6 Sigma Yellow Belt. Six Sigma is it? Project as process or process as project

The Six Sigma methodology is a popular concept for process management, incl. production. It was first offered by Motorola in the late 1980s. The methodology gained worldwide fame after Jack Welch, as CEO, carried out a large-scale implementation of the 6 Sigma methodology at General Electric. In fact, at GE, it became a corporate religion and remains so to this day.

The goal of 6 Sigma is to ensure that the requirements and expectations of the client are fully met at a minimum cost through the efficient and most error-free flow of all business processes.

The tasks during the implementation of this methodology are formulated as follows: improving production processes, reducing the likelihood of defects and deviations, creating a working group and a set of measures aimed at reducing the number of opportunities for errors.

The essence of all the measures taken can be briefly summarized in one question: what needs to be done to ensure defect-free work? Responsible for the implementation is a specially selected team of experienced professionals of a certain rank, determined by analogy with martial arts by the color of the belt. In the 6 Sigma methodology, there are the following titles that reflect the level of a person's competence in this area: "Yellow Belt", "Green Belt", "Black Belt", "Master of the Black Belt", "Champion 6 Sigma".

Main indicators and calculation method

Getting acquainted with this technique for the first time, many are surprised at the chosen name and ask to decipher it. Sigma is the Greek letter for standard deviation in statistics. The number from 1 to 6 is an indicator of the faultlessness of the production process. The latter corresponds to a process in which there can be no more than 3.4 errors per million opportunities for its commission. It was the sixth level that Motorola defined as the ultimate goal, and this gave the name to the entire methodology.

The main variables are different parameters responsible for the quality of the process. For continuous data such as lead time (hours), piston diameter (mm), in addition to the standard deviation, denoted as σ, the mean µ and the two extremes of the customer's quality requirements are important. A defect is anything that goes beyond. To increase the number of good products, it is necessary to increase the tolerance field, that is, the segment between the boundaries, and reduce the deviation.

How to calculate the sigma level of a process?

The formula looks like this:

DPMO = (number of detected errors (defects) * 1,000,000) / (number of process instances * number of opportunities to make a mistake).

The results are presented in this table:

To understand how difficult it is to hit the bottom, let's look at what a 6 sigma level means when a hockey team goalkeeper repels a shot at goal.

In hockey, the team plays an average of 50 matches per season. In one game, the goalkeeper reflects an average of 30 shots on goal. We will assume that a goal is a defect. For such a process to be at 6 Sigma, the DPMO must be 3.4. Determine how many seasons the goalkeeper should defend "dry" using the formula for calculating the DPMO indicator.

Where k is the number of seasons.

If all goalkeepers were 6 Sigma, we probably wouldn't like hockey or football that much.

But these are game situations, and production processes are a completely different matter.

The first value of the sigma level is calculated by the command at the "Initiation" stage. It is necessarily recalculated after each stage of implementation of improvements based on the collected data. The maximum possible value, as can be seen from the table, is 3.4 mismatches per million possibilities.

Example

Let's say the delivery service is checked on the material of 100 pizza orders that were delivered by one courier. In such a process, there are 3 possibilities to make a mistake (defect): 1 - late delivery, 2 - incorrect address, 3 - spoiled appearance of the box or product. The results showed that the courier of 21 out of 100 pizzas did not deliver on time, 3 orders were mixed up, and 1 was spoiled in the pouring rain. The number of defects is 21 + 3 + 1 = 25. Substituting the values ​​in the formula, we get DPMO = 25 x 1,000,000 / (3 x 100) = 83333. The sigma level of pizza delivery was between 2 and 3. More accurately, it can be determined from the table below: approximately 2.85.

On this basis, we can conclude that the quality of the delivery process is not too high.

Today, 6 Sigma is a collection of methodological techniques, conceptual ideas and accurate statistical tools aimed at improving processes, reducing scrap rates and meeting customer expectations. It is successfully used in various fields of activity: industry, healthcare, banking, IT-industry.

The Six Sigma concept was developed by Motorola in the 1980s with the aim of reducing variance in the manufacturing of electronic components. In general, the whole idea of ​​6 Sigma is aimed at maximizing the quality of the organization's work. The basis was the statistical methods of process control, and the work of the Japanese quality specialist Genichi Taguchi.

