1 Introduction
The discerning customers nowadays are better educated and are able to recognize the quality of products or services, rather than just looking at the price. As competition between organizations grows more intense, many different factors and dimensions would be considered by the customers when they are going to measure the quality (Stevenson, 1999). In order to remain competitive among those rigorous competitions in the dynamic changing business environment, organizations have to maintain and enhance the quality of the products or services being delivered.
“Quality is consistent conformance to customers’ exceptions” (Slack, Chambers and Johnston, 2007). There is no definite definition for quality since it varies in
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To achieve this, we need a disciplined, data-driven approach for eliminating defects. The methodology focuses on the systematic processes with appropriate tools, training and measurements which guide to achieve Six Sigma through the steps of DMAIC – Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control (Weiner, 2004). The details of DMAIC will be discussed in the next section.
After understanding the basic concepts of Six Sigma, we can apply it to achieve two main goals:
Define a target performance level of less than 3.4 DPMO for the process which is going to be improved
As a mechanism for building a culture of excellence and deliver financial benefits to the organization
We can see that the second goal is a more long-term objective which requires much more planning and control, such as setting up teams to solve specific problems on a project-to-project basic, and training of employees so that the whole organization is searching for ways of listening and reacting to the customers, seeking facts to measure current success and focusing on the issue that really affect customer satisfaction (Berger, 2003). Therefore, Six Sigma is actually grown beyond its traditional usage of defect control now.
3 Six Sigma and other different methodologies
3.1 Changing focus from Y to X
Let’s look at the following equation. It can be used to describe the core methodology which Six Sigma is focus on:
Y = f(X)
Originally, Six Sigma was designed for control of defects and was part of total quality management (TQM) (Gupta, 2003). Since its creation, however, it has gone well beyond what it was originally. It is much more of a methodology now, and used to address and handle the variations that are seen in processes. These variations can cause defects, and that makes them unacceptable deviations that stray too far from the mean. When the variations can be managed systematically, the defects will be largely eliminated from any product (Gupta, 2003; Whalen, 2002; Witt, 2002). Because of that, the Six Sigma objective is to provide performance, value, and reliability to every end user or customer on a level that is world-class. Through the years it has gotten much better at meeting that objective, and more companies have began adopting it. One such company is Cessna. The company makes airplanes and airplane parts, and its name is almost synonymous with small, personal aircraft.
Six Sigma is a set of tools, processes and techniques that aid in the improvement of any
The concept of Six Sigma was developed in the early 1980’s at Motorola Corporation (Harry and Schroeder, 2000). Six Sigma can be defined as a statistical measure of the performance of a process or product (Kumi et. al., 2006). It is used as a quality control mechanism, which seeks to reduce defects or variations in a process to 3.4 per million opportunities thereby optimizing output and increasing customer satisfaction (Sambhe, 2012). Sigma is representing the standard deviation, a unit of measurement that designates the distribution or spread about the mean of a process (Six Sigma Academy, 2002). In addition, the Six Sigma uniquely driven by close understanding of customer needs, disciplined use of fact, data, and statistical analysis, and diligent attention to managing improving, and reinventing business processes (Pande, P., et. al. 2000). The Six Sigma methodology uses statistical tools to identify the factors that matter most for improving the quality of processes and generating bottom-line results. The Six Sigma DMAIC (Define, Measure,
The basic principle of improvement by the processes of Six Sigma methodology is by the reduction of diffusion. The six sigma approach aims to reduce defect levels to only a few parts per million for an organization's key products and processes. The Six Sigma philosophy is based on the fact that all processes from design, through to manufacturing and to services provided to customers, display aberrances, which may result in product errors that cost time and money. These errors are variations of processes that can be reduced by various methods in order for the real cause of the problem to be systematically identified and
The driving factors for a success or failure of implementing Six Sigma is largely dependent on the inputs set forth at the conception and duration of the integration. This whitepaper will compare and contrast these critical inputs for a successful deployment. In order to accomplish this five various companies: GE Electric, W.R. Grace, Royal Chemicals, Diversified Paper and Lemforder. Some of these organizations had very successful results while others failed to reach their full potential. What is clear is the similarities of those that succeed and those that failed.
Six Sigma seeks to improve the quality of process outputs by identifying and removing the causes of defects (errors) and minimising 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 organisation ("Black Belts", "Green Belts", etc.) who are experts in these methods. Each Six Sigma project carried out within an organisation follows a defined sequence of steps and has quantified targets. These targets can be financial (cost reduction or profit increase) or whatever is critical to the customer of that process (cycle time, safety, delivery, etc.).
Six Sigma is a quality improvement philosophy and a methodology and collection of statistical techniques used to implement that philosophy. Six Sigma’s focuses on reducing or removing identifiable sources of changes in order to decrease the number of defects in a product. Six Sigma was developed by Bill Smith and was used to standardize the way in which defects are tallied (Meredith, 2013). As a new way of doing business, six sigma can have a significant impact on the end result of business. There are many way six sigma can be applied. For example, the scientific component of methodology is a structure approach that takes
1. Six Sigma is a management philosophy that sets objectives, collects data and analyzes results as a way to remove wasted expenses from its processes and help reduce the number of defective products produced. Six Sigma uses quality measures to strive for near perfection by eliminating errors and variables.
The concept of Six Sigma is completely consistent with the aims and objective of many healthcare organizations. At times it is very challenging to attain an excellent Six Sigma accomplishment level in real life. A good example is, a health organization that has 100,000 surgeries annually, apparently it would be allowed only one undesirable occurrence for every three years, which is not very sensible. Nevertheless, the concept behind it is still beneficial and significant, and in
Six Sigma improves the design, the original design business strategies, optimize satisfaction and minimize waste while increasing the financial stability or include monitoring the process of elimination.
Six Sigma focuses on defect prevention; improving quality, cost savings, and reducing waste by helping
First, The Six Sigma, usually intended as a professional plan, includes refining, scheming, and monitoring procedure to minimalize or remove excess while enhancing gratification and increasing financial steadiness. The performance of a procedure—or the process competence—is used to ration enhancement by associating the baseline process competence (before development) with the process competence after directing possible solutions for quality development.
This essay will discuss the value of using DMAIC six sigma in contrast to solving the defection and error rates in service and manufacturing processes.
Six Sigma seeks to improve the quality of process outputs by identifying and removing the causes of 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 ("Black Belts", "Green Belts", etc.) who are experts in these methods. Each Six Sigma project carried out within an organization follows a defined sequence of steps and has quantified targets. These targets can be financial (cost reduction or profit increase) or whatever is critical to the customer of that process (cycle time, safety, delivery, etc.).
Definition of Six SigmaSix Sigma is not a mere methodology or a quality tool. It is a philosophy i.e. a systematic way of thinking to solve quality problems. Six sigma involves