Six Sigma is a quality management methodology

that provides businesses with the tools to improve

the capability of their business processes. This

increase in performance and decrease in process variation lead to defect reduction and improvement in profits, employee morale and quality of product.

 It is a quality measure and improvement program that was

pioneered by Mikel Harry and Motorola. It focuses on the control of aprocess until the point of six sigma (standard deviations) from a centerline, or 3.4 defects per million items. It includes identifying factors which are critical for the quality as determined by the customer. It reduces process variation and improvement capabilities, increases

stability and designs systems to support the six sigma goal.

The Six Sigma model is a highly disciplined approach that

can help companies to focus on developing and delivering near-perfect products and services.

If the sigma number is higher, you are closer to

perfection. One sigma is not very good; six sigma is defined as only 3.4 defects per million. The central idea behind Six Sigma is that if you can measure how many "defects" you have in a process, you can systematically figure out how you can eliminate them. Thus you can almost come to "zero defects".

Six Sigma
The goal of Six Sigma is to improve customer satisfaction, and thereby profitability, by reducing and eliminating defects.

Define

Measure

Analyze

Improve

Control

Five Steps in Six Sigma. Process

Definition. The first step in any Six Sigma project is to
clarify the problem and narrow its scope in such a way that measurable goals can be achieved within a few months. Then a team is assembled to examine the process in detail, suggest improvements, and implement those recommendations. In the manufacturing world, project managers and their sponsors typically begin by defining what constitutes a defect and then establish a set of objectives designed to reduce the occurrence of such defects.

Measurement. In the second step of a Six Sigma project, the team gathers data and prepares it for high-level analysis Analysis. Once a process has been mapped and documented, and the quality of the hard supporting data has been verified, the Six Sigma team can begin the analysis. The team members usually start by identifying the ways in which people fail to act as needed, or by identifying the ways in which people fail to ensure effective control at each stage.

 Improvement. Recommend, decide and implement improvements.

Control. In the final stage of a Six Sigma

project, the team creates controls. These are enabling the company to sustain and extend the improvements.

Proven Benefits of Six Sigma

Productivity increases Cycle time reduction Higher throughput Reduced defects High levels of outgoing quality Standardized improvement methodology across the organization A set of techniques and tools to simplify improvement efforts Greater customer satisfaction and dramatic improvement to the "bottom-line". Improve/reengineered processes