Prof.Dr.Salem A.M.Al AbdulRahman - Work shop

How Does Six Sigma Work?

By : Prof.Dr.Salem A.M.Al AbdulRahman

Chancelor of IHEVD

Six Sigma has both management components and technical components. Using this dual approach allows for everyone to have a role in making the Six Sigma plan a success.

The management side focuses on using the management system to line up the right projects and match them with the right individuals. Management also focuses on getting the right goals and process metrics to insure that projects are successfully completed and that these gains can be sustained over time.

The technical side focuses on enhancing process performance using process data, statistical thinking, and methods. This focused process improvement methodology has five key stages: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control. Define is to define process improvement goals that are consistent with customer demands and company strategy. Next measure the key aspects of the current processes that your company is using and collect relevant data about these processes and current results. Then analyze the data to verify cause and affect relationships, be sure to consider all possible factors involved. Then improve or optimize the process based upon data analysis using techniques like Design of Experiments or observational study. The last step is to control to ensure that any deviations are corrected before they result in defects. During this step you will also set up pilot runs to establish process capability and will continuously monitor the process.

All tools statistical or not are linked and sequenced in a unique way that makes 6 Sigma both easy and effective to use. The basic approach focuses on the identification of the key process drivers (variables that have the largest effect on output) and relies on software such as Minitab for statistical calculations.