Republic of the Philippines

PAMANTASAN NG LUNGSOD NG MAYNILA

(University of the City of Manila)
General Luna Street Corner Muralla Street
Intramuros, Manila 1002, Philippines

MODULE 12 : SIX SIGMA

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Course

CIVCM 0425: TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

A Written Report Presented to

ENGR. VIEN CARLO M. AMORA, MSCE

By.

ALBERTO, JOSHUA R.
FARAON, DAVE B.
MAURICIO, JAN MICHAEL F.
TEPACE, CHARLES DARREN C.

March 13, 2023

 ● Lean Six Sigma
● Key Six Sigma Concepts
● The Six Sigma Quality Level
● Six Sigma versus Three Sigma
● Shifts and its Role
● Defects Per Million Opportunities (DPMO)
● Six Sigma Strategy
● Implementing Six Sigma
● Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control (DMAIC)
● Define, Measure,Analyze, Design and Very (DMADV)
● Six Sigma Training Programmes

Six Sigma

Sigma (𝜎) is a Greek letter which represents the standard deviation of a process. The
name Six Sigma comes from statistical terminology and refers to a methodology and philosophy
of ongoing improvement that is widely applied in total quality management. It was developed by
two engineers at Motorola in 1986 namely, Bill Smith and Mikel Harry. This approach focuses
on data analysis and uses statistical tools to minimize variation in processes and enhance overall
quality. Sigma quality level is sometimes used to describe the output of a process. A Six Sigma
quality level is said to equate to 3.4 defects per million opportunities. However, the term in
practice is used to denote more than simply counting defects.

Six Sigma is a powerful methodology that can help organizations achieve near-perfect
quality and improve their processes. It is a data-driven approach that focuses on reducing process
variation and eliminating defects to achieve higher levels of efficiency, productivity, and
customer satisfaction. It uses a methodical five-phase approach—define, measure, analyze,
improve, and control—to help understand the variables that affect a process in order to better
optimize it. Successful implementation of Six Sigma requires commitment from top
management, a culture of continuous improvement, and the use of data-driven decision-making.

The primary concept of Six Sigma is that by quantifying the number of "defects" in a
process, you can methodically identify methods to eliminate them and attain as close to "zero
defects" as possible. Six Sigma begins by utilizing statistical techniques to transform input from
customers into product or service specifications for development or production.
For Six Sigma purposes, quality is defined as the value added by a productive endeavor.
There are two types of quality—potential quality and actual quality. Potential quality is the
known, maximum possible value added per unit of input. Actual quality is the current value
added per unit of input. The difference between potential and actual quality is termed as waste.
Six Sigma focuses on improving quality (i.e., reducing waste) by helping organizations produce
products and services better, faster and cheaper.

Lean Six Sigma

Lean Six Sigma is a methodology that combines the principles of Lean Manufacturing
and Six Sigma to optimize business processes and reduce waste while improving quality. It is a
structured problem-solving approach that helps organizations identify and eliminate
non-value-added activities and defects in their processes.

Lean Manufacturing is a philosophy that focuses on the continuous elimination of waste

(known as "muda")- time, inventory, motion, waiting, overproduction, over processing, defects,
and skills in all aspects of a business, including production, administration, and supply chain
management. Lean principles include identifying and eliminating waste, reducing lead time,
improving quality, and continuously improving processes.

Six Sigma, as we discussed earlier, is a data-driven approach that focuses on reducing

process variation and eliminating defects to achieve near-perfect quality. Six Sigma uses a
structured methodology (DMAIC) to identify and solve problems, and emphasizes the use of
statistical tools and techniques to measure, analyze, and improve processes.

When combined, Lean and Six Sigma create a powerful problem-solving methodology
that addresses both process efficiency and quality. Lean Six Sigma helps organizations achieve
faster process cycles, reduce costs, and improve customer satisfaction.
 The Lean Six Sigma methodology typically involves a five-step process called DMAIC:
Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control. The goal of this process is to identify the root
causes of problems, develop solutions, and implement and sustain improvements over time.

