Six sigma example
In the 1980s, Bill Smith, a Motorola engineer, devised a process improvement system aimed at developing products and services of “near-perfect” quality. This methodology, called SIX SIGMA, is based on statistical analysis, which makes it possible to measure how much a process deviates from perfection, and to determine the actions necessary to reduce or solve the root cause of the problem.
Define: it consists of specifying the objective of the problem or defect, defining the participants of the program, the available resources, the expected benefit and creating the process diagram. All this without losing sight of the customer’s needs.
4. Improve (implement): determine the improvements that reduce or eliminate the causes of the problem or defect, trying to minimize the investment to be made. In this phase, the adopted solution is implemented and verified.
“If I were a banker, I would not lend money for new equipment to any company that could not demonstrate, with statistical evidence, that it was getting the maximum performance from its current equipment”. W. E. Deming, statistician (1900-1993).
Bill smith six sigma pdf
In a nutshell, Six Sigma is a data-driven approach that examines repetitive business processes and aims to drive quality to near-perfection. What’s more, a figure is proposed: 3.4 errors or defects per million opportunities. And it differs from other methods in that it corrects problems before they occur.
Define: the process or processes to be evaluated by the company’s management are defined. The work team that will carry out the project is also defined. Finally, the improvement objectives are defined.
Measure: it is important to understand the current state of the problem or defect of the process to be improved. Each part of the process is classified and evaluated, identifying the variables related to it and proceeding to measure them.
Six Sigma Quality
When it comes to determining who established Six Sigma, search engines point to Bill Smith and Mikel Harry, both Motorola engineers. The former is considered the Father of Six Sigma, the latter as the architect. However, the list could be extended when trying to describe how Six Sigma impacts the work of companies. For this reason, I believe the rating for Six Sigma would be:
Smith proposed a business strategy through quality improvement (going from 3 to 6 sigma, i.e., to have 3.4 parts per million). Harry developed the Six Sigma method stating that the problem of any industry is in the costs that are not visible, that are persistent and that are part of the processes. However, the person who promoted and made the methodology famous was Jack Welch at General Electric. I would give him the fourth place in the rating.
What is Six Sigma for?
Did you know that Jack Welch, former chairman and CEO of General Electric, took the company’s market value from just $12 billion in 1981 to about $280 million in 1998 before retiring. He is one of the most visible advocates of Six Sigma. He launched General Electric’s Six Sigma transformation in 1995 and delivered $320 million in productivity gains and profits. Welch owes his success to highly involved employees. He claims he spent 50 percent of his time on people issues. “This company works because of its great team.”
Every Six Sigma project follows a defined sequence of steps with measurable objectives such as; time reduction, cost reduction, increased customer satisfaction, reduced defect rate, etc.
Six Sigma is a process improvement methodology created by engineer Bill Smith, this methodology is focused on the reduction of variability, reducing or eliminating defects or failures in the delivery of a product or service to the customer. The goal of Six Sigma is to reach a maximum of 3.4 defects per million events or opportunities (DPMO), understanding as defect any event in which a product or service fails to meet customer requirements.