© ABSL Power Solutions 2007 © STM Quality Limited STM Quality Limited Six Sigma TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT 6 

© STM Quality Limited STM Quality Limited What is ‘Six Sigma’? Six Sigma is a quality measure & improvement program developed by Motorola. It is used to reduce product defects, improve quality and increase profitability.

© STM Quality Limited STM Quality Limited What Does Sigma Mean? Sigma is a Greek letter  and is used in statistics to denote variation, or ‘standard deviation’. To control a process to the point of six sigma means to control defects to 3.4 per million items.

© STM Quality Limited STM Quality Limited The Use Of Six Sigma By identifying factors which are critical to quality, we can: Reduce process variation; Improve capabilities; Increase stability; Work towards ZERO DEFECTS.

© STM Quality Limited STM Quality Limited Zero Defects If we can measure how many defects we have in any given process, then we can systematically work towards eliminating them and get as close as possible to zero defects.

© STM Quality Limited STM Quality Limited Key Elements of Quality 1. The Customer. 2. The Process. 3. The Employee.

© STM Quality Limited STM Quality Limited 1. The Customer Defines quality; Expects performance, reliability, competitive price, on time delivery, service, correct transaction processes, etc. Being good is not enough – customers need to be delighted!

© STM Quality Limited STM Quality Limited 2. The Process There is a need for us to look at our business from the customer’s perspective. That is, to look at our processes from the outside in.

© STM Quality Limited STM Quality Limited 3. The Employee Lets put it simply: PEOPLE CREATE RESULTS!

© STM Quality Limited STM Quality Limited The DMAIC Model At the heart of Six Sigma is a systematic method for analyzing & improving business process, called DMAIC. The DMAIC model includes five phases.

© STM Quality Limited STM Quality Limited Five DMAIC Phases Define opportunities; Measure performance; Analyse opportunity; Improve performance; Control performance.

© STM Quality Limited STM Quality Limited DMAIC Phases - Define Measure performance Various tools can be used once we have a measurement plan. Benchmarking, S.P.C., calculation of process sigma, R & R studies, etc.

© STM Quality Limited STM Quality Limited DMAIC Phases - Measure Define opportunities This is the step we take to find exactly what the requirement, measure, or concern is. Without defining, we cannot perform the other elements!

© STM Quality Limited STM Quality Limited DMAIC Phases - Analyse Analyse Once we have measured data we can analyse it using cause & effect analysis; financial assessment, value added analysis etc.

© STM Quality Limited STM Quality Limited DMAIC Phases - Improve Improve Having analysed our data we can take steps to improve the process using Design of Experiments, F.M.E.A., Poka-Yoke, etc.

© STM Quality Limited STM Quality Limited DMAIC Phases - Control Control Once we have made process improvements we need to control the process using Kaizan, Control charts, 5c etc.

© STM Quality Limited STM Quality Limited The DMAIC Process - Example Lets look at an example: A company is having parts failing inspection after machining. Lets see how the DMAIC process could be used…

© STM Quality Limited STM Quality Limited The DMAIC Process – Example: Define Define: Inspection are rejecting high number of parts after final machining.

© STM Quality Limited STM Quality Limited The DMAIC Process – Example: Measure Measure: Yield obtained; Number of defects in total measured so that standard deviation can be defined.

© STM Quality Limited STM Quality Limited The DMAIC Process – Example: Analyse Analyse: Operators; Material; Identified variables that could impact production; Different experiments conducted; Range of acceptable levels determined.

© STM Quality Limited STM Quality Limited The DMAIC Process – Example: Improve Improve: Operating instructions changed; Production levels bought into line with capacity; Final production yield increased!

© STM Quality Limited STM Quality Limited The DMAIC Process – Example: Control Control: Control charts introduced for each machine; Corrective Action Plan provided for defects.

© STM Quality Limited STM Quality Limited Six Sigma So as can be seen from the example, the DMAIC process was applied. Remember that there may not be a ‘quick fix’ and that resources need to be applied to a problem.

© STM Quality Limited STM Quality Limited Six Sigma Belts Experts at Six Sigma disciplines are often referred to as ‘Master Black Belts’. These experts often train others in the disciplines, being ‘Black Belts’ and ‘Green Belts’.