Organizations face rising costs and new challenges every day. Lean Six Sigma provides a
competitive advantage in the following ways:
● Streamlining processes results in Improved customer experience and increased loyalty
● Developing more efficient process flows drives higher bottom-line results
● Switching from defect detection to defect prevention reduces costs and removes waste
● Standardizing processes leads to organizational “nimbleness” and the ability to pivot to
everyday challenges
● Decreasing lead times increases capacity and profitability
● Engaging employees in the effort improves morale and accelerates people development

Key Six Sigma Concepts

Six Sigma revolves around the following key concepts namely:

1. Critical to Quality (CTQ): Attributes most crucial for the customers

2. Defect: Failing to deliver what the customer wants
3. Process of Capability: What one’s process can deliver
4. Variation: What the customer sees and feels
5. Stable Operations: Ensuring consistent, predictable processes to improve what the
customer sees and feels
6. Design for Six Sigma: Designing to meet customer needs and process capability

The Six Sigma Quality Level

According to Harry and Schroeder, Six Sigma quality fundamentally means a

breakthrough strategy that can be interpreted as “a disciplined method of using extremely
rigorous data gathering and statistical analysis to identify the sources of errors and ways of
eliminating them”. The Six Sigma quality level is significant because it represents a high level of
process capability and customer satisfaction. It also provides a common language and standard
for measuring and comparing process performance across different organizations and industries.
Organizations that achieve the Six Sigma quality level can enjoy numerous benefits, including
reduced costs, increased productivity, improved customer satisfaction, and a competitive
advantage in the market. However, achieving Six Sigma requires a significant commitment of
time, resources, and expertise, and it is not suitable for all processes or organizations.

As discussed, Sigma is a letter in the Greek alphabet used by statisticians to measure the variability in

any process. Most commonly, it represents standard deviation, a statistic for measurement of dispersion, i.e.

spread about a mean or target value. A simple comparison of this dispersion is given in Table 1. Six 𝜎 is about

20,000 times better than three 𝜎. An important aspect of the Six Sigma programme is total process

characterization, which involves optimizing all processes to a very high 𝐶𝑝 and 𝐶𝑝𝑘 value. . In fact, Six Sigma

represents a near defect free situation or precisely 3.4 defects per million opportunities (𝐶𝑝 = 2.0, 𝐶𝑝𝑘 = 1.5).

Table 1. Comparison of Sigma Level of Errors

Sigma Level of Errors Spelling Mistakes in a Book Time Error in a Century

3𝜎 1.5 misspelled words per 3.5 months/century

page per book

4𝜎 1 misspelled word/30 2.5 days/century

pages/book

5𝜎 1 misspelled word/set of 30 minutes/century

encyclopedias

6𝜎 1 misspelled word/per small 6 seconds/century

library

Source: Adapted from Dinesh Seth, Global Management Solutions: Demystified (Thomson Publishing: 2004)
Intro (Six Sigma vs Three sigma)

The saying "you can't examine quality into a product" is a quality assurance axiom. In
terms of statistics, the distinction between three sigma and six sigma refers to the amount of
variation from the mean. These variances indicate wasted time, resources, client happiness, and
profit for a firm. Motorola Inc. invented and registered the Six Sigma concept.

A departure from an engineering specification of no more than one-sixth part, or 1.66

percent, plus or less, is the target of a three-sigma quality program. A variance of no more than
one-twelfth part, or 0.83 percent, plus or minus, is the target for a Six Sigma quality program.
This indicates a decrease in mistakes across the whole production process. While three sigma
and Six Sigma are both employed as quality indicators in the manufacturing sector, there is a
significant distinction between the two. In contrast to Six Sigma, which uses two parts per billion
variation from the engineering standard, three sigma uses a 2,700 part per million variance.

Production and Management

The production process is emphasized in three sigma quality initiatives. The three sigma
approach excludes operations that take place off the plant floor. Six Sigma is more
all-encompassing since it covers all crucial business processes. The customer is a component of
the quality process, according to the assumption of "The Six Sigma Handbook". The customer's
expectations for the proper pricing, outstanding service, best financing conditions, appropriate
style, and enough availability are factors that depend on both management and production.

Each Step in a Process

Each stage of the production process is a process in Six Sigma. Each has to be finished
effectively and correctly. The employees who will be working on the following procedure on the
production line are the "customers" for each phase. The variance allowed at each stage of the
manufacturing process is double what is permitted in Six Sigma to meet the standards of three
sigma. This indicates that every person involved in the assembly process is a member of the
quality team, which aids in locating the cause of production mistakes.
Shift process.

According to the Six Sigma methodology, the output distribution for a stable, normally
distributed.Design the process (voice of the process) to occupy no more than half of the tolerance
the specified limitations permit (voice of the customer). even despite procedures. It is thought
that with time the variance may rise because they are created to be at their finest. This Little
adjustments in the process inputs or the manner the process is done might cause an increase in
variance, being seen, the environment is changing, etc. It is frequently anticipated that process
variation will rise.in order to keep the description simple, to be comparable to transient changes
in the underlying process mean. It has been demonstrated that an increase in process variation is
comparable to a typical shift 1.5 standard deviations in the mean of the originally designed and
monitored process.

