What is Six Sigma?
Six Sigma at many organizations simply means a measure of quality that strives for near perfection. Six Sigma is a disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects in any process.
The statistical representation of Six Sigma describes quantitatively how a process is performing. To achieve Six Sigma, a process must not produce more than 3.4 defects per million opportunities. A Six Sigma defect is defined as anything outside of customer specifications.
Origin and meaning of the term "six sigma process"
Sigma (the lower-case Greek letter s) is used to represent the standard deviation of a statistical population. The term "six sigma process" comes from the notion that if one has six standard deviations between the process mean and the nearest specification limit, there will be practically no items that fail to meet
In a capability study, the number of standard deviations between the process mean and the nearest specification limit is given in sigma units. As process standard deviation goes up, or the mean of the process moves away from the center of the tolerance, decreasing the sigma number and increasing the likelihood of items outside specification.
Six Sigma equates to meeting requirements
99.9997% of the time…
Path to Six Sigma
4 Sigma 6,210 Defects
2 Sigma 308,537 Defects
3 Sigma 66,807 Defects
5 Sigma 233 Defects
6 Sigma 3.4 Defects
Sigma levels and Defects per million
opportunities (DPMO)
What it means to be @ Six SigmaIs 99% (3.8) good enough? 99.99966% Good – At 6
20,000 lost mails per hour 7 lost mails per hour
Unsafe drinking water almost 15 minutes each day
One minute of unsafe drinking water every seven months
5,000 incorrect surgical operations per week
1.7 incorrect surgical operations per week
2 short or long landings at most major airports daily
One short or long landing at major airports every five years
200,000 wrong drug prescriptions each year
68 wrong drug prescriptions each year
Example quoted from GE Book of Knowledge - copyright GE
BenefitsThere are numerous benefits of six sigma as a way to address issues and problems. Among the benefits of six sigma is the decrease in defects that are allowed to reach the customer. Other benefits of six sigma include:
Focus on customers.Improved customer loyalty.Reduced cycle time.Less waste.Data based decisions.Time management.
Sustained gains and improvements. Systematic problem solving. Employee motivation. Data analysis before decision making. Faster to market. Team building. Improved customer relations. Assure strategic planning.. Reductions of incidents. Measure value according to the customer.
Better safety performance. Understanding of processes. Effective supply chain management. Design and redesign products/services. Knowledge of competition, competitors . Develop leadership skills. Breakdown barriers between departments and functions. Management training. Improve presentation skills. Integration of products, services and distribution. Use of standard operating procedures. Better decision making. Improving project management skills. Sustained improvements. Alignment with strategy vision, and values.
Increased margins. Greater market share. Supervisor training. Lower costs to provide goods and services. Fewer customer complaints.
SIX SIGMASIX SIGMA
FOCUS:FOCUS: VariationVariation
GOAL:GOAL: Reduce/ Eliminate Reduce/ Eliminate VariationVariation
ORIENTATION:ORIENTATION: Problem- focusedProblem- focused
APPROACH:APPROACH: DMAIC/DMADVDMAIC/DMADV
DETERMINANT TOOL:DETERMINANT TOOL: Math- StatisticsMath- Statistics
What is DMAIC ?
• A logical and structured approach to problem solving and process improvement
• An iterative process (continuous improvement)
• A quality tool with focus on change management
When To Use DMAIC?• The DMAIC methodology should be used
when a product or process is in existence at your company
• but is not meeting customer specification or is not performing adequately.
DDefine
MMeasure
AAnalyze
IImprove
CControl
Identify and state the practical problem
Measure the process to determine current performance
Pinpoint the deep root causes
Lay in a solution that makes the root causes go away
Ensure the new process behaves as intended
Methodology
Describe the Problem
Team Formation
Map the “as-is” process
Budget Allocation
Define: What is important to the customer?
DDefine
Establish Goal
TOOLS used:
•Benchmarking•Cost and Benefit Analysis•Gantt Chart
Collect Data
Validate Measurement System
Measure
MMeasure
Construct Process Flow
TOOL used:
•Process Flow Diagram
Analyze Data
Identify Root Causes
Analyze
AAnalyze
TOOLS used:
•Affinity Diagram
•Cause & Effect Diagram
•Pareto Chart•Reality Tree•5 Whys
Prioritize root causes
Innovate pilot solutions
Validate the improvement
Improve
IImprove
TOOLS used:
•DOE•Control Chart
Ensure measurement system reliability for significant factors
Improved process capability
Sustenance Plan
- Is tool used to measure the input / process variables flawed ?
- Do all operators interpret the tool reading in the same way ?
- Statistical Process Control
- Mistake Proofing
- Control Plan
Control
CControl
TOOLS used:
•Control Chart
DMADV
DefineDefine MeasureMeasure AnalyzeAnalyze DesignDesign VerifyVerify
What is DMADV Methodology?
The acronym DMADV sounds pretty much similar to DMAIC. The similarity ends after the first three letters DMA.
DMADV is also known as DFSS, an abbreviation of "Design For Six Sigma
When To Use DMADV?
The DMADV methodology, instead of the DMAIC methodology, should be used when:
A product or process is not in existence at your company and one needs to be developed
The existing product or process exists and has been optimized (using either DMAIC or not) and still doesn't meet the level of customer specification or six sigma level
DDefine
MMeasure
AAnalyze
DDesign
VVerify
Define
Define design goals that are consistent with customer demands and the enterprise strategy.
