• History of Quality in Higher Education

• The World We Live In

• Six Sigma Defined
• DMAIC
• Lean Defined

1
 History of Quality in Higher Education

• In 1980, NBC aired “If Japan can…Why

can’t we?” and the Quality movement took
off in the U.S.
• In 1991, IBM offered $1 million ($3 million
in IBM equipment) to those colleges and
universities that could adapt quality
management initiatives
• In 1992 all of higher education went TQM
“crazy”

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 History of Quality in Higher Education,
cont.

• TQM failed in higher education because of lack of

knowledge.
• TQM lost its appeal to many business because of
increased labor and documentation costs and
decreased reliance on Statistical Process Control
• Six Sigma was an effort by Motorola and GE to
bring back statistical measurement to quality
• Six Sigma is now slowly entering the halls of
academe

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 What is Six Sigma (6σ)?

• Sigma (σ) is a statistical concept that represents how much

variation there is in a process relative to customer
specifications.
• Sigma Value is based on “defects per million opportunities”
(DPMO).
• Six Sigma (6σ) is equivalent to 3.4 DPMO. The variation in
the process is so small that the resulting products and services
are 99.99966% defect free.

Amount of Variation Effect Sigma Value

Too much Hard to produce output within Low (0 – 2)
customer specifications
Moderate Most output meets customer Middle (3 – 5)
specifications
Very little Virtually all output meets High (6)
customer specifications
4
 Six Sigma Concept

Every Human Activity Has Variability...

Customer
Specification
Customer
Specification

defects
Target

Reducing Variability is the Key to Understanding Six Sigma

5
 Six Sigma Concept

Parking Your Car in the Garage

Has Variability...

Customer Customer
Specification Target Specification

defects defects

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 Six Sigma Concept

A 3 process because 3 standard deviations

fit between target and spec
Before
Target Customer
3 Specification

1

2

3
After

Target 6 Customer

Specification

By reducing the variability,

we improve the process 1 No Defects!
3

6

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 What’s Wrong With 99% Quality?

3.8
3.8 Sigma
Sigma Six
Six Sigma
Sigma
99%
99% Good
Good 99.99966%
99.99966% Good
Good
 20,000 articles of mail lost per hour  7 articles of mail lost per hour

 Unsafe drinking water for almost 15  Unsafe drinking water for 1 minute
minutes each day every 7 months

 5,000 incorrect surgical operations  1.7 incorrect surgical operations

per week per week

 2 short or long landings at most major  1 short or long landing at most

airports each day major airports every 5 years

 200,000 wrong drug prescriptions  68 wrong drug prescriptions

dispensed each year dispensed each year
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 Why Use Sigma as a Metric?

 Focuses on defects
• Even one defect reflects a failure in your
customer’s eye

 Establishes a common metric to make

comparisons easier

 Is a more sensitive indicator than percentage

or average-based metrics …

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 Where Did 6σ Come From?

• Started at Motorola Corporation in the mid-1980’s,

when the company discovered that products with a
high first-pass yield (i.e., those that made it through
the production process defect-free) rarely failed in
actual use, resulting in higher customer satisfaction.
• Popularized by former General Electric CEO Jack
Welch’s commitment to achieving Six Sigma
capability (realized $12 Billion savings over 5 years).
"Six Sigma is a quality program that improves your
customers' experience, lowers your costs and builds
better leaders."

10
 Isn’t 6σ Just For Manufacturing?

• No, Six Sigma is good for ANY business.

– Has been successful in industries such as
banking, retail, software, and medical
– Has been successful in improving processes
throughout operations, sales, marketing,
information technology, finance, customer
services, and human resources
• Why?
– Because every business suffers from the two
key problems that Six Sigma can solve:
defects and delay

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 Six Sigma (6σ) in Academia
Institutions which have implemented some form of Six Sigma
methodology within their operations:
Health Sciences: Other:
Medical College of Pennsylvania Alabama Jackson State South Carolina
Medical College of Virginia Boston University Johns Hopkins South Dakota State
Medical College of Wisconsin Cal Poly State Kettering Tennessee
Medical U of South Carolina California Michigan Texas
St. Louis U Health Sciences Center Carnegie Mellon Mississippi Texas A&M
U of Michigan Health System Central Florida Mississippi State Tulane
U of Tennessee Health Science Center Central Michigan NC State UNC Chapel Hill
U of Texas Health Science Center Clemson Ohio Vanderbilt
U of Texas Medical Branch Coastal Carolina Penn State Vermont
University System of Georgia: Colorado Purdue Villanova
University of Georgia Connecticut Rockhurst Washington
University of West Georgia Florida Tech Rutgers Western Illinois
Valdosta State University Illinois Central San Diego Western Kentucky

USG Institutions Teaching Six Sigma

Abraham Baldwin Columbus State Kennesaw State
Armstrong Atlantic State Darton College Southern Polytechnic State
Bainbridge College Georgia State University of Georgia
Clayton State Georgia Inst of Tech Valdosta State

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 Six Sigma (6σ) Methodologies

DMAIC: This method is used to

Control Define improve the current capabilities of an
existing process. This is by far the most
Improve Measure
commonly used methodology of sigma
Analyze
improvement teams.

