Control is about having a documented repeatable process that can be monitored for variation. Walk the participating parties through a mock exercise and see what takes place. If you want, for the fun of it, videotape the process. Are you ready?

My Control process basically consists of:

1. The operation is documented.

2. Process control plans are created

3. Scorecard is created

4. Problem encounter plan

You just did your walk through and created your operation plan. Just write down what you are going to accomplish and how you are going accomplish it. Pass it around and get an agreement on it, not only from the people that developed it but the people that are performing the work. Check once again if it satisfies the customers needs. After that, draw a concise process plan. This is your final checklist on how you are going to go about the implementation. If you are not satisfied, you may have to go back a step or two and make some adjustments. But do not leave holes in it or say this is good enough. Create a perfect process flow chart that allows anyone to do the job that has the required “skill set” and if they have questions they can refer to the operation plan for clarification. I look at both working hand and hand.

The scorecard is control chart that lets you input data to evaluate the process. It must be easy to do and part of the process. The data should not be labor-some to acquire or it simply will be put off in busy times. Data should be as instantaneous as possible, so that you can monitor a change downstream from the flow to see what may have caused the issues. Remember garbage in = garbage out. Hint: Your scorecard should check the consistency of the collection of data also.

The fourth step is what I call the savior step. Have a process in place or a go-to person that can react immediate to problems encountered, lack of data input, discipline, etc. This is your insurance that the process stays on track and is a success. It is not a onetime deal. If you decide one day that you cannot improve the process anymore, start working on the tools you use to create the process and refine them to dig deeper. It is a never ending quest. The result of this is that it is the only true competitive advantage that you have to stay ahead of your competition! So get there and stay there!

If you build a great control system the process will flow very well! When a process flows well you typically get great results! You can think of all the analogies to this statement but seldom can think of one that disputes it, can you?

Technorati : Control, DMAIC, Lean, Lean Market, Marketing, Six-Sigma

Beyond Lean: The Perfect Lean Market: While 80% of manufacturers have lean initiatives, less than 1% have lean practices in place. This article was written by Pamela Lopker, president and chairman of QAD Inc.

She went on to say, “The Makings Of A Perfect Lean Market - There are three primary attributes to a perfect lean market. Clarity is one: The second attribute of a perfect lean market is agility , responsiveness to changes in the marketplace. But lean practices won’t get information to the right place at the right time. That’s where technology can introduce agility, through systems that can receive and process information quickly, even instantly, through automation. Unity is the third attribute of a perfect lean market. Getting information to the right place at the right time can fuel that kind of unity.”

She was talking about the waste in supply change management practices. But when I read it, the correlation to Lean Marketing is very apparent.

1. Clarity: How many times have you looked at a marketing piece and questioned the meaning, the reason for it or maybe you just tossed it. We encourage marketing pieces to be educational or a call to action that ultimately has a benefit for the customer as a result of a response.

2. Agility: I do not mean responding to the marketing idea of the week but having a process in place that allows you to have active content. This can be easily done with a company blog and with joint participation the excuse of a time factor is completely removed. The only factor that matters now is the accountability factor.

3. Unity: This is the most neglected attribute. Your marketing to be effective is not a one-way street anymore. It is about communication. Building platforms that your organization can increase the communication with your customer is the actions we take by monitoring news about our customers, building social sites that allow our customers to post, blog and add videos on their own. Being transparent and mixing it up in front of your customers is maybe the largest selling feature you can have.