CHAPTER 13: Six Sigma

Six Sigma Controlling defects to a very low level, so that the waste is the least and profits are more. The lower the sigma level means there will be more defects in the tail of the normal curve.

Figure 1 Indicates the normal curve of a process with 3 sigma and 6 sigma marked.

When the specification limits coincide with six sigma limits on both sides as illustrated in Fig. 13.1, one can expect total defects of 0.002 ppm, compared with 2,700 ppm when we achieve the traditional 3 sigma quality level. This happen when the mean lies exactly at (USL+LSL)/2. There could be shift of the mean in the process due to various reasons. Assume that there is a shift by 1.5 sigma to one side. The number of defects will be equal to 4.5 sigma. To compensate for the inevitable consequences associated with process centering errors, the distribution mean is offset by 1.5 standard deviations.

Table 1 Sigma () quality levels before and after shift in the average. Sigma () Levels 1 2 3 4 5 6 Defects Per Million Opportunities Without Shift With Shift 317,400 697,700 45,400 308,537 2,700 66,807 63 6,210 0.57 233 0.002 3.4

Table 1 indicates the defects per million opportunities in a product or service, with both the shift of means and without shift. When there is a shift in the centering, the defects expected in 6 sigma process is 3.4 in one million. What it means is that there will be 3.4 defects per million opportunities. It does not mean that 3.4 products out of 1 million will be defective. It means that in one million characteristics that is measured in a process, there is a likelihood of 3.4 characteristics outside the limits. It means that on an average, in a product 3.4 out of one million will be out of tolerance. Therefore, six sigma is essentially a tightening of the process performance, so as to reduce the random variations in the process. It also means achieving Cpk of 1.5 and Cp of 2.

Example 1 Assume that a product has 10 Critical To Quality (CTQ) characteristics, and we produced 10,000 products. This means the total number of critical to quality characteristics is equal to 10,000 x 10. Or in other words, the total number of opportunities is 100,000 for the defects to occur. Six sigma means 3.4 defects per million opportunities. Therefore, for achieving 6 sigma in this case, the number of permissible defects is 3.4 x (100,000/1 million) = 0.34 defects.

Example 2 No. of units produced = 1,000 Defective Product = 1 Defect Rate = 1/1,000 = 0.001 No. of Opportunities per product = 10 w/c is equal critical quality characteristics = 10 Defect Rate per CTQ = 0.001/10 means 0.001 Defects per million opportunities = 0.001 x 106 = 100 This means the process does not meet the requirements of six sigma.

Example 3 Units produced = 100,000 No. of CTQs = 20 No. of defects found = 2 Defect Rate = 2/(100,000/20) Defects per million opportunities = (2/100,000 x 20) x 106 = 2 Since, six sigma allows 3.4 defects per million opportunities, this process is well within the six sigma limits.

Definition of Six Sigma A business process that allows organizations to drastically improve their line by designing and monitoring everyday business activities in ways that minimize waste and resources while increasing customer satisfaction. Defined by GE as a vision of quality which equates with only 3.4 defects per million opportunities for each product or service transaction and strives for perfection. Refers to measure of process consistency and aims at achieving the same. It is a methodology for improving processes.

Origin of Six Sigma Six Sigma was born in the 1980s at Motorola. Bill Smith, an engineer quietly working behind the scenes studying the correlation between a products field life or reliability and how often that product had been repaired during the manufacturing process. 1998 Motorola received the first Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. 1990 Motorola joined with IBM. Texas Instruments and Kodak to establish Six Sigma Research Institute (SSRI). Black Belt an individual trained to facilitate six sigma projects.

ESSENCE OF SIX SIGMA Two process performance limits: 1. STATISTICAL CONTROL LIMITS Upper Control Limit (UCL) and Lower Control Limit (LCL) 2. SPECIFICATION LIMITS Upper Specification Limit (USL) and Lower Specification Limit (LSL)

General Methodology Any process involves the following: Measurement of current process performance Improvement of performance through experimentation Achieving six sigma process through continuous measurement, analysis and improvement

Six Sigma Process Models

DMAIC

Define

Control

Measure

Improve

Analyze

Step 1: DEFINE Six sigma project is defined Definition of project requires that information pertaining to the customer is available CTQ refers to the products or service characteristics

Set Temperature

Heat parts to be joined

Apply lead

Look for concave fillet

Step 2: MEASURE The team identifies the key internal processes that influence CTQs and measures the defects currently generated relative to those processes.

i. Identify measures the appropriate measures for the process have to be identified. ii. Once the measures have been identified, the measures have to be defined unambiguously. iii. The next step is to identify the target performance for the process as deduced from the customer requirements. iv. Measure current performance and identify the gaps.

Step 3: ANALYZE

DMADV

Define

Verify

Measure

Design

Analyze