DMADV: This method is used when you

need to create or completely redesign a
Verify Define
process, product, or service to meet
Design Measure customer requirements. DMADV teams
Analyze are usually staffed by senior managers
and Six Sigma experts.

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 DMAIC Methodology

DEFINE Identify, prioritize, and

select the right project(s)

MEASURE Identify key product

characteristics & process
parameters, understand
processes, and measure
performance

ANALYZE Identify the key (causative)

process determinants

IMPROVE Establish prediction model

and optimize performance

CONTROL Hold the gains

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DMADV
DMADV works best for planning a process that doesn’t yet exist, for example,
when creating a new product or improving customer relations.
•Define: Establish the client’s or customer’s need. Find out
•Measure: Use data to assess customer needs, response to a product or service,
and the product or service’s capabilities.
•Analyze: Review data and use that information to create new goals or designs
to meet customer or client needs.
•Design: Create a product, service, or process that will better address customer
needs based on findings.
•Verify: Test the design and either deliver it to the client or put a plan in place
to monitor its success and efficacy at addressing customer needs.

15
 Six Sigma as a Philosophy

 is a measure of how much

Internal &
External
Prevention & variation exists in a process
Appraisal
Failure
Costs
Costs
Old Belief
Costs

Old Belief
4 High Quality = High Cost

Quality
Internal & Prevention &
External Appraisal
Costs Failure Costs Costs

New Belief 4
New Belief
High Quality = Low Cost 5
6

Quality
 Project Charter

• Business Case
• Problem Statement
• Goal Statement
• Team Members
• Team Role & Responsibility
• Action plan VS. budget

SIPOC is an acronym that stands for Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs

and Customers. In practical terms, SIPOC is a process mapping and
improvement method that summarizes the inputs and outputs of one or
more processes using a SIPOC diagram.
The SIPOC model offers a clear picture of the complete process, and the
follow-up steps. It enables process management teams to visualize,
comprehend, and communicate effectively. With in-depth knowledge of
the underlying causes of problems, organizations can develop practical
strategies to improve processes
© 2004 Superfactory™. All Rights Reserved. 17
Six Sigma Toolbox

Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)

Box Plots
Brainstorming
Cause-effect Diagrams
Correlation & Regression
Design Of Experiments
Graphs and Charts
Histograms
Hypothesis Testing
Pareto Analysis
Process Capability Studies
Process Control Plans
Process Flow Diagrams
Quality Function Deployment
Response Surface Methods
Scatter Diagrams
Standard Operating Procedures
(SOPs)
Statistical Process Control

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 Project Focus

Define The right project(s), the right team(s)

Characterization

Measure
 Process
Problems and
Process

Y 
Symptoms
Process outputs
 Response variable, Y
Analyze
 Independent variables, Xi
Optimization

Process inputs
X’s

Improve
Process

 The Vital Few determinants

 Causes
Control  Mathematical relationship

Goal: Y = f ( x ) 19
 Different Views of the Organization

30,000 Ft. – View of Entire Organization

5,000 Ft. – View of One Process

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 So, What is Lean?

• The methodology of increasing the speed of

production by eliminating process steps
which do not add value
– those which delay the product or service
– those which deal with the waste and rework
of defects along the way

21
 Where Did Lean Come From?

• Lean thinking originated at Toyota with the Toyota

Production System (TPS). The original ideas were
formulated by Sakichi Toyoda in the 1920s and
1930s, but only made the leap to full
implementation in the 1950s.

• Many of the principles of lean came from a

surprising source: American supermarkets where
small quantities of a vast selection of inventory is
replenished as customers "pull" them off the shelf.

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 Core Ideas of Lean

• Determine and create value

– What does the customer want?
• Use “pull” instead of “push” systems to avoid
overproduction
– Inventories hide problems and efficiencies.
• One piece flow
– Make the work “flow,” so that there are no
interruptions and no wasted time or material
• Eliminate the seven speed bumps (non-value
adds) caused by waste
• Use the “five whys?” and Six Sigma problem
solving to eliminate defects
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 The Seven Speed Bumps of Lean
Non-value added waste – is any activity which
absorbs money, time, and people but creates no
value.
1. Over production which creates inventories that take up
space and capital
2. Excess inventory caused by over production
3. Waiting for the next value-added process to start
4. Unnecessary movement of work products
5. Unnecessary movement of employees

6. Unnecessary or incorrect processing

7. Defects leading to repair, rework, or scrap.

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 The Antidote to Waste: The 5 S’s

