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About this lesson

A Lean Six Sigma Black Belt will often chair the stage gate review meetings for Lean Six Sigma projects. In those meetings, the Black Belt needs to ensure the work of the phase was done and the tools were used effectively. This lesson reviews the normal deliverables due at the Control stage gate review. It also includes hints and tips for identifying problems to be avoided during that phase.

Quick reference

Control Stage Deliverables

The Control Stage is the final stage of a Lean Six Sigma project. The deliverables from this stage are associated with the completion of the project.

When to use

The near-term Control Stage deliverables should be reviewed and approved at the Control Stage Gate Review meeting.  The longer-term deliverables are often monitored by the Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt and process managers to validate long-term effectiveness.

Instructions

Throughout the Control Stage, the Lean Six Sigma team is implementing the solution strategy.  Depending upon the characteristics of the solution strategy, this may be a simple set of tasks or it may be the longest and most difficult part of the project.  The goal or focus is to have a successful implementation and the largest risk is one of resistance on the part of the operators or managers.  Depending upon the complexity of the solution, there may be changes required in multiple processes across multiple departments.  This adds to the work of the project team as they need the buy-in for implementation and they have to do the coordination between departments so that the implementation is fully successful. Typical areas requiring a plan and coordination for implementation are training, documentation, operations monitoring and control, data recording and reporting, and systems and infrastructure integration.

Businesses often set up a near-term and long-term approach for managing this implementation.  The Lean Six Sigma team is responsible for near-term activities and meeting near-term goals.  Once those have been met, the team can hold a Control gate meeting and disband if the meeting is successful.  However, the Master Black Belt and operational organizations will continue to monitor the results to be certain the full effectiveness of the solution is realized and that the organization does not drift back into the original process and habits.

The Control stage gate meeting is then focused on the successful completion of the activities to introduce the solution strategy into the operations.  With this in mind, some of the discussion points in the stage gate meeting are:

  • Sign-off of acceptance from all affected operations.  Has there been resistance?  Has it been resolved? Is the new process now the standard process?
  • Experience by operations with the solution.  Is the new process performing as expected?  What is the performance level with respect to the CTQs? Is everyone trained? Are all systems working as expected?  Is the process stable and are the control plans in use?
  • Other areas where this solution is needed.  Based upon the results from this project, are there lessons learned that could be applied to other processes and yield improvements?

