Learn Six Sigma Process and Methodology

Basics | What is 6 Sigma Concept ?

What is Six Sigma Concept? Should I learn it?
The six sigma concept was first found by Motorola and later supported by giants such as
GE and Allied signal. Six Sigma promises to convert the defect-prone companies into
perfection lovers by inducing more accuracy in quality measurement process. The
philosophy of the six sigma policy is quite simple still its implementation may be quite
painful, but the final outcome will be huge unforeseen development of the enterprise. It is
said that in a developing countries around 25 percent of the manufacturing sectors
turnover is lost due to poor product quality. In India almost Rs. 8000 crore worth goods
produced nationally end up straight in scrap yard everyday. Usually we fix one million
products as the standard for calculating the defects percentage. A normal enterprise
would be having around 3 lakh to 7 lakh defects per one million products produced. This
clearly indicates that, if anything is missing in those places, it is definitely quality.Learning
Six Sigma process and concepts from the fundamental basics can really help you
revolutionize your company. This insight had given rise to high demand for Six Sigma
certifications like black belt and green belt in quality management.

'6' and the 'Sigma'

Learning Six Sigma Concepts | What are the Six Sigmas?

Sigma is a letter of Greek alphabet (the symbol near 6 in the image). This symbol is
used to indicate the extent to which a process can vary without causing any errors in the
operation. The six sigma process theoretically provides a methodology to quantify and
improve quality. There are 6 sigma states for an enterprise. Lets see what is sigma is
deemed to be.

Meaning of All Six Sigmas

QUALITY LEVER
One Sigma
Two SIgma
Three Sigma
Four Sigma
Five Sigma
Six Sigma

MEANING
6,90,000 defects per million parts
produced
3,08,000 defects per million parts
produced
66,800 defects per million parts
produced
6,210 defect per million parts
produced
230 defects per million parts
produced
Process will yield no more than 3.4

QUALITY LEVER

MEANING
defects per million opportunities
(DPMO)

Each of the six sigmas explained. An oppertunitiy is defined as a possibility that a process or product
does not conform to predetermined standards- This ensures 99.9997 percent perfection in the process
or product. Note : DPMO Defects Per Million

Practical Insights about Six Sigma Concepts

Most of the World Players --> Operates between three and four Sigma--> Defect rate of
66,000 DPMO
If A company operates in 6 Sigma --> Defect rate 3.4 DPMO --> This is called WORLD
CLASS QUALITY
If a company operates on two sigma 30-40 percentate of sales is used up as cost of poor
quality (COPQ) . If a company operates on Six Sigma then the COPQ is reduced below
five percent of the sales and this eventually gives HUGE SAVINGS to the company. By
adopting Six Sigma approach the organization will become better in all business aspects
like:

Customer Satisfaction because of better quality

Return On Investment as sales increases

Employee growth as the have the proud feeling of working in a world-class

company.

Increase in share price as demand and preference of customer increases

Learning Six Sigma Methodology For Implementation

These are the 8 steps to be learnt to implement Six Sigma concept. This is methodology
is called R-DMAIC-SI(Recognise, Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control,
Standardise, Integrate).
RECOGNISE
The first step in the methodology of Six Sigma is to conduct a survey to determine what
you are now , and where you want to be using Six Sigma concept. Find a starting point
by verifying the right spot in culture, procedure or planning.

Six Sigma Methodology Diagram

DEFINE
Quantify your expectations and define the specific sigma your like tore reach in specific
time period. Also define the activities that would help you.
MEASURE
Measure the existing system and understand the drawbacks. Establish new metrics to
monitor the goals in previous step.

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ANALYSE
Identify the gap between the current performance of the system and the target aimed at.
IMPROVE
This is the part of six sigma which makes the wonder happens. Follow the methodologies
defined earlier to achieve improvement in specific fields. Focus on improving things by
adopting creativity to do things in a better, cheaper and faster manner. Statistical tools
can be used to measure the progress in this field.
CONTROL
In order to maintain a superior output after improving the system, it is essential to monitor
the critical value system level parameters.
STANDARDISE
Standardize the new system. This is done by analyzing a set of reports till date and
choosing the most optimized methodology which successfully completed the tasks. This
will keep the system fool-proof and help to avoid re-documenting things everytime.
INTEGRATE

In spite of all the assured benefits of the Six Sigma concept, there will be resistance to
change during the execution of methodology. Learn to handle complex situations when
Six Sigma is implemented, use creativity to deal with unexpected situations. Finally you
will learn Six Sigma methodology fitting as a part of your enterprise and make it world
class.