Data Collection Tools In Six Sigma

You can't imagine being able to organize the enormous amount of data and manipulate them as easily as you would be able to do without data collection tools. Then again, the task is not easily done unless you have selected the right kind of tool appropriate for the project. You need these data collection tools at all steps where you generate numerical data.

Six Sigma Data Collection Tools

The data collection tools are mostly in excel format and come as Macro Plug Ins, barring a few exceptions of stand-alone applications.

Initial Raw Data Collection Tools

1. Operational Definitions Sheet- This sheet defines the metrics so that data collection across the board is consistent. 2. Voice Of The Customer Data Collection Tool- Collect data from internal database, surveys, interviews, listening posts and observations at the point of sales and use and organize them systematically 3. Worksheet For Customer Segmentation- Worksheet for segmentation is essential to identify and concentrate on the demands of main and sub-segments which helps get down to finer details 4. Check Sheets- Very handy in collecting smaller sample data of different attributes or counts for use in defining problem areas or substantiating the outcomes. 5. Data sheets- These plain and simple datasheets are used to gather small amounts of measured or variable data to for the purpose of defining a problem or substantiating the results.

Data Assessment Tools

Data assessment tools are not decision-making tools such as the Ishikawa Fishbone Chart or the Thought Map Relation Diagram.

1. Customer Requirement Translation And Analysis Tool- Analysis of customer requirement is done to translate to an understandable and an unambiguous language. The translated and interpreted customer data converts into measurable functional requirements... thus strengthening the operating team's capability to deliver products and services that customers will immediately identify and really relish. 2. SIPOC Diagram- SIPOC diagram is rather a presentation diagram and an analysis tool at the same time. It provides an "at a glance" like overview of various processes, and helps identify the venders, inputs and outputs of a process and customers by critically contrasting the input data against each other 3. Pareto Chart- A Pareto chart is helpful in identifying those small numbers of problems which cause about 80% of all the troubles. This is a tremendous help in reducing or eliminating the avoidable waste of efforts so that you can channelize your improvement efforts on continuous productive applications. 4. Production Scheduling And Actual Scorecard- The simple production scheduling and actual score card comes handy to evaluate the production schedules and operations & sales planning as opposed to actual results. This is the same template which is used for Pareto chart, 'schedule to actual' comparison and the checklist for quality. 5. QFD House Of Quality Chart- Quality Function deployment house of quality is an all in one tool. It helps identify customer requirements vis-a-vis products or services, develop an effective blueprint, formulate strategies to eliminate faults and failures and finally implement new design.

It would be futile to work without tools, either PC based or otherwise in a Six Sigma environment.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solution's Six Sigma Online offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts

Six Sigma Vs ISO 9000

The debate over whether or not to choose Six Sigma over ISO 9000 is getting more interesting with each passing day. In an attempt to determine which of these is the better of the two, it is highly pertinent to discuss that in the context of applicability of them to industries. And there exists a huge amount of difference between the approaches of these two methodologies in tackling the issues.

Six Sigma - A Critical View

Six Sigma utilizes a multi-faceted approach to doing business with total improvement of the end product being the goal. In doing so, Six Sigma defines and analyzes the processes critically almost always focusing on process improvements. The statistical tools used in Six Sigma help not just in the adoption of processes but are also critical tools of Six Sigma implementation.

Process Development Stages

Let us examine the above statement as applicable to a process for easier understanding. While working on process improvement, the Black Belts break up the original sequence of different events that comprise the entire process and each event is further subdivided internally. This enables the "belts" to take an entirely different view of the process via the entire process as a whole. The powerful statistical tools employed at this stage of evaluation make the picture clearer and help the "belts" to arrive at decisions about the value additions those made to the process by different events.

This principle obviously goes beyond standardizing the processes and setting the pathway for being vigilant about adherence to the Six Sigma methodology. Useless values which have lost meaning make way for more meaningful events and eventually more robust and comprehensive processes. In a Six Sigma environment, customer demands will assume a key role in driving the processes towards aligning all activities with the vision of the leader of the company. The approach is "how to" rather than "what to" deliver.

