An Overview of Six Sigma

An overview of Six Sigma reveals a methodology for quality improvement. The trademark is owned by Motorola, and as such Six Sigma is a "brand name." Because it is also used by thousands of consultants, you see it capitalized when it is used by Motorola and in lower-case letters otherwise.

What does Six Sigma mean?

Sigma is a long-standing symbol used by engineers, mathematicians, and statisticians as a unit to measure statistical variation. Sigma is Greek for the letter 'S'. Why the 'six'? This refers to the amount of deviation from the common bell curve used to measure change. Six sigma represents "almost perfect", or 3.4 defects per million.

So, if you could count the bars to the right of the top of a bell curve, you would get six sigma. This represents the deviation from perfection. Obviously, if you are making plastic parts, you would be very happy indeed if you could have only 3.4 defective parts per million! That is what this is all about. It is a method that enables you to measure your processes in order to improve your bottom line.

One reason it is difficult to define six sigma is because it means different things to different people and different industries. Though it was originally developed by Motorola as a way to improve manufacturing, but it soon grew to include management and service industries, such as banking.

• Improvements related to in-process inspection effectiveness
• Increased weigh-count throughput
• Cycle time and scrap reduction
• A help to reduce process variation and costs

This is not only something that benefits large corporations, it can be tailored to suit small and medium sized companies as well. A good example of this is GW Plastics, in Bethel, Vermont.

Six Sigma lean manufacturing begins at the top

Six Sigma is a top-down program, and it is common knowledge that a program such as this will only work if there is an absolute commitment from top management. It is a complicated, time consuming and somewhat expensive program to become involved with. The rewards can be huge though, and the company bottom line will show it.

There are many, many companies offering six sigma services. There is even one called Motorola University, the same people who developed this in the first place! You can earn your "green belt" or "black belt" and become a trainer by taking online courses as well. This is certainly the most popular quality improvement program in history.

It is not a "flash in the pan", though some companies fail to follow through and realize the benefits. It really encompasses the best of the quality programs that have preceded it and can help your company in many ways.

This overview of six sigma should give you a general idea of what it is, what it can do and how to begin.

Where can you find a good resource?

This is an excellent resource used by hundreds of business owners. You can download you own personal copy by clicking here here. It comes with a money back guarantee, and you are certain to find it extremely useful in your search for answers.

You can download it here

Lean Manufacturing

• Six sigma is just one aspect of an overall strategy that includes many other processes that are all integrated into a whole program. Some of the other parts are 5S Implementation, Value Stream Mapping, and Kaizen.

• Six Sigma Consulting
  
  Many executives have asked the question: “What is lean manufacturing without six sigma consulting?” in an attempt to save money. This is an important question that demands an answer.
• Lean Manufacturing For Non-Manufacturing Companies
  
  Explaining lean manufacturing to non manufacturing people can sometimes be a little confusing. Here is a good approach that is quite helpful.
• Six Sigma Software
  
  When Six Sigma is implemented into a project, there is a need for collecting and analyzing huge amount of statistical data, which may be raw in nature. Such data, which is associated with various aspects of business processes, is vital to the decision making process.
• Six Sigma Careers
  
  It has become imperative today for every type of business to focus on the quality of their product or service. Techniques used to improve quality, like Six Sigma, are in high demand - and this demand is increasing by the day.
• Six Sigma DOE
  
  Six Sigma capitalizes on any situation by making some changes in company practices in order to bring effectiveness to company operations. In order to make these changes smoothly without affecting current business processes, it is very important to analyze the different business processes and recognize their purposes. This way, it becomes easier to compare the source and the consequence of the company's processes with each other.
• Risk Assessment
  
  Confused about how to assess design risk in your Six Sigma implementation? This article goes in-depth to explain how to assess risk design and the tools to use to accomplish it.
• Six Sigma Audit
  
  The implementation of Six Sigma is not just any improvisation technique. The reason is very simple - unlike other methodologies, Six Sigma is never intended to take a back seat in any company.
• Six Sigma Employee Evaluation
  
  In today's volatile global economy, it is very important for businesses to improve the work processes that they may be running. This has to be done in order to reduce costs, while at the same time offer better quality products and services to the customers in order to stay competitive.
• Six Sigma Training
  
  Six Sigma Training can be complex... this article makes it simple!
• Black Belt Compensation
  
  The effectiveness of a Six Sigma program can be proven in many documented project case files. The question then arises, how to compensate these valuable teams and their leadership for their hard work. In this article we approach this dilemma from a variety of effective viewpoints.
• Six Sigma Healthcare
  
  The use of six sigma methodology in the healthcare industry has become a critical element in increasing the efficiently of today’s healthcare system. We invite the reader to investigate further on this topic to gain a greater appreciation of versatile power of Six Sigma beyond industrial production improvements.