency for everyone in the company from chief executive to the blue-collar workers on the production line.

Aimed at reducing waste and optimising management, the first principle of LSS is: delight your customers with speed and quality. The second is: improve process flow and speed. Emphasis is on speed being tied to excellence.

The degree to which it can improve performance has been revealed by two major listed companies.

Hulamin, a leading producer of semi-finished and fabricated aluminium products, saved nearly R50 million after implementing the LSS training programme from global process management training company BMGI.

The management improvement tool helped to ensure steady growth, which led to greater sustainability and profitability.

“Equipping employees with an understanding of six Sigma principles is the only way one can ensure that everyone works towards the same, key strategic objectives,” said BMGI SA founder Salomon Erasmus.

“Through Lean Six Sigma training, employees on all skill levels learn to comprehend the impact of their actions and buy into the LSS approach. They are given the tools and skills to perform at their absolute best and, in turn, they help your company perform at its best.”

De Beers affiliate Element Six, a leader and innovator in the design and manufacture of such super materials as synthetic diamonds for industrial applications, also opted for the Lean Six Sigma Six training programme .

All employees, from the shop floor right through to management, were enrolled in some form of Lean Six Sigma training.

The programme follows the judo principle of different colour belts for levels of staff. The most comprehensive programme is aimed at top management and is known as Black Belt.

Middle management and factory floor workers usually follow the yellow and green belt training programme.

Each individual is taught to identify processes for improvement across business units. Having LSS graduates in place at all levels ensures that everyone in the company does things the LSS way and that it becomes the corporate culture.

BMGI SA president Neil Maslen said BMGI had a proven track record with problem-solving methods and tools.

“We partner with clients to design solutions in the most efficient and least expensive manner possible – always with an emphasis on people, objectivity, insight and insourcing,” he said.

BMGI enables companies to identify and solve their most important business problems, with a focused strategy aimed at sustainable results. With offices in India, China, the US and SA, BMGI has become one of the most favoured business consultants in developing and mature markets.

l Contact Irma Karsten at 012 460 0310 or visit www.bmgi.co.za.