In the modern sense, 6 Sigma is viewed from three sides: as a philosophy, as a management methodology and as a set of tools for improving work. It is used in organizations of various fields of activity - from industrial enterprises to banks. However, the main area for 6 Sigma is still manufacturing.

The term 6 Sigma, which is used in the name of the concept, means the standard deviation of a random variable from the mean. This term is used in mathematical statistics. A random variable can be characterized by two parameters - the mean value (denoted by the mu symbol) and the standard deviation or another name - the standard deviation (denoted by the sigma symbol).

If a process quality parameter is considered as a random variable, then using the mean and standard deviation, you can estimate the likely proportion of process defects. For this preliminary it is necessary to set the upper and lower boundaries of the tolerance field of the quality parameter. The larger the tolerance zone, the greater the proportion of suitable products of this process. The higher the sigma value, the lower the proportion of suitable products.

In order to increase the proportion of suitable products, it is necessary for a given tolerance band to strive to reduce the sigma value, thereby increasing their number within the tolerance band.

In the case where six sigma values ​​fit from the mean to the closest tolerance limit, the number of defective products in the process can be 3.4 per million. In the case where three sigma values ​​fit, the possible number of defective items in the process is 66.807 per million.

The essence of the Six Sigma concept is to apply various methods and tools for managing processes to achieve a decrease in the value of the standard deviation for a given tolerance band.

Philosophy 6 Sigma

The Six Sigma philosophy is based on a continuous process improvement and defect reduction approach. The organization should adopt an approach of continual improvement and improvement of performance.

Improvement can come from radical changes (process reengineering approach) or through minor continuous improvements (kaizen approach). Improvements can be aimed at improving product safety, improving quality, shortening the production cycle, improving jobs, reducing costs, etc.

The key elements of the 6 Sigma philosophy are:

• customer satisfaction... Consumers determine the level of quality of work. They expect high quality products, reliability, adequate price, on-time delivery, good service, etc. Quality requirements are hidden in every element of the consumer's expectations. The organization must identify and meet all of these requirements.
• defining processes, their indicators and methods of process control. To improve the quality of work, it is necessary to look at the processes from the point of view of the consumer. All process elements that do not bring value to the consumer must be eliminated.
• teamwork and staff involvement... The results of an organization's work are the work of its employees. To achieve high quality, each employee must be interested in work and interested in achieving high results. Employee motivation leads to increased customer satisfaction.

Application of 6 Sigma

6 Sigma employs a variety of quality tools to drive improvements, enhancements, and process management. Process control can be carried out on the basis of qualitative and quantitative indicators. Each organization may have its own set of tools. Examples of such tools are - statistical process control based on control charts, FMEA analysis, Pareto chart, Ishikawa chart, Tree diagram, etc.

Today, the Six Sigma toolbox has expanded to include this concept in many areas. The 6 Sigma Toolkit includes the entire set of quality tools. Some of them can be found in the Quality Tools section.

6 Sigma Methodology

Six Sigma is a process-oriented methodology aimed at improving performance. It allows you to improve all areas of activity.

At the heart of the 6 Sigma methodology are three interrelated elements:

• improvement of existing processes;
• designing new processes;
• process management.

An incremental improvement approach is used to improve existing processes. The main focus is on reducing the level of defectiveness. The goal of improvement in Six Sigma is to address gaps in the organization and execution of processes.

Improvement is carried out through the application of five consecutive steps. These steps are called the DMAIC method (the first letters of the English words - Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control):

• Define- at this step, the main problems of the process are identified, a Six Sigma project team is formed to improve the process. The team is empowered with the necessary authority and resources to operate. Its area of ​​responsibility is being established.
• Measure- at this stage, data on the execution of the process is collected. The team analyzes the collected data and makes preliminary assumptions about the reasons for the emerging deviations in the improved process.
• Analyze- During this step, the team checks preliminary ideas about the causes of deviations in the processes, identifies all causes of nonconformities and proposes methods to eliminate the identified causes.
• Improve- at this stage, measures to improve the process are developed and tested. Activities are being introduced into the practice of the organization.
• Control- This step involves documenting and standardizing the improved process. The Six Sigma project team monitors and monitors the progress of the process to verify the effectiveness of the activities. In the course of monitoring, special attention is paid to checking the elimination of the causes of non-conformities.

