What is Six Sigma?

Six Sigma is both a philosophy and a methodology that improves quality by

analysing data with statistics to find the root cause of quality problems and to
implement controls. Although Six Sigma is typically first implemented to improve
manufacturing, the method can also be used in other business processes, such as
product design and supply chain management. Jennifer Markarian reports on how
Six Sigma can benefit both big and small companies.

S
tatistically, Six Sigma refers to a and a control plan to ensure ongoing objective is to define what process vari-
process in which the range quality control of a process. ables are critical to product quality and
between the mean of a process “Six Sigma is a long-term commit- to define the gaps between goals and
quality measurement and the nearest ment. It won’t work well without full current performance that will become
specification limit is at least six times commitment from upper management. Six Sigma projects.
the standard deviation of the process Six Sigma changes the way a company Black Belts and Master Black Belts are
(see Figure 1). The statistical objectives thinks by teaching fact-based decision chosen to become Six Sigma experts and
of Six Sigma are to centre the process on making to all levels. The programme be dedicated full-time to run Six Sigma
the target and reduce process variation. changes the ‘DNA’ of a company by projects. Green Belts, who keep their
A Six Sigma process will approach ‘zero changing the way the leaders think and regular jobs while they work part-time
defects’ with only 3.4 defects per mil- by improving the management pipeline on Six Sigma projects, are also chosen.
lion opportunities (DPMO) for a defect by developing management and com-
to occur. In comparison, the goal of munication skills in people,” says Karen
many quality initiatives throughout the Riding, Master Consultant at Six Sigma
The first step in any
1980s and early ‘90s was to obtain a Academy. project is to define
process capability index (Cpk) of at
least 1.0, which roughly translates to Implementation customer expectations
3 Sigma. However, this level of quality Implementing a typical Six Sigma pro- and specifications.
still produces a defect rate of 66 810 gramme begins at top management level
DPMO. with training in fact-based decision-
Six Sigma differs from other quality making and evaluation of a company’s A Six Sigma Project team typically
programmes in its ‘top-down’ drive in strategic goals, explains Riding, describ- includes a Project Champion from man-
its rigorous methodology that demands ing a typical implementation process agement, a Black Belt, Green Belts, and
detailed analysis, fact-based decisions, facilitated by Six Sigma Academy. The Process Owners such as engineers and

Centered 3 Sigma Six Sigma Process

Target
Lower spec Upper spec Target
Lower spec Upper spec

400 425 450 475 500 525 550 575 600

45 47 49 51 53 55

Figure 1: Six Sigma refers to a process in which the range between the mean of a process quality measurement and the nearest specification limit is at
least six times the standard deviation of the process.

46 REINFORCEDplastics July/August 2004 0034-3617/04 ©2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 What is Six Sigma?

Table 1:Training your business or organisation.

Group Major topics Approximate cost per person Duration
Management team and Six Sigma overview $1000-2500 1-5 days
champions Benefits and case studies
How to implement Six Sigma
Tools and resources

Selected Six Sigma leaders Six Sigma overview $12 000-50 000 4 weeks
(Black Belts and Master Six Sigma methodology and tools delivered
Black Belts) Statistics training over a period
Computer application training of 2-6 months
Project selection and execution

All Employees Six Sigma overview Variable, depending on if taught 0.5-1day

Benefits in-house or if consultant
What to expect going forward (approximately $2000 per day
Simple case study and exercise plus expenses) is used
Copyright © 2000-2004 iSixSigma LLC – All Rights Reserved. Reproduced with permission of iSixSigma.com.

