What are the Six Sigma Activities?

Six Sigma is the way how to maximize the outcome and aim to customer satisfaction by applying all possible methods of organization. Some organizations use the Six Sigma method as the main way to get the success.

Our processes sometimes are not accurate with our target that opportune to make errors. Or, if we calculated our process in average there are matches with our target but have a big variance. I.e. we will make a dress and cut the clothes in 7 inch length. Some process cut it less than 7 inch, but some machine cut it more than 7 inch. These matters are often occurring in our organization process and we need to reduce it or eliminate it.

The Main concept of Six Sigma is how the reducing the variation in the process and shifting the process to the target.

Picture IN.1 Process that need to be improved

Process above shown that some have precision condition but not accurate, vice versa. Six sigma goal is how to shifting process match to the target and reducing variation to reach the perfect precision.

Picture IN.2 The Expected Process

The Implementation Six Sigma as the Strategy of Business

Implementing Six Sigma as the Business Strategy to seize the success should be involved some activities.

1. Six Sigma is a Statistical Measurement

As the statistical measurement, Six Sigma will provide us the information about our process or products/services whether it’s good or not. This information can help us to determine the next improvement step to fulfill the customer satisfaction totally.

2. Six Sigma is a Improvement Tools

Six Sigma give the option of Statistical Tools from defining problem to improvement action comprehensively and can be applied in all condition such as in Design, Manufacture Process, sales, services, etc…

3. Six Sigma as the Business Strategy

By reducing variation and good process match by the target will give the advantages for the organization reducing the wastes, and improving profits by creating high quality and innovative products that customer needed.

4. Six Sigma is a Philosophy

Six Sigma itself will be success if reach level of Management and Culture Philosophy.

1. 6σ does not mean only absolute work but Smart work efficiently. By its method, six sigma provide steps structurally that guide the person to get the goal clearly and effectively.

2. 100PPM is to cut the trunk of weed; 6σ is to extract the root of weed. This statement same that 99% of accuracy is enough? Six sigma concepts are how to achieve the process in 3.4 defects per million closer in perfect zero.

3. 6σ is Top Down management of field. Many innovation activities are failed because of Lack of leadership of Manager (17% - Survey of 100 enterprises). To create the result form the bottom-line, we must know the direction of the six sigma activities in the organization. Top Management must be aware and directly practice, control, and strength monitoring in the six sigma activities before asking the bottom line to do it.

4. 6σ is Common Language of our organization. By using six sigma system of organization role, expecting six sigma will be automatically become the language of any activities in the organization.

History of Six Sigma

The roots of Six Sigma as a measurement standard can be traced back to Carl Frederick Gauss (1777-1855) who introduced the concept of the normal curve. Six Sigma as a measurement standard in product variation can be traced back to the 1920's when Walter Shewhart showed that three sigma from the mean is the point where a process requires correction. Many measurement standards (Cpk, Zero Defects, etc.) later came on the scene but credit for coining the term "Six Sigma" goes to a Motorola engineer named Bill Smith. (Incidentally, "Six Sigma" is a federally registered trademark of Motorola).

In the early and mid-1980s with Chairman Bob Galvin at the helm, Motorola engineers decided that the traditional quality levels -- measuring defects in thousands of opportunities -- didn't provide enough granularity. Instead, they wanted to measure the defects per million opportunities. Motorola developed this new standard and created the methodology and needed cultural change associated with it. Six Sigma helped Motorola realize powerful bottom-line results in their organization - in fact, they documented more than $16 Billion in savings as a result of our Six Sigma efforts.

Since then, hundreds of companies around the world have adopted Six Sigma as a way of doing business. This is a direct result of many of America's leaders openly praising the benefits of Six Sigma. Leaders such as Larry Bossidy of Allied Signal (now Honeywell), and Jack Welch of General Electric Company. Rumor has it that Larry and Jack were playing golf one day and Jack bet Larry that he could implement Six Sigma faster and with greater results at GE than Larry did at Allied Signal. The results speak for themselves.

Six Sigma has evolved over time. It's more than just a quality system like TQM or ISO. It's a way of doing business. As Geoff Tennant describes in his book Six Sigma: SPC and TQM in Manufacturing and Services: "Six Sigma is many things, and it would perhaps be easier to list all the things that Six Sigma quality is not. Six Sigma can be seen as: a vision; a philosophy; a symbol; a metric; a goal; a methodology." We couldn't agree more.