Six Sigma Technology Implementation - Term Paper Example

? Six Sigma Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 3 Introduction 3 Aspects of Six Sigma 4 Features of Six Sigma Quality Improvement Strategy 5 Methods used in Six Sigma project analyses 6 Conclusion 7 Recommendations 7 References 8 Six Sigma Abstract In order to establish the means through which different organizations deliver their services, Six Sigma becomes an effective tool as it elaborates the things that determine the management of products so that they are of extremely high quality. Six Sigma was an invention of the Motorola Company when it wanted to determine the number of its products that were of high quality and those that had defects. Through the process, the manufacturer had to remove products which had defects and reduce variability in the process of production to provide to the market items of the same brand with similar levels of quality. In this respect, a manufacturer produces products that are of the same quality standards and which do not have defects that could lender them unusable and inefficient in performance of the intended services. Conclusively, Six Sigma enables manufacturers to produce products that are within a level of quality that is not extremely different from each other so long as they have a similar brand name. Introduction In the initial implementation of Six Sigma, the aspects that manufacturers considered were focused on the defects and products without defects. These manufacturers set some platform for measuring the standards according to outlined parameters. With Six Sigma, many manufacturers were able to establish parameters to moderate their production of commodities in the market so that the products were able to compare to the earlier produced having similar brand name. However, with time, some parameters that were related to time were developed to measure quality in the process of production so as to indicate the importance of efficiency. During the production process, people would try to assess the time that was taken to produce a product of a certain kind and compare it with the time used to produce a similar product by the same manufacturer. The aspect of time is used to measure the quality of production that a company can sustain in order to manufacture products are relevant to customer’s demand. This means that efficiency in production is an aspect that is essential to measure the quality of production that could be experienced in any manufacturing company because it plays an essential role (Eckes, 2003, p53). Due to the numerous benefits associated with this management approach, its acceptance by various fields/organizations s been positive. This has been due to the fact that it effectively addressed problems experienced in the use of traditional management approaches. Other aspects of the Six Sigma included customer satisfaction, reduction in cost, increase in profit and reducing the pollution effects resulting from the use of a product. According to these values, people ensure that they improve the quality of production by ensuring that they are no issues/properties that cause defects while maintaining lowest levels of variability in manufacturing and business processes. This ensures that all people using the strategy are able to moderate the various things in the process of production so that they can ensure that they can sustain high quality or raise it, which would be beneficial to the company in terms of the sales level. The process uses some aspects of quality management to ensure that all the people are able to analyze the process of production so that it is acceptable in production. In this aspect, various things are put into consideration in the course of production to ensure that production has met some quality standards and are within some standards of production. On the other hand, according to the standards used in Six Sigma strategy, the producers are categorized in relation to their level of expertise on the production process (Schonberger, 2008, p.15). Aspects of Six Sigma In the implementation of Six Sigma strategy, there are various things that manufacturers consider and which contribute to the proper production in terms of both efficiency and quality. The production is based on the facts that are established to increase the quality as well as save on other resources in the production process so that it can maximize on the benefits it gives to both the manufacturer and customers. Six Sigma is considered a strategic method through which manufacturers manage their production so that they can ensure delivery of high quality services that meet the ensures competitiveness of their products (Schonberger, 2008, p.11). Six Sigma methods of strategic production assures customers of various things that revolve around quality and is in accordance to the high efficiency demands as could be seen through properly established system. As a strategic method of production, Six Sigma ensures a manufacturer of the continuous production of products that places the business in a good place as a competitive rival in the market. This means that Six Sigma ensures that a company is able to sustain its production in such a way that it continues to offer high standard products which creates brand loyalty and attracts more clients. Through this venture, the company produce products that are consistent with the quality demands and standards that they established as well as those required by customers (Eckes, 2003, p.75). Six Sigma ensures that the company has its own way of production; therefore, the organization has to have parameters for the characteristics of their products. The characteristics are in such a way that they are measured, analyzed and controlled in order to ensure that they offer quality standards for the production process and products in general. This enables manufacturers to enhance their production by identifying areas of the process of production, which a company can establish to ensure they improve the quality. Through analysis of the qualities of production, manufacturers determine ways through which they can position their products in the market so that it will ensure maximum return to the business. This ensures that most customers will develop loyalty to the products of the company, which sell brands of products to them. This will help the company is establishing a large and reliable customer base that enable it to be productive and profitable in the market in which it is operational. Moreover, the manufacturers of certain products get a competitive advantage when compared to others that are produced from different companies (Schonberger, 2008, p.17). The Six Sigma strategy of quality management improves commitment of all people in the course of production in any company/market. This happens because the management team of an organization has a role to ensure that the quality of products is sustained by the entire employee’s body in the course of production. This means that the management of the company encourages and influences the employees to invest their effort to improve the quality of services they give in the course of the production so that the quality of products can be high. The management devices the ways through which they can improve the commitment of employees to offer quality services that meet the demands of customers in the market. The synergy between the management and the employees results to the development of an organizational culture that will enhance the quality of products they give to the market. Through that culture, the company avoids any defective production and ensures that it gives high quality products and services to the customers, and maintains or enhances the culture to ensure it maintains a competitive edge over its competitors. Features of Six Sigma Quality Improvement Strategy There are some features that make Six Sigma strategy of improving quality standard different from other systems that existed prior its invention. There are four main features that ensure that Six Sigma strategy is different from other strategies of quality management and which ensure it is more effective in ensuring the best out of the