For newly created processes, an approach is taken to anticipate customer expectations. The focus is on preventing defects in processes.

Designing a new process (or redesigning an existing one) also takes five steps. The design (redesign) method in the 6 sigma concept is called the DMADV method (the first letters of the words are Define, Match, Analyze, Design, Verify):

• Define- in this step, the goals of the new process are determined, taking into account the requirements of the customers. A Six Sigma project team is formed to design (redesign) the process.
• Match- the team develops and defines a set of technical characteristics, on the basis of which it is possible to determine the achievement of the objectives of the process.
• Analyze- the analysis of the characteristics of the projected process is carried out and preliminary versions of the process execution are developed.
• Design- During this step, detailed specifications of the new process are created and implemented into the organization's work.
• Verify- During this phase, the Six Sigma process design team reviews the process to see if it has achieved its objectives against the specified characteristics.

One of the important elements of the 6 Sigma methodology is process management. very often the organization is simultaneously improving existing processes and designing new ones. Managing constantly changing processes becomes a rather difficult task.

Overall, the Six Sigma process management methodology does not differ much from the accepted process management methodology.

The main elements of 6 Sigma process control include:

• defining processes, key requirements of consumers and process owners;
• measurement of indicators characterizing the fulfillment of customer requirements and key performance indicators of the processes;
• analysis of results obtained measurements and improvement of process control mechanisms;
• process execution control on the basis of monitoring the "inputs" of processes, the progress of operations, and "outputs" of the processes and taking measures to eliminate problems or deviations from the established requirements.

Implementation of 6 Sigma in the company

The implementation of 6 Sigma in any organization is built on the constant work of project teams. Teams are formed according to management levels. As a rule, there are only three such levels - the highest level of management, the level of process control and the level of management of individual tasks. The teams are comprised of individuals with varying degrees of proficiency in Six Sigma.

There are seven degrees of proficiency in this concept:

1. Management Are the top management of the organization and the business owners. The challenge for management is to create the conditions for the implementation of the 6 Sigma vision.
2. Champion- as a rule, this is a representative of the top management of the organization. Its task is to identify the necessary projects to improve processes, organize them and monitor the progress of implementation.
3. Black Belt Master- the task of this specialist is to develop a concept for each specific process improvement project. He defines the key characteristics of the processes, conducts training for black and green belts. The Black Belt Master is a 6 Sigma “technologist” and internal consultant.
4. Black belt- leads the project team to improve a separate process. Can conduct training for project team members.
5. Green belt- works under the guidance of a black belt. He analyzes and solves the assigned tasks, takes part in quality improvement projects.
6. Yellow belt- in the project deals with the solution of private problems, is responsible for the implementation of small projects to improve processes.
7. White belt- Responsible for solving individual, special tasks of a 6 Sigma project.

At the present stage of development, the concept of Six Sigma has become a well-known and popular brand. The promotion of this brand is facilitated by the training of specialists at various levels of "proficiency" in the 6 Sigma methodology and their certification. For each of the above six sigma degrees, specific training programs and requirements for the composition of knowledge, experience and qualifications have been developed.

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The Six Sigma White Belt program offered by Six Sigma.us aims to clarify the basics of the Lean Six Sigma (also LSS) methodology, reveals the essence of process optimization, variability and its impact on results, as well as the role of the team and the distribution of responsibilities.

The duration of the Six Sigma White Belt program is 4 hours.

• Lean Six Sigma Methods Overview
• Team member roles
• The concept of variability

Trainees who complete the program must provide support on a process optimization project, whether they are Leaders or team members. The program can be expanded with our Six Sigma White Belt Program. Full-time programs with open enrollment are available, the program is held in more than 20 cities, online training is available, as well as a webinar on the Six Sigma White Belt program.

All students of the White Belt program will gain an understanding of the basic tools and methods of Six Sigma:

• Understanding the basics of Six Sigma and Lean (Lean)
• Understanding the DMAIC Roadmap: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control
• Reducing the amount of resources needed and eliminating waste while increasing customer satisfaction

Six Sigma White Belt Training Program

Six Sigma White Belt training is a 4 hours course that is aimed to help people understand the meaning of Six Sigma both for the whole company and an individual.

