Why is 6 Sigma equal to 3.4 DPMO?
I have often been asked, why do we have 3.4 Defects Per Million Opportunities (DPMO) for a Six Sigma process? Before I talk about Six Sigma, let’s talk about the process control with plus-minus three sigmas. Historically processes were controlled in plus-minus three sigmas, and this was the basis of control charts. When you have […]
Continue readingDMAIC
DMAIC is a structured Six Sigma approach to process improvement. The DMAIC approach can be applied in any situation where a process has defined measurable results whether it’s manufacturing a specific products such as phones, table, chair etc. or services such as healthcare, designing, or hospitality etc. DMAIC process consists of 5 stages to improve […]
Continue readingFactors and Considerations in Selecting a Six Sigma Project
Selecting a project to apply Six Sigma methodology to is an important first step. There is no argument that Six Sigma is beneficial, yet the process also has a significant cost element. The project must be selected on factors that will justify the resource and time commitment (effort) vs the potential gain (result). ConsiderationsResultDoes it […]
Continue readingCustomer Dissatisfaction – Reasons and Ways to Deal with it.
Reasons for customer dissatisfaction Not knowing the expectations Customer remains dissatisfied unless the company knows what the customer expects out of their product. Not meeting the expectations A customer may become dissatisfied because the product or service does not live up to expectations, in spite of the use of Six Sigma. Over expectations and the […]
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4 Types of Teams
As a Six Sigma Black Belt, you will have to deal with teams. You will have a project team doing the project with you and you being the leader of that improvement project team. To perform that function of a team leader, you need to understand how teams work? What makes teams successful? How to […]
Continue reading4 Types of Team Roles
In a team, different individuals have different roles to play. Here are four roles for a team: Leader, Facilitator, Coach or a Member. All these are the components of a team, but remember that these need not be exclusive. A leader can act as a facilitator and a coach as well at different times. It’s […]
Continue readingTypes of Customers and Customer Segmentation
Customer Types Broadly speaking, there are two types of customers: internal customer and external customer. The concept of the internal customer was popularized by quality Guru Joseph Juran. In an organization, the next process is the customer. For example, if the first step is manufacturing parts and the second step is assembling these parts, then […]
Continue readingContinual Improvement Methodologies
Here is the list of commonly used methodologies or approaches for continual improvement. PDCA or PDSA cycle was developed by quality guru Walter Shewhart and was later, made famous by Dr. Deming and Dr. Juran. PDCA stands for Plan, Do, Check and Act. And PDSA stands for Plan, Do, Study and Act. You plan first, […]
Continue readingThe Philosophy Behind Six Sigma
The Philosophy Behind Six Sigma: Six Sigma emphasizes the following four points: Know what is important to the customer. Whatever improvement project you are doing make sure that it is important to your external customer. Any improvement project should be aligned with the customer needs, expectation, or satisfaction. (critical to quality) Reduce defects. Six Sigma [...] Continue readingHistory of Six Sigma
The concept of Six Sigma was developed in 1987 by Motorola. Six Sigma is basically a packaging of a lot of quality tools. These quality tools were developed much before 1987. One of the tools which form the basis of Six Sigma is the Control Chart. Control Charts were developed way back in 1924 by […]
Continue readingBenefits of Six Sigma and Lean
Obviously, you can see that benefit of both of these, Six Sigma and Lean is to make the customer happy. Six Sigma generates sustained success. Anything which you have improved in the process is going to give you a repeated benefit. For example, if you reduce the defect rate today, over a number of years […]
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