Six Sigma Calculator

The calculation of a Sigma level, is based on the number of defects per million opportunities (DPMO).
In order to calculate the DPMO, three distinct pieces of information are required:
a) the number of units produced
b) the number of defect opportunities per unit
c) the number of defects
The actual formula is:
DPMO =

(Number of Defects X 1,000,000)

((Number of Defect Opportunities/Unit) x Number of Units)

Example:
A manufacturer of computer hard drives wants to measure their Six Sigma level.
Over a given period of time, the manufacturer creates 83,934 hard drives.
The manufacturer performs 8 individual checks to test quality of the drives.
During testing 3,432 are rejected.
Defects
Opportunities
Defect Opportunities per unit

Six Sigma Table:

3432
83934
8
1

690,000

308,000

66,800

6,210

320

3.4

DPMO
Sigma Level

Source for this file:

http://home.xtra.co.nz/hosts/smtconz/Quality/Simple%20Six%20Sigma%20Calculator.xls

5111.159
4.1

Six Sigma Calculator

A. All values required to calculate Sigma level
Defects:
2
Units:
100
Opportunities per Unit:
2

Enter values in Gray cells only

DPMO:
Sigma Level:

10,000
3.83

B. Sigma calculated based on defects and number of opportunities

Defects:
2
DPMO:
Number of Opportunities:
250,000
Sigma Level:

8
5.81

C. Enter only the known Defects Per Million Opportunities

Enter DPMO
66,000
Sigma Level:

3.01