Definition of Six Sigma

Companies are always striving to improve the quality of their products. Improving the quality of the product allows a company to remove wasted expenses from its processes. The six sigma process is a process that a company can use to help reduce the number of defective products the company produces for its customers.

Function

The six sigma system is used by businesses to improve their quality management programs. The goal with six sigma is to reduce the number of defects created by a company. A defect can be a product with physical faults, or it can also be a poor service provided to a customer. The goal is to reduce errors in the end product that the company produces, whether it's a product or service.

Grading System

The number of sigmas in the six sigma program represents how close the company is to eliminating it's mistakes to the necessary level. The number of sigmas reduces significantly as the number of sigmas increases. Having a score of one sigma is poor, while having a score of six sigmas is the overall goal. A score of six sigmas represents having 3.4 defects for every million products or services the company produces. This is compared with the one sigma level which represents 691,000 defects per million products or services produced.

Process Improvement

The six sigma system emphasizes process improvement. To improve the process, there are five steps. It starts with identifying the problem that is causing the defect. The team then produces the product using steps they feel can reduce their errors. The third step is to analyze if the process reduced the number of defects. The fourth step is to develop further suggestions for improving the process.

Oversight

The final step of the six sigma process is called controls. This is created by the company to ensure the product is being produced correctly at numerous points in the process. This is separated from the other four steps. That's done because it has a a higher level of management level input. The managers should ensure there are standards that are created and points in the time line of the products or services where they are examined along the way. The ongoing project should then be compared based upon how it is measuring up with the standards set by the company. This allows adjustments to be made to correct a small defect in the process before it becomes a major one at the very end.

Benefits Of Implementing Six Sigma

There are three key benefits to implementing the six sigma quality control process in a business. The first is the ability to save money. By doing a project correctly, there is less wasted supplies and labor cost. Locating an error in time to correct it before the process is completed saves money as well. The second is time management.

By implementing the six sigma process, you can avoid working on a product or service using flawed components created early in the process. Instead, you catch these errors and correct it, therefore eliminating the need to start over completely after the product is finished.

The final benefit is increased customer satisfaction. By producing a product with fewer defects, your customers will be more satisfied with the end product. This will help your company improve its reputation and receive repeat business from your customers. Happy customers will also provide personal references for additional business.