Six Sigma is a set of techniques and tools for process improvement that aims to reduce defects to 3.4 defects per million opportunities. It was pioneered by Motorola and General Electric in manufacturing to improve quality and reliability. The key aspects of Six Sigma are specifying quality from the customer's perspective, defining defects, ensuring process capability, reducing variation, achieving stable operations, and designing for Six Sigma. Communication is important for successful implementation to address resistance to change. Benefits include reduced costs and waste, improved understanding of customer needs, and more robust products and processes. Many companies have successfully implemented Six Sigma including Motorola, 3M, and General Cable.

1. Aamir Ansari
Twinkle Choudhary

3.  Quality objective that specifies the variability
required of a process in terms of the
specification of the product so that the products
quality and reliability meets and exceeds the
customers requirements
• Process of eliminating defects
 Operate with defect levels below 3.4 defects per million
opportunities

4. 691,462
308,538
66,807
6,210
233
3.4
1
10
100
1,000
10,000
100,000
1,000,000
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Sigma Value
Defectpermillionopportunities
Sigma % Good % Bad
Defects per million
opportunities
1 30.90% 69.10% 691,462
2 61.80% 30.90% 308,538
3 93.30% 6.70% 66,807
4 99.38% 0.62% 6,210
5 99.977% 0.023% 233
6 99.9997% 0.00034% 3.4
**graph shown on logarithmic scale**

5.  Companies that early embraced Six Sigma in manufacturing were
Motorola & General Electric. Their version of Six Sigma is focused
on six key principles which are discussed by Bicheno (2006).
 Critical to Quality: The customer is the start and what is important
for the customer needs to be identified.
 Defect: Anything that does not deliver exactly what the customer
wants
 Process Capability: The processes need to be able to deliver what
the customer wants
 Variation: As it is experienced by the customer
 Stable Operations: The goal is to secure reliable, robust processes
that improve the customer’s experience.
 Design for Six Sigma: The design must meet all the customer
requirements and the capability of the process.

6. The best way to handle the resistance to
change is increased communication,
motivation and education.
Communication is also crucial to success
with the Six Sigma implementation.
This focus on communication ensures that
all employees are aware of the Six Sigma
activities even though not everyone is
involved in the actual projects.

7. Reduction in costs
Reduction in waste chain
Better understanding of customer
requirements
Improves quality performance
Develops robust products and processes
Provides critical process inputs

8. Control

10.  Motorola
 3M
 Lockheed Martin
 Texas Instruments
 Bell Helicopter
 Apple Computer
 Chevron
 Citigroup
 Hewlett Packard
 Ford Motor Company
 Honeywell
 General Dynamics
 Adolph Coors
 Eastman Kodak
 United States Army
 Xerox
 NASA
 Etc.

11.  Adopting lean and six sigma over a decade ago has
allowed General Cable to remain competitive in an
extremely price-sensitive and cyclical industry. The
company has 6 master black belts, 64 black belts, 211
green belts, 290 lean technicians that enable them to
have a consistency of response — in other words,
everyone has both the tools and knowledge to handle
situations. As a result of this continuous improvement
mindset, General Cable is expected to drive down costs
by several percentage points annually.
 http://www.industryweek.com/articles/lean_and_six_sigma_dri
ve_continuing_improvement_at_general_cable_27421.aspx?s
ectionid=1

12.  Continuous improvement has been a part of Crown
Equipment’s philosophy since its founding in 1945.
With decades of success and an impressive
history of growth stems, leaders at Crown
Equipment strive to find new ways to use Six
Sigma and stay aware of changing technology and
market trends. Crown’s keen awareness and Lean
corporate efforts allow Crown to identify root
causes and advance tools to achieve higher
desired outcomes.
 http://www.reliableplant.com/Read/26209/six-
sigma-crown-equipment