Six Sigma Application for Library Services

7/27/2019 Six Sigma Application for Library Services

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/six-sigma-application-for-library-services 1/6

DESIDOC Bulletin of InformationTechnology. Vol. 27. No. 5, September 2007, pp. 35-39

©2007. DESIDOC

Six Sigma Application for Library Services

Chitra Kaushik, Ashu Shokeen*, Prabhakar Kaushik**

and Dinesh Khanduja***

DAV (PG) College Library, Karnal-132 001

*Department of Library & Information ScienceKurukshetra University, Kurukshetra~132 119

**Department of Mectianical EngineeringN.C. College of Engineering, tsrana, Panipat-132 107

*'*Department of Mechanical EngineeringNational Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra-136 119

E-mail: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

Six Sigma is now increasingly being applied to a wide range of processes rangingfrom manufacturing to services and variegated transactiona! processes. A fundam entalobjective of six sigma is to achieve customer satisfaction. Doing things right and keepingthem consistent are the ideas behind six sigma. Success of six sigma in manufacturingis well pub lished. But the same cannot be said about its impleme ntation in services.Applying six sigma to services is still limited. This paper provides a review and a pilotstudy on six sigma application for library services with emphasis on necessary criticalsuccess factors and key performance indicators for a project to be successful.

Ke yw or ds ; Six sigma, service sector, CTQ, KPIs, CSFs, library services

1 . INTRODUCTION

While quality management tools have existedfor a long time, their use is still not widelyimplemented in services sector. The e mergenceof six sigma has renewed interest in the scientificmanagem ent of service industr ies.

The basic elements of six sigma are reallynot new. Statistical process control, histogram,run chart, fai lure mode and effect ana lysis,cause and effect diagram, and other tools have

been in use for some time. Six sigma offers a

framew ork that unites these basic quality toolswith high-level management support.

Since the introdu ction of six sigma in the1980s, there have been many success storiesfrom companies like Motorola, General Electric,and Allied Signal. The majority of these storiesare from the m anufacturing sector. The servicesector, barr ing the healthcare and bankingindustries, are lagging behind in applying andreaping the benefits of six sigma.

Received 30 May 2007 35



2. WHAT IS SIX SIGMA?

Sigma (ci), a Greek alphabet, is used inmathematics and statistics to define standarddeviat ion. The sigma scale of measurement isperfectly correlated to such characteristics as

defects-per-unit, parts-per-million d efects, andthe probability of a failure. Six is the numberof Sigma measured in a process, when the variationaround the target is such that only 3.4 outputsout of one million are defec tive. Corona do andAntony"" has pointed that six sigma methodologieshave recently gained wide popularity becausesix sigma has p roved to be successful not onlyat improving quality but also at large cost savingsalong with these improvements. So, an organisationneeds to adopt sm arter six sigma solutions thatare linked to bottom line benefits. Kumar^ stated

that six sigma is a statist ical measurement,which provides the opportunity and discipl ineto eliminate m istakes, improve mo rale, and savemoney. Doing things rightly and keeping themconsistent are the basic ideas behind six sigma .A

fundam ental objective of six sigma is to achievecustomer satisfaction and continuous improvementin processes.

According to Harry^. CEO of Six SigmaAcademy, Phoenix, USA:

X Six Sigma is a well-structured , disciplined,data-driven methodology for el iminatingdefects, waste, or quality control problemsof all kinds in manufacturing, service delivery,management, and other business activities

X It is a business strategy that allows companiesto drastically improve their performance bydesigning and monitoring everyday businessactivities in ways that m inimise waste andresources wh i le increas ing customersat isfact ion.

According to O'Neill and Duvall'*, six sigmais a disciplined quality improvemen t m ethodologythat focuses on moving every process that touchesthe customers' every product and service towardsnear-perfect quality. It is a measure of the company'squality. Maleyeff and Krayenvenger^ noted thatsix s igma impl ies three th ings: stat ist icalmeasurem ent, managemen t strategy, and qualityculture. It is a measure of how well a processis performing through s tatist ical m easuring of

quality level. It is a new man agem ent strategyunder leadership of the top managementresponsible for quality innovation and total customersatisfac tion. It is also a quality c ulture. It providesthe way to do things right the first time and towork smarter using data information. It also providesan atmos phere to solve many critical-to-quality(CTO) problems throug h team efforts.

3. APPLICATION OF SIX SIGMA INSERVICES SECTOR

Just as for manufacturing, defects foundin service incur a cost to either scrap or to rework.Examples include the need to re-contact acustomer to verify an order, providing an incorrectservice, providing a substandard service or even

over service or providing more than what is required.Service organisations such as healthcare

and finance have been implementing six sigmaand are registering benefits. The breadth ofapplications is now expanding to other servicesincluding call centers and hum an resource andproduct support services^.