The ISO 9000 Approach

The ISO approach towards quality management concentrates on standardization of the activities of production. The eight quality principles of ISO 9000, along with its twenty-four requirements outline business processes. The emphasis here is on the control of events in each aspect of doing business by documenting evidence and reports. The eight principles of ISO 9000 include prioritizing customer data, purchasing and quality systems, among other critical aspects. ISO 9000 recognizes each process, whose end goals are the same, as an independent entity. Documented quality requirements typically decide, based on set rules, whether or not a particular process adhered to that standard.

Document and Process Control

Maintenance of quality is achieved by adhering to key process and document control. Operating procedures and process control documents restrict deviations outside the concepts of what you should be doing in every process. What-you-should-be-doing is given emphasis under standard conditions rather than dealing with process improvement.

Stalwarts in industry are examining the possibility of merging the best practices of the two. Several industry leaders have already acknowledged the benefits of using both methodologies to compliment each other. Another view is that, as Six Sigma implementation is what you do within your company (unlike the certification in ISO) the company does not get recognition for achieving successful Six Sigma implementation. However, as long as the culmination of a business activity is defined by both methodologies as retaining and improving the customer base along with maximizing the bottom line, rejection of one in favor of other will be hard to justify.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solution's Six Sigma Online offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts

Six Sigma

Created by Ronald Munro

Six Sigma is a proven approach focusing on reduction of defects and increasing product or service efficiency. Most companies use some form of quality control to accomplish this task.

Quality control does several things for a business. It creates a better product or service for the company to market. By having better quality companies are able to better manage their resources and compete in the market place. Quality control also helps to better manage items like waste or employee hours.

Here are 6 Ways to approach increasing quality in an organization:
1. Facilitate a more rapid progression towards quality through the use of repetition to build the behavioral and management skills your managers and allow them to more readily develop those skills.

2. Reduce management and supervisor frustration by developing a positive, results-oriented attitude within each manager, thereby creating a more positive and motivating organizational environment.

3. Develop overall management and leadership skills such as open and honest communication, delegation skills, coaching, planning, problem solving, time management, leadership and motivation.

4. Provide a system of goal setting and action planning with managers so as to permit the achievement of managements objectives in conjunction with the Quality Management System.

5. Crystallize and communicate organizational objectives while monitoring progress and providing a systematic approach to effective time management toward reaching these goals and objectives. This will raise the level of each managers success and reducing frustration.

6. Integrate the goals of the organization with the personal goals of the managers, thus creating an environment of motivation and mutual commitment.

As you can see there are many areas quality control can help in any business. There are many forms of quality control and many programs all ready setup to provide businesses resources in order to proceed with implementing some form of quality control such as Six Sigma, ISO 9000, ISO 9001 and ISO 2000 and these are just a few. Some companies create their own form of quality control. But each and everyone relies on statistics to carry out these programs.

Six Sigma is an overall enterprise improvement methodology that uses data to monitor, control, and improve operational performance by eliminating and preventing defects in products and associated processes.
Six Sigma emphasizes producing better, faster, and lower cost product and services than the competition and stresses breakthrough improvement, for improved bottom line results. Six Sigma is also a process used to translate customer needs into a set of optimal tasks that are brought into harmony with one another.

By examining the optimal process, Six Sigma can have a powerful effect on the quality of products, the performance of customer services and the professional development of employees. The most important quality-improvement techniques stress employee motivation, change in corporate culture and employee education. Organizations known for product and service quality strongly believe that employees are the key to that quality.

In doing the quality control many aspects of statistics that we learned such as mean, average, expectation, variance and standard deviation would be used in order to carry out this process. Also many places use graphs in order to better visually represent the data. No quality control program could exist without statistics.
Created by Ronald Munro

Six Sigma is a proven approach focusing on reduction of defects and increasing product or service efficiency. Most companies use some form of quality control to accomplish this task.

Quality control does several things for a business. It creates a better product or service for the company to market. By having better quality companies are able to better manage their resources and compete in the market place. Quality control also helps to better manage items like waste or employee hours.

Here are 6 Ways to approach increasing quality in an organization:
1. Facilitate a more rapid progression towards quality through the use of repetition to build the behavioral and management skills your managers and allow them to more readily develop those skills.

2. Reduce management and supervisor frustration by developing a positive, results-oriented attitude within each manager, thereby creating a more positive and motivating organizational environment.

3. Develop overall management and leadership skills such as open and honest communication, delegation skills, coaching, planning, problem solving, time management, leadership and motivation.

4. Provide a system of goal setting and action planning with managers so as to permit the achievement of managements objectives in conjunction with the Quality Management System.

