When businesses are looking to eliminate defects in their production process, and improve the quality of the products that they are manufacturing, they often turn to Six Sigma. Six Sigma is a set of processes and tools that will help you analyze your current production process, determine what the causes of the defects are, and help you determine the ideal solution to the problems. Six Sigma is not something you can just decide to implement on your own though. Their is extensive training needed to understand the processes and tools that are involved, and the more experience you have using Six Sigma, the more likely you will be to achieve your desired results. Below is an introduction that will outline the steps in the Six Sigma process for those who are unfamiliar with Six Sigma.
It is very important, if you are going to bring Six Sigma into your business, that the owners of the business, or at least the upper management of your business are behind this decision. Six Sigma will require formal training for individuals who will be on the project but do not have the necessary certification. It is also recommended that you either bring in consultants with extensive Six Sigma experience, or hire an experienced Six Sigma project manager, who can guide you through the process until the employees in your business become more experienced themselves.
After you have the support of your senior management, the next step is to make sure all of the employees in your company are on board as well. Most people are resistant to change, especially when the change is forced on them. If you include as many employees as possible in the Six Sigma process then they will have a say in the changes that are being considered, and therefore they will be more willing to implement these changes when they are finalized.
When the Six Sigma project starts the first step is to define what process you are looking to improve, and why. You will need to collect as much raw data as possible related to the number of defects, what types of defects they are, and any other data you can collect. Once the data is collected it needs to be quantified, or turned into numeric values that can represent different types of defects, so it can be properly analyzed. Six Sigma makes use of many statistical tools to analyze the quantitative data which will provide a more accurate picture of where the problems are, and what the underlying problems may be. You cannot begin to determine a change plan without first being sure that you going to change the process that truly need it.
The final two steps go hand-in-hand. Improvements will be made after analysis is complete, and then those improvements need to be controlled after the project has been completed in order to keep things running smoothly. Random events can occur, and things can happen that can require much more attention than usual after a Six Sigma Process is completed, causing problems if the team or process owner isn't prepared. As you can see, Six Sigma is more than just a fancy buzzword that catches a lot of attention. It is a very detailed process of improving processes and products within an organization that requires a lot of special training and business skill. - 32179
It is very important, if you are going to bring Six Sigma into your business, that the owners of the business, or at least the upper management of your business are behind this decision. Six Sigma will require formal training for individuals who will be on the project but do not have the necessary certification. It is also recommended that you either bring in consultants with extensive Six Sigma experience, or hire an experienced Six Sigma project manager, who can guide you through the process until the employees in your business become more experienced themselves.
After you have the support of your senior management, the next step is to make sure all of the employees in your company are on board as well. Most people are resistant to change, especially when the change is forced on them. If you include as many employees as possible in the Six Sigma process then they will have a say in the changes that are being considered, and therefore they will be more willing to implement these changes when they are finalized.
When the Six Sigma project starts the first step is to define what process you are looking to improve, and why. You will need to collect as much raw data as possible related to the number of defects, what types of defects they are, and any other data you can collect. Once the data is collected it needs to be quantified, or turned into numeric values that can represent different types of defects, so it can be properly analyzed. Six Sigma makes use of many statistical tools to analyze the quantitative data which will provide a more accurate picture of where the problems are, and what the underlying problems may be. You cannot begin to determine a change plan without first being sure that you going to change the process that truly need it.
The final two steps go hand-in-hand. Improvements will be made after analysis is complete, and then those improvements need to be controlled after the project has been completed in order to keep things running smoothly. Random events can occur, and things can happen that can require much more attention than usual after a Six Sigma Process is completed, causing problems if the team or process owner isn't prepared. As you can see, Six Sigma is more than just a fancy buzzword that catches a lot of attention. It is a very detailed process of improving processes and products within an organization that requires a lot of special training and business skill. - 32179
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