Literature review shows that most applicationsare limited to service industries in North Americaand the E uropean countries, but it is the financialben efitsofsix sigm a that have been publicised,

instead of discuss ing gain in terms of processimprovement. Also, Important to note is thatthe app l ica t ions emphas ised the properident i f icat ion of cr i t ical success factors(CSFs), CTQ characteristics, and key performanceindicators (KPIs). These factors have beendiscussed here.

3 .1 Cr i t i ca l Success Fac tors

Critical success factors are necessary forthe success of any six sigma e ffort. The literaturereview shows that managem ents' commitment;

education and training; culture change; andfinanciai benefits are the m ost important CSFsfor the successful application of six sigma inservices. Other CSFs include customer focus,dear performance metrics, and organisationalunderstanding of work processes.

3 .2 Cr i t i ca l - to -qua l i t y Cha rac te r is t ic s

Crit ical-to-quality characterist ics are thekey measurable indicators of a product or process

36 DESIDOC Bull. Inf. Technol.. 2007. 27(5)



whose performance standards or specificationslimits must be met to satisfy the customer. Insimple term. CTQs are what customers expectofaproductorservice. Irrespective of differencesamong services, there exist some common CTQs

like time (service time , waiting time , and cycletime), cost, employee behaviour, and information(accurate and timely information).

3.3 Key Performance Indicators

Key performance indicators show thesuccessor fai lure outcome of a process. The outcomeof six Sigma projects is usually expressed infinancial terms. This leads to a direct m easureof achievement that is easy to understand''. VariousKPIs are f inancial be nefits, eff iciency, costreduction, time to deliver, the quality of the service,

customer satisfaction, and reduced variat ion.For a six sigma project to be successful, theproper ident i f icat ion of CTQs and KPIs isnecessary. A pilot study on six sigma applicationfor library services identified the CTQs and KPIsspecific to library service s. Som e of the CTQ sand KPIs are similar to those from other services.This suggests and is intuitively so , that differentservices have simi lar i t ies in the processcharacterist ics.

4. LIBRARY SER VICES AND SIX

S I G M A A P P L I C A T I O N

Library is a place where knowledge isdiscovered. D riven by this philosophy, the presentstudy focused on using the DMAIC (define,measure, analyse, improve, control) methodologyto improve the efficiency of a local library. Thefollowing process improvement steps were takenfor this pilot study.

4.1 Define

Def ine the problem and what the userrequires^. The define phase sets the expectationof the improvement of project and maintenanceof focus of six sigma strategy on user's requirement.The objective here was to improve services offeredby the library in order to make these more efficient.This required a review of the CTQs and KPIssuch as process costs, staffing level, and outcomemeasures. The scope of this study includedtechnical service process, library automation,and digital services. The tool used included writingup the project charter.

4.2 Measure

To becom e fam iliar with the different libraryprocesse s, an audit was carried ou t. The auditprocess included:

X Selection of the processes to be audited

X A critical examina tion of selected process

X Developing the improved processes.

A critical exam ination of the library processduring the audit helped to identify the importantCTQs and KPIs (Table 1). Thes e becam e thebasis to develop improved processes.

Table 1. Important library CTQs and KPIsdetermined from the pilot study

CTQs

KPIs

> Time

> Staff level

> Cost of process

> Volume of output

> Staff development

> Timely and quality service

> Accessibility

> Image and reputation

> Positive customerexperience

A brief explanation of the CTQs determinedfrom the study have been given below:

(i) Time: This involves the time to process user'srequests through telephone,e-mail or inperson, and time spent on checking, updatingand shelving the library resource such asbooks, journa ls, microf i lms, etc.

(ii) Staffing lev el: This refer to the library staffinvolved in the technical services, loans,and user services, and library automationand digital service s

(iii) Cost of process: This refers to the costinvolved in technica l services, loans, anduser services, and library automation anddigital services

(iv) Volume of output: This includes ove r-the-counter transactions and also transactionsusing the self-service machines.

The KPIs of the study have been discussedbelow:

OESIDOC Bull. Inf. Technol., 2007, 27(5} 37



(i) Staff development: Involves developing the

skills of the staff through education and

training

(ii) Timely and quality service: Needs to be

value-added and proactive

(iii) Accessibility: To make the books and digital

library services available as quickly and

as efficiently as possible

(iv) Image and reputation: This is the status

of the library as seen from a customer's

point to view

(v) Positive customer experience: To improve

the physical ambience of the libfary premises

and to add features such as laptop chargingareas etc., to make the library users feel

comfortable.

The tools used for this phase included

interviewing the library in-charges of the various

processes being used by the library.