1. Sort
– Keep only what is needed
2. Straighten
– A place for everything and everything in its place
3. Shine
– Clean systems and work area to expose problems
4. Standardize
– Develop systems and procedures to monitor conformance
to the first three rules. (Six Sigma’s Define and Measure
phases)
5. Sustain
– Maintain a stable workflow. (Six Sigma’s Analyze,
Improve, and Control phases)

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 Synergy of Lean and Six Sigma

# of
±3 ±4 ±5 ±6
Steps
Lean reduces non-value-add steps

1 93.32% 99.379% 99.976% 99.999%

7 61.63% 95.733% 98.839% 99.997%

10 50.08% 93.96% 99.768% 99.996%

20 25.08% 88.29% 99.536% 99.993%

40 6.29% 77.94% 99.074% 99.986%

Six Sigma improves quality of value-add steps
Source: Motorola Six Sigma Institute 26
 The Birth of “Lean Six Sigma”

• Six Sigma improves effectiveness by

eliminating defects (improves Quality)
• Lean improves efficiency by eliminating
delay and waste (improves Speed)
• Most Six Sigma efforts are incorporating
the principles of Lean. Therefore, Six
Sigma is often called Lean Six Sigma.

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 Pareto Chart in Residence Halls

Residential Life Incident Reports – 2 Years

250 100.00%
90.00%
200 80.00%

Cumlative Percentage
70.00%
150 60.00%
Count

50.00%
100 40.00%
30.00%
50 20.00%
10.00%
0 0.00%

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Here’s a few more considerations for when to use Six Sigma:

•To eliminate waste, whether that’s wasted time, materials, or

other resources
•To reduce defects or variations in your product or service
•To define what’s causing problems
•To use data more effectively to increase efficiency and
productivity
•To increase customer and employee satisfaction
•To design a new process or redesign an ineffective one

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 Benefits of the Six Sigma methodology

Informed decision-making: Six Sigma methodology rests on a bedrock of

statistics. Without accurate measurements and data on what’s actually going on in
your processes, you’re operating on gut feeling and assumptions. Data empowers
you to make objective decisions and find the best solution or idea. Six Sigma aims
to back your performance or production initiatives with quantitative data and be
better equipped to meet them.
Increase communication and collaboration in your team: Six Sigma is
meant to be an organization-wide effort, encouraging everyone to see problems as
opportunities and truth as the most important goal. As a result, employees won’t
feel afraid to voice concerns and will see other teams and departments as partners
in improvement rather than competitors in performance.
Improved quality and customer satisfaction: As we’ve mentioned before, Six
Sigma is all about reducing defects and variations in customer experience. It
doesn’t matter if it’s for something made in a factory, like a box of cookies, or
something more intangible, like a web app. Once you begin measuring and
quantifying your processes, you’ll be able to make the changes necessary to
improve the experience for your customers.

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Reduced costs: Poor quality and inefficiencies in process
cause a lot more expenses than we think––missed deadlines,
lost customer loyalty, design changes, managerial changes,
engineering changes, and so on. Whether due to poor
planning or to fix mistakes as they occur, they add up. Six
Sigma takes a ruthless approach to cutting those out with
structured teams of experts, a rigorous review of processes,
and a strict adherence to data.
Better productivity and time management: With better
team structure, project planning, data collection and analysis,
and business strategy, your entire organization will be more
efficient. And if you aren’t spending time fixing problems that
should have been avoided or mitigated, then you can spend
more time on the things that matter.

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 Six Sigma certification

Six Sigma certification guarantees that you have a certain set

of skills and that you have a standard level of knowledge
about Six Sigma methodology.
The advantages of Six Sigma certification to a company
include compliance, improved performance, and reducing
errors and waste.
For employees, it might mean a higher salary, more job
opportunities, improved leadership skills, and a portable set of
competences that can easily transfer from job to job.

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Here are the different Six Sigma certification levels:
•Champion: Though not technically a belt, champions are an important part of the Six
Sigma deployment strategy. They act as the Six Sigma team guide, aligning projects with
organizational goals, keeping the team focused, and removing roadblocks.
•Master Black Belt: The in-house authorities and teachers for Six Sigma, they train
lower-level belts. They also manage Six Sigma program strategy.
•Black Belt: The most highly trained experts in Six Sigma, they lead, mentor, and coach
Six Sigma teams.
•Green Belt: Trained to solve most process problems, they assist Black Belt projects by
collecting and analyzing data. They sometimes lead less complex projects themselves.
•Yellow Belt: Trained in basic Six Sigma methodology, they participate in Green and
Black Belt projects as team members.
•White Belt: With only an introductory overview of Six Sigma concepts, they are the
recruiting base for future Yellow and Green belts. They assist in simple tasks for Six
Sigma projects.
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