Six
Sigma is a management philosophy that can radically change the way you
treat mistakes in the workplace. It is focused on eliminating these
mistakes,teaching personnel how to improve the conduct of business in
the process.
What is Six Sigma?
Six
Sigma represents a statistical measure and a management philosophy. The
Greek letter Sigma, used mathematically to designate standard
deviation, is the measure used to determine how good or bad the
performance of a process is. In other words, it represents how many
mistakes a company commits while accomplishing its tasks. On the other
hand, the Six in “Six Sigma” represents the levels of perfection each
company attains. One Sigma equates to making about 700,000 defects per
million opportunities, or doing things right 30% of the time. Two Sigma
is better with a little over 300,000 mistakes per million opportunities.
Most companies
operate between Three and Four Sigma, which means
they make between approximately 67,000 and 6,000 mistakes per million
chances, respectively. If you’re operating at 3.8 Sigma, that means
you’re getting it right 99% of the time.
Two Misconceptions about Six Sigma
1.
That the be-all and end-all of Six Sigma is to improve quality. In Six
Sigma, improved quality is a means to an end. Not the end itself. The
goal is not simply to improve quality for the sake of improving quality,
but to make customers happier and add money to the bottom line. If
you’re improving quality but still upsetting customers or losing money,
you’re missing the point.
2.
Most companies think improving quality costs money. Six Sigma companies
turn that thinking around. They know that quality saves money, because
there are fewer throw-outs, fewer warranty payouts, and fewer refunds.
And doing all that, in turn, increases profit.
Everyone tries to minimize waste and eliminate mistakes.What’s so new about that?
The
way Six Sigma addresses those issues is what’s new. It’s not just a
quality initiative. It’s a management philosophy that covers a lot more
than just defect rates. Instead of just getting rid of the bad end
products, Six Sigma tries to solve WHY the bad results are occurring. It
doesn’t try to manage the problem. It tries to eliminate it.
How do we identify the problems in the first place?
Since
the goal of Six Sigma is to make customers happier and increase
profits, managers who employ the Six Sigma philosophy identify company
problems by locating problematic areas through customer feedback. From
here, they work their way back to the root of the problem. Once problems
are identified, Six Sigma managers choose a particular problem to
solve, which becomes the “project” that he or she will work on.
Which problem do you pick?In
more vivid terms, a manager using Six Sigma chooses the most
“problematic problem” of the lot. He goes for the most cost-guzzling
problem that has room for the most improvement and input. Once the
problem is chosen and turned as a “project,” a team composed of
top-level managers, mid-level managers, and a rank-and-file support
staff is chosen to work on it.
Who does What?
One
of the most important elements of Six Sigma is the role each member of
the team plays in solving the problem, or accomplishing the project. As
any good football coach will say: Every player in the team must have a
specific role, clearly defined, with consequences for not coming through
and rewards for doing their particular job well. So is the case with a
Six Sigma team, which is comprised of the following players:
•
Black Belt – the Black Belt is the most important player in the team
since he will be assigned to run the project and be its point-person.
Notably, the Black Belt is a mid-level manager and not a top-ranking
officer. They will deal with top management down to the guys in the
mailroom to ensure the success of the project.
•
Executive Champion – the primary force behind adopting the Six Sigma
philosophy from day one. The Executive Champion is usually a top-ranking
manager who is appointed by the CEO to oversee and support the entire
project. He chooses the players who will comprise the team.
•
Deployment Champion – chosen by the Executive Champion, he provides
leadership and commitment and work to implement Six Sigma to the
project.
• Project Champion
– oversees Black Belts by breaking down corporate barriers, creating
support systems and making sure money is available to get the job done.
•
Master Black Belts – this role is played by outside consultants who
come in to act as in-house experts on Six Sigma. They teach the core
points of Six Sigma to Black Belt candidates throughout the company.
•
Green Belts – provide Black Belts the support they need to get the
project done. They are likewise trained in Six Sigma so everyone speaks
the same language.
The Five Steps of Six Sigma
Step 1: DEFINE what the problem is
The
key in defining the problem is not simply to focus on the outcome or
end product but on the process that creates the product or service. Map
that process so you can easily recognize the links between each step.
Sometimes that’s where the problems lie – not in the teeth but in the
gaps between the teeth. Further, defining problems that can be fixed is
an important key in this step. Gather data on the problem to clearly
define what it is and how it can be best addressed. It is important to
pick problems that are costing the company most or are giving you the
most problems.
Step 2: MEASURE
Measure
the capabilities of a given process – meaning what is possible – by
measuring how many opportunities for defects a certain process or
operation presents. In baseball terms, this would be equivalent to
keeping track of how many chances for errors a fielder has – how many
fly balls or grounders come his way. From there, the Black Belt
calculates how many errors are made, which is called the frequency of
defects. Measure the number of a given chance for error, as well as
opportunities. Next, accomplish benchmarking by measuring the
competition’s fielding percentage on that problem. During the entire
measurement process, define what is “critical to quality” or CTQ –
factors that greatly contribute to the success of a given process.
Setting up a good numerical measure of the problem, or translating the
problem into numerical terms, is a key to the success of the project.
Step 3: ANALYZE
Analyze
the numbers to find out how well or poorly the processes are working,
compared to what’s possible and what the competition is doing. The big
questions will pop out in this process – Why the errors are being
committed and how to fix them.
Step 4: IMPROVE
Having
identified numerically the components that are problematic, implement
the necessary changes that will improve these specific problems. Note
that approaching the problem numerically and creating a standard base
for improvement is very significant because it gives you room to measure
the amount of improvement that is being accomplished.
Step 5: CONTROL
The
Black Belts implement measures to keep the key variables within their
new operating limits, or locked securely in place, to maintain the
improved process. The Master Black Belts will monitor these variables
and check to ensure that they are in order and remain that way.
Long
Story Short: Define the problem, Measure where you stand, Analyze where
the problem starts, Improve the situation, Control the new process to
confirm that it’s fixed.
