What is Six Sigma? (Definition of Six Sigma and DMAIC)

Six Sigma Terminology: What is Six Sigma? What is DMAIC? Define Measure Analyze Improve Control. DMPO. Presented by EMS Consulting Group, Inc.:

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Welcome to today’s edition of the OpEx Minute, presented by EMS Consulting Group. Today we will be talking about the Six Sigma and the DMAIC process. Six Sigma is a process improvement system developed in the 1980’s and DMAIC is its primary problem solving process. DMAIC stands for Define Measure Analyze Improve and Control. So, what is Six Sigma?
Six Sigma is a methodology that concentrates on reduction of defects/variation in processes. By defining and measuring customer requirements or the Voice of the Customer VOC, you can determine how well your company’s processes are meeting these requirements. You can also quantify this using several quality measures, including sigma level. The probability of creating a defect can be estimated and translated into a “Sigma” level. Six Sigma, in statistical terms, translates to 3.4 defects per million opportunities (DPMO); this is considered “world-class” level of quality but we would recommend avoiding generalizations because this is product service and industry dependent.
The project implementation or rather problem solving approach is called DMAIC (Define Measure Analyze Improve Control). It is a systematic methodology for improving processes. Most of the quality improvement tools associated with six sigma are tools that existed in the TQM (Total Quality Management) methodology popular in the 1970’s and 1980’s. These improvement tools include statistical methods such as hypothesis testing as well as qualitative tools such as a cause and effect or fishbone diagram or brainstorming techniques.
Let’s take a look at DMAIC:
1. Define the problem and what the customers require.
2. Measure the defects and process operation.
3. Analyze the data and discover causes of the problem.
4. Improve the process to remove causes of the defects.
5. Control the process to make sure defects don’t recur.