Case Study: Financial Service Company achieves automated Six Sigma measurement and reliable 24-hour report turnaround with Hertzler Systems Inc.

Building a Six Sigma Measurement System in Financial Services

Financial Service Company, a mid-sized data provider in the financial services market, faced a major obstacle deploying Six Sigma: inconsistent, incomplete transactional data and no standardized measurement of its critical-to-quality metric—report cycle time. Although a GE-trained Master Black Belt led the initiative, regional offices used different tracking practices (paper, in-baskets, varied start-time conventions), producing distorted cycle-time calculations and leaving 25.6% of reports taking longer than the company’s 24-hour target.

To fix this, the Master Black Belt standardized operational definitions, reengineered the in-house tracking system, and implemented Hertzler Systems Inc.’s GainSeeker Suite to automate nightly data collection, tag traceability fields, run statistical analyses and generate exception reports. Using Hertzler GainSeeker Suite enabled prioritized Six Sigma projects and better process control; within a year the percentage of reports over 24 hours fell from 25.6% to 1.5% (a 94% reduction), allowing the company to win business, consolidate offices, handle much higher volume with minimal added staff, and increase profitability.