The business’s success depends on which quality-control methodology is adopted in the business ecosystem. One method that has always proved to work immensely is the Six Sigma technique. It was first introduced in 1986 by Bill Smith, an engineer at Motorola Company. Later, Jack Welch at General Electric implemented it in 1995 to help businesses outside Manufacturing to increase production and achieve profits.
DMAIC Six Sigma Chart Diagram (Image Source: workzone)
The true meaning of Six Sigma comes from the bell curve in statistics. Here, One Sigma represents a deviation from the mean, equating to a defect rate of fewer than 3.4 defects per million opportunities. Zero defects are impossible to achieve. There are only two methodologies that Six Sigma focuses on achieving stunning results. DMAIC, which stands for Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control, is applied if dealing with a process that needs to be corrected. On the other hand, if businesses want to implement new strategies, DMADV for defining, measuring, analyzing, designing, and validating is only used to create a new process.
Core Principles of Six Sigma
The main goal of Six Sigma is to produce a tangible solution to business defects. To do so, it has to operate using a well-defined set of principles to ensure quality and efficiency in the operating environment. Below are five Key Principles that Six Sigma mainly focuses on:
Focus on the Customer
Businesses need customers for their survival. Hence, Six Sigma always stresses the need to put customers first. It is simple here: the business needs to understand customer needs, expectations, and preferences. In return, it delivers products or services that customers want.
Data-Driven Decision Making
Six Sigma stresses that businesses should not rely on assumptions when making decisions but instead focus on the data. To Make informed decisions, companies can use various tools such as quantitative tools and control charts and even carry out statistical analyses for multiple processes rather than guesses.
Process Improvement
The end goal of Six Sigma is to allow continuous process improvement. This means that organizations must reduce waste and eliminate defects to be operational at maximum efficiency and effectiveness. Businesses can adopt DMAIC or DMADV methodologies depending on what is being measured to ensure overall efficiency.
Employee Involvement
When you consider it, an organization needs customers and employees to see results. Six Sigma encourages those at the top management levels to support and involve employees in the company’s business operations. Employees can be trained on using Six Sigma methodologies, such as DMAIC and DMADV, and when to use them to boost efficiency. Additionally, Teamwork is very important and conducive to work, increasing employee productivity.
Sustainable Quality
Invest in workable solutions that will solve your organization’s deficits for the long term, not just the Short term. Sustainable Quality means the delivery of high-quality products and services by applying Six Sigma methodologies to the organizational culture.
Applications of Six Sigma in Manufacturing
Six Sigma principles have various applications across various industries, including manufacturing. Here, they are seen in ensuring the delivery of high-quality products by considering Process efficiency and minimizing defects as much as possible. Let’s now see the usefulness of Six Sigma in two critical areas of manufacturing: mold design and mold manufacturing.
Mold Design
Precision Mold Design illustration (Image Source: offsetprintingtechnology)
Mold design is one of the most critical areas in ensuring precision in manufacturing. It is a more complicated process requiring total attention to ensure sustainable product quality and production efficiency. So, what is the correlation between Six Sigma and Mold design? The first emphasizes data-driven decision-making and process optimization, enhancing mold design processes.
Manufacturers can use various Six Sigma tools to ensure a successful design process. The first is the Design of Experiments (DOE), and the second is the Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA). Both help identify and address potential design flaws early in the development cycle.
This tested approach allows businesses to quickly identify defects early enough to improve mold quality, reduce lead times, and enhance customer satisfaction.
Mold Manufacturing
Mold manufacturing follows the development of the mold design. Six Sigma principles are enforced in this manufacturing process to make substantial differences. The process is quite complex, and with the help of the Six Sigma rule, manufacturers achieve greater consistency, accuracy, and efficiency in mold production.
Here again, manufacturers use Techniques such as Statistical Process Control (SPC) and Value Stream Mapping (VSM) to monitor and control key process parameters. This process ensures that Molds are manufactured to meet the exact intent and function within the stipulated tolerances. Ultimately, the results are impeccable, resulting in higher-quality molds, reduced scrap rates, and improved overall productivity.
Mold Manufacturer in Ontario, Mexico USA (Image Source: platinum-tool.com)
Case Studies
In the competitive business world, various businesses try to outdo each other to improve overall process quality. To achieve the targeted results, most industries have focused on adopting Six Sigma principles, such as Maximizing productivity by minimizing waste, into their operational structure. While Six Sigma primarily focuses on the theoretical aspect, it can lead to better products and services if adopted by businesses. Here is a case where they have proved to be futile:
Microsoft
Microsoft is one of the leading technology companies today branded as a leader in the invention of Software Products. They are best known for the Software such as Windows Operating Systems iw Windows, Azure Cloud, etc. However, to achieve this immense recognition globally, they have had to embrace Six Sigma principles to reduce software failures and defects in its servers. As a result the technology giant today has grown to be a worldwide technology giant with a Market cap: of $3.206 Trillion
Boeing Airlines
Boeing Airlines is an American multinational company that has successfully implemented Six Sigma in its product line. In the past, the cooperation has had several challenges, particularly with Long production cycles that made it expensive and led to delays in service delivery. The case was most clearly seen with the Assembly of its 737 Aircraft model. Unable to solve the problem, Boeing used the DMAIC approach in Six Sigma to Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control the inefficiencies in the assembly process. The results were impeccable as they managed to reduce the assembly time for the 737 by 50%. In return, they were able to reduce the backlog and focus on the customer.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Six Sigma, when fully embraced, can boost productivity levels among employees and help the business meet corporate goals. Its Core principles, such as customer focus, data-driven decision-making, and process improvement, as we have covered in the guide, help organizations optimize their operations and deliver exceptional value.
Today, many businesses, from manufacturing to healthcare, finance to service industries, that have implemented the Six Sigma theory have seen an increase in service efficiency. Its ability to identify and eliminate waste, reduce defects, and enhance customer satisfaction has made it a very much-needed tool for businesses to thrive.