resources available are offered to the clients. In this regard, manufacturers are able to determine areas of weakness in the course of production so that they can improve it according to the problems they identify and this enables them to realize high quality and efficiency (Tang, 2006, p.65). As opposed to other strategies of quality management, Six Sigma strategy focuses on measurable and quantifiable financial returns from any of its projects. This means that the manufacturers dominate the market by ensuring that they make high profit through improvement in the productivity of the company. The reason why the Six Sigma strategy improves the quality of production is because it has plans that ensure reduction of cost to the company during production and consequently to the end consumers of the products. The strategy determines ways through which a company can maximize on any available opportunity so that it can realize production at the lowest cost possible and sell at a sound profit margin (Eckes, 2003, p.82). As opposed to other strategies of quality management, which do not regard management and leadership in the process of production, Six Sigma strategy emphasizes on the importance of strong management, leadership, commitment and support from other departments. This means that all stakeholder of the company are able to impact each other with a culture that is able to raise some of them to levels of commitment that concur with the prevailing production process. This has contributed to the success of the company because the management team spearheads all the plans of the company and the employees offer support to the management that ensures there are quality results. Through the commitment of different stakeholders, production increases to a level that is able to realize high productivity and efficiency of the systems of production (Eckes, 2003, p.83). The Six Sigma strategy of quality management has a good infrastructure that allows the implementation of efficient and effective approach in the process of production. These infrastructures involve the champion, master black belts, black belts, green belts, yellow belts among others that contribute to the provision of high quality services in production. Through the infrastructure, production is done in stages in which the highest class i.e. champions involve the highest quality products followed by the master black belts going down. Through the infrastructure, there are minimal defects that are realized in the products. Therefore, the Six Sigma strategy parameter realizes very high degree of quality production (Tang, 2006, p.78). Since Six Sigma strategy depends on empirical and measurable data, it makes it easy to make objective decisions because the findings are verifiable through various statistical methods. This is as opposed to other strategies that do not use empirical information, but depend on decisions that are implementable to give high quality. The decisions are made from the analysis of information that could be obtained from the findings made in the process of production and areas of defects. Some of the information that could be useful in decision making may include the profit margin, number of defective products, percentage of the defective products and the amount of time that is used to produce a specific product. This will help the company’s management to make a decision on ways through which they can ensure that they increase the productivity of the company by ensuring that they are efficient. Through the analysis of time taken to come up with a specific product, it will identify parts of the process of production that the company can make more efficient to reduce the production time. On the other hand, the company will be able to realize the number of units of a specific product they produce and which they can improve so that they can manufacture more of it with ease. Through various measurable data, the management team of a company makes analysis that informs the various ways of dealing with some defects, concerns and other occurrences (Tang, 2006, p.87). Methods used in Six Sigma project analyses In order to realize the productivity of a company, there are two methods that an organization can use to enhance productivity as well as increase the quality of the products it has for the market. These methods are used based on the differences that exist between the two projects that a company wants to implement i.e. whether they intend to improve its productivity or to introduce a plan that will facilitate its performance through introducing a new product to the market. This implies that the processes are slightly different for a new and an existing product, when addressed according to the Six Sigma strategy of quality management. The methods include the DMAIC, for an existing product and DMADV for a new product or new process design and both vary slightly according to the steps that they take to implement the improvement of quality (Eckes, 2003, p 75). In DMAIC, the method involves some steps that could be implemented to come up with a process that will work better than the one that was used in the past so that high value and quality can be realized. D represents defining the problem that could be represented by what customers say and how much the first plan was able to meet the goals of the project. M represents measurement of key data and collection of the data that could be relevant in the project; A represents the analysis of relationships and the things that could be significant in determining the success of the project. I represent improvement or optimization of the project so that it can meet the target that it ought to and C represents controlling the future state of the progress of the company’s process of improvement of production (Tang, 2006, p88). In DMADV, D stands for defining goals for a new process that are consistently according to customers’ demands, M stand for measuring the characteristics critical to quality and assessing the risk of the products and its capability. A means to develop and design any other way through which people are able to implement changes in the organization and the second D represents designing an alternative method of representing implementation, while V represents verifying the whole design before implementing the organization’s strategy (Aruleswaran, 2009, p. 18). These processes are used to optimize the process of implementation of the process of production that will ensure that all the products of the manufacturer have high returns and are efficiently produced. Conclusion Six Sigma is an effective management approach that strives to ensure that high quality products are offered to the customers at reasonable prices. The approach has been designed to address flaws in traditional methods and is different from them in regard to the type of data it uses; it focuses on measurable and quantifiable financial returns from any of its projects. Additionally, it emphasizes on the importance of strong management, leadership, commitment and support from other departments, has a good infrastructure that allows the implementation of efficient and effective approach in the process of production and applies statistical methods in analyzing the data. There are two methods of analysis that are employed by six sigma; DMAIC and DMADV. Recommendations In order to realize high quality services delivery in the process of production, any company needs to work out a process of analysis of empirical data that will help it to improve the various products and services. The decisions that come from analysis of existent data will be necessary in giving relevant ways through which processes can be implemented to ensure high productivity and all companies should implement Six Sigma in all their operations. References “Changing with Lean Six Sigma,” By: Aruleswaran, A.-Selangor, Malaysia: LSS Academy Sdn. Bhd, 2009. “Six Sigma for Everyone,” By: Eckes, G. - John Wiley & Sons, 2003. “Best Practices in Lean Six Sigma Process Improvement: A Deeper Look,” By: Schonberger, R.-John Wiley & Sons, 2008. “Six Sigma: Advanced Tools for Black Belts and Master Black Belts,” By: Tang, L. C.-Wiley, 2006. Read More