What Is Six Sigma? Its Tools and Techniques

Businesses, big or small, require Six Sigma principles. Digital transformation has taken industries by storm. Those who cannot keep up with the pace of the latest adaptations will lose in the competitive marketplace. In this fast-paced competitive environment, companies are applying state-of-the-art Six Sigma tools and technologies.

In this article, we will look into the importance of Six Sigma management. After mastering this skill with Six Sigma courses and certifications you could become a top innovative professional.

Before we get into the article’s main issue, Six Sigma, let’s see why Six Sigma methods have become crucial. Can it make a company's transformative process seamless?

Also Read: Free Six Sigma Certification Courses

What is Six Sigma?

Motorola coined the name Six Sigma to characterise the overall management style detailed in this document in the early 1980s. Top companies (Ford, Amazon, General Electric, Boeing, Seagate) have successfully incorporated the Six Sigma process into their business and development.

With Six Sigma methods, companies comprehend the needs of their customers in a better way and also eliminate errors and waste. Six Sigma management involves efficient engineering, statistics, and project management, as well as the underlying processes and systems.

Why Is It Called Six Sigma?

The term sigma refers to one standard deviation in a data set, and Six Sigma is named after it. According to the notion, six such variances should occur before the process produces a fault. Six Sigma tools and technologies have a failure rate of only 3.4 faults per million process occurrences.

Objectives of Six Sigma

Enhancing the services, products, and procedures of an organisation across various areas such as development, finance, marketing, and administration are the major objectives of Six Sigma management.

Benefits of Six Sigma

• Better understanding of changing customer requirements

• Improvement of quality and delivery

• Reduction of waste

• Reduction of cost

• Development of robust products and processes

• Continuous improvement

• Enhancement of competitive position.

Six Sigma Principles

• Focus on what the customer wants

• To comprehend the work and to uncover the core cause of problems, rigorous measurement and statistical analysis are used (variations)

• Taking proactive steps to eliminate variation and improve the process.

• Including people in cross-functional Six Sigma teams

• Being meticulous and flexible at the same time

Read more:

• Top Six Sigma Interview Questions to Know
• Six Sigma Certifications: Benefits, Importance, Levels and Requirements

The Six Sigma Methodology

Now let’s take a look at two crucial Six Sigma methodologies: DMAIC and DMADV. Both of these Six Sigma management methods have their own set of protocols. So you will need to implement those for your business transformation.

Six Sigma DMAIC

Typically, the Six Sigma DMAIC method is used to enhance an existing process. The acronym DMAIC stands for the following:

• Define the issue and the desired result.

• Determine the process's capability.

• Analyse the information and find the source of the issue

• Enhance or alter the process to produce fewer defects

• Manage the procedure. Avoid and correct variations to prevent them from becoming flaws.

Six Sigma DMADV

The Six Sigma DMADV is utilised while creating a new process. DFSS is another name for it (Design for Six Sigma). The abbreviation DMADV stands for:

• Establish design standards that are in line with the objectives.

• Measure and identify essential quality attributes in the product or process.

• Analyse the information and look for any flaws.

• Changes in design that eliminate the cause of problems or failures

• Check if the design meets the specifications.

What are Six Sigma Tools?

To reach the desired result, the Six Sigma approach employs a combination of statistics and data analysis tools, such as process design and mapping, as well as established quantitative and qualitative techniques. let us look at the Six Sigma tools list.

Value Stream Mapping (VSM)

They're flowcharts / visual maps created to help companies comprehend every step of a process and identify potential issues. They are used to plan a future project by tracing the flow of resources and information that already exists.

The goal is to minimise waste and inadequacies along the value chain, resulting in efficient operations. It specifies seven types of waste and three methods of garbage removal.

Capability Analysis

It evaluates a process' ability to suit a company's needs. This tool allows businesses to quantify the relationship between consumer desires and the capacity of present procedures to match those desires, allowing them to develop customer-focused processes.

Voice of the Customer

This is a technique for collecting feedback from the client from both external and internal sources. The goal of the strategy is to give the best services and products to the customer. It employs both direct and indirect methods to capture the client's evolving desires.

The approach is used to better identify the issue to be addressed in the "define" part of the DMAIC process.

Five Whys

This method is utilised in the DMAIC cycle's "analyse" phase to help get to the underlying cause of the issues under discussion.

The question "why" is reiterated in the 5 Whys technique, until the main issue is discovered. Although "five" is a general rule, the actual number of questions can be more or less, depending on the level of clarity required.

Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA)

It is a four-step lean Six Sigma strategy that includes planning, doing, checking, and acting. This lean Six Sigma strategy allows a root cause to be addressed methodically by developing, testing, assessing, and finally implementing a solution.

Statistical Process Control (SPC)

It is a quality control system that monitors and controls the process by tracking process metrics. Control charts are a common technique to apply SPC because they record data and help companies determine when a procedure stops operating. Once a problem has been detected, the procedure can be altered to solve any further problems.

Brainstorming

Brainstorming is an important part of any problem-solving strategy, and it's used extensively in the DMAIC methodology's "enhance" step. Before anyone uses any tools, this is a vital step.

Brainstorming is the process of bouncing ideas around in a group setting and identifying new ways to a problem. The open session among the candidates is moderated by a facilitator, usually a lead Black Belt or Green Belt.

The 5S System

This method is based on the Japanese concept of workplace energy. The 5S System is designed to eliminate waste and bottlenecks in the workplace caused by inefficient equipment, tools, and resources.

The five steps are:

• Seiri (Sort)

• Seiton (Set In Order)

• Seiso (Shine)

• Seiketsu (Standardise)

• and Shitsuke (Sustain)

Kaizen (Continuous Improvement)

This is a powerful approach for fueling a cycle of continual progress. It is a continuous process of monitoring, recognising, and implementing improvements. In the industrial industry, this is a particularly effective method. Waste is decreased as a result of collective and ongoing improvements, as well as quick action once even the minutest error is discovered.

Benchmarking

It is a measurement method that employs a predetermined standard. It requires comparing other businesses to get an unbiased appraisal of the problem. Internal benchmarking analyses a company's core processes or departments, functional benchmarking compares similar job functions to industry leaders, and product and service benchmarking compares similar products and services to those offered by competitors (competitive benchmarking).

Poka-yoke (Mistake Proofing)

This technique's name is derived from a Japanese term which means "to prevent mistakes," and it refers to removing the chance of committing mistakes. The poka-yoke approach is used by the team during product development to find and eradicate defects, human errors, and other issues.

Top Six Sigma Tools and Techniques

• Pareto Chart

• Cause and Effect Analysis

• Check Sheet

• Control Chart

• Scatter Plot

• Flow Chart

• Histogram

Six Sigma Levels

Six Sigma training levels must meet certain training requirements, education qualifications, employment standards, and eligibility requirements.

White Belt

Here are the perks of the White Belt

• All newcomers can join.

• People collaborate in groups to solve problems.

• The candidate must know the basic Six Sigma concepts

Yellow Belt

The candidate:

• Participates as a member of the project team.

• Examines process enhancements.

• Understand the numerous techniques, as well as DMAIC.

Green Level

Here the candidate must have

• Minimum of three years of full-time employment.

• Employ problem-solving tools and approaches.

• Experience working on initiatives that require some amount of business transformation.

• Data collection and analysis guidance for Black Belt projects.

• Lead Green Belt projects or teams.

Black Level

Here the candidate must have

• Three years of full-time work experience

• Experience working in a core expertise area

• Evidence of completing at least two Six Sigma projects

• Multivariate metrics expertise in a range of business transformation situations.

• Led several teams In problem-solving projects.

• Project teams must be trained, coached, and managed.

Master Black Belt

Here the candidate must have

• Certification as a Black Belt

• Have completed at least 10 Six Sigma projects or worked full-time for at least five years.

• A demonstrated job history, as well as particular special qualifications, such as those outlined above.

• Green Belts and Black Belts that I've coached and trained.

• Establish critical performance indicators and strategies.

• Experience with Six Sigma technology and as a business transformation advisor for an organisation.

Top Providers Offering Six Sigma Certifications Courses

• Simplilearn Six Sigma certification courses
• Swayam Six Sigma certification courses
• Udemy Six Sigma certification courses
• Simpliv Six Sigma certification courses
• Vskills Six Sigma certification courses
• Edureka Six Sigma certification courses

Conclusion

So there you have it. These are everything related to the tools of Six Sigma and technologies. Due to its emphasis on quality and efficiency, Six Sigma certification courses can be advantageous to both businesses and individuals. Learning Six Sigma techniques can help you gain project management expertise and boost your career.

Now that you have a fair understanding of the tools of Six Sigma, take a moment to check out our compiled list of online certification courses, degrees and diploma courses in almost every field that is out there. Our team has compiled all the crucial details that you need to know about these courses!