Is the process approach to quality mangement is important in Six Sigma?

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Essentially, the idea of a “process” is to “Six Sigma” as the idea of “teaching” is to “knowledge.”  Perhaps Martin Luther King, Jr. best summed it when he stated: “Knowledge is a process of piling up facts; wisdom lies in their simplification.”  Not only is the process approach important, it is what under girds the […]

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I have a great deal of data but don’t know where to start on my Green Belt project. What do you suggest?

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Get the book “Six Sigma for Everyone” by George Eckes, John Wiley and Sons 2003.ย  It does a very nice job of outlining what to do and provides some really good tools.ย  Seems like a good book for green belts. To extend beyond the aforementioned book, let us come to understand the importance of properly […]

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How can Six Sigma be extended to the maintenance field to enhance our machine Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF??

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As you likely know, equipment uptime (as well as downtime) is very much akin to product reliability engineering.  Many of the same concepts, equations, and methods are commonly shared.  Given this, it should be interesting to note that Six Sigma found its genetic roots in the field of reliability engineering.  As some of the more […]

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Is Six Sigma just as valid for service providers as it is for manufacturers?

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So as to better appreciate the spirit and intent of our ensuing discussion, we must call upon the nature and purpose of two recognized entities โ€“ the US Postal Service and Ford Motor Company.ย  If we were to contrast these organizations, how would they appear to be similar? How would they appear to be dissimilar?ย  […]

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What is the difference between Lean Six Sigma and Six Sigma?

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Lean Sigma might be an anorexic standard deviation. If this is true, then Lean Six Sigma is probably the linear sum of six anorexic sigmas. I would imagine that a healthy diet, mental exercise, and less greed would improve the current trend. Thatโ€™s the funny thing about people with anorexia โ€“ they truly believe โ€œskinnier […]

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How can Six Sigma be applied in a software development?

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There is a clear tendency among many new comers to Six Sigma.  That tendency is to artificially and unwittingly limit the scope of Design-For-Six-Sigma (DFSS) to the configuration of hardware-based products and processes.  As a result, it is currently common to equate DFSS with such fields of practice as engineering and manufacturing, which have their […]

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Is there a standard exit document/checklist in template form that provides a step-by-step process to follow during project close-out that ensures all control steps are in place?

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I am not aware of a “standardized” exit document (in template form) that is related to the closeout of deliverables.  Of course, corporations often create such devices to serve their own internal needs, but are not usually postured to publicly share the resulting intellectual property.  I would suggest that you post this question on the […]

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How do you apply Six Sigma in a small factory?

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Same as a big factory, but in a small way.

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What is the relationship between Six Sigma and the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) for software development?

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Based on the nature of your question, I would assume you are referencing the โ€œCapability Maturity Model Integrationโ€ system and โ€œCapability Maturity Modelโ€, or CMMI and CMM, respectively.  My understanding is that CMM is a generalized model for judging or otherwise assessing the maturity of software processes.  In addition, it is a means for identifying […]

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What is the relationship between Six Sigma and Management Information Systems (MIS)?

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At the onset of this discussion, it is vital that we establish the basic nature and character of a โ€œManagement Information System.โ€  According to G. Davis and M. Olson in the publication โ€œManagement Information Systemsโ€ (1984, p. 5-6):  โ€œThere is no consensus of the definition of the term ‘management information system’โ€ฆโ€ In fact, these highly […]

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How can Six Sigma be applied in an organization that designs, manufactures, assembles and presure tests oil drilling equipment?

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You apply Six Sigma in the same way as any other business enterprise.  In general, this means you must implement Six Sigma on a project-by-project basis.  Generically speaking, Y=f(X) and the only thing that changes from situation-to-situation is the variable labels, transfer function, rate of replication, cost-per-transaction,  and faces of the players.  Other than that,  […]

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Is there any difference in DMAIC between manufacturing and service companies? What about in different functions in the internal organization?

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As we consider the DMAIC process, it is important to bear in mind the fundamental principle of determinism: Y = f (X).  Of course, Y is the outcome variable and X is the many variables that induce Y to exist.  For any given problem-solving situation, we are behooved to recognize how DMAIC relates to Y […]

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Is there a difference between Six Sigma and "robust design"?

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Where the engineering of quality is concerned, Dr. G. Taguchi popularized the idea of โ€œrobustnessโ€ in the mid 80โ€™s.  As one might suspect, the underlying definition of this term is fairly simple โ€“ per the dictionary, it is the ability to recover from unexpected [and expected] conditions during operation.   In this sense, the idea of […]

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How can Six Sigma be used to improve “market forcasting,” which is essential for business planning?

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Where the idea of “process improvement” is concerned, it is now well understood that Six Sigma can play a most decisive role.  Specifically, it can serve to significantly improve the process of market forecasting. For example, consider the instance where an organization attempts to deploy a certain type of ARIMA model from which to forecast […]

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Would a lead-time reduction project for an order fulfillment process be considered a Six Sigma project or a lean project?

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This is much like asking if you have ever been caught in a lie.  No matter how you answer, the resulting conclusion will certainly not enhance your reputation โ€“ but will most assuredly harm it (perhaps even more so than currently exists).  If you were to contend that your project should be garbed in the […]

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How can defense products be designed with Design for Six Sigma (DFSS), and can you provide an example?

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Generally speaking, we use DFSS to close value-based gaps during the design phase of a product, service, business deal, or just about anything that adds value. Of course, this is accomplished in such a way that another gap is not propagated somewhere else in time and space.  In other words, we leverage the ideas and […]

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