4.3 Analysis

Using process mapping, and causes and

effects diagramming, the present status of the

library processes was identified. The following

shortcomings were identified:

X Short time frame for processing requests

sent to technical services

X Lack of verification of the claims submitted

by vendors

X Manual inputting and processing of the claims

by vendors was laborious

X While physically processing the items, there

was some degree of work duplication in

the receiving and cataloguing sections.

4.4 Solutions

A complete analysis of the library provided

answers on how the above shortcomings could

be eliminated. The solutions suggested to

overcome the deficiencies were:

(i) Change in time frame to process requests

from daily basis to monthly basis

(ii) Reduction in the cost incurred due to claim.

An evaluation system can be created

(iii) Initiation of a process of automated inputs

as well as designing the workflow based

on the total process, i.e., receiving andcataloguing.

The above improvement may also help in

enhancing the accessibility of library resources,

which would in turn improve the image and

reputation of the library.

4.5 Control

Controlling the process, to make sure that

defects do not recur, removes the root cause

of the problem. All possible related problems

of a specific problem identified in the analysisphase can be tackled in the control phase. Control

mainly defines plans specifying process monitoring

and corrective action; provides systematic re-

allocation of resources to ensure the process

continues in a new path of optimisation; and

ensures that conditions of the new process are

documented and monitored. This would involve

training the library staff on the improved processes

and also through monitoring the system such

as by data collection.

5. CONCLUSION

The planned framework and focus on process

improvement are the major strengths of six sigma.

Service industries can utilise this framework,

and can benefit by identifying important parameters

like CTQs and KPIs. The similarities among

these parameters across different services provide

an initial basis for service providers to apply

six sigma. The pilot study identified a number

of important CTQs and KPIs unique to libraries,

and that it is entirely possible to tailor a range

of six sigma tools fors various library services.

REFERENCES

1. Coronado, R, & Antony, J. Critical success

factors for the implementation of six sigma

projects in organisation. The TQM Mag.,

2002,14(2), 92-99.

2. Kumar, P. Six sigma in manufacturing.

Production Journal. 2002,43(2), 196-202.

38 DESIDOC Bull. Inf. Technol.,2007, 27(5)



3. Harry, M.d. Talk about six sigma. Green

Belt Training Report. Genera! Electric

Company, India, 2001.

4. O'Neill, M. & Duvall, C. A six sigma quality

approach to workplace evaluation. J.Facil.

Manage.. 2004. 3(2), 240-53.

5. Maleyeff, J. & Krayenvenger, D.E. Goal setting

with six sigma mean shift determination.

Air Engg. Aero. Tech., 2004. 76{2),577-83.

6. Bott, C; Keim, E.; Kim, S. & Palser, L Service

quality six sigma case studies. In ASQ's

54th Annual Quality Congress,

pp. 225-31.

7. Goh, T.N. A strategic assessment of six

sigma. Quality Reliability Engineering, 2002,18(1),403-10.

8. Henderson, K.M. & Evans, d.R. Successful

implementation of six sigma: Benchmarking.

Int. J. Benchmarking, 2002, 7(4), 260-82.

Contributors

Ms Chitra Kaushik received her Bachelor 's and Master 's degrees in Library& Information Science from Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra and MPhil fromMadurai Kam araj University, Ma durai. Her areas of interest include IT applicationin libraries, digital l ibraries, library softv\/are, and library management, TQM, and

six sigma application in l ibraries. Presently, she is working in DAV (PG) College,Karnai , Haryana.

Prof. Ashu Shokeen ob ta i ned her Master 's in Library Science from PunjabUniversity and PhD from Jivi/aji University, Gwalior. Her areas of interest includel ibrary management, TQMappl icat ion in l ibrary, user study, user educat ion,digital l ibrary, and l ibrary software. At present, she is v^orking as Professor

in the Department of LIS, Kurukshetra Univers i ty . Kurukshetra.

Dr Dinesh Khanduja is work ing as Assistant Professor at National Inst i tuteof Technology, Kurukshetra. He obtained his Bachelor 's andMaster 's degreesin Mechanical Engineering and PhD on Productivi ty and Operations Managementfrom the National Insti tute of Engineering & Technology, Kurukshetra. He hasover 35 publ icat ions to his credi t . His areas of interests inc lude product iv i tyengineering, entrepreneurship, operat ions management, energy managementand six sigma appl icat ion.

Mr Prabhakar Kaushik is work ing as Assistant Professor at the NC Col legeof Engineering, Israna (Panipat), Haryana. He obtained degree in MechanicalEngineering from theNational Institute of Engineering & Technology, Kurukshetraand MTech in Product ion Engineering from the Guru Nanak Dev Engineer ingCol lege. Ludhiana. Hisareas of interest include six sigma programme, qual i tymanagement and product ion engineering.

DESIDOC Bull. Inf. Technol.. 2007,27(5) 39

Six Sigma Application for Library Services

Documents

Transcript of Six Sigma Application for Library Services