Submitted to: Mr.

Syed Sikandar Wali

Submitted by: Group 1

Tania Shaheen FA13-BS (BA)-019

Discipline: Management Sciences

Subject: Productivity and Quality Management

Topic: Summary of an Article (Six Sigma)

Class: BBA-7

Submission date: Sept 06, 2016.

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 Six Sigma: What Is It and How to Use It
(Summary)
Six Sigma (definition):
Six Sigma is a quality-control program developed in 1986 by Motorola that emphasizes cycle-
time improvement and the reduction of manufacturing defects to a level of no more than 3.4 per
million. As of 2016, Six Sigma has evolved into a more general business-management
philosophy focused on meeting customer requirements, improving customer retention, and
improving and sustaining business products and services.

Case Description:

Since Motorola introduced Six Sigma in the 1980s, dozens of leading companies have adopted
its techniques. Six Sigma is a quality initiative which focuses on defects per million--at the Six
Sigma level the expectation is a mere 3.4 defects per million. It goes well beyond earlier
approaches to quality such as TQM and requires entirely new procedures. Six Sigma was initially
designed to improve manufacturing processes, but these days the techniques are being applied to
various business areas, including sales, human resources, and customer service. "Defect" is
defined differently according to the process involved. This article explores the four-step process
for achieving Six Sigma: Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control. It shows that how Motorola

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company seek benefit by implementation of Six Sigma program. After implementing the six
sigma program Motorola has saved more than $15 billion in 10 years. Even so, its executives
admit that Motorola has not yet achieved the overall goal of 3.4 defects per million opportunities
in many of the company operations. The important thing is to keep working on it because it is a
continual process of improvement

Four steps:
Define and Measure: Define the system, the voice of the customer and their
requirements, and the project goals, specifically. Measure key aspects of the current
process and collect relevant data.

Analyze: Analyze the data to investigate and verify cause-and-effect relationships.

Determine what the relationships are, and attempt to ensure that all factors have been
considered. Seek out root cause of the defect under investigation.

Improve: Improve or optimize the current process based upon data analysis using
techniques such as design of experiments, mistake proofing, and standard work to create
a new, future state process.

Control: Control the process to ensure that any deviations from the target are corrected
before they result in defects. Implement control systems such as statistical process
control, production boards, visual workplaces, and continuously monitor the process.
This process is repeated until the desired quality level is obtained.

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