SIX SIGMA

Introduction
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. A Six Sigma opportunity is then the total quantity of chances for a defect.
rocess sigma can easily be calculated using a Six Sigma calculator.
The fundamental ob!ective of the Six Sigma methodology is the implementation of a
measurement"based strategy that focuses on process improvement and variation reduction
through the application of Six Sigma improvement pro!ects. This is accomplished through the
use of two Six Sigma sub"methodologies# $%A&' and $%A$(. The Six Sigma $%A&'
process )define, measure, analy*e, improve, control+ is an improvement system for existing
processes falling below specification and loo,ing for incremental improvement. The Six
Sigma $%A$( process )define, measure, analy*e, design, verify+ is an improvement system
used to develop new processes or products at Six Sigma quality levels. &t can also be
employed if a current process requires more than !ust incremental improvement. -oth Six
Sigma processes are executed by Six Sigma .reen -elts and Six Sigma -lac, -elts, and are
overseen by Six Sigma %aster -lac, -elts.
According to the Six Sigma Academy, -lac, -elts save companies approximately /031,111
per pro!ect and can complete four to 2 pro!ects per year. ).iven that the average -lac, -elt
salary is /31,111 in the 4nited States, that is a fantastic return on investment.+ .eneral
5lectric, one of the most successful companies implementing Six Sigma, has estimated
benefits on the order of /61 billion during the first five years of implementation. .5 first
began Six Sigma in 6778 after %otorola and Allied Signal bla*ed the Six Sigma trail. Since
then, thousands of companies around the world have discovered the far reaching benefits of
Six Sigma.
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DOCTRINE
Six Sigma doctrine asserts that#
'ontinuous efforts to achieve stable and predictable process results )i.e., reduce
process variation+ are of vital importance to business success.
%anufacturing and business processes have characteristics that can be measured,
analy*ed, controlled and improved.
Achieving sustained quality improvement requires commitment from the entire
organi*ation, particularly from top"level management.
9eatures that set Six Sigma apart from previous quality improvement initiatives include#
A clear focus on achieving measurable and quantifiable financial returns from any Six
Sigma pro!ect.
An increased emphasis on strong and passionate management leadership and support.
A clear commitment to ma,ing decisions on the basis of verifiable data and statistical
methods, rather than assumptions and guesswor,.
The term :six sigma: comes from statistics and is used in statistical quality control, which
evaluates process capability. ;riginally, it referred to the ability of manufacturing processes
to produce a very high proportion of output within specification. rocesses that operate with
:six sigma quality: over the short term are assumed to produce long"term defect levels below
3.4 defects per million opportunities )$%;+. Six Sigma<s implicit goal is to improve all
processes, but not to the 3.4 $%; level necessarily. ;rgani*ations need to determine an
appropriate sigma level for each of their most important processes and strive to achieve these.
As a result of this goal, it is incumbent on management of the organi*ation to prioriti*e areas
of improvement.
METHODOLOGIES
Six Sigma pro!ects follow two pro!ect methodologies inspired by $eming<s lan"$o"'hec,"
Act 'ycle. These methodologies, composed of five phases each, bear the acronyms $%A&'
and $%A$(.
$%A&' is used for pro!ects aimed at improving an existing business process.
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$%A&' is pronounced as :duh"may"ic,:
$%A$( is used for pro!ects aimed at creating new product or process designs.
$%A$( is pronounced as :duh"mad"vee: )= d m>d vi?+.
QUALITY MANAGEMENT TOOLS AND METHODS
@ithin the individual phases of a $%A&' or $%A$( pro!ect, Six Sigma utili*es many
established quality"management tools that are also used outside Six Sigma. The following
table shows an overview of the main methods used.
5 WHYS
Statistical and fitting tools
o ANALYSIS OF VAIAN!E
o GENEAL LINEA MODEL
o ANOVA GAUGE "
o EGESSION ANALYSIS
o !OELATION
o S!ATTE DIAGAM
o !HI#SQUAED TEST
AXIOMATI! DESIGN
$USINESS %O!ESS MA%%INGA!HE!& SHEET
'ause B effects diagram )also ,nown as fishbone or ISHI&AWA DIAGAM+
!ONTOL !HATA'ontrol plan )also ,nown as a swimlane map+AUN !HATS
!OST#$ENEFIT ANALYSIS
!TQ TEE
)59%+ systems
OOT !AUSE ANALYSIS
IMPLEMENTATION ROLES
;ne ,ey innovation of Six Sigma involves the absolute :professionali*ing: of quality
management functions. rior to Six Sigma, quality management in practice was largely
relegated to the production floor and to statisticians in a separate quality department. 9ormal
Six Sigma programs adopt a ,ind of elite ran,ing terminology )similar to some martial arts
'
systems, li,e Cung"9u and Dudo+ to define a hierarchy )and special career path+ that ,ic,s
across all business functions and levels.
Six Sigma identifies several ,ey roles for its successful implementation.
5xecutive Eeadership includes the '5; 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 brea,through improvements.
'hampions ta,e responsibility for Six Sigma implementation across the organi*ation
in an integrated manner. The 5xecutive Eeadership draws them from upper
management. 'hampions also act as mentors to -lac, -elts.
%aster -lac, -elts, identified by champions, act as in"house coaches on Six Sigma.
They devote 611F of their time to Six Sigma. They assist champions and guide -lac,
-elts and .reen -elts. Apart from statistical tas,s, they spend their time on ensuring
consistent application of Six Sigma across various functions and departments.
-lac, -elts operate under %aster -lac, -elts to apply Six Sigma methodology to
specific pro!ects. They devote 611F of their valued time to Six Sigma. They primarily
focus on Six Sigma pro!ect execution and special leadership with special tas,s,
whereas 'hampions and %aster -lac, -elts focus on identifying pro!ectsAfunctions
for Six Sigma.
Some organi*ations use additional belt colours, such as Gellow -elts, for employees that have
basic training in Six Sigma tools and generally participate in pro!ects and :@hite belts: for
those locally trained in the concepts but do not participate in the pro!ect team. :;range belts:
are also mentioned to be used for special cases.
SIGMA LEVELS
A !ONTOL !HAT depicting a process that experienced a 6.8 sigma drift in the process
mean toward the upper specification limit starting at midnight. 'ontrol charts are used to
maintain 2 sigma quality by signaling when quality professionals should investigate a process
to find and eliminate S%E!IAL#!AUSE VAIATION.
See also# THEE SIGMA ULE
(
The table below gives long"term $%; values corresponding to various short"term sigma
levels.
&t must be understood that these figures assume that the process mean will shift by 6.8 sigma
toward the side with the critical specification limit. &n other words, they assume that after the
initial study determining the short"term sigma level, the long"term '
p,
value will turn out to
be 1.8 less than the short"term '
p,
value. So, for example, the $%; figure given for 6 sigma
assumes that the long"term process mean will be 1.8 sigma beyond the specification limit )'
p,
H I1.6J+, rather than 6 sigma within it, as it was in the short"term study )'
p,
H 1.33+. Kote
that the defect percentages indicate only defects exceeding the specification limit to which
the process mean is nearest. $efects beyond the far specification limit are not included in the
percentages.
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