Six Sigma

The advantages of Six Sigma do not exactly lie in huge cost benefits that can be realized by its implementation. The glaring examples of many corporations having saved billions of dollars are true benefits but the intangible results, such as having met the expectations of customers, and being able to improve employee relations are also paramount. Because some corporations have experienced its failure to meet stated goals, some critics often raise questions about the feasibility of implementing Six Sigma, while still others are dismissing it plainly.Benefits of Six SigmaObviously, in almost all cases, the reasons for Six Sigma failure have been external factors such as wrong or misguided selection of the tools, lack of application and lack of support from upper management. It is important to keep in mind that the successful implementation of Six Sigma requires a top down approach and perseverance throughout. Also important to the process is proper and thorough Six Sigma training.Six Sigma Is All About Eradicating Business Problems.Problem solving involves rational thinking. Somehow, companies always found themselves compromising quality with problem solving, which is the main reason why companies decide to implement Six Sigma and support Six Sigma training.The top-down approach of Six Sigma requires dedication and application at all levels of the organization and on a ...

Lean Six Sigma is a business improvement methodology which combines (as the name implies) tools from both Lean Enterprise (Manufacturing) and Six Sigma.  Lean eliminates the waste in your processes, while Six Sigma ensures quality through the elimination of variation in your processes and also provides a structured data driven structure to solve problems and implement sustainable change into your business. 100% Effective Training believe therefore that the best approach for any business is to use Lean Six Sigma rather than one or the other.  The benefits from taking this approach are proven to out way taking only one approach at a time.   To understand Lean Six Sigma let us first explain the two methodologies.  Six Sigma is a set of practices originally developed by Motorola to systematically improve processes by eliminating defects.  A defect is defined as nonconformity of a product or service to its specifications.  In other words every time you do an activity you get exactly the same outcome (result), the same quality.  For example if I fill in a form or take an order or solve a customer issue or make a part no matter who does it the output is the same.Top companies all over the world including Motorola have made Six Sigma a way of life for their business. ...

Consumer outlook has undergone considerable changes due to business globalization and revolutionary information exchange paradigms. Changing business conditions created by the flurry of increasing competition has led to diminishing margins for error. Exceeding the expectation levels of customers assumes the central position in the current and future era of business. It is for this reason that Six Sigma has assumed critical importance in the current business environment.What is Six Sigma?Six Sigma is a two-way quality management approach towards achieving zero errors by removing process defects for existing products and by designing verified process flow for new products. From a consumer's point of view, Six Sigma is a highly disciplined process that enables product and service deliveries to a near perfect standard.The term Six Sigma (also 6 sigma) signifies the statistical benchmark for quality assurance. Sigma is the standard deviation (allowable, standardized figure from the mean acceptance level), and when the measured number of deviations beyond the mean tolerance limit is six, you are barely producing quality products. Simply put, this means that if you found six defects in your products, you are very close to poor quality production.Implementation Of MethodologyThe choice of implementation of Six Sigma methodology depends on whether improvement is required on existing processes (DMAIC) or on new process/product design ...

Any major change initiative requires a clearly defined supporting infrastructure to drive the program. Infrastructure is defined as the underlying foundation and basic framework of personnel and supporting systems needed to support Six Sigma deployment activities. Because every part of a company participates in Six Sigma activities, the infrastructure must be clear, consistent, and comprehensive.An effective infrastructure facilitates the development of the core competency that will establish and link Six Sigma project teams to (1) projects, (2) financial targets, and (3) the strategic plan. These project teams will be multifunctional and will need multi-functional support to execute the projects.If Six Sigma has any chance of being successful, the infrastructure will span from the CEO and his leadership team to business leaders and to people executing the projects. Remember we learned earlier that one of Kotter's eight stages of leader change is "Create a Guiding Coalition." Thus, there is the goal of the Six Sigma infrastructure.The infrastructure creates a strong network among the Executive Team, the Six Sigma Champions, the Belts, and the functions and businesses. This makes sense because the CEO's leadership team holds the accountability for executing the corporate strategic plan, and Six Sigma projects are instrumental in moving along the strategic plan.One learning challenge of a Six Sigma deployment involves ...

Since its introduction in the 1990's, 6-Sigma has become the buzzword in both the manufacturing and service industries. The various methodologies used in 6-Sigma are based on a disciplined and data driven approach that help in eliminating defects and achieving near perfection by restricting the number of possible defects to less than 3.4 defects per million. The methodologies are effective in managing business processes of both the manufacturing and service industries. In manufacturing industries, the concepts and methodologies are used for reducing the number of defects whereas in service industries, they are used mainly for reducing transactional errors.Although many companies have been successful in reducing the number of defects through Six Sigma projects, the arguments raised against the efficacy of 6-Sigma in all aspects of business processes still do not seem to die down. Some management experts think that Six Sigma is inherently flawed, as it does not take into account the flaws that might be present in the system itself. They are of the opinion that the analytical and statistical tools used in 6-Sigma only expose flaws in the execution and do not account for a process that itself is riddled with defects.Supporters of Six Sigma offer a different viewpoint. According to them, quality management tools such as Total Quality Management ...