What is Six Sigma White Belt Training Program About?

You will find out everything about Lean Six Sigma methods and roles, as well as the definition and meaning of variability. Six Sigma White Belt training program is available in more than 20 cities; you can attend classroom training and webinars.

For deep understanding of Six Sigma principles you should attend Green and Black Belt training after Six Sigma White Belt course.

White Belt Full-time Program

You can register for the one-day White Belt Leadership Program at any location convenient to you.

White Belt Online Program

• 30 days of access to materials
• Six Sigma Review
• Stage Definition
• Deploying Six Sigma in a company

White Belt Webinar

The program runs interactively with one of our Black Belt Masters. This program will provide an opportunity for students to ask their questions as they progress. The duration of the program is 2 hours and reveals the history, philosophy, tools and techniques of Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing in an accessible language.

The webinar is suitable for:

• Leaders considering implementing Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing, or a comprehensive Lean Six Sigma strategy
• Companies or individual departments that have been assigned responsibility for the work on a project, but have no experience with Six Sigma and / or Lean Manufacturing
• Managers who question the status quo and are looking at ways to improve productivity and drive change.

This format is an ideal choice for companies just starting to work with Six Sigma projects.

Time of webinars:

• 11:00 - 15:00 (MSK)

Six Sigma concept.

TQM system. Objectives, principles and functions of the system

The accepted abbreviation of the term is TQM (Total Quality Management).

Total quality management Is a quality-oriented approach to managing an organization that is based on the participation of all its members (personnel in all departments and at all levels of the organizational structure) and is aimed at achieving both long-term success by meeting customer requirements and benefits for members of the organization and society ...

TQM has the following goals:

· Orientation of the organization to meet current and potential customer needs;

· Raising quality to the rank of the goal of entrepreneurship;

· Optimal use of all resources of the organization.

Basic principles of TQM:

The most important of the TQM principles is active, conscious, creative participation of all personnel of the organization in improving quality.

“If management is not ready to give employees control over their own operations, the freedom to make important decisions and be responsible for them - forever, put this idea (TQM) back on the shelf. Employee participation is a long-term endeavor that involves a new approach to work, a fundamental transformation of corporate culture. Trained, empowered, and recognized employees view their work and their companies from a different angle. They no longer waste time, do what they are told, and do not count the minutes until the weekend. They "own" the company in the sense that they feel personally responsible for its work. "

The principle of purposefulness defines the need to have a clear quality goal.

The principle of consistency defines a systematic approach to quality assurance.

The principle of complexity in quality management is of particular importance, since today the problem of quality assurance can be solved only by paying attention to all the aspects on which it depends.

Continuity principle quality management in an enterprise means a continuous and unceasing process in the form of a spiral. Only the principle of continuous improvement allows the company to defend its position in the sales markets against competitors.

Six sigma- the statistical concept on the basis of which the process is measured in terms of defects: at the highest level of six sigma, the number of defects is 3.4 per million possible. The main idea of ​​Six Sigma-based management is that if it is possible to measure the number of defects in a process, then it is possible to identify ways to eliminate them, which means to reach a quality level with practically zero rejects. If we summarize the essence of the Six Sigma method very briefly, then it can be interpreted as follows.

Six Sigma is:

· Statistical basis for measurements: 3.4 defects per million possible;

· Philosophy and goal: to be as perfect as practically possible;

· Methodology;

· Quality symbol.

Statistical methods have several advantages over other methods:

1. They are preventive.
2. Allow in many cases to reasonably switch to selective control and thereby reduce the labor intensity of control operations.
3. They create conditions for a visual representation of the dynamics of changes in product quality and the mood of the production process, which makes it possible to take timely measures to prevent defects not only for controllers, but also for shop workers - workers, foremen, technologists, adjusters, foremen.

The role of the quality management system in "Lean production".

With deliveries synchronized with production, all 100% of the parts entering the conveyor must be of high quality. Incoming quality control impedes flows, no return or replacement of defective parts and materials is possible. Therefore, the quality control function is transferred to the supplier, but the standards are determined by the consumer. Often used "Quality audit": the quality specialists of the customer company from time to time carry out quality control at the supplier.