operators who are directly responsible Design of Experiments (DOE) are used to inventory. TPM focuses on improving
for the process. Teams may also include determine how to control the variables machine maintenance to decrease
suppliers and customers. better. downtime.
The overall method used on a Six The last step is to implement a con- “While Six Sigma alone improves
Sigma project is DMAIC (define, meas- trol plan to ensure that the process first-time yield and eliminates some
ure, analyze, improve and control) for remains in control in the long-term, waste in a manufacturing process, Lean
improving existing processes. The Six improving quality for the customer. Manufacturing tools allow more signifi-
Sigma methods for developing new cant, breakthrough waste elimination,”
products or processes are DMADV Lean manufacturing says Smith.
(define, measure, analyze, design and Many companies are now combining Applying both Lean Manufacturing
verify) or IDOV (identify, design, opti- implementation of Six Sigma and Lean and Six Sigma tool sets results in far
mize and validate). Manufacturing programmes. Lean better improvements than can be
The first step in any project is to Manufacturing is a method for reducing obtained with either method alone, she
define customer expectations and speci- lead-time across the value chain, which adds.
fications. Customer input using a tool improves cash flow, eliminates waste, Some consulting companies, such as
called ‘Voice of the Customer’ is key to reduces inventory and increases on-time TBM, implement Lean Sigma using
identifying the factors that are critical to delivery. In process industries, such as Kaizen methods that use a cross-
quality and defining the appropriate the chemical and plastics industries, key functional team to complete a project
targets. The next step is to measure the Lean Manufacturing tools are reduction with set objectives in a short time period.
frequency of defects and determine base- in set-up time and Total Productive “Using Kaizen, a Six Sigma project
line process capability. Maintenance (TPM), comments Bonnie can take one or two months to complete,
Critical variables in the process are Smith, managing director at the Time rather than six to nine months needed
defined and the output (y) that the cus- Based Management Consulting Group without Kaizen,” says Smith.
tomer sees is defined as a function of the (TBM). Reducing set-up time allows While the same number of people
process variables (x). Being able to meas- a company to cost-effectively run small- and the same tools are used, the team
ure variables and outputs accurately is er batches or make more frequent transi- operates in a more concentrated, focused
important. Statistical tools such as tions, which is necessary for reducing time.

July/August 2004 REINFORCEDplastics 47

What is Six Sigma?

are in the use of Design for Six Sigma

Tax Advice Prescription Writing
1000000 (DFSS) methodology and, as a value-
Restaurant Bills
added service offering, "at the customer,
100000
Defects per Million (PPM)

Payroll Processing for the customer" (see Figure 2).

Companies that have adopted Six
10000
Sigma have had a strong commitment
1000 Baggage Handling from management to implement a real
culture change, and those that have
100 Airline
Safety Rate embraced the Six Sigma philosophy sing
10
its praises.
“The benefits of Six Sigma to both
1 Dow and its customers have exceeded
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
our expectations. Six Sigma has proven
Sigma Level
to be extremely valuable by reducing
What would Six Sigma mean in your daily life. (Source: Crompton Corp.)
cycle time, providing new problem solv-
ing tools, providing improved functional
and customer alignment, and by allow-
“Using Kaizen events gets buy-in Manufacturing, notes Smith. Smaller ing calculations of the value of R&D,”
from the operators and engineers companies may use a scaled-down version comments Kurt Swogger, vice-president
because it is focused. You see the change of the Six Sigma programmes implement- of plastics R&D at the Dow Chemical Co.
now, not later. Studies have even shown ed at large companies. Within Dow R&D, Six Sigma has
improved employee satisfaction correlat- Traditional Six Sigma involves train- been integrated into Dow’s Speed-Based
ed with more frequent Kaizen events ing Black Belts and Master Black Belts as Development philosophy, which was
because the employees are more experts who will commit all their time to created in the early 1990s to expedite
involved,” explains Smith. Six Sigma projects. Other variations, commercialization.
such as TBM’s Lean Sigma, may be a “Speed requires the right leadership
Small companies good choice for small to medium-sized to choose the right people who use the
Although Six Sigma has its roots in large companies because the method focuses right skills to do the right execution,”
corporations, it can be used in small to less on individual expert training and summarizes Swogger. Six Sigma and
medium-sized companies as well. Small does not require dedicated Black Belts. Speed together can be credited for aiding
companies are typically more agile and new product successes at Dow, he adds.
may have an easier time getting manage- The plastics industry “Six Sigma incorporates the best prac-
ment team commitment, but they may Companies generally view Six Sigma as a tice of quality and scientific method
have more difficulty with committing tool to reduce bottom-line costs, tools that have been around a long time.
employee time and funds for training, improve top-line growth, and increase If followed rigorously, Six Sigma gives
comments Charles Waxer, staff writer for value for customers by improving quali- better answers more quickly and cost-
iSixSigma in an article published on ty. When implementing Six Sigma, com- efficiently than other methods for solv-
iSixSigma.com (see Table 1). Smaller panies typically first focus on bottom- ing quality problems or designing new
companies have several options of man- line improvement projects in the products. We have hundreds of examples
aging training costs, including hiring an manufacturing operations, such as of solving problems well using powerful
expert to do in-house training, enrolling reduced variation for improved quality, Six Sigma tools,” claims Todd Cleary,
in public training classes, or bringing in higher yields and lower costs. As the Six Master Black Belt for DuPont Packaging
consultants to provide expertise for Sigma process becomes part of the com- and Industrial Polymers Division. The
specific projects. Larger companies may pany culture, it can be expanded to Polymer Modifiers group recently
also allow others, such as their suppliers improve business processes such as pur- launched its first product designed using
or customers, to participate in their in- chasing, logistics, legal and human the Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) process.
house training. resources management. DuPont™ Fusabond® AEB560D is an
In the USA, state funding is often In a mature and successful imple- impact modifier in the intermediate
available to small businesses for training mentation, Six Sigma will eventually go toughening range for nylons. The prod-
and continuous improvement to help beyond a cost savings programme to uct has both acrylate and maleic anhy-
them compete with larger companies. In become a driver for profitable growth, dride functionality and offers improved
some cases, small businesses can find says Marshall Moore, vice president for mould flow and surface appearance. In
grants specifically for Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma at Crompton Corp. Examples designing the product, the design team