The demand for people with Six Sigma expertise is constantly increasing. More and more organizations are discovering the many ways that the Six Sigma methodology can help them grow and improve. As Six Sigma spreads to many different industries beyond its genesis in manufacturing, you can now find many service and government organizations advertising for Six Sigma help. Plus, it is no longer the largest corporations looking for Six Sigma help. Smaller companies also are taking on Six Sigma projects and hiring people as consultants or permanent staff. The need for full-time Six Sigma professionals will only increase.Types of Six Sigma JobsThere are many Six Sigma jobs in many industries at junior and senior levels. The positions have descriptions and requirements unique to that organization and its requirements. It is true that many Six Sigma positions are filled internally as organizations train their own people already familiar with the organization's culture in Six Sigma skills. However, organizations frequently reach outside to add personnel with Six Sigma expertise to lead Six Sigma projects or even the full-scale implementation of Six Sigma throughout the organization. These positions are usually dedicated full-time to Six Sigma projects.Six Sigma jobs are advertised under many titles, not always as obvious as "Six Sigma Black Belt," "Six Sigma Consultant," ...

 Introduction- Six Sigma Background and Issues Six Sigma is the practical application of a theoretical statistical measurement that equates to 3.4 defects per million opportunities -a position of practically zero defects for any process or service. Its attainment is one of the highest measures of quality and is based on the ideology that practically all errors are preventable (Behara et al, 1994). Initially originating in Motorola Inc. in 1985 as a response to drastic quality improvement pressures from the threat of Japanese competition (Harry & Schroeder, 2000), it quickly gained many followers particularly G.E., Allied Signal, Ford Motor Company etc. and more recently attentions have shifted to service environments.Bob Galvin former CEO of Motorola stated that the lack of initial investment in the non manufacturing areas of the business over four years was a blunder that cost the business over 5 million dollars (Basu & Write, 2003, p43). However, organisations have implemented six sigma initiatives in transactional frameworks with success- testimonial for six sigma triumphs in services range from American Express and PriceWaterHouseCoopers to local NHS departments.The nature of Six Sigma and it’s Quality ObjectivesAs outlined in Lagrosen & Lagrosen (2003) six core principles form the basis of quality management, constitute the common material measured by numerous recognised quality awards (e.g. Malcolm Baldridge ...

ffinity Diagram - A technique for organizing individual pieces of information into groups or broader categories.ANOVA - Analysis of Variance - A statistical test for identifying significant differences between process or system treatments or conditions. It is done by comparing the variances around the means of the conditions being compared.Attribute Data - Data which on one of a set of discrete values such as pass or fail, yes or no.Average - Also called the mean, it is the arithmetic average of all of the sample values. It is calculated by adding all of the sample values together and dividing by the number of elements (n) in the sample.Bar Chart - A graphical method which depicts how data fall into different categories.Black Belt - An individual who receives approximately four weeks training in DMAIC, analytical problem solving, and change management methods. A Black Belt is a full time six sigma team leader solving problems under the direction of a Champion.Breakthrough Improvement - A rate of improvement at or near 70% over baseline performance of the as-is process characteristic.Capability - A comparison of the required operation width of a process or system to its actual performance width. Expressed as a percentage (yield), a defect rate (dpm, dpmo,), an index (Cp, Cpk, Pp, Ppk), or ...

Six Sigma is a program that deals with quality management and is designed to achieve an outstanding level of quality for products. Motorola was the first company to pioneer this process in the mid-eighties and since then it has been adopted by many other companies and manufacturers. Service companies, in order to enhance customer service and relations also utilize these strategies. 6 Sigma has evolved from a normal distribution curve where failures in quality and customer satisfaction arise after the sixth sigma of likelihood. Hence, the main idea is to reduce or lessen the defects per product or customer service.Companies that make use of Six Sigma have proved the critics wrong by achieving the 6 levels of quality that were believed to be an impossible achievement. Going beyond Six Sigma is not been unheard of and has been achieved by many companies like GE Aircraft Engines that function at nine sigma levels of quality. It is highly convenient, as it reduces the amount of failures or errors in product quality and customer service. Not only does this help in increasing customer satisfaction and revenue but it also leads to an increase in the number of returning customers and the acquirement of new customers. Companies that employ this process successfully have higher quality ...

What is Six Sigma?The concepts surrounding the drive to Six Sigma quality are essentially those of statistics and probability. In simple language, these concepts boil down to, “How confident can I be that what I planned to happen actually will happen?” Basically, the concept of Six Sigma deals with measuring and improving how close we come to delivering on what we planned to do.Anything we do varies, even if only slightly, from the plan. Since no result can exactly match our intention, we usually think in terms of ranges of acceptability for whatever we plan to do. Those ranges of acceptability (or tolerance limits) respond to the intended use of the product of our labors–the needs and expectations of the customer.Here’s an example. Consider how your tolerance limits might be structured to respond to customer expectations in these two instructions:“Cut two medium potatoes into quarter-inch cubes.” and “Drill and tap two quarter-inch holes in carbon steel brackets.”What would be your range of acceptability–or tolerances–for the value quarter-inch? (Hint: a 5/16” potato cube probably would be acceptable; a 5/16”threaded hole probably would not.)Another consideration in your manufacture of potato cubes and holes would be the inherent capability of the way you produce the quarter inch dimension–the capability of the process. Are you hand-slicing ...