Six Sigma Methodology

10 Key excerpts on "Six Sigma Methodology"

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  Statistical Quality Control

  Using MINITAB, R, JMP and Python

  • Bhisham C. Gupta(Author)
  • 2021(Publication Date)
  • Wiley

    (Publisher)

  2 Basic Concepts of the Six Sigma Methodology 2.1 Introduction Far from being just another quality fad, Six Sigma has continued to grow in popularity and influ- ence since its creation at Motorola in 1986. Six Sigma techniques have been adopted by a wide range of manufacturing firms and have also translated successfully into other sectors, including retail, hospitality, financial services, high tech, transportation, government, and healthcare. According to the American Society for Quality, as of 2009, 82 of the largest 100 companies in the US had deployed Six Sigma. Fifty-three percent of Fortune 500 companies have adopted Six Sigma prac- tices, saving an estimated $427 billion over the past 20 years [1]. In a broad sense, it can be said that if a company has customers and a process, it can benefit from implementing Six Sigma. 2.2 What Is Six Sigma? In statistics, the lowercase Greek letter sigma (σ) represents the population standard deviation, which is a measure of variation or spread. In the quality field, we aim to reduce the process standard deviation to achieve more consistent outcomes. Whether we are measuring the dimension of a metal flange, inner diameter of a pipe, burst strength of a package, monthly labor costs for a divi- sion, or repair time of a subassembly, a repeatable process is the desired state. If we were limited to a single-sentence elevator speech to describe Six Sigma, a reasonable def- inition might be “Six Sigma is a quality approach that strives to reduce variation and decrease defects, which results in increased customer satisfaction and improved bottom-line results.” If we dig a little deeper, however, it becomes clear that there are at least three different definitions of the term Six Sigma. Six Sigma can be correctly classified as a management philosophy; it is also defined as a systematic approach to problem-solving. Last, Six Sigma is a term used for a statistical standard of quality.

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  Six Sigma in Transactional and Service Environments

  • Hasan Akpolat(Author)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  If used correctly, Business Excellence Frameworks can generate substantial benefits to organizations, including better leadership, increased customer and employee satisfaction, improved processes and better financial results. They typically describe the overall framework for improvement but do not recommend or prescribe any specific programme or methodology to be used. As discussed earlier in conjunction with the ISO 9000 quality standard, Six Sigma provides the concept for improvement and can be easily integrated with Business Excellence. In fact, in many organizations, Business Excellence and Six Sigma are used together; Business Excellence provides the overall framework and direction for management while Six Sigma is deployed as an improvement methodology.

  Summary

  Six Sigma Methodology can be categorized into characteristics and their corresponding aspects, as shown in Figure 1.15 .

  Figure 1.15 Characteristics of Six Sigma

  The characteristics ‘strategic alignment’ and ‘top-down approach’ form the management aspect of the Six Sigma Methodology which has been discussed in this chapter. ‘Customer focus’ and ‘measurement and improvement’ form the foundation of Six Sigma and will be discussed in detail in Chapter 2 . The characteristic ‘management and staff involvement’ refers to the Six Sigma infrastructure aspect and will be covered in Chapter 4 . ‘Project management’ refers to the method through which Six Sigma improvements are achieved and will be discussed in Chapter 3 . In addition, the method of constructing some basic tools and charts will be covered in Chapter 5 .

  The name ‘Six Sigma’ is derived from the use of standard deviation as a measure of defect levels in manufacturing processes. Using the Motorola definition, a process operating at six- sigma level (six times sigma) would mean less than four defects per million opportunities, a level close to perfection.

  The Six Sigma Methodology is a result of the evolutionary process of quality innovations from the 1930s through TQC, ISO 9000 and TQM. It is a business concept that combines quality improvement tools with strategic management processes to drive a company’s continual improvement efforts and achieve substantial bottom-line results.

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  Managing for Quality and Performance Excellence

  • James Evans, William Lindsay, , (Authors)
  • 2019(Publication Date)
  • Cengage Learning EMEA

    (Publisher)

  First, Manex trained the three groups together in a classroom environment on the Six Sigma DMAIC methodology. Next, each team applied the DMAIC process to specific problems during weekly coaching meetings. The meetings ended with a short list of homework items, promoting steady, incremental learn-ing throughout the project. The results included a 57 percent reduction in the monthly financial closing cycle, 99.5 percent reduction in inventory variance errors, 75 percent reduction in order processing time, starting with a pilot program, 93 percent reduction in traveler-related quality errors, and a 41 percent reduction in max yield loss for a specific product family. Because of the popularity of Six Sigma and the fact that many organizations train their workforce to use DMAIC, we will use it as the basic framework for further discussion of process improvement tools and techniques. To understand DMAIC better, we introduce the Six Sigma philosophy next. SIX SIGMA Six Sigma has garnered a significant amount of attention and credibility because of its acceptance at such major firms as Allied Signal (now part of Honeywell) and General Electric. Six Sigma can be described as a business improvement approach that seeks to find and eliminate causes of defects and errors in manufacturing and service pro-cesses by focusing on outputs that are critical to customers and a clear financial return for the organization. The term six sigma is based on a statistical measure that equates to 3.4 or fewer errors or defects per million opportunities (dpmo) (this calculation was explained in Chapter 8). An ultimate stretch goal of all organizations that adopt a Six Sigma philosophy is to have all critical processes, regardless of functional area, at a six-sigma level of capability. Copyright 2020 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part.

