Craig Gygi

To apply Six Sigma to your business and produce the best results, you need to understand what Six Sigma is, the principles of Six Sigma, and the DMAIC problem-solving method. The correct tools and use of the Six Sigma scale and methods will keep your data dependable and reusable.What is Six Sigma?Generally, Six Sigma is a set of techniques and tools that help businesses improve their processes.

A cause-and-effect matrix — sometimes called a C&E matrix for short — helps you discover which factors affect the outcomes of your Six Sigma initiative. It provides a way of mapping out how value is transmitted from the input factors of your system (the Xs) to the process or product outputs (the Ys). With these relationships visible and quantified, you can readily discover the most-influential factors contributing to value.

Six Sigma is based on a handful of basic principles, and these principles create the entire Six Sigma arrangement. Here are Six Sigma’s fundamental principles: Y=f(X) + ε: All outcomes and results (theY) are determined by inputs (theXs) with some degree of uncertainty (å). To change or improve results (the Y), you have to focus on the inputs (theXs), modify them, and control them.

The term Six Sigma comes from the statistical basis of the approach and methodology used to address quality concerns: the roll-up of characteristic behaviors and the natural increase in variation in each characteristic over the long term. The sigma scale is a universal measure of how well a critical characteristic performs compared to its requirements.

In general, when planning for Six Sigma, variation is undesirable because it creates uncertainty in your ability to produce a desired outcome. Professional results, in anything, demand consistency. In the world of business and organizational life, the goal is to produce a work product or deliver a service in a predictable manner.

When defining a project, you get into the nuts and bolts of Six Sigma. Doing this step right is well worth your time because 50 percent of your project’s success depends on how well it’s defined! Different people can be part of defining a potential project, including the following: Champions Belts Process leaders Functional managers or process owners Note: Any employee can suggest a Six Sigma improvement project, but have one of the people in this list consider and sponsor the project.

Solving problems the Six Sigma way requires varying degrees of skill in applied statistics. Solving complex problems requires considerable statistical expertise, but dealing with moderate problems or routine work takes less skill. In Six Sigma, the highest level of statistical skill is called Black Belt, the medium skill level is Green Belt, and the everyday level is Yellow Belt.

It’s important for your Six Sigma initiative to know if your measurement system is effective. You need solid data to initiate your project and having a solid measurement system is key. A computer disk drive manufacturer in the mid-1980s was experiencing a nagging problem with poor yields. The principle concern was that the sensitive magnetic medium coating the disks was in some way defective.

The primary SPC tool for Six Sigma is the control chart — a graphical tracking of a process input or an output over time. In the control chart, these tracked measurements are visually compared to decision limits calculated from probabilities of the actual process performance. The visual comparison between the decision limits and the performance data allows you to detect any extraordinary variation in the process.