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Six Sigma Case Studies, Examples, and Training Material

Following the definition of Six Sigma below are articles on Six Sigma below show examples, applications, and a comprehensive definitions and application of its tools.

What is Six Sigma?

Six Sigma originated as a set of practices designed to improve manufacturing processes and eliminate defects, but its application was subsequently extended to other types of business processes as well. In Six Sigma, a defect is defined as any process output that does not meet customer specifications, or that could lead to creating an output that does not meet customer specifications.

Bill Smith first formulated the particulars of the methodology at Motorola in 1986. Six Sigma was heavily inspired by six preceding decades of quality improvement methodologies such as quality control, TQM, and Zero Defects, based on the work of pioneers such as Shewhart, Deming, Juran, Ishikawa, Taguchi and others.

The term “Six Sigma” comes from a field of statistics known as process capability studies. Originally, it referred to the ability of manufacturing processes to produce a very high proportion of output within specification. Processes that operate with “six sigma quality” over the short term are assumed to produce long-term defect levels below 3.4 defects per million opportunities (DPMO). Six Sigma’s implicit goal is to improve all processes to that level of quality or better.

In recent years, some practitioners have combined Six Sigma ideas with lean manufacturing to yield a methodology named Lean Six Sigma.

Lean Six Sigma: The Problem Statement

by Pete Abilla on October 7, 2010

The Problem Statement is deceptively simple. Yet, we know it is so difficult to write. Why? And how can we effectively write one that is convincing, rallies people around the cause, aligned and focues, and maintains momentum for the team after the inertia has worn off? Clutter Before I write about the elements of an [...]

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20+ Lean Six Sigma iPhone Apps

by Pete Abilla on October 4, 2010

Do you eat, drink, breathe, and live lean manufacturing and six sigma? In this day and age, where there are endless resources available to us – anytime and anywhere and most of them free, it is helpful to have what you need to be an effective lean manufacturing or six sigma practitioner. With that as [...]

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Hundreds of Angry Moms: Similac Baby Formula Recall

by Pete Abilla on September 28, 2010

Abbott has voluntarily recalled its Similac Brand Baby Formula because evidence of beetle larvae has been found in several containers. Imagine feeding your cute, little, adorable baby beetle larvae – yes, very gross and very upsetting and incredibly scary for mothers. I know the reaction in my household has been one of inconvenience, annoyance, and [...]

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Cigarette Sin Tax and Lean Six Sigma Deployments

by Pete Abilla on September 23, 2010

What motivates an individual and an organization is sometimes not aligned with the rewards system we put in place to encourage a higher level of performance. We see this dynamic in the cigarette sin tax situation where a higher sin tax does not lead to less smoking. Thinking about the specific Lean Deployment or Six [...]

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Lean Six Sigma: Elements of MEASURE

by Pete Abilla on September 20, 2010

The second phase in the Six Sigma Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control (DMAIC) methodology is Measure. In a previous post, we discussed the Define Phase in the Six Sigma DMAIC Methodology. During the Measure phase, the focus shifts from “do we agree that X is a problem” to “what’s the phenomena that is happening such that it is a [...]

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Prioritization Matrix

by Pete Abilla on September 11, 2010

Not everything is important. For this reason, we need to prioritize so that we can channel energies and resources in the most prudent way. The Prioritization Matrix is a simple tool that provides a way of sorting a diverse set of items into an order of importance. It also enables their relative importance to be [...]

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Lean Six Sigma Events Guide 2010

by Pete Abilla on September 10, 2010

For the remainder of 2010, I thought I’d highlight the Lean Six Sigma events upcoming from around the world. If you know of an event taking place that should appear here, let us know in the comments below or feel free to email. ASQ 19th Annual Service Quality Conference September 13-14, 2010, Las Vegas, NV [...]

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Check Sheets

by Pete Abilla on August 31, 2010

A Check Sheet is one of the Seven (7) Basic Quality Tools. A Check Sheet is a simple tool for data collection. In this post, I’ll show how to create and use a Check Sheet and provide some basic heuristics and common pitfalls of Check Sheet and data collection overall. A Check Sheet allows us [...]

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