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  Essentials for the Improvement of Healthcare Using Lean & Six Sigma

  • D.H. Stamatis(Author)
  • 2010(Publication Date)
  • Productivity Press

    (Publisher)

  In the case of simple problems with obvious and easy-to-implement solutions, rigorous adherence to the Six Sigma problem-solving process may be consid-ered “overkill” and inefficient (Stamatis 2003a, 2003b, 2003c, 2003d, 2003e; George 2003). Furthermore, Six Sigma typically does not resort to standard solutions to common problems, as does Lean. Finally, the danger of subopti-mizing a process, while failing to take into account the entire value chain, is ever present. Nevertheless, Six Sigma offers a structured, analytic, and logi-cally sound approach to problem solving, as well as a strong organizational framework for its deployment. It offers a cooperative approach and flexibil-ity for recognizing small and large problems; more importantly, through its methodology, it allows the use of very simple to highly complex statistical analysis. Using Six Sigma Methodology for Improvement ◾ 183 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC Unfortunately, many organizations have yet to embrace the flexibility of this adaptable system. The Six Sigma process is a discipline that strengthens this coop-erative approach and, by the nature of its functional model, provides a step-by-step prescription to achieve breakthrough strategies once a project has been selected. The intent of this methodology is shown in Figure 9.1. In its entirety, the classical model consists of define, measure, analyze, improve, and control (DMAIC). Its intent is shown in Figure 9.1 and an overall summary is shown in Table 9.1. Now that we have a good overview of what the Six Sigma Methodology is all about, let us examine the DMAIC model in a little more detail. The reader is encouraged to see Stamatis (2002a, 2002b, 2003a, 2003b, 2003c, 2003d, 2003e) and Breyfogle (2003) for very detailed and descriptive discussions of the Six Sigma approach to solving problems.

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  Healthcare Systems Engineering

  • Paul M. Griffin, Harriet B. Nembhard, Christopher J. DeFlitch, Nathaniel D. Bastian, Hyojung Kang, David A. Munoz(Authors)
  • 2016(Publication Date)
  • Wiley

    (Publisher)

  As they set about achieving this goal, engineers viewed reliability as inversely proportional to errors or 169 170 Chapter 7 Six Sigma defects per million opportunities (DPM) in a process. In statistical terms, Six Sigma marks a high efficacy standard: 3.4 DPMO. General systems theory creates a relationship between all or nearly all of the processes in an organization. Motorola’s striving for Six Sigma performance in its technical operations began to pervade every operation in the organization, and in 1988 it was awarded the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for its accomplishments. The receipt of this honor prompted Motorola to release its proprietary control of Six Sigma and share the methodology with other businesses (Carrigan & Kujawa, 2006). Subsequently, General Electric CEO Jack Welch became a very well-known proponent of Six Sigma. He integrated Six Sigma into the corporate culture of GE and used it to drive GE’s strategy goal of being number 1 or 2 in every market in which it had products. Welch initiated a tremendous quality campaign in his organization and announced: We want to change the competitive landscape by being not just better than our competitors, but by taking quality to a whole new level. We want to make our quality so special, so valuable to our customers, so important to their success, that our products become their only real value choice. (Snee & Hoerl, 2003) Now, Six Sigma is characterized by its customer-driven approach, emphasis on decision making based on careful analysis of quantitative data, and a priority on cost reduction. Six Sigma is deployed through the careful execution of improvement projects. Project selection should be based on a translation of the company strategy into operational goals. Six Sigma provides an organizational structure of project owners and project leaders. Members of upper management are project owners, or Champions. Project leaders are called Master Black Belts or Black Belts.

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  Interdisciplinary Public Finance, Business and Economics Studies Volume I

  • Adil Akinci, ÖZER ÖZCELIK(Authors)
  • 2019(Publication Date)
  • Peter Lang Group

    (Publisher)

