Six Sigma Methodology
Six Sigma originated from Motorola in 1986 as a business management strategy, and the Six Sigma methodology is now employed by many businesses in a broad range of industries, from manufacturing to healthcare.
The Six Sigma methodology for process improvement and project management has never changed and is based on reducing the gap between the current state and that of perfection. By removing the causes of defects within a business process, Six Sigma is able to improve quality, reduce wastage and increase profitability; all huge plus points in today’s unforgiving global economy!
Central to this is the creation of a Six Sigma infrastructure within the host organisation. This infrastructure consists of “green belt” and “black belt” experts who, having received six sigma methodology training, oversee each project to ensure it follows the precise sequence of steps laid out and meets the financial targets set. There are five of these steps in total; a process known as the DMAIC model:
- Define the problem and opportunity
- Measure the current performance and capture relevant data
- Analyze the data in an effort to identify the causes of defects
- Improve the current process through addressing these causes and establishing new future state processes
- Control the future state process by monitoring any deviations from the planned targets and returning them to the correct path before they cause defects
Six Sigma quality is achieved when fewer than 3.4 defects occur in 1 million opportunities (an opportunity is defined as an instance where there is the potential for non-conformity). As six Sigma has evolved, however, it has attached less significance to simply counting defects, and become increasingly about understanding customer objectives and aligning the processes of the organisation towards achieving them. Then, over time, meticulous data analysis ensures that deviations are kept minimal and addressed immediately.
Six Sigma has not been without its critics, many of whom have argued that it does not assist in the development of new ideas and processes, and merely improves the efficiency of existing ones. For large and expanding organisations, however, the very fact that it is so effective in improving efficiency of existing processes is of huge value, and explains why 25 years from conception Six Sigma continues to be one of the most broadly applied management strategies in business!
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