Six Sigma

What is Six Sigma ?

The term " Sigma " is used to designate the distribution or spread about the mean (average) of any process or procedure. For a business or manufacturing process, the sigma value is a metric that indicates how well that process is performing. The higher the sigma value, the better. Sigma measures the capability of the process to perform defect-free-work. A defect is anything that results in customer dissatisfaction.

What is Six Sigma ?

With Sig Sigma, the common measurement index is "defects-per-unit," where a unit can be virtually anything--- a component, piece of material, line of code, administrative form, time frame, distance, etc. The Sigma value indicates how often defects are likely to occur. The higher the sigma value, the less likely a process will produce defects. As sigma increases, costs go down, cycle time goes down, and customer satisfaction goes up.

Features 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 project. An increased emphasis on strong and passionate management leadership and support. A special infrastructure of "Champions," "Master Black Belts," "Black Belts," "Green Belts", etc. to lead and implement the Six Sigma approach. A clear commitment to making decisions on the basis of verifiable data, rather than assumptions and guesswork.

Where Does Six Sigma Come From?

Necessity is the mother of invention

Motorola was losing market share to foreign rivals who had better quality and lower cost.
A Japanese firm took over a Motorola television factory. After implementing changes, the factory was producing with 1/20th the defect rate. Same people, same equipment, same designs..different management and different processes. Our quality stinks. Art Sundry, Motorola

2005 Rath & Strong, Division of Aon Consulting. All rights reserved

Who Developed Six Sigma ?

Late 1970s Mikel Harry (the man with two first names), a senior staff engineer, is using statistical analysis for problem solving. He was working in the Government Electronics Group (GEG) Though certainly not the first to apply statistical thinking to manufacturing analysis, he is the one who went on to refine a methodology and then call it Six Sigma. He wrote an internal paper called The Strategic Vision for Accelerating Six Sigma Within Motorola."

2005 Rath & Strong, Division of Aon Consulting. All rights reserved

Six Sigma Early Development

By the mid-1980s, Bob Galvin, Motorola CEO, has the company focused on improving quality.

1988, Motorola wins the first Malcolm Baldridge Quality Award. Part of winning this national quality award is the agreement to share the methods used to achieve the high levels of quality.
Other companies initiate Six Sigma programs, notably Larry Bossidy at Allied Signal. Larry tells his friend Jack Welch about it. Jack applies it at GE in a very big, very GE way.
7
2005 Rath & Strong, Division of Aon Consulting. All rights reserved

SIX SIGMA COMPANIES

MANAGING UP THE Sigma 1 2 3 4 5 6 % Good 30.9% 69.1% 93.3% 99.38% 99.977% 99.9997%

SIGMA SCALE
% Bad 69.1% 30.9% 6.7% 0.62% 0.023% 0.00034% DPMO 691,462 308,538 66,807 6,210 233 3.4

Common Six Sigma Tools

Project management Voice of the Customer Process mapping Data collection Hypothesis testing Regression analysis Designed experiments Statistical process control

Data graphs Gage R&R Operational definitions Process Capability Assessment nothing new here . . .

FMEA Stakeholder analysis Implementation planning Tollgate reviews

SIX SIGMA METHODOLOGY (DMAIC)

Define

Measure Control

Analyse Improve

DMAIC Steps 1. Define

1. Define
2. Measure 3. Analyze 4. Improve 5. Control

Identify projects that are measurable Define projects including the demands of the customer and the content of the internal process.

Develop team charter

Define process map

DMAIC Steps 2. Measure

1. Define

2. Measure

3. Analyze

4. Improve

5. Control

Define performance standards

Measure current level of quality into Sigma. It precisely pinpoints the area causing problems. Identify all potential causes for such problems.

DMAIC Steps 3. Analyze

1. Define 2. Measure

3. Analyze

4. Improve

5. Control

Establish process capability Define performance objectives Identify variation sources

DMAIC Steps 4. Improve

1. Define 2. Measure 3. Analyze

4. Improve

5. Control

Discover variable relationships among causes and

effects Establish operating tolerances Pursue a method to resolve and ultimately eliminate problems.

DMAIC Steps 5. Control

1. Define 2. Measure 3. Analyze 4. Improve

5. Control

Any deviations from target are corrected before they result in defects.
set up control mechanisms and continuously monitor the process.

SIX SIGMA METHODOLOGY (DMADV)

Define

Measure Verify

Analyse Design

DMADV Steps 4. Design

1. Define 2. Measure 3. Analyze

4. Design

5. Verify

Design the new product

It optimize the design.

Make plan for design verification.

DMADV Steps 5. Verify

1. Define 2. Measure 3. Analyze 4. Design

5. Verify

Verify the product design.

Implement the production process.

Hand it over to the process owners.

Key personnel in successful Six Sigma programmes

Executive Leadership includes CEO and other key top management team members. 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 are responsible for the Six Sigma implementation across the organization in an integrated manner. The Executive Leadership draws them from the upper management. Champions also act as mentors to Black Belts. At GE this level of certification is now called "Quality Leader".

Master Black Belts identified by champions, act as in-house expert coaches for the organization on Six Sigma. They devote 100% of their time to Six Sigma. They assist champions and guide Black Belts and Green Belts. Apart from the usual rigor of statistics, their time is spent on ensuring integrated deployment of Six Sigma across various functions and departments. Experts
This level of skill is used primarily within Aerospace and Defense Business Sectors. Experts work across company boundaries, improving services, processes, and products for their suppliers, their entire campuses, and for their customers. Raytheon Incorporated was one of the first companies to introduce Experts to their organizations. At Raytheon, Experts work not only across multiple sites, but across business divisions, incorporating lessons learned throughout the company

Black Belts operate under Master Black Belts to apply Six Sigma methodology to specific projects. They devote 100% of their time to Six Sigma. They primarily focus on Six Sigma project execution, whereas Champions and Master Black Belts focus on identifying projects/functions for Six Sigma. Green Belts are the employees who take up Six Sigma implementation along with their other job responsibilities. They operate under the guidance of Black Belts and support them in achieving the overall results. Yellow Belts are employees who have been trained in Six Sigma techniques as part of a corporate-wide initiative, but have not completed a Six Sigma project and are not expected to actively engage in quality improvement activities.