Six Sigma
Six Sigma is a management philosophy, first developed at Motorola, which emphasizes setting extremely high objectives, collecting data, and analyzing results as a way to reduce defects in products and services. The Greek letter sigma is used here to denote variation from a standard. The philosophy behind Six Sigma is to systematically eliminate defects in a process in order to get as close to perfection as possible. In order for a company to achieve Six Sigma, it cannot produce more than 3.4 defects per million opportunities. (Source: Definition of “six sigma” copyrighted and used with permission of whatis.com (http://www.whatis.com/) and TechTarget Inc.)
There are two Six Sigma processes: Six Sigma DMAIC and Six Sigma DMADV. Six Sigma DMAIC is a process that Defines, Measures, Analyzes, Improves, and Controls existing processes that fall below the Six Sigma specification. The Six Sigma DMADV (Design for Six Sigma - DFSS) process is slightly different, in that it Defines, Measures, Analyzes, Designs, and Verifies new processes or products that are trying to achieve Six Sigma quality. All Six Sigma processes are executed by individuals who are trained in process improvement tools, often termed Six Sigma Green Belts or Six Sigma Black Belts, and Six Sigma Master Black Belts. These terms are taken from martial arts to signify the individual’s level of expertise, and were originally used by Motorola.
Six Sigma proponents claim that its benefits include:
** up to 50% process cost reduction,
** cycle-time improvement,
** less material waste,
** a better understanding of customer requirements,
** increased customer satisfaction, and
** more reliable products and services.
It is acknowledged that Six Sigma can be costly to implement and can take several years before a company begins to see bottom-line improvements. (Source: Definition of “six sigma” copyrighted and used with permission of whatis.com (http://www.whatis.com/) and TechTarget Inc.)
Many of the tools used by Six Sigma practitioners can be implemented without implementing a full Six Sigma program.
| McDonald Group TOOL/COURSE |
Six Sigma Step |
| |
DEFINE |
| Process Mapping and Improvement – Quality Functional Deployment (QFD) |
Determine customer needs |
| Process Mapping and Improvement – Process flowcharting |
Defining Process |
| Internal Quality Auditor – turtle diagram |
Defining Process – SIPOC Diagram |
| Project Management | Work Breakdown Structure Resource Analysis |
| MEASURE | |
| Process Mapping and Improvement – Process flowcharting |
Detailed process map |
| Process Mapping and Improvement – Benchmarking/Competitive Analysis |
Data collection plan |
| Measurement Systems Analysis – Gage R&R |
Validate Measurement System |
| ANALYZE |
|
| Root Cause Analysis Tools – Histogram, Pareto, Run Chart, Scatter Plot, Cause and Effect (Fishbone), 5 Whys Statistical Process Control |
Define performance objectives Define non-value added steps Sources of variation Root Cause Analysis Determine “vital few” |
| Design of Experiments |
Controlling inherent variation |
| IMPROVE |
|
| Design of Experiments (DoE) |
Perform DoE |
| Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) |
Understand areas for improvement/control |
| Brainstorming, Mistake Proofing (pokayoke) |
Eliminate possible failure modes |
| DoE, pilot studies |
Validate possible solutions |
| CONTROL |
|
| Statistical Process Control |
Control variables |
| APQP/Control Plan, SPC |
Determine Process Capability |
| Project Management – Closure phase |
Hand off project, closure, metrics |