5. Crystallize and communicate organizational objectives while monitoring progress and providing a systematic approach to effective time management toward reaching these goals and objectives. This will raise the level of each managers success and reducing frustration.

6. Integrate the goals of the organization with the personal goals of the managers, thus creating an environment of motivation and mutual commitment.

As you can see there are many areas quality control can help in any business. There are many forms of quality control and many programs all ready setup to provide businesses resources in order to proceed with implementing some form of quality control such as Six Sigma, ISO 9000, ISO 9001 and ISO 2000 and these are just a few. Some companies create their own form of quality control. But each and everyone relies on statistics to carry out these programs.

Six Sigma is an overall enterprise improvement methodology that uses data to monitor, control, and improve operational performance by eliminating and preventing defects in products and associated processes.
Six Sigma emphasizes producing better, faster, and lower cost product and services than the competition and stresses breakthrough improvement, for improved bottom line results. Six Sigma is also a process used to translate customer needs into a set of optimal tasks that are brought into harmony with one another.

By examining the optimal process, Six Sigma can have a powerful effect on the quality of products, the performance of customer services and the professional development of employees. The most important quality-improvement techniques stress employee motivation, change in corporate culture and employee education. Organizations known for product and service quality strongly believe that employees are the key to that quality.

In doing the quality control many aspects of statistics that we learned such as mean, average, expectation, variance and standard deviation would be used in order to carry out this process. Also many places use graphs in order to better visually represent the data. No quality control program could exist without statistics.

BBA Northwood University
Disabled American Veteran

 

The Six Sigma Method And Design Of Experiments

Six Sigma is becoming a proven approach for businesses and organizations to improve their performance. The spectrum of companies actively engaging in Six Sigma today is wide from industrials like Celanese, Caterpillar, GE, Honeywell, and 3M to service/retail organizations like Starwood Hotels, Sears, and Home Depot. Six Sigma has even started in the financial industry with Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase initiating major deployments in the past two years. Probably the most exciting area is in the public and healthcare sectors with success stories emerging from city government and John Hopkins Medical.

Six Sigma is becoming a proven approach for businesses and organizations to improve their performance. The spectrum of companies actively engaging in Six Sigma today is wide from industrials like Celanese, Caterpillar, GE, Honeywell, and 3M to service/retail organizations like Starwood Hotels, Sears, and Home Depot. Six Sigma has even started in the financial industry with Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase initiating major deployments in the past two years. Probably the most exciting area is in the public and healthcare sectors with success stories emerging from city government and John Hopkins Medical.

So what is all this excitement about? Havent these quality tools been around for years? Is it just the fact that people have strange names like Champion, Green Belt, Black Belt and for the chosen few, Master Black Belt? Okay, if it is not the names then what? Six Sigmas success revolves around the fundamental elements needed for any successful organization. Six Sigma starts with a vision of delivering products and services to customers with no defects from the eyes of the customers. For companies it is vital to deliver these products and services at a profit. Once the organization has created their own vision of Six Sigma, the business leaders need to define their organizations objectives in numerical terms. These high-level metrics, often called big Ys in Six Sigma, are the foundation for identifying project ys that Six Sigma Belts will execute projects on. With big Ys in hand, business leaders called Six Sigma Champions breakdown these organizational level Ys into smaller ys a project leader called a Green Belt or Black Belt can work from.

So whats next, do business leaders take a hands-off management by objectives (MBO) approach of, I dont care how you do it as long as you get results!? For Six Sigma organizations the answer is a loud NO. Champions do care how projects are executed and have appointed highly trained Master Black Belts to assist and mentor project leaders in applying the Six Sigma method to manage their projects. I believe this is the key to Six Sigmas success. In a past life I participated in a high-level meeting with executives from the world leader in the production of a product we all know. The purpose of the meeting and visit was to evaluate a critical new product design. All of the high-tech executives were dressed in dark Italian business suits complemented with gold and diamonds. I listened closely to each question these executives asked. I never once heard how much?, when? or even why? every question was by what method?. Methodology is what Six Sigma is about.

