What Is the Six Sigma Methodology and Why Is It Important?
The Six Sigma methodology is a business process that is aimed at detecting and eliminating any defects that currently exist within products or services. The theme as well rotates around the minimization of the degree of variability in the processes the businesses ventured into. This policy originated around the 1980s and has become widely used by many of the businesses in the world.
The strategy around the whole idea of Six Sigma is the improvement of the quality of products that any given business produces. With this, the business aims to cut the costs of operation as well as maximize the profits made by the business. In the implementation part there are established qualitative management setups and the application of varied statistical methods. The people in charge of this are individuals who are experts in the field and who have gone through extensive Six Sigma Training and who have earned levels of Certification.
With the statistical approach, there is the quantification of the overall performance of a given process. There are set limits within which the performance should revolve for a quality delivery. Anything that extends outside the set limits will then be considered a defect. This is why the definition of the process opportunity goes as the sum amalgamation of the chances for a defect.
There are very many activities and processes that take place during a day in a normal business setting. The methodology is thus aimed at improving the performance and the narrowing of the variation level. The achievement of this is through the application of sub-categories of the six sigma measurement-based design.
The two sub-categories include DMAIC process (define, measure, analyze, improve, control) which is mainly focused with the improvement of those existing processes that fall way below the set specifications. On the other hand, there is the DMADV process (define, measure, analyze, design, verify) that governs the development of some other new products at the level of six sigma perfection. The implementation of this is left in the hands of trained and certified professionals known as ‘belts’. There are different levels of belt certification; Master Black Belts, Black Belts, Green Belts, and Yellow Belts.
It is evident that a business that employs this strategy is able to reap quality benefits from it. Indications have pointed that companies are saving billions of dollars through the implementation of this process. This explains the way in which thousands of companies have identified the far-reaching effects of the phenomenon and are opting for the strategy.
The bottom line in the Six Sigma process is to try and seal all the loop holes that may leak the firm’s resources. Obvious is the fact that any process will always call for new challenges to come its way. The measurement strategy thus comes about to find out the best way to decrease the leaks as much as possible. It basically involves selecting the best projects and doing away with the others that are not beneficial.
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