Some end-manufacturers involve their suppliers in the new product planning process as a preventive measure for quality assurance.

In the course of production, the parts are consistently subjected to automated, computer-assisted control.

Production workers themselves control the results of their labor and pass on only high-quality products ("quality assurance through self-control"). This allows you to abandon special quality control at the output of products ("saving personnel and time"). The marriage can be immediately identified and, if possible, corrected. The problem is also solved by creating "quality circles".

The wear of equipment, deviations in the quality of production materials, organization of the workplace, etc. are constantly monitored.

("Quality assurance through process control").

The Six Sigma approach to product quality improvement.

For the normal distribution shown in the figure, the relationship between the specified deviation range, the parameter and the frequency of hitting or missing the given range is shown in the table.

Normal distribution of parameter П

In I-space, they exclaimed, “These Six Sigmas again! And where are they? It's about processes and quality! I don't understand anything. " Indeed, let's look at how Six Sigma fits in with project management. Is this system part of project management or is the implementation of this doctrine one of the company's modernization projects? The interesting topic touched upon will occupy our minds for a few minutes and will allow us to slightly shift the perspective of perception of the management school.

Initial basis of the methodology

Indeed, upon a superficial examination of Six Sigma, the links “optimization of business processes” and “setting up a quality system” automatically pop up in the mind. And this is a well-grounded logical model of perception of the subject area of ​​the concept. This technique in the English-speaking environment is called "Six Sigma" or abbreviated "6σ". Among the many definitions, the following seems to be the most adequate. Six Sigma is a multifaceted system for setting up business processes that provides a significant reduction in losses, cost and product defects in the following areas:

• economical use of resources;
• reduction of unproductive costs;
• quality management of main and auxiliary power supply units;
• optimization of business cycle times.

Agree that a very capacious definition is presented. It covers entire layers of management science and practice, while claiming the importance of "tectonic shifts" in the internal arrangement of a company at a strategic level. In our conversation, it is important to understand and focus on the place 6σ occupies in modern reality.

Anticipating the conclusions, I will immediately note that Six Sigma is far from just a method, although it is called that way. Much more precisely and completely, this concept should be considered from the point of view of belonging to an integral control system.

We know from theory that a business process is a set of interrelated works that have input, output, management and a foundation in the form of resources and mechanisms. This is a classic technique that we will be quick to use. During the implementation of the processes, many factors are constantly discovered that affect the transformation of the given "inputs" into the received "outputs". These factors work both at the moment of entering the process from the outside, and in the course of internal procedures. Examples of sources of such influence:

• raw materials;
• external environment;
• technology;
• adjustment and technical level of equipment;
• the mood and qualifications of the performers, etc.

An axiom is the thesis that the quality of the process and the quality of its result are always determined by quantitative parameters. Let's call the target values ​​of the result as Y1, Y2,… Yn, there are always several of them. Accordingly, we define the quantitative parameters of the internal events of the process as X1, X2,… Xm. These parameters are just there: raw materials, equipment, technologies, other resources and mechanisms. The Y criterion is described as a function of the various Xi. The logic of reasoning is based on a visual model-scheme of representing the process from a parametric point of view, which is presented below.

Process model as a function of Y = f (X)

The variability of indicators Xi in relation to their optimal values ​​harms the resulting Yj, and the instability of each of the input factors and factors of the current process procedures leads to a scatter of results at the output of the process. Parameters Yj almost always have a delineated range of permissible values, which make it possible to judge that the result is of high quality. If the deviation is significant, and Yj does not correspond to the level of permissible values, then the BP result is considered defective. It follows that deviations in processes lead to losses of time, resources, costs due to product defects.

Why Six Sigma?

Six Sigma is based on the postulates of mathematical statistics, which are increasingly making their way into business pragmatics. There are only two ideas at work here: that the spread of Y values ​​obeys the rules of standard deviation (σ), and that the spread in the characteristics of the result should be small. The scatter is insignificant compared to the tolerance limits, and the influence of external and internal factors is leveled out. In this case, the safety margin (the length of the distance between the peak of the histogram of deviations and the nearest border of tolerances) significantly exceeds the parameter σ.

