Quality Management Six Sigma What is Six Sigma? Basics of Six Sigma Six Sigma People DMAIC Compiled by: Alex J. Ruiz-Torres, Ph.D. From information developed by many.

What is Six Sigma? Definition 1: A measure of quality indicating near perfection = the chance of an error is almost 0. Six sigma statistics = six standard deviations between the mean and the nearest specification limit. Definition 2: A management/process improvement methodology that is based on data and focuses on eliminating variability and defects.

Basics of Six Sigma Focus on ROI and financial metrics Customer focus Project focus Extensive use of tools and technology The objective is to ensure high quality and reliability of products, services, and transactions. Applicable to any type of organization

Basics of Six Sigma Every process has defined metrics that are critical to quality (CTQ) For every metric there are specification limits These limits cannot be achieved every time for many reasons. Process, materials, people,… The existence of variation in systems is a fundamental assumption of Six Sigma Six Sigma means only failing 3.4 times per million opportunities.

Basics of Six Sigma Example. A bag of chips. Specifications Min: 3.5 ounces – Max: 4.1 ounces A defect means a bags of chips with less than 3.5 ounces more than 4.1 ounces. Defect because below 3.5: unhappy customers, half empty bags above 4.1: overfill, costing more than planned for Six Sigma: 3.4 units defective per million. If they produce 15,000 bags per day it means at most one defective on 20 days of production.

Basics of Six Sigma Cause and effect as in Kaizen Pareto Principle (80-20) A vital few variables determine the quality of a given outcome The key is using a structured process to identify the critical causes By understanding how your causes affect your quality measures, changes can be implemented to improve the quality results.

Six Sigma People White Belts Green Belts Black Belts Master Black Belts Champions

DMAIC Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control (DMAIC) Developed by General Electric as a means of focusing effort on quality using a methodological approach. Six Sigma approach to problem solving.

DMAIC Measure the process to determine current performance. Define the project goals and customer (internal and external) deliverables. Measure the process to determine current performance. Analyze and determine the root cause(s) of the defects. Improve the process by eliminating defects. Control future process performance.

Define The initial phase of the DMAIC process Understand the problem(s) including the reasons, measures, individuals involved, the effects of it Create plans and determine needed resources Justify the need for the project Projects may not progress beyond this phase

Define Project Definition Projects must Have a financial impact or significant strategic value Results significantly exceed effort and investment Addresses a complex problem Aims at an improvement change of at least 70% Project must solve a business problem that hurts a key performance related to: Costs, Cycle time, Customer satisfaction, Revenue Potential Process Capability/ Capacity

Define Use of case writing tools for project justification As a company, our _____________ performance for the ____________ area is not meeting _______. Overall this is causing _______ problems., which are costing as much as $_____ per ________. Example As a company, our on time delivery performance for the health product area is not meeting the goal of 95% on time delivery. Overall this is causing customer satisfaction problems, which are costing as much as $2Milion in lost orders and revenue per year.

Define The Objective Statement Based on the Problem Statement Improve some metric from baseline in X amount of time with an impact towards a corporate goal or strategy. Reduce inventory levels from an average of 31.2 days to an average of 20 days with a maximum of 25 days. This will be completed by August 2019. This project will save $400,000 per year in interest, space, and management effort. These savings are in support of our corporate goal of improving asset management and ROI.

Measure During the Define phase the critical process variables were identified specifications were identified The Measure phase captures and analyzes process/ system data What is the gap between specifications and actual performance? Analysis of the gap is based on statistical analysis. Statistics is the key to understand variability. Data may not be available, and this phase includes data collection.

Analyze The third phase of the DMAIC process Identify types and relevance of problems Identify and classify causes Many tools to perform root cause analysis Note DMAIC is not a purely linear approach Define items/elements are revised during the measure and analyze phases Measure items/elements are part of the define and analyze phases

Analyze SIPOC: Suppliers- Inputs-Process-Outputs-Customers S: Sources of materials and information I:The materials and information P: Main steps to create the Output O: Product or Service C: Who wants/uses the product suppliers inputs process outputs customers metrics Supplier 1 Supplier 2 Output 1 Output 2 Output 3 Customer 1 Customer 2 Input 1 Input 2 Input 3 metric 1 metric 2 Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4

Improve This phase deals with developing solutions to the identified problems in order to reduce variability and meet desired targets Could include the evaluation of investments in technology, training or human resources This involves brainstorming potential solutions and selecting one. Often a pilot implementation is conducted prior to a full-scale rollout of improvements. http://www.brighthub.com/office/project-management/ articles/25328.aspx#ixzz1SJD0JIfJ

Control The primary objective of the DMAIC Control phase is to ensure that the gains obtained during Improve are maintained long after the project has ended. Focus is to standardize and document procedures, make sure all employees are trained and communicate the project’s results. The project team needs to create a plan for ongoing monitoring of the process and for reacting to any problems that arise. http://www.brighthub.com/office/project-management/articles/27134.aspx#ixzz1SJGhPqDW