The Effectiveness of Six Sigma in Production
You may have wondered what the term Six Sigma means. It is a term used to refer to a concept whereby the focus is based on increasing quality within a business, organization, or corporation. It lays much emphasis on quality of production. This great concept was discovered by the Motorola Company in the 1980’s. By the late 1990s, a good number of companies were using it in production.
The Six Sigma concept finds and predicts defects likely to occur in a product and puts in place effective measures to reduce them. The methodology has a basis, DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control). This basis forms the foundation upon which this great concept was founded.
Many companies have shown much interest in the concept level qualities as this process revolves around team activities. In this case, the concept uses standardized processes, and specific metrics to measure and unify the entity in terms of metrics and processes used. This in turn reduces variations in product defaults.
A defined Sigma project has the following as its components: the business sponsor, a process supervisor, a team leader also referred to as a black belt, green belts consisting of the project members and yellow belts. Everyone involved is a Six Sigma Professional who has undergone training and certification at different levels of expertise.
The rankings are more or less the same as those in karate. The individuals at various successive levels are ranked in terms of belt colors. That is, from white belts to black belts. The lowest rank is indicated by the white belt. The individuals at this level are taught an overview of the concept’s process and how it functions. This process is the ideal starting point for all the employees aspiring to be part of a project.
Yellow belt follows next in the Six Sigma Teamwork Hierarchy. It indicates a subject matter expert. Those at this point have specific knowledge about an area of study. The area may not be basically part of the subject matter but at one point or another they may be found relevant. Subsequently, they may be required to provide specific knowledge about their area within the project.
Green belt is the next level. At this point, an individual is expected to possess good knowledge of the Six Sigma Tools and Methodologies. The persons at this position are usually the project members. These individuals need to be very productive in their functions. Some of their main duties include collecting and analyzing data; the basis of the entire process’ success.
Also, another important level in the project is the black belt. Black belt signifies a higher rank in the process. It refers to the team leaders who have learned all the techniques in great detail. They help in facilitation of various programs. The black belts are experienced and knowledgeable in leadership processes necessary to successfully run a project team.
The highest rank in Six Sigma is held by the master black belts. Those at this level are authorized to teach and mentor other Six Sigma Professionals below them. They possess deep understanding of the project and can teach and train the upcoming masters.
The Six Sigma concept is very methodical and each procedure is well defined to ensure that the upcoming issues are laid out and tangible solutions are made in regard to the same. The explained and elaborated concept can be applied in any organization since it works to minimize defects and errors and maximize on productivity.