The 5 important six sigma tips that you should remember

The 5 important six sigma tips that you should remember

Six Sigma is a statistics-based, disciplined and continuous approach that is data-driven, which eliminates defects in a product or service. Most of the companies around the world have adopted six sigma as their approach to delivering to their clients and have faced beneficial results.

The word sigma stands for the standard deviation which is a measure of the variation in a data set collected about the process. In simple terms, six sigma ensures that for a given process, the outcome falls between a specified rate. If an undesired variation does occur due to natural process variations, you will still have a buffer between the obtained value and the permissible limit provided by the client. For example, if your client requires a material with a diameter between 45.68mm and 45. 74mm, then your process mean would be 45.71mm.

It also measures a process performance based on defects per million. An improvement from 3 sigma to 4 sigma can greatly improve your results and customer satisfaction. It also ensures that you continuously work towards improving so that you achieve the target of a perfect six sigma. It consists of many practices that can be adopted by small, large or even home businesses that can make a huge difference. Let us look at some of the things to keep in mind which we can learn from the six sigma methodology.

  1. Proper Documentation of Goals:

Every great project or establishment starts with a goal. This helps us focus our efforts, whether it is a short term or long term venture. These act as our roadmap and hence should be clearly stated and documented for reference and perusal. Make sure it is a chronological order based on your timeline and priority.

  1. Proper planning:

This is quite an obvious factor that leads to the success of most ventures. It requires effort, expertise and time to get it done right. This basically involves asking 2 questions:

    1. What should be done?
    2. When should it be complete?
    3. Understanding the root cause of a problem:

We often face problems while we execute any project. These problems need to be solved efficiently and that can be done only by understanding what exactly the problem is and what causes it. Six Sigma advices us to understand and document the problem before trying to fix it. This can also help to deal with similar problems in the future.

  1. Be precise:

In order to achieve a specific goal, your attempts and the resources put in should also be specific and precise. Being generic may work a couple times, but the sure shot way to ensure things are happening right is to set down goals and targets and deadlines. You will also need to be specific about the resources you dedicate to a particular project and the team of people who work together to ensure its success.

  1. Use data to make a decision:

Regardless of your experience and meticulous planning, you are only human and often the decisions we make may not be as efficient as we think it may be. Six Sigma teaches us that, basing your decisions on data that is relevant to a given scenario can prove to be a blessing. Find out and use the numerical data and analyze it such that you may take a decision that best aids your achievement of a goal.

Six Sigma is a powerful methodology that when implemented effectively can bring great success. Keep these 6 tips in mind to boost the performance of your venture.