10/6/2020 6M's in Six Sigma (Six Ms or 5Ms and one P or 5M1P) | Six Sigma Study Guide

6M’s in Six Sigma (Six Ms or 5Ms and

one P or 5M1P)
Posted by Ted Hessing

In the Analyze phase of DMAIC we want to identifying root cause to the defects that are causing variation in our

process. Sometimes the culprits are easy to identify. More often we have to make a hypothesis about what is causing the

variation and then test that hypothesis to see if our hunch was right. But how do you come up with a hypothesis for

what is causing variation?

In Six Sigma we describe process variation in terms of 6M’s (aka 5 M’s and 1 P). These are six elements contribute to

variation in a process. Those six elements – 5 Ms and on P (or 6Ms) in uence variation in all processes – manufacturing

or not.

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6M’s of Six Sigma

Ishikawa states the 6 Ms (also known as the 5 Ms and 1 P) as: Man, Machine, Material, Method, Measurement, Mother

Nature

1. Method

2. Mother Nature “Environmental”

3. (Man) People

4. Measurement

5. Machine

6. Materials

6 Ms in Manufacturing Example
1. Method

Following an assembly line is much different than a manufacturing oor that does not.

2. Mother Nature “Environmental”

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Ambient humidity may cause more breakdowns to machines than normal.

3. (Man) People

Empowering any single employee to stop the entire production line if he nds a defect.

4. Measurement

If the supplier measures in English units and the manufacturer measures in metrics, issues could arise.

5. Machine

Age and robustness of the machine may impact process.

6. Materials

Some materials are harder to work with than others.

6 Ms in Management
1. Method

If one team is developing software following a Waterfall approach while a second is using an Agile practice

and a third is using Kanban, each method is different.

2. Mother Nature “Environmental”

Of ces in the north are more lenient to snow days than those in the south.

3. (Man) People

People untrained in 6 Sigma tend to focus on the ‘Man’ portion of the 6Ms when looking at a process.

A manager who is unenlightened in six sigma is most likely going to focus on Man. Unenlightened managers

tend to think of the process performance being in uenced more by the person component than by the other

ve components of the six Ms of machine, material, method, measurement, or mother nature. (Don’t ask

whom, ask why.)

4. Measurement

It’s dif cult to evaluate teams evenly if each team lead rewards their teams for different behaviors.

5. Machine

Software development productivity may be different if developers have slower machines or worse tools to

use.

6. Materials
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Employees can only build a product as good as the raw materials they get.

6M Insights
When you have a bell shaped curve, none of the 5 Ms or one P are unduly in uencing the process.

Six elements contribute to variation in a process. Those six elements – 5 Ms and on P (or 6Ms) in uence variation

in all processes – manufacturing or not.

You could also use the 6M approach as a spine on each of a sh bone diagram and then ask the 5 whys to narrow

down potential root cause.

5 m’s and one p

6M’s in Six Sigma Practice Questions

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Comments (6)

T.BAGAVATHI
April 12, 2017 at 2:14 pm

Variation by Method -Drilling can be done in single/multiheades machines or in a modern CNC machine.

Based on your product cycle you can choose a method wherein which variation & cost to be considered

Variation by men performing the operation will come thro. his skill/experience level he got with

Reply

Ted Hessing 
July 27, 2019 at 4:02 pm

Thanks for the addition! Much appreciated.

Reply

larry
February 19, 2020 at 2:32 am

Hi

I’ve heard it before; 5 M

Mother nature use for outdoor workshop and indoor you can Control Envioment.

Reply

Ted Hessing 
February 19, 2020 at 7:55 am

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10/6/2020 6M's in Six Sigma (Six Ms or 5Ms and one P or 5M1P) | Six Sigma Study Guide

Thanks, Larry. That’s a neat variation I haven’t heard of before.

Reply

Kenneth Marek
May 15, 2020 at 9:03 am

Thank you for the concise 6M analysis method summary. On another note I see that you used Boy Scout merit

badges as visual inserts haha.

Reply

Ted Hessing 
May 18, 2020 at 7:54 am

Hah! You noticed!! Glad it was helpful, Kenneth!

Reply

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