Six Sigma training evolves in region

YORK COUNTY

The practice of Six Sigma quality management is not novel in the busi- ness world. But the way companies and individuals receive training on the technique has begun to change.

Six Sigma can help a company refine a business process to make it more predictable, said Michael Smeltzer, executive director of the Manufacturers Association of South Central Pennsylvania. It is a tool that firms can use to improve the quality of their products by identifying problems and reducing the potential for mistakes, he said.

York College of Pennsylvania responded to the ever-increasing popularity of Six Sigma last year by beginning to offer full courses on the specialty within its Master of Business Administration (MBA) program.

"I thinkwhat's cool about what York College is doing is they're embedding it into their MBA program," Smeltzer said. "Often today, Six Sigma training occurs after someone is on the job. What York College is doing is the absolute right thing to do. It just makes perfect sense."

The topic has been touched on within graduate courses over the years, but semester- long discussions of lean operations practices is new, said Eric Hostler, director of the MBA program at the college.

The college plans to phase in a couple more classes in the practice over the next year or two so it can offer a three-course concentration in Six Sigma within the MBA program, Hoster said.

"As students are completing their MBA, if they're working in operations or supply-chain management, itwill be beneficial to them to have additional information on it," he said. "At the end, if they're interested in getting a certification, they will have most of the background and knowledge needed to sit for the exam."

Six Sigma has been evolving for several decades, becoming more specific and complex, Smeltzer said. It is not limited to manufacturing. It can be applied to any industry, including health care and banking, he said.

"It's brought more of a scientifically controlled approach to our manufacturing processes," he said. "It's all toward the goal of 100 percent quality products."

Six Sigma is more likely to be found implemented at larger companies. It is more difficult for smaller firms to use the process because they would struggle to get a return on the training investment it would require, Smeltzer said. Big companies such as HarleyDavidson Inc. probably could apply the principals to hundreds or even thousands of processes, he said. Larger firms also could afford to keep an expert on site to train employees and manage the implementation of the processes, he said.

Dentsply Caulk began using lean Six Sigma almost a decade ago, said Andrew Johnson, director of operations for Caulk, a division of Yorkbased dental-product manufacturer Dentsply International Inc. The Caulk division is based in Milford, Del., and manufactures products that dentists use to repair teeth, including cements and whiteners.

Lean Six Sigma is a way that Dentsply Caulk combines the practices of Six Sigma with that of lean manufacturing, which works to eliminate the use of resources that do not help create value.

When Caulk first began implementing Six Sigma processes, it hired private consultants and worked with state agencies to train its work force. The practices might be taught over the course of a week, with a couple of days dedicated to teaching the tools of Six Sigma and the rest of the week spent testing the process on a project, Johnson said.

In 2007, the company invested in the creation of an internal department dedicated to lean Six Sigma principals that have been customized for the dental industry, he said. The group employs five people and uses Six Sigma to improve Dentspl/s processes and to train the company's employees. The department has trained and worked with other divisions of Dentsply, including the firm's prosthetics division and Caulk's sales force, both of which are based in York, he said.

After Caulk used Six Sigma to improve its supply chain processes, including quality assurance, purchasing and warehousing, it broadened its perspective in 2006, Johnson said. The company now applies the principles to marketing research, product development and sales support, he said.

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"It's brought more of a scientifically controlled approach to our manufacturing processes."

Michael Smeltzer, Manufacturers Association of South Central Pennsylvania

[Author Affiliation]

BY JESSICA BAIR

jessicab@journalpub.com