Six Sigma Methods

There have evolved two key methods for carrying out Six Sigma projects. The first method is the most well-defined and works best if you have a problem with an unknown solution in existing products, processes or services. This method is called DMAIC or Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control. The newest method, which is in the developing stages, is called Design for Six Sigma or DFSS. The goal of DFSS is to develop a new product, process or service that is defect-free in the eyes of the customer. A number of consulting companies have invented roadmaps for DFSS like IDOV (Identify, Design, Optimize and Validate) and DMADV (Design, Measure, Analyze, Design and Verify).

Six Sigma and Design of Experiments

Once an organization has decided on the method and the project ys, Belts are marched off to training waves bringing management-approved projects to class. DMAIC Green Belt training is normally two one-week sessions separated by one month. Black Belt training waves are extended by two additional months with two more weeks of training. The emphasis during the extended two weeks of Black Belt training is often on learning more details about advanced tools such as Design of Experiments (DOE).

So where does Design of Experiments fit into Six Sigma? Six Sigma is about understanding and controlling the variation of key process variables known as inputs or xs in order to obtain improved results on project outputs or ys. In Design of Experiment terms these inputs or xs are often referred to as factors and the outputs are referred to as responses. In nearly all Six Sigma projects the relationship of the project ys takes on the form of y=f(x1,x2,...xn). Wait a minute, isnt this what Design of Experiments is all about? Of course, for almost 100 years Design of Experiments has been proven to be one of the best known methods for validating and discovering relationships between responses and factors. In Six Sigma terms it is discovering the relationship between outputs called ys and inputs called xs. Todays Six Sigma Belts are primarily taught to focus their use of Design of Experiments in the Improve phase of DMAIC and the Optimize phase of IDOV. For DMAIC Six Sigma training the most common experimental designs taught are factorial and fractional factorial designs. Some curriculums introduce response surface designs and optimization designs at a high level. DFSS includes the experimental designs taught in all levels of DMAIC training and often expands to include the concept of robust designs. As an alternative to the classical approach, there are also a number of consulting companies teaching Taguchi designs as the
preferred method for robust design.

Final Remarks

Six Sigma looks as though it is here to stay and even in todays slow economy one of the few areas where there still are a number of new positions. The Six Sigma process is a great step toward creating learning organizations with its well-defined roadmaps and management structure. As with most new methodologies Six Sigma will mature and grow as it expands into new areas such as DFSS. As Six Sigma professionals learn more about the power of properly planned experiments, Design of Experiments will be integrated into most phases of the Six Sigma roadmap and not just considered an advanced tool for the improvement and optimization phases. Experienced practitioners of statistical methods like Design of Experiments should learn the language of Six Sigma and help integrate new methods into the Six Sigma process to improve its effectiveness. Peter Peterka is the leading consultant for www.6sigma.us. Peter has eleven years of experience performing as a Master Black Belt, working with numerous companies, including 3M, Dell, Dow, GE, HP, Intel, Motorola, Seagate, and Xerox. You can signup for Peter's Six Sigma Certification at www.6sigma.us.

Six Sigma Theory of

Six Sigma is a management methodology for accuracy in manufacturing, etc. to make sure things are done right the first time and with that comes increases of economies of scale-fewer returns, etc. Such processes are especially important in Military, Health Care, manufacturing, transportation and computer industries.

When every thing is right with fewer returns, less time is spent fixing your mistakes, thus higher profits. Some of this could be classified as Micro-management of little details which goes against the theories of Fly by the seat of your pants, entrepreneurs, yet when working on lower margins in low cost high volume matured industry sectors, if you cannot do it the Six Sigma way, you will be passed and put out of business by someone who is.

So I would say to those in any industry that the devil is in the details and Six Sigma is worth a read. You should start with Jack Welch's Biography and then go pick up a Six Sigma management book, yes you should be aware of this. I would also recommend that entrepreneurs also respect those resumes, which contain Six Sigma Black Belt in them. Although as I study this stuff I can tell you that you still need an entrepreneur and visionary out front and most are from the gut and few can do both.

So companies should be careful if they are looking for a problem solver or General Patton hard charger when you have a perfection systems guy of Six Sigma, most likely they are NOT the same animal and many times they will not even get along personally. Just make sure there is mutual respect and admiration for each of the others abilities. Too often Sign Sigma's think they know it all and forget the reality of the market or the customer. The sales teams or counter person is gold for information. Six Sigma black belts or whatever cool titles they give them now a days need to be full spectrum to work. Consider this in 2006.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is a guest writer for Our Spokane Magazine in Spokane, Washington