WHAT IS SIX SIGMA?

“Six Sigma is a statistical concept that

measures a process in terms of defects. At
the Six Sigma level, there are only 3.4
defects / errors per million opportunities
for error.

But it does not end there. Six Sigma is also

about improving practices, systems,
processes and establishing a mindset of
continuous improvement throughout the
company.

Above all, Six Sigma is a methodology to

improve business performance by meeting
and exceeding customer requirements.”
Hamdan Mohamad
President & Chief Executive
October 2002

Ranhill Berhad
36th Floor, Empire
Tower
No 182 Jalan Tun
Razak
50400 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Tel: 0060 3 2171 2020
Fax: 0060 3 2164
2235
 WHAT IS
SIX SIGMA?

The term “Six Sigma” is a statistical measure of quantifying

defects/errors and at “Six Sigma” a process is producing
only 3.4 defects/errors per million opportunities of error.

The term “Six Sigma” leads us to the perception that it is all

about engineers using complex statistics. Whilst statistics
form an important part of Six Sigma training, the
methodology also includes a spectrum of skills and tools
such as leadership & project management, process mapping,
brainstorming techniques, qualitative analysis etc.

Six Sigma was originally developed by Motorola in the

1980s as a continuous quality improvement technique. Since
then, Six Sigma has moved far beyond just counting defects
in a process or product. Today, it has evolved into a
methodology to improve overall business performance, and
is closely tied to a company’s business strategies.

In summary, Six Sigma is a structured and scientific

methodology to:
• Identify Improvement Opportunities.
• Define and solve problems.
• Establish measures to sustain the improvement.
 WHAT IS SIX SIGMA?

The main steps in implementing a Six Sigma campaign

are:

ESTABLISH COMPANY
STRATEGIES AND GOALS

IMPROVEMENT
PROJECT
IMPLEMENTATION
IDENTIFY IMPROVEMENT
OPPORTUNITIES -
ALIGNED WITH
COMPANY GOALS & SIX SIGMA TRAINING
STRATEGIES

SIX SIGMA
MOBILISE IMPROVEMENT
PROJECT
PROJECT TEAMS
IMPLEMENTATION

SIX SIGMA
COACHING AND REVIEW
 WHAT IS SIX SIGMA?

During implementation, improvement

teams undergo training and thereafter Define:
deploy the DMAIC phases of Six Define the problem and
determine “What Needs to
Sigma: Improve?”

IMPROVEMENT
PROJECT
IMPLEMENTATION Measure:
Measure the current state
against the desired state, i.e.
“How are we doing now?”
SIX SIGMA TRAINING

SIX SIGMA
IMPLEMENTATION
METHODOLOGY
Analyse:
Analyse & determine the root
cause(s) of the problem.
SIX SIGMA
PROJECT
IMPLEMENTATION

Improve:
Brainstorm, select & implement
improvement measures.
SIX SIGMA
COACHING AND REVIEW

Control:
Control the long term
sustainability of improvement
measures.
 WHAT IS SIX SIGMA?
Some of the activities and tools
in a typical DMAIC phased Six
Sigma project:
Define & Measure
•Identify business opportunities
•Identify customer requirements
•Process mapping
•Process & Value Added analysis
•Cause & Effect
•Sampling, study of variations
•Control charts
•Measurement system analysis
•Process performance

Analyse
•Root cause analysis
•Process stratification
•Validation of root cause(s)
•Hypothesis testing
•Comparative testing
•Sources of variation study
•Failure mode & effect analysis

Improve
•Generating improvement ideas
•Evaluation & selection of ideas
•Response surface methodology
•Presentation model & tools
•Implementing change

Control
•Planning a pilot
•Implementing solutions
•Statistical Process Control
•Process Integration
•Closure & recognition