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SIX SIGMA
ABSTRACT:
Six Sigma is a smarter way to manage business or department.
It is a vision of quality that equates with only 3.4 defects for million opportunities
for each product or service transactions. Strives for perfection.
We believe that defects free product can be in any organization
implementing six sigma. In this paper, we presented an overview of the process
which explains how six sigma increase the overall quality improvement task into a
series of project management stages: Define, Measure, Analyses, Innovation,
Improve and Control. We will describe dependence of six sigma on Normal
Distribution theory and also process capability. It gives a small note on the
assumptions made in six sigma methodology of problem solving and the key
elements involved .A brief view on Defects Per Million Opportunities (DPMO)
Analysis is given.
Ultimate objectives of the methodology to solve problems, improve
the quality, profitability and customers satisfaction.

INTRODUCTION:
The main objective of any business is to make profit. For increasing the
profit, the selling price should increase and/or the manufacturing cost should come
down. Since the price is decided by the competition in the market, hence the only
the way to increase the profit is to cut down the manufacturing cost which can be
achieved only through continuous improvement in the company’s operation. Six
sigma quality programs provide an overall framework for continuous improvement
in the process of an organization. Six sigma uses facts, data and root cause to solve
problems.
SIX SIGMA HISTORY
Here's a brief history of Six Sigma, and the Six Sigma name. Additionally, comments
I've received about Six Sigma contain aspects of Six Sigma history.

Since the 1920's the word 'sigma' has been used by mathematicians and engineers as
a symbol for a unit of measurement in product quality variation. (Note it's sigma
with a small 's' because in this context sigma is a generic unit of measurement.)

In the mid-1980's engineers in Motorola Inc in the USA used 'Six Sigma' an an
informal name for an in-house initiative for reducing defects in production
processes, because it represented a suitably high level of quality. (Note here it's
Sigma with a big
'S' because in this context Six Sigma is a 'branded' name for Motorola's initiative.)

(Certain engineers - there are varying opinions as to whether the very first was Bill
Smith or Mikal Harry - felt that measuring defects in terms of thousands was an
insufficiently rigorous standard. Hence they increased the measurement scale to
parts per million, described as 'defects per million', which prompted the use the the
'six sigma' terminology and adoption of the capitalised 'Six Sigma' branded name,
given that six sigma was deemed to equate to 3.4 parts - or defects - per million.)

In the late-1980's following the success of the above initiative, Motorola extended
the Six Sigma methods to its critical business processes, and significantly Six Sigma
became a formalised in-house 'branded' name for a performance improvement
methodology, ie., beyond purely 'defect reduction', in Motorola Inc.

In 1991 Motorola certified its first 'Black Belt' Six Sigma experts, which indicates
the beginnings of the formalisation of the accredited training of Six Sigma methods.

In 1991 also, Allied Signal, (a large avionics company which merged with
Honeywell in 1999), adopted the Six Sigma methods, and claimed significant
improvements and cost savings within six months. It seems that Allied Signal's new
CEO Lawrence Bossidy learned of Motorola's work with Six Sigma and so
approached Motorola's CEO Bob Galvin to learn how it could be used in Allied
Signal.

In 1995, General Electric's CEO Jack Welch (Welch knew Bossidy since Bossidy
once worked for Welch at GE, and Welch was impressed by Bossidy's
achievements using Six Sigma) decided to implement Six Sigma in GE, and by
1998 GE claimed that Six Sigma had generated over three-quarters of a billion
dollars of cost savings. (Source: George Eckes' book, The Six Sigma Revolution.)

By the mid-1990's Six Sigma had developed into a transferable 'branded' corporate
management initiative and methodology, notably in General Electric and other
large manufacturing corporations, but also in organizations outside the
manufacturing sector.

By the year 2000, Six Sigma was effectively established as an industry in its
own right, involving the training, consultancy and implementation of Six Sigma
methodology in all sorts of organisations around the world.
That is to say, in a little over ten years, Six Sigma quickly became not only a
hugely popular methodology used by many corporations for quality and process
improvement, Six Sigma also became the subject of many and various training and
consultancy products and services around which developed very many Six Sigma
support organizations.

Six Sigma Methodologies: DMAIC vs. DMADV

Six Sigma is an innovative and adaptive set of methodologies geared toward

improving the efficiency and effectiveness of corporate processes. Originally
introduced by the Motorola Corporation in 1986, it has evolved to become present
within the most successful business improvement strategies and is attributed with
reducing the number of defects in manufactured goods to less than 3.4 per 1
million units.

Six Sigma uses two different sets of methodologies, DMAIC and DMADV, as
lenses to examine and address complementary aspects of business processes. The
DMAIC and the DMADV distinctions are aimed at viewing different sectors of a
business simultaneously but addressing them separately. Despite unique
distinctions, the methodologies overlap during the examination process and share
the same end goal - improvememnt of business processes.