Identify and state the practical problem
You will define the goals of the project and that of the customers (both internal and external)
Measure
DDefine
MMeasure
AAnalyze
Validate the practical problem by collecting data
Measure and determine customer needs and specifications
Here you will quantify the customer needs as well as the goals of the management
DDesign
VVerify
DDefine
MMeasure
AAnalyze
DDesign
VVerify
Convert the practical problem to a statistical one, define statistical goal and identify potential statistical solution
Analyze the process options to meet the customer needs
Analyze the options, existing process to determine the cause of error origination and evaluate corrective measures
Analyze
Analyze to develop and design alternatives, create a high-level design and evaluate design capability to select the best design.
VVerify
DDefine
MMeasure
AAnalyze
DDesign
Design
Design (detailed) the process to meet the customer needs
Design a new process or a corrective step to the existing one to eliminate the error origination that meets the target specification
Design details, optimize the design, and plan for design verification. This phase may require simulations.
DDefine
MMeasure
AAnalyze
DDesign
VVerify
Verify
Verify the design performance and ability to meet customer needs.
Verify, by simulation or otherwise, the performance of thus developed design and its ability to meet the target needs
Verify the design, set up pilot runs, implement the production process and hand it over to the process owners.
Methodology
DDefine
MMeasure
AAnalyze
DDesign
VVerify
Identify and state the practical problem
Validate the practical problem by collecting data
Convert the practical problem to a statistical one, define statistical goal and identify potential statistical solution
Design (detailed) the process to meet the customer needs
Verify the design performance and ability to meet customer needs.
Difference Between DMAIC And DMADV
The difference, as one can see now, exists only in the way last two steps are handled. In DMADV, instead of the Improve and Control steps which focuses on readjusting and controlling by one way or other, deals with redesigning the process to fit customer needs.
Difference Between DMAIC And DMADV
The DMADV methodology can not be better explained than by comparing it with DMAIC methodology despite their fundamental differences.
6 Sigma Training
Executive Leadership includes the CEO and other members of
top management. They are responsible for setting up a vision for Six Sigma implementation. They also empower the other role holders with the freedom and resources to explore new ideas for breakthrough improvements.
CHAMPIONS Champions are responsible for Six Sigma
implementation across the organization in an integrated manner. The Executive Leadership draws them from upper management. Champions also act as mentors to Black Belts.
GREEN BELTS
Green Belts are the persons, trained on the
improvement methodology of Six Sigma,
who will lead a process or quality
improvement team as "part" of their job.
Extensive product/process knowledge in
their company is a must in their task of
effecting such improvement.
BLACK BELTS
Black Belts are the persons, usually selected
from the Green Belts, to spearhead process
improvement projects under the Six Sigma
implementation, on a "full-time" basis. They
act as agents of change, and need to
possess statistical abilities, leadership
qualities and interpersonal skills.
Six Sigma Organizational Architecture
Six Sigma - Three Dimensions
ToolsOrganization
Methodology
Process variation
LSL USL
Upper/Lower specification
limits
Regression•••••••••••••••••••
••••••••
• ••••••••••••
•
•••••
Driven by
customer
needs
Enabled by quality team.
Led by Senior Mgmt
Define Measure
Analyze Improve ControlVendorVendorProcess BProcess BProcess AProcess ACustomerCustomer VendorVendorProcess BProcess BProcess AProcess ACustomerCustomer
VendorVendorProcess BProcess BProcess AProcess ACustomerCustomer VendorVendorProcess BProcess BProcess AProcess ACustomerCustomer
Process Map Analysis
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
L K A F B C G R D
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Frequency Cumulative Frequency
Pareto Chart
Roles and Responsibilities…
Quality Leader/Manager (QL/QM)The quality leader's
responsibility is to represent the needs of the customer and to improve the operational effectiveness of the organization
Master Black Belt (MBB)
MBBs work with the owners of the process to ensure that quality objectives and targets are set, plans are determined, progress is tracked, and education is provided
Process Owners (PO)…
they are the responsible individuals for a specific process
BLACK
BELT
Black Belts are the heart and soul of the Six Sigma quality initiative
main purpose is to lead quality projects and work full time until they are complete
can typically complete four to six projects per year with savings of approximately $230,000 per project
Green
Belt
Green Belts are employees trained in Six Sigma who spend a portion of their time completing projects, but maintain their regular work role and responsibilities.
The Quality Team
Master Black BeltMaster Black Belt
Black BeltBlack Belt Black BeltBlack Belt
Green BeltGreen Belt
Green BeltGreen Belt
Green BeltGreen Belt
- Thought Leadership- Expert on Six Sigma- Mentor Green and Black Belts
- Thought Leadership- Expert on Six Sigma- Mentor Green and Black Belts
- Backbone of Six Sigma Org- Mentor Green Belts- Full time resource- Deployed to complex or
“high risk” projects
- Backbone of Six Sigma Org- Mentor Green Belts- Full time resource- Deployed to complex or
“high risk” projects
- Part time or full time resource
- Deployed to less complex projects in areas of functional expertise
- Part time or full time resource
- Deployed to less complex projects in areas of functional expertise