Lean Sigma for IT by 2009

PUNE, INDIA: After exploring manufacturing industry in India, TBM Consulting Group, known better for its copyrighted business tool LeanSigma, would set its eyes on technology–based industries.

So far the company boasted IT majors like EDS and Oracle as some of its key IT customers. It has opened an office in India last year and expects auto component, manufacturing and engineering outsourcing to be major adopters of LeanSigma.

Revenue contributions from tech-verticals on an overall basis are insignificant now but in the next five years it expects the tech segments to grow at a compounded rate of 50 per cent and be a major part of its revenues.

Service industry has a lot of potential, he added. IT is a prominent part of the service industry where TBM has government and finance segments in addition.

Right now, however, the vertical would be explored in the US, Europe and Mexico and India would receive attention here only by 2009. "We would like to build up capacity for manufacturing-oriented segments first. We would rather not fight on all the fronts simultaneously," said Anand Sharma, President & CEO, TBM Consulting Group.

Commenting on the rationale of the IT application of a tool tailored for manufacturing, he explained that the biggest contribution of LeanSigma for an IT concern would be in inculcating systems approach and thinking.

"In contrast to individual programming, LeanSigma would foster effectiveness of programming per se, besides bringing in documentation discipline and quality control. The practices for a service organization vis a vis a manufacturing one may be different but the concepts stay the same."

On comparisons with standards like six sigma or SEI-CMM, already in existence, Sharma emphasized that the biggest misconception about LeanSigma is that it has only to do something with quality.

"In India, thus this dimension is relegated to quality professionals. Or focus is never on quality alone but on overall responsiveness, reliability and on-time delivery with acute customer focus. We don't talk about quality professionals but business professionals. TBM caters to manufacturing and service companies, which have discrete transactions, through Kaizen Break," he said.

Using the classic 'Toyota Production System' as a basic platform, TBM presently touts time-based improvement solutions for customers like Caterpillar, Energizer, EDS, Hubbel, Lantech, Pella, Vermeer, The Wrigley Company, Bunge, Mc Canin foods, Kaiser Aluminum, TMD FrictionSpecial metals and Peugeot Citroen etc.

TBM Consulting Group's LeanSigma Transformation integrates Lean principles for market agility and responsiveness and Six Sigma's focus on quality.