Each methodology has its own set of guidelines and goals targeted at improving
business processes through the use of data collection and statistical tools. While the
methodologies are designed to achieve the same thing, there are noteworthy
differences between the two that should be considered by professionals in
leadership roles or in business environments with a wide range of organizational
settings.
DMAIC

The set of Six Sigma methodologies that is most applicable to the manufacturing
or production side of a product or service, DMAIC includes these project stages:

Define - address the identification of specific processes to be examined

Measure - record data and use metrics to track effectiveness and
evaluate efficiencies
Analyze - utilize critical thinking skills to review data and clarify goals
Improve - create changes in business processes geared toward improvement
and better alignment with corporate goals
Control - build a system of checks and adjustments for ongoing improvement
in production processes

DMADV
The complementary set of Six Sigma processes that is most applicable to
examining and improving the customer relations side of a company, DMADV
includes these project stages:

Define - address customer needs in relation to a product or service

Measure - involve the use of electronic data collection to measure
customer needs, response to product, or review of services
Analyze - utilize metrics to evaluate areas where product or service can
be better aligned to customer goals and needs
Design - overlap the improvement of business processes that
streamline corporate goals to best meet client and customer needs
Verify - build a system of tests and models to check that
customer specifications are being met through on-going
improvements

For professionals interested in finding out more about how these powerful
methodologies play out in a variety of business settings or how they could make
an impact for your business, consider pursuing additional education in the field of
Six Sigma. While both sets of Six Sigma methodologies can work hand-in-hand
to
achieve a specific set of organizational and fiscal goals, professionals interested in
one set of methodologies over the other can augment skills through a reputable online
certificate program.
st
As Six Sigma continues to evolve and address 21 century business issues and
goals, professionals that demonstrate a mastery of these practices could find many
applicable opportunities in a variety of industry settings. Through online courses
taught by industry leaders, professionals and businesses can achieve practical business
solutions and certification as a green belt, black belt and master black belt in Six
Sigma.

SIX SIGMA IMPLEMENTATION ROLES

The six sigma methodology is filled with many roles. When it comes to the
implementation roles of six sigma, most lean experts would agree that the following
roles should be included in the implementation team. Of course there are no
universal rules governing your six sigma implementation structure, so making
changes to these prescribed roles is up the discretion of the individual organizations
and their unique needs.

Executive leadership

Those assuming the role of executive leadership are typically the top level
executives who hold the primary responsibility for seeing the implementation of six
sigma through from start to finish (finishing referring to when a goal is met). Those
holding the executive leadership role are also responsible for the selection of project
members and the delegation of responsibilities to those team members. Executive
leaders need to be committed to the vision of six sigma in order to motivate the
members of the implementation team. Without this dedication to seeing the six
sigma implementation process through, it can become easy to get discouraged and
consider abandoning the process. Executive leaders also must realize that there may
come times when they must take a step back and allow team members to run free
with their ideas. This includes making resources available to them in the hope that
these investments will lead to worthwhile improvements.

Champions

Those who are assuming the Champion role are typically members of upper
management. Champions are responsible for the implementation of six sigma in the
organization. The Champion is typically selected by those assuming the role of
executive leadership. It is the responsibility of the Champion to understand Six
Sigma principles. The Champion must act as a guide for his implementation team by
serving as a mentor and facilitator. Champions are typically the first to obtain formal
training or are hired before any other member of the implementation team because
they have already been certified as a Champion. Champions are responsible for not
only
bringing the most pressing issues of the organization to light but also to generate ideas
for projects that will lead to the improvement of these concerns.
Champions also work to resolve cross-functional issues that may slow down the
flow of information and the acquisition of the appropriate tools needed to move
forward with obtaining and measuring data and then ultimately instigating changes.
Champions also act as mentors to Black Belts, the next roles that are assumed in the
six sigma implementation process.

Master Black Belts

Master Black Belts are chosen by the Champions to coach others within the group of
those working in the implementation of the six sigma methodologies. This coaching
process includes the mentoring of those who have assumes lower roles (black and
green belt roles) within the group. Ultimately, the Master Black Belts are responsible
for delivering the results of the projects that are being conducted. They must perform
many statistical tasks in order to ensure the consistent application of six sigma
throughout the entire organization. A Master Black Belt must have strong leadership
skills. It is ideal when the individual assuming the Master Black Belt role is well
respected in the organization. This respect works to the Master Black Belt's
advantage as he must be able to influence decisions.

Master Black Belts are entrusted with the responsibility to not only maintain the
momentum of a six sigma implementation, but also to keep costs down and maintain
the focus of the group's efforts on the customer throughout the entire implementation
process. A Master Black Belt position is typically a temporary position that is
needed from time to time as new projects present themselves. Therefore a company
can either hire a Master Black Belt for a specific project or choose to train one with
Master
Black Belt certification to also assume other job responsibilities in the
organization when his specific six sigma skills are not needed.