If a process is firstly designed to be doubly as good as a client demands( i.e., the

specifications representing the client conditions are six standard diversions from the process
target), also indeed with a shift in the distribution of affair the client demands are probably to
be met. In fact, indeed if the process shifts off target by1.5 standard diversions, there are
standard diversions between the process mean( m1.50 s) and its closest specification m6.00 s).
Defects per million opportunities

To achieve Six Sigma quality, a process must produce no further that 3.4 blights per
million openings. An occasion is defined as a chance for non-conformance or not meeting the
needed specifications. This means one needs to be nearly indefectible in executing crucial
processes. The process and culture is conditioned for zero blights rather than being one that
accepts that it's ineluctable, and respectable that miscalculations will do. Hence, Six Sigma
delivers substantial cost reductions, enhanced edge, sustainable enhancement and increased
stakeholder value. A disfigurement is defined as any part of a product or service that doesn't
meet client specifications or conditions or causes client dissatisfaction or doesn't fulfill the
functional or physical conditions. It should be noted that the term client refers to both internal
and external guests.
Six Sigma Strategy

Six Sigma is probably one of the best methodologies to pervade the world of
improvements. Its measurement orientation, rigorous training scheme, process centricity and
stakeholder involvement differentiate it from other quality methodologies.
Six Sigma is the business strategy and a philosophy of one working smarter not harder.
One Sigma gives a precision of 68.27 per cent, Two Sigma of 95.45 per cent and Three Sigma of
99.73 per cent, whereas Six Sigma gives a precision of 99.9997 per cent.
Six Sigma is a data-driven structured problem-solving methodology for solving chronic
issues facing a business. It is a breakthrough management process that is used to improve a
company’s performance by variation reduction. The method encompasses breaking down the
customer’s requirements into steps to pinpoint pains in a process. This results in the reduction of
defects and sustenance of process improvement.
The Six Sigma methodology essentially has two elements, which comprise the voice of
the customer and the voice of process. It essentially entails reducing the gap between the two
voices and ensuring that they both match. What differentiates Six Sigma from other quality
methodologies is that it can be used to solve key pain areas in business.
A gauge of quality and efficiency, Six Sigma is also a measure of excellence. Embarking
on a Six Sigma programme means delivering top-quality service and products while virtually
eliminating all internal inefficiencies. A true Six Sigma organization produces not only excellent
products but also maintains highly efficient production and administrative systems that work
effectively with the company’s other service processes.
Implementing a Six Sigma programme in manufacturing entails much more than
delivering a defect-free product after a final test or inspection. It also entails concurrently
maintaining in-process yields around 99.9999998 per cent, defective rates below 0.002 parts per
million and virtually eradicating defects, rework and scrap.
In administrative processes, Six Sigma may mean not only the obvious reduction of cycle
time during production but, more importantly, optimizing response time to inquiries, maximizing
the speed and accuracy with which inventory and materials are supplied and fool proofing such
support processes from errors, inaccuracies and inefficiency.

Implementing Six Sigma

Six Sigma is a rigorous, focused and highly effective implementation of proven quality
principles and techniques. A company’s performance is measured by the sigma level of their
business processes. Traditionally, companies accepted Three or Four Sigma performance levels
as the norm, despite the fact that these processes created between 6,200 and 67,000 problems per
million opportunities. The Six Sigma standard of 3.4 problems per million opportunities is a
response to the increasing expectations of customers and the increased complexity of modern
products and processes.

Six Sigma relies on tried and true methods that have been around for decades. In fact, Six
Sigma discards a great deal of the complexity that characterized TQM. By one expert’s count,
there were over 400 TQM tools and techniques. Six Sigma takes a handful of proven methods
and trains a small cadre of in-house technical leaders, known as the Six Sigma black belts, to a
high level of proficiency in the application of these techniques.

Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control (DMAIC)

DMAIC can be described as follows:

Define. the goals of the improvement activity. At the top level, the goals will be the
strategic objectives of the organization such as a higher ROI or market share. At the
operations level, a goal might be to increase the throughput of the production department.
At the project level, goals might be to reduce the defect level and increase throughput.
Apply data mining methods to identify potential improvement opportunities.
Measure. the existing system. Establish valid and reliable metrics to help monitor
progress towards the goal(s) defined in the previous step. Begin by determining the
current baseline. Use exploratory and descriptive data analysis to help you understand the
data.
Analyze. the system to identify ways to eliminate the gap between the current
performance of the system or process and the desired goal. Apply statistical tools to guide
the analysis.
Improve. the system. Be creative in finding new ways to do things better, cheaper or
faster. Use project management and other planning and management tools to implement
the new approach. Use statistical methods to validate the improvement.
Control. the new system. Institutionalize the improved system by modifying
compensation and incentive systems, policies, procedures, MRP, budgets, operating
instructions and other management systems. You may wish to utilize systems such as ISO
9000 to ensure that documentation is correct.