The concept assumes that the whole process adjustment takes place in the direction of reducing the scatter of indicators and bringing the median value of the deviation histogram closer to the center of the tolerance range. The goal is to remove all destructive factors that affect the process, and, consequently, its result. Notice the quality target schema in the Six Sigma model.

Scheme of the target quality of the Six Sigma model

The standard deviation (σ) demonstrates the degree of variability in the level of the process output parameter. The developers calculated that the standard deviation level is optimal when it is six times less than the distance from the median value to the nearest control limit. And it is precisely this achievable state that provides a quality level equal to 99.9997% of the target. This is the concept of methodology that dictates the content of a fairly strict system.

The methodology offers effective management of the quality of processes and the cost of manufacturing a product. This guides management towards truly efficient business processes and moves towards defect-free production. The 6σ method, in contrast to the traditional concept of quality, even before the onset of the tolerance limit requires increased activity to eliminate process defects. This position has found its expression in the model of the loss function G. Taguti. The concept of the model is presented below in graphical form.

Approach to responding to deviations according to G. Taguti's model

Paradoxically, the traditional approach assumes that the marriage occurs abruptly at the moment of crossing the tolerance limit for the quality of the parameter. At the same time, it turns out that within the range it is quite possible to "rest on our laurels" and not make any efforts to improve, conventionally considering that everything is fine. On the contrary, the innovative concept of the loss function has put forward a number of requirements, moreover, quite stringent ones.

1. There are only one parameters of the results of the process - the target ones.
2. Any deviation from the target values, even the slightest, creates a threat and initiates a response.
3. The size of the threat of losses increases with the growth of deviations and requires an adequate strengthening of the reaction.

Thus, the Six Sigma concept assumes the introduction into the management paradigm of revolutionary ideas related to the elimination of the causes of defects. If you realize them, then the marriage will cease to arise. The need for cumbersome quality control will disappear.

The relationship between Six Sigma and project management

The concept presented to your attention assumes a systematic approach to implementation and progressive development of the methodology. The system as a set of interrelated elements, relying on the main method, involves practically all management components for its implementation, branching into many functional management spheres. The strength of the method is such that, including the required changes, it acts with a synergistic effect, filling the complex solution with more energy than its constituent parts. Consider figuratively the composition of the Six Sigma system.

Six Sigma System Components

The components of the system are in the state of "Rubik's Cube": each of them is a part of the whole and includes elements of other components. When considering the system from the point of view of the main tasks of the business, one cannot take into account the fundamental rule of management: "Before any significant transformation, investigate the key problem!" This corresponds to two components responsible for research and statistical control of processes in terms of losses, defects and costs.

The sequence of steps for the formation of the system involves actions from researching a problem to transferring corporate and technological cultures to a new state of quality and costs. In a certain perspective, the costs of raising quality with this approach become many times lower than the growth of effects.

Any management system is divided into two large parts: personnel and means of activity. The latter consist of a material part (equipment, technology, communication facilities, etc.) and an intangible part (communications, preschool educational institutions, information and software, etc.). In this regard, the issue of debugging the implementation infrastructure and personnel training system cannot be ignored.

The 6σ method is untenable without a design approach. The design implementation here is based on the investigated problems and the importance of the selected areas for improving quality and costs. Compliance with the principles and methods of PM is in demand in the Six Sigma doctrine like nowhere else. It is recommended to start an implementation project from those directions that will give the maximum effect in the shortest possible time. This obviously follows from the 20/80 Pareto rule. A typical project for the implementation of a Six Sigma system must comply with certain conditions, which are at the same time strict criteria for the selection of project tasks for implementation:

• solves problems that are significant for the company, he is supported by the decision maker;
• provides the company with additional income corresponding to its size;
• relies on the resources actually present in the company;
• the success of the possible implementation is obvious to the management and the project team;
• does not require long terms and is implemented within 3-6 months;
• the ratio "obtained effect / cost of implementation" in the first year is a value of at least 5.

Concluding these reflections, I will emphasize the main conclusion of the article: the Six Sigma concept is a modern (especially for countries such as Russia) system of managerial transformations in the project paradigm of business management. At the same time, the scale of this system makes it possible to set it on a fairly high level in the hierarchy of funds of the management school. This is a whole philosophy with serious development prospects. As a coherent and structured doctrine, Six Sigma is harmoniously integrated into the design and process sections of management.