Black Belts

Black Belts are typically members of middle management who are primarily
responsible for executing the six sigma plan of action. Black Belts are typically more
technically oriented than other roles within the implementation process. Their job is
to create, facilitate, train, and lead teams, with an analytical approach. While other
previously mentioned roles involve the employee's focus on identifying projects for
six sigma, the role of a Black Belt is to use statistical tools to lead other
team members and assure successful results.

A Black Belt will typically have about 4-5 weeks of professional full-time training
in statistical methods and tools. Once trained, a full-time Black Belt will typically
spend
2-3 years working as the individual responsible for six sigma execution. It is then
typically most advantageous for that individual to return to whatever their
original
assignment was within the organization. This reasoning is based on the fact that
after having worked so intimately with the six sigma mentality for several years,
this employee can then re-apply those lessons learned into daily operations. This
leads to constant re-adjustment which aligns perfectly with the purpose of
implementing six sigma methods in the first place.

Green Belts
Green Belts are responsible for helping the Black Belts to execute projects while
simultaneously attending to their own specific job responsibilities. Green Belts
typically have part time responsibilities when it comes to their involvement in the
six sigma implementation. Green Belts must also receive formal instruction to
become certified, however the time commitment to this instruction is significantly
less than the before mentioned implementation roles. It is the responsibility of the
Green Belts to incorporate six sigma quality tools and language into their daily
operations.

Yellow Belts

Yellow belts represent everyone else on the six sigma implementation t eam (and in
some cases throughout the whole organization). Yellow Belts are commonly part of
a company-wide initiative to implement six sigma but these individuals have not
typically received any formal six sigma training nor are they expected to play active
roles in quality improvement projects. Although Yellow Belts are not briefed on the
details of the project, they do help Green Belt meet project goals and objectives as
administrators, operations personnel.

Other implementation roles

In addition to the implementation roles within six sigma that have just been
described, there are more roles that can be assumed that aid in the implementation
process. Here are just a few examples of the other implementation roles that exist:

Financial analyst - A financial analyst is a third party consultant

whose services are solicited for the objective examination of project
results. A financial analyst will typically also have Green Belt training.
External consultant - An external consultant is hired in to help the
implementation process by providing various levels of needed training. It is
the job of the consultant to make certain that the proper training tools are in
place so that failures in the first phases of implementation efforts are
avoided. Consultants also can help in customizing the organization's
approach to Six Sigma following the adoption of some of the more basic
principles.
Experts - In major engineering or manufacturing sectors an "expert" is
hired to improve overall services, products, and processes for their
customers.
Sponsor - A sponsor is a senior executive who sponsors the six
sigma implementation.

Leader - The "Leader" is another term used to describe the senior-level

executive who is responsible for the business's six sigma implementation.
Team member - The term "team member" can be used to describe the role of
the professional or organization's employee who has a general awareness of
what six sigma is and can bring relevant experience to a particular project,
but who is not necessarily formally trained in any of the six sigma
implementation roles.
Process owner - This individual "owns" or is responsible for the
business process that is the target of a Six Sigma project.
APPLICATIONS
Six Sigma mostly finds application in large organizations. An important factor in
the spread of Six Sigma was GE's 1998 announcement of $350 million in savings
thanks to Six Sigma, a figure that later grew to more than $1 billion.

According to industry consultants like Thomas Pyzdek and John Kullmann,

companies with fewer than 500 employees are less suited to Six Sigma
implementation, or need to adapt the standard approach to make it work for
them.

Six Sigma however contains a large number of tools and techniques that work well
in small to mid-size organizations.

The fact that an organization is not big enough to be able to afford Black Belts does
not diminish its abilities to make improvements using this set of tools and
techniques.

The infrastructure described as necessary to support Six Sigma is a result of the

size of the organization rather than a requirement of Six Sigma itself.
CONCLUSION:

The term “sigma” is used to designate the distribution or the spread

about the mean of any process. Sigma measures the capability of the process to
perform defect-free work. A defect is anything that results in customer
dissatisfaction. For a business process, the sigma value is a metric that indicates how
well that
process is performing. Higher sigma level indicates less likelihood of
producing defects and hence better performance.

Six sigma is a performance standard to achieve operational excellence. With six

sigma, the common measurement index is “defects-per-unit” where a unit can
be virtually anything – a component, piece of material, administrative form etc.

Conceptually, six sigma is defined as achieving a defect level of 3.4 ppm or

better. Operationally, six sigma is defined a staying within half the expected range
around
the target. The approach aims at continuous improvement in all the process within
the organisation. This works on the belief that quality is free, in that the more we
work towards zero-defect production, the more return on investment we will have.
The advantages of six sigma approaches are reduction in defects/rejections, cycle
time, work in progress etc. and increase in product Quality &Reliability, customer
satisfaction, productivity etc. leading ultimately to excellent business results.
Reference

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