Hints & tips

  • You often need the peer group leaders of an operation to buy into a solution before the rest of the operation will buy in.  Ideally, you included the peer group leaders on the team so they helped to develop the solution strategy.  If not, plan to spend some time with them to get their buy-in and support.
  • If you had to create a new measurement system, you need to plan on conducting an MSA to ensure the measurement is working as expected.  This is a full MSA, not just a Gage R&R.
  • SPC charts can only be used to control a process if they are current and available to the process operators.  Work to make them visible at the workstations of the process.
  • When the solution strategy involves changing systems and code, manage that transition carefully to ensure that is in sync with the process change-over and any other related systems.
  • Acknowledge that there may be concerns about the implementation of the solution strategy.  For some people, you are changing how they have always done their work and it is upsetting to them.  Listen to their concerns and let them gain experience with the new process before full implementation.
  • Expect that some problems will arise during implementation.  Don’t ignore or minimize these issues.  Create a log and work through each one.  A refusal, or the appearance of a refusal, to address a concern can create resistance in an organization.
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  • 00:05 Hi, this is Ray Sheen.
  • 00:06 I want to summarize this final section by discussing the control stage deliverables
  • 00:11 and some of the challenges that you may encounter while implementing your solution
  • 00:15 strategy.
  • 00:16 Let's start by looking at the gate review and what is required to get through this
  • 00:21 meeting, the focus of the gate review is the status of the implementation.
  • 00:25 Has everything been changed that needs to be changed?,
  • 00:28 is everyone trained?, are the systems operational?
  • 00:31 This means that our critical takeaway is whether or
  • 00:34 not the organization has accepted the solution strategy and implemented it.
  • 00:38 The decision by the state stakeholders at this stage is whether or
  • 00:42 not the implementation actions have been completed.
  • 00:45 Note the decision is not whether or
  • 00:47 not to implement the solution strategy that was done in the approved stage,
  • 00:52 now it's a decision of whether or not all of the needed actions have been completed.
  • 00:57 The biggest risk in this stage is the lack of buy in for the solution strategy,
  • 01:01 when that happens, there's either open resistance or half hearted acceptance
  • 01:06 that quickly evaporates as soon as the Lean Six Sigma project team is disbanded.
  • 01:11 For that reason, the decision by the stakeholders is often a commitment among
  • 01:16 them that they will fully support the solution strategy and
  • 01:20 ensure that it is followed and becomes the new normal.
  • 01:23 The control stage gate meeting will typically include discussion on
  • 01:27 the following points.
  • 01:28 Have all the affected departments and
  • 01:31 organizations agreed to the new process and procedures?
  • 01:34 Are there any reservations or refusals to implement?
  • 01:38 You can also expect there will be a discussion about the experience of
  • 01:43 the operation with the solution.
  • 01:45 Is it working as expected?, has it created new problems, or
  • 01:49 provided new opportunities?
  • 01:51 If the solution is working well, you can also anticipate that there will be
  • 01:56 questions about additional applications for the solution strategy.
  • 02:01 Are there similar problems in other areas?,
  • 02:03 what other lessons learned can be leveraged on other projects?
  • 02:06 The process flowchart for this stage looks like a lot of work,
  • 02:10 however much of that work was actually done in the approved stage with respect
  • 02:14 to the development of the plans.
  • 02:16 The development here is really a coordination with the affected people and
  • 02:21 departments, and then modifying the plans if needed, once that is done,
  • 02:25 they're implemented.
  • 02:27 We draw this as a straight line flow as we would a value stream map, but
  • 02:31 in most cases several parallel paths are actually happening as you implement
  • 02:36 the plan simultaneously in all departments.
  • 02:39 The criteria for a successful control stage gate review is associated with
  • 02:43 the implementation actions.
  • 02:45 This will be the last gate, following it the team is disbanded.
  • 02:50 So often we're looking at this gate as a short term or
  • 02:52 interim decision point associated with implementation.
  • 02:56 So let's look at the near term criteria that are reviewed during
  • 02:59 the control gate meeting.
  • 03:00 For starters, we need to check that the implementation strategy that was approved
  • 03:04 at the improved stage gate has been fully implemented.
  • 03:07 That means that the process design and controls, along with procedures and
  • 03:12 processes are fully documented and released.
  • 03:14 They define the new process that is now being followed, and
  • 03:18 everyone who's affected has been trained, is capable of following the new process.
  • 03:23 When these steps are completed, the team is usually disbanded, their work is done.
  • 03:29 However, the master black belt and operating managers will continue to
  • 03:34 monitor the process performance to ensure the long term benefits are realized.
  • 03:38 That means the customer CTQ is now being consistently met, also,
  • 03:42 the special causes are eliminated and the common cause variation aspects of
  • 03:47 the process are occurring at an acceptable level.
  • 03:50 The organization will also monitor processes to ensure they're stable,
  • 03:55 not susceptible to new special causes.
  • 03:57 In addition, the control plan is in place and has been used as required for
  • 04:01 process performance indicates a need for action.
  • 04:04 And finally, the cost and benefit targets are established for the overall financial
  • 04:09 impact of the project, these are all part of normal monitoring of the process.
  • 04:14 If there's a problem with these criteria, it's not an issue for
  • 04:17 the Lean Six Sigma team, they've been disbanded.
  • 04:20 Rather, this is under the control of the process management and supervision.
  • 04:24 In fact, this criteria would be used to establish the need for a new team with
  • 04:29 a new charter that is focused on the current performance problems.
  • 04:33 Let's finish this up by providing a few tips, and
  • 04:36 hints to help you get through this stage, have a successful stage review meeting.
  • 04:42 The key to success in this stage is buy-in from all affected organizations.
  • 04:47 If the team did not include peer group leaders from each of the departments as
  • 04:51 a subject matter expert,
  • 04:52 you will probably need to spend time with them to win them over.
  • 04:56 If they feel shut out,
  • 04:57 they'll likely resist just out of general principles, so open up communication,
  • 05:02 and give them a chance to buy in and lead within their department.
  • 05:06 If the new process or procedures require a new metric or measurement process,
  • 05:11 you should conduct an MSA which includes a gauge R&R with the actual operators or
  • 05:17 inspectors.
  • 05:18 If your solution strategy includes the use of statistical process control charts,
  • 05:22 be sure those charts are kept current and located at the point of operator control
  • 05:27 so that they can provide effective guidance to process operators.
  • 05:31 One of the most difficult aspects of implementation is systems changes that
  • 05:36 are integrated with other IT systems.
  • 05:38 These often cause a ripple of changes through multiple systems and
  • 05:42 the change management process and testing can be complex and time consuming.
  • 05:47 This will require careful coordination and management.
  • 05:50 When you run into resistance and you probably will at some point,
  • 05:54 don't ignore it, treat the situation seriously.
  • 05:58 Listen to the concerns and where possible accommodate them,
  • 06:01 treat others with respect, and you'll likely be able to get their buy in.
  • 06:06 Keep a log of issues that come up, don't ignore them,
  • 06:09 work them off and close them out.
  • 06:11 This is just basic project management, but it needs to be done.
  • 06:16 Now if you've effectively followed the Lean Six Sigma process through
  • 06:21 all five stages by the time you finish the implementation of the control stage,
  • 06:28 you should have the improved performance that was the goal of your project.

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