  At the same time, businesses that have successfully implemented these applications have started to earn more customers in the market as well as improving the satisfaction of current customers by producing faster, higher quality, more flexible and less costly than other businesses. In historical process, it has been the main objective of modern production approaches to increase effi- ciency by adding value to resources through various changes and transformations depending upon the developments in production systems and technologies, to invigorate the economy, to meet the product/service demands towards customers’ expectancies at a level of price that can maximize the profit via the expected quality and the use of optimal resource. In line with this aim, the approaches of six sigma with the aspect of enhancing the quality, reengineering with the aspect of increasing the efficiency of processes, agile manufacturing with the aspect of speed, theory of constraints that aims to maximize the profit with effectively using resources are discussed. 2 Six Sigma (6σ) Approach The small “sigma” letter in the Greek alphabet -σ- is the symbol used in the sta- tistic to represent the “standard deviation” of a population. Standard deviation Aysel Çetindere Filiz, et al. 292 is an indication of the amount of “variability” or inconsistency in any object or process group. For example, it is variability that a fast food, which you have bought, is hot and delicious one day, and is tepid another day. Or if all three shirts you have bought are the same size, and one of them is narrower for you, this is also variability. In fact, an infinite number of examples of variability can be given because everything varies in one way or another; variability is a part of life (Pande et al., 2018, p. 60). The biggest obstacle in upgrading the quality levels of companies that offer products or services is the variability in the pro- cesses (Öztürk, 2013, p. 450).

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  Essentials of Lean Six Sigma

  • Salman Taghizadegan(Author)
  • 2010(Publication Date)
  • Butterworth-Heinemann

    (Publisher)

  Chapter 8 Road Map to Lean Six Sigma Continuous Improvement Engineering Strategies 8.1 SIX SIGMA CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT ENGINEERING In reference to our earlier discussion of process quality in Chapter 1, it is evident that as the sigma level approaches six, the defects of a process drop to 3.4 defects per million parts. The success of Japanese manufacturers comes from focusing on process quality rather than part quality . In most cases a defect-free process produces a defect-free product. Therefore, a quality product requires a quality process. Nevertheless, all the defects are the result of improper design, process condition, material, or machine operation. Design for Lean Six Sigma (DFLSS) will evaluate all the above factors in achieving organizational goals. Companies that are willing to implement Lean Six Sigma should recognize the following criteria: • Top management should engage in the program. • The company needs to be committed to providing resources for continuous improvement. • The company needs to believe in Lean Six Sigma capabilities in achieving and solving very difficult problems. • The company needs to be committed to customer satisfaction and bottom line. The following sections examine how to engineer Six Sigma continuous improve-ment, Design for Six Sigma (DFSS), and Lean Six Sigma . Six Sigma process improvements consist of five different phases: Phase 0—Process Definition/ Project Selection; Phase I—Process Measurement; Phase II—Process Analysis; Essentials of Lean Six Sigma Copyright © 2006 by Academic Press, Inc. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved. 107 108 Road Map to Lean Six Sigma Continuous Improvement Engineering Strategies Phase III—Process Improvement; and Phase IV—Process Control and Maintain. 8.2 DEFINITION AND MEASUREMENT 8.2.1 P HASE 0: P ROCESS D EFINITION /P ROJECT S ELECTION Project Objectives and Strategies This step focuses on the following objectives and actions: 1.

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  Six Sigma

  • William Truscott(Author)
  • 2012(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)
• The statistical model provides the marketing name for the Six Sigma improvement initiative. Its effectiveness is indicated by the tremendous interest shown in, and take-up of, the Six Sigma business process throughout the world. That Six Sigma has considerable substance is borne out by the fact of positive news-feed from organizations already committed to Six Sigma.
• A number of statisticians are extremely critical of some of the statistical features of the model. These criticisms have been aired in this chapter and positive responses given. These responses are intended to be helpful to those engaged, currently and potentially, in Six Sigma activities.
• It should be borne in mind that the five constructive criticisms made in respect of the statistical component of the Six Sigma initiative is not associated with, or detracts from the benefits gained by deployment of, the overall Six Sigma business improvement process itself.
  – One should be careful to distinguish between the universally used Greek term for standard deviation namely, sigma, and the Sigma used by Six Sigma practitioners. The smaller the value of standard deviation, sigma, the better the precision (performance) of a process. The larger the ‘Sigma’ the better the performance of the process.
  – It is recommended that anyone and everyone associated with Six Sigma use the accepted linkage between ‘defects’ per million opportunities and the Sigma measure purely for convenience in respect to what is now accepted common usage in the Six Sigma arena. They should, however, not be taken in by the very tenuous arguments put forward to justify this relationship.
  – The name Six Sigma is a marketing concept for a continual-improvement initiative that aims to provide a somewhat arbitrary amount of clear water between a 6 Sigma performance standard and current standard practice. A 6 Sigma standard is commonly said to represent a world-class performance of 3.4 ‘defects’ per million opportunities.
  – The originators of Six Sigma use the term ‘defect’ to describe the universally accepted term ‘non-conformities’. The perpetuation of this practice by many Six Sigma authors, trainers and practitioners is strongly discouraged. The International Standards Organization explicitly state that the term ‘defects’ should be used with extreme caution, primarily because of legal and product liability implications.
  – In general Six Sigma practice, the term opportunity is said to apply to a critical-to-quality characteristic (CTQC). A Sigma level in a given situation is determined by the number of non-conformities per million opportunites (NPMO). If NPMO is to be a universal metric, as claimed, extreme care should be taken on what a CTQC is. This is because of the sensitivity of NPMO, and hence the Sigma level, to number of CTQCs.