Phase 1—Define
Define the priorities of the customers with respect to quality: In this phase, those
attributes of the product/service that are considered most important by the customers in
evaluating the quality of the product are identified. These attributes are called critical to quality
characteristics (CTQ).
Key questions: The key questions that arise are:
• What are the problems and their scope?
• What is its criticality and importance to the customer?
• What is the benchmark?
• How should resources be allocated?
• What are the independent and dependent variables affecting the project?
• Is the voice of the customer being captured directly?
Key issues: The key issues are:
• Which team is to handle the issue?
• What will they accomplish?
• What is the clear definition of project scope, including operational details?
• What are the various milestones of the project?
• What are the roles of team members?
• What are critical to quality (CTQ) parameters?
• Identification of critical success factors (CSF)

Key questions: The key questions are:

• What are the performance variables and their impact?
• What is the gap between benchmark and existing status?
• What is the performance capability of the process/processes?
Key issues: The key issues are:
• What does the customer really want?
• Validation of measurement schemes
• Development of key input, process and output measures
Important tools used: The important tools used are:
• Process mapping
• QFD
 • Cause and effect matrix
• Creativity techniques
• 7 QC tools
• Calculation of process sigma and process capability studies
• Gauge R and R studies
• Anova
The main tools used are as follows:
• Brainstorming • Pareto analysis
• QFD • Process mapping
• Project management fundamentals to ensure scope

Phase II—Measure
Measure the processes and the defects arising in the product due to the process: The
important processes influencing the CTQs are identified and performance measurement
techniques are established for these processes. Measurement of processes and thus the defects
arising in the product due to the processes is undertaken.
Key questions: The key questions are:
• What are the performance variables and their impact?
• What is the gap between benchmark and existing status?
• What is the performance capability of the process/processes?
Key issues: The key issues are:
• What does the customer really want?
• Validation of measurement schemes
• Development of key input, process and output measures
Important tools used: The important tools used are:
• Process mapping
• QFD
• Cause and effect matrix
• Creativity techniques
• 7 QC tools
• Calculation of process sigma and process capability studies
 • Gauge R and R studies
• Anova

Phase III—Analyze
Analyze the process to determine the most likely causes of defects: The key variables
most likely to be responsible for variation in the process are identified to find the reasons for
generation of defects.
Key questions: The key questions are:
• What are the success factors?
• What is the performance goal?
• What are the sources of real variation?
• What is the target percentage for improvement?
Key issues: The key issues are:
• What is the company’s ability to make/deliver it?
• What is the characterization of the problem (means/spread)?
• Selection of performance variable and their quantification
Important tools used: The important tools used are:
• Gap analysis and improvement goals
• Process map analysis
•Data stratification
• Advanced analytical tools
• Regression analysis
• Anova
• Tests of hypothesis

Phase IV—Improve
Improve the performance of the process and remove the causes of the defects: The
specification limits of the key variables are fixed and the system established for measuring the
deviations of the variables is validated. Improvisations in the process are undertaken to keep the
variables within the specification limits.
Key questions: The key questions are:
 • How is variable performance diagnosed?
• How is the interaction between various factors studied?
• How are operating limits and new process capability established?
• How is the optimum solution selected?
• How is implementation planned?
Key issues: The key issues are:
• What really affects the company’s ability to make/deliver it?
• How is performance improvement verified?
• Action plans
• Generation of solutions to address root causes and the criteria to screen and select
• Establishment of operating tolerances
Important tools used: The important tools used are:
• DOE techniques
• Tests of hypothesis
• Confirmation or validation studies

Phase V—Control
Control to ensure that the improvements are maintained over time: The modified process
is subjected to vigil at regular intervals of time to ensure that the key variables do not show any
unacceptable variations (beyond the specification limits).
+
REFERENCES:

Charantimath, Poornima M. (2017). Chapter 7. Six Sigma. Total Quality Management (3rd
ed., pp. 204-236).Chapter, Pearson.
GoLeanSixSigma.com. (2021, July 26). Lean six sigma process improvement.
GoLeanSixSigma.com. Retrieved March 11, 2023, from
https://goleansixsigma.com/what-is-lean-six-sigma/
Kumar, Panjar. (2023, March 9). What is Six Sigma: Everything You Need to know About
it. Retrieved March 11, 2023 from
https://www.simplilearn.com/what-is-six-sigma-a-complete-overview-article#:~:text=Si
x%20Sigma%20is%20a%20process,per%20million%20units%20or%20events.