Once your organization establishes a set framework and operations are running smoothly, maintaining continuous improvement will likely become a priority. And improvement isn't only reserved for profits. It can be achieved in several areas in your company including safety, product quality, cycle time and production cost.
However, the difficult part is implementing a sound strategy that aligns with your goals to improve business operations toward perfection. It is here where Six Sigma comes into play.
In Six Sigma, there are two processes — DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve and control) and SPC. DMAIC is a problem-solving methodology that helps manufacturers approach issues with defects and solves them systematically.
Once a defect is located and defined, a measurement plan is made to accumulate the data necessary to analyze the defect. Once this is done, the process will be adjusted to improve its functionality. And finally, once this process is mastered, these improvements are institutionalized to become the new standard in the process — establishing control.
Six Sigma also makes use of standard deviations to display statistical data of a particular process. This method uses mathematics to confidently measure a process’s potential, effectiveness and likelihood of straying away from perfection (variation).
The main objective of Six Sigma is to decrease an organization’s output variation — or in other words — reduce the amount of defects to no more than 3.4 parts per million (PPM). While there will always be variation, the key is to maintain good process control to avoid defects.
For more about the statistical method of measuring defects through standard deviation, what process control and process capability entail, the quality level of different standard deviations and the idea of shift and drift, download our Guide to Six Sigma eBook.
The guide includes helpful graphs, real-world examples and detailed explanation so your organization can get a full, comprehensive grasp on the perfection-driven strategy that is Six Sigma.