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Six Sigma

Six Sigma is a set of strategies and tools used to improve processes and reduce defects. It was developed by Motorola in 1986 and aims to identify and remove causes of defects. Six Sigma follows a defined sequence of steps for each project and has quantifiable targets like reducing costs and increasing profits. It uses a special infrastructure of experts within an organization to lead projects.

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182 views2 pages

Six Sigma

Six Sigma is a set of strategies and tools used to improve processes and reduce defects. It was developed by Motorola in 1986 and aims to identify and remove causes of defects. Six Sigma follows a defined sequence of steps for each project and has quantifiable targets like reducing costs and increasing profits. It uses a special infrastructure of experts within an organization to lead projects.

Uploaded by

Aditi B. Srivasatava
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Six Sigma is a set of strategies, techniques, and tools for process improvement. It was developed [1][2] by Motorola in 1986.

Six Sigma became famous when Jack Welch made it central to his successful [3] [4] business strategy at General Electric in 1995. Today, it is used in many industrial sectors. Six Sigma seeks to improve the quality of process outputs by identifying and removing the causes of [5] defects (errors) and minimizing variability in manufacturing and business processes. It uses a set of quality management methods, including statistical methods, and creates a special infrastructure of people within the organization ("Champions", "Black Belts", "Green Belts", "Yellow Belts", etc.) who are [5] experts in the methods. Each Six Sigma project carried out within an organization follows a defined sequence of steps and has quantified value targets, for example: reduce process cycle time, reduce [5] pollution, reduce costs, increase customer satisfaction, and increase profits. The term Six Sigma originated from terminology associated with manufacturing, specifically terms associated with statistical modeling of manufacturing processes. The maturity of a manufacturing process can be described by a sigma rating indicating its yield or the percentage of defect-free products it creates. A six sigma process is one in which 99.9999998% of the products manufactured are statistically expected to be free of defects (0.002 defective parts/million), although, as discussed below, this defect level corresponds to only a 4.5 sigma level. Motorola set a goal of "six sigma" for all of its manufacturing operations, and this goal became a by-word for the management and engineering practices used to achieve it. Six Sigma doctrine asserts that: Continuous efforts to achieve stable and predictable process results (i.e., reduce process variation) are of vital importance to business success. Manufacturing and business processes have characteristics that can be measured, analyzed, controlled and improved. Achieving sustained quality improvement requires commitment from the entire organization, particularly from top-level management.

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 [5] project. An increased emphasis on strong and passionate management leadership and support.
[5]

A special infrastructure of "Champions", "Master Black Belts", "Black Belts", "Green Belts", etc. to [5] lead and implement the Six Sigma approach. A clear commitment to making decisions on the basis of verifiable data and statistical methods, rather [5] than assumptions and guesswork.

The term "Six Sigma" comes from a field of statistics known as process capability studies. Originally, it referred to the ability of manufacturing processes to produce a very high proportion of output within specification. Processes that operate with "six sigma quality" over the short term are assumed to produce [6][7] long-term defect levels below 3.4 defects per million opportunities (DPMO). Six Sigma's implicit goal is to improve all processes, but not to the 3.4 DPMO level necessarily. Organizations need to determine an appropriate sigma level for each of their most important processes and strive to achieve these. As a result of this goal, it is incumbent on management of the organisation to prioritize areas of improvement.

Six Sigma is a registered service mark and trademark of Motorola Inc. As of 2006 Motorola reported [9] over US$17 billion in savings from Six Sigma. Other early adopters of Six Sigma who achieved wellpublicized success include Honeywell (previously known asAlliedSignal) and General Electric, [10] where Jack Welch introduced the method. By the late 1990s, about two-thirds of the Fortune [11] 500organizations had begun Six Sigma initiatives with the aim of reducing costs and improving quality. In recent years, some practitioners have combined Six Sigma ideas with lean manufacturing to create a [12] methodology named Lean Six Sigma. The Lean Six Sigma methodology views lean manufacturing, which addresses process flow and waste issues, and Six Sigma, with its focus on variation and design, as [12] complementary disciplines aimed at promoting "business and operational excellence". Companies such [13] as GE, Verizon, GENPACT, IBM and Sandia National Laboratories use Lean Six Sigma to focus transformation efforts not just on efficiency but also on growth. It serves as a foundation for innovation throughout the organization, from manufacturing and software development to sales and service delivery functions. The International Organisation for Standards (ISO) has published ISO 13053:2011 defining the six sigma [14] process.

[8]

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