Page 346 - Design for Six Sigma for Service (Six SIGMA Operational Methods)

306 Chapter Ten

The personnel needed by a process may vary according to the types of
skills that are required, but practically all processes will call for some
degree of human participation. Personnel may be operators of the process
or equipment used in the process, they may be managers that manage the
process, or they may be repair crews fixing equipment when failures occur.
The attitude, skill, and experience of these personnel will almost always
play a major role in determining what the process does, how it accom-
plishes the job, and the degree of excellence in the process. Selecting the
right personnel for the right task is perhaps the most important step of
process design.
The equipment for a process includes all machinery, computer systems, or
other technological infrastructure that is used by the process. The equipment
resources that are selected for a process must be well matched to the
requirements of the process. Process designers must strive to avoid the
“technology for technology’s sake” mentality that may lead to the purchase
of certain equipment that will not really serve the needs of the process.
Selection of equipment is important, and justification for the selection must
not be limited to the traditional return on investment (ROI) and internal rate
of return (IRR) analysis. Rather, the impact of each type of equipment under
consideration on the entire process must be considered.

The technique or method used with each type of equipment is also an
important aspect of the role of equipment. Having correct equipment but
using it incorrectly may not be any better than not having it at all. This
emphasizes the importance of training. Equipment users should be trained
and retrained in the correct methods or techniques. In addition to regular
training, any lessons that are learned while procuring, installing, operating,
and maintaining the equipment should be documented and made available
to all involved.
Ultimately, the personnel and equipment required by a process can only be
made available with an adequate amount of financial resources. Providing
these resources is the responsibility of management in the organization. If
adequate finances are not available, this will act as a major constraint on the
ability to achieve the objective of the process.

Other constraints may also exist; for example, governmental regulations
that stipulate what can and cannot be done in a process. It is important for
process designers to distinguish clearly between constraints that are
desirable and those that are not desirable. Desirable constraints may also be
known as controls of the process. Of those controls that are undesirable and