Case Study Six Sigma

1. Six Sigma is a management philosophy that sets objectives, collects data and analyzes results as a way to remove wasted expenses from its processes and help reduce the number of defective products produced. Six Sigma uses quality measures to strive for near perfection by eliminating errors and variables.

Six Sigma simply means a measure of quality that strives for near perfection. Six Sigma is a disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects in any process. In another meaning Six Sigma is a highly disciplined process that helps us focus on developing and delivering near-perfect products and services.

Six Sigma is a quality improvement philosophy and a methodology and collection of statistical techniques used to implement that philosophy. Six Sigma’s focuses on reducing or removing identifiable sources of changes in order to decrease the number of defects in a product. Six Sigma was developed by Bill Smith and was used to standardize the way in which defects are tallied (Meredith, 2013). As a new way of doing business, six sigma can have a significant impact on the end result of business. There are many way six sigma can be applied. For example, the scientific component of methodology is a structure approach that takes

Six Sigma is a methodology used to improve business processes by utilizing statistical analysis rather than guesswork. This proven approach has been implemented within a myriad of industries to achieve hard and soft money savings, while increasing customer satisfaction. 6Sigma.us is at the forefront of Six Sigma certification and consulting services.

Six Sigma is a systematic and a disciplined approach, a strategy for eliminating the defects in any process like manufacturing, transaction etc. from product to service.

Both lean teams and six sigma teams are process improvement teams. Lean teams are directed toward big picture multi-layered projects that involve people from different parts of an organization that may or may not agree upon what the focus should be. The common goal that drives every member of the team is the desire to eliminate time wasting practices along with physical waste. This is understood by all parties involved that any process or action that doesn’t support the need to meet the customer’s specifications for their product or service. The lean project time line has a duration of one to three months and the improvement techniques are not as complicated or invasive as six sigma.

Six Sigma is one of those words that most individuals don’t use in their everyday vocabulary. What is Six Sigma you may ask? Maybe it is some kind of product, a slogan or maybe it 's a company. If you thought it was any of these things, you 're wrong. Six Sigma is actually a management philosophy. It was developed by engineer Bill Smith (while working at Motorola in 1985). Six Sigma sets extremely high objectives, collects data, and analyzes results which reduces defects in products and services.

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Lean manufacturing is a continuous improvement practice that focuses on waste reduction. Waste in its simplest form is anything that is excessive and consumes resources. It can also be referred to as non-value-added activities that do not add value to the end product (Rizzo, 2008, 58). Sustainability on the other hand recognizes a print company’s capability to satisfy the 3 dimensions: people, profit and environment (Wirtenberg, 2013). These three dimensions are referred to as the triple bottom line (TBL). Even when a business is making a profit, anything that does not create value for customers, fulfill employees’ needs, and benefit the environment is wasteful and must be restructured to eliminate non-value-added activities (Wandiga, 2013).This is the philosophy of lean manufacturing; a beneficial concept that can help reduce the amount of wasted resources in a company and contribute to its sustainability.

Lean Six Sigma is an approach that combines Six Sigma tools,methods and the Lean enterprise philosophy, trying to eleminate waste of physical resources, effort,time with the assurance of quality in both organisational and production process.

“In simple terms, Lean looks at what we shouldn’t be doing and aims to remove it; Six Sigma looks at what we should be doing and aims to get it right the first time and every time, for all time” (Wedgewood, 2006, p. 7).

This increase in performance and decrease in process variation leads to defect reduction and vast improvement in profits, employee morale and quality of the product.

Most people wouldn’t know what Lean Manufacturing was if they hadn’t either learned about it or use it at work. Lean manufacturing is a way to eliminate waste and maximize customer value. Delivering the right product, in the right quantity, with the right quantity, at the exact time the customer needs it and at the lowest cost possible is the main goal of lean manufacturing. With lean manufacturing you can have benefits such as reduced lead times, improved quality, improved on-time deliveries, less inventory, less space, less human effort, lower costs, and increased profitability.

The history of Six Sigma dates all the way back into the 1920’s when a man named Walter Shewhart identified that three sigma from the average or mean is the point in a process may need correction. Many terms or standards came about but the term Six Sigma was coined by a Motorola engineer named Bill Smith. In the 1980s Motorola engineers wanted to measure defects per million opportunities instead of the traditional thousands of opportunities. Motorola then developed the Six Sigma

Six Sigma is a quality program stressing the need for quantitative quality standards that focuses on improving the product for the customer, and that this in turn, will improve quality and reduce costs. Introduced by engineer Bill Smith at Motorola in 1986, Six Sigma is now widely used throughout the manufacturing industry. In statistics, sigma is the notation for the standard deviation, which is related to variation. The ultimate goal of Six Sigma is to reduce variation in a process in order to reduce defects caused by a process and defects seen by customers. Six Sigma is broken up into two disciplines for manufacturing, DMAIC and DMADV. DMAIC is used to continuously improve existing processes, while DMADV is