Six Sigma is a statistical
phenomenon that mainly
analyzes a process in terms of defects. Achieving Six Sigma
means that processes are 99.9997% perfect and have only 3.4 defects
per million opportunities (Refer Table 1). Basically, it is used in
identifying the deviation from perfection. The fundamental idea of Six Sigma
is that, if one can determine the defects in the process,
the techniques to eliminate them can be figured out and concept of
zero defects or best quality can be achieved. The purpose of Six
Sigma is continuous improvement in profits by increasing
quality production, reducing defects, improving customer
satisfaction and having best-in-class product and process performance.
Various companies such as Motorola, Texas Instrument, IBM, Asea
Brown Boveri, Allied Signal, Kodak, GE, Whirlpool, PALCAR, etc.
around the world have reaped the benefits by applying the concept of
Six Sigma. Recently, Ford, DuPont, Dow Chemical, Microsoft and
American Express have also implemented it.
Sigma is a symbol meaning how much deviation exists in a set of
data —sometimes called a bell curve, or a standard normal distribution. In
a standard normal distribution, 50% of the values lie above the
mean (average) and 50% of the values lie below. In statistics, we take it a
step further and delineate certain data points within that timeline |