48 REINFORCEDplastics July/August 2004

 What is Six Sigma?

first did probing interviews with several

customers, asking many questions to try Growth
Driving Growth
Business Process
Customer Process Oriented
to get to the real customer needs and Operations
Design For Six Sigma
define what the customer considered
At-The-Customer DMAIC
critical to quality for them.
Improve Product Performance

$ Benefits
“This step is not easy or trivial.
Business Processes
Customer surveys are both a science and
Transactional Processes
an art,” comments Cleary.
Reduce Base Costs

Improve Business Performance
The rigour of the Six Sigma process,
which uses statistical analysis of results
Operational
from customer interviews, helped the
Manufacturing Focus

Reduce Manufacturing Costs
team to obtain good results from the cus-
Improve Product Conformance
tomer information they gathered. For Years
example, the team used fishbone dia-
Figure 2: The three phases of implementation.
grams as one way to analyze customer
comments. This tool indicated that very
different comments from different cus- ‘At the customer, for the customer’ communications consultant for Six
tomers actually led back to the same root allows companies to offer value to the Sigma at DuPont.
need for improved mould flow. After customer beyond the product being sold For example, DuPont formed a Six
defining customer needs, the team and to increase the value of the Sigma team with a customer to improve
selected the best technology to meet customer-supplier relationship. Cromp- a liquid packaging application in which
those needs and used design of experi- ton used Six Sigma at a customer’s facility the end-users were having difficulty
ments (DOE) to optimize it. to help them increase compounding pro- opening the bottle. A DuPont Black Belt
“The rigour in the design process kept duction rates, for example. Crompton led the process to define the problem,
us focused on what customers really personnel helped the customer design an measure and set specifications and pilot
wanted as opposed to getting off track experiment to understand the variables of test designs. The customer then chose
with different aspects of what our prod- both the product formulation and the the solution that fit them best, explains
uct could do,” notes Penny Perry, extrusion process in order to optimize the Cleary.
DuPont global market director for system, explains Moore. “The truly successful [Six Sigma]
Industrial Goods. “Six Sigma allows us, in a meaningful efforts evolve with a focus on providing
A key to Six Sigma is truly knowing way, to demonstrate our commitment to value to customers and making them
what the customer wants rather than helping customers and to gain better more successful. This clearly provides the
relying on what you think they want. overall alignment and ‘shared purpose' strongest foundation for profit enhance-
“As you are improving manufactur- with them. Specifically, Six Sigma allows ment,” concludes Myles Odaniell, execu-
ing quality, you need to focus on areas better definition of the ‘problem’, allows tive vice president at Crompton Corp’s
your customer cares about. When driv- for the use of data rather than emotions Specialty Chemicals division. ■
ing top-line growth, you need to collabo- in critical decision-making, and provides
rate with customers to make sure you are a platform from which to manage consis- Crompton Corp; website: www.cromp-
delivering products that they want and tent improvements. Examples of projects ton.com.
that differentiate you from your com- working with customers include devel- The Dow Chemical Co; tel: +1-800-
petitors,” explains Moore. opment of new products and improved 441-4369; website: www.dowpolyole-
The ‘Voice of the Customer’ tools line speeds,” says Dow’s Swogger. fins.com.
from the Six Sigma toolkit, such as the KJ At DuPont, an increasing number of DuPont Packaging and Industrial
Method, take qualitative customer inter- Six Sigma projects are done with cus- Polymers; tel: +1-800-438-7225 (USA);
views and translate them into quantita- tomers. tel: +41-22-717-5111 (Europe); website:
tive targets. “We work closely with customer www.dupont.com.
“The Six Sigma philosophy broadens teams to improve business results in iSixSigma.com; website: www.iSixSig-
communication with the customer ways that reward both the customers ma.com
beyond sales and purchasing to other and DuPont. These project successes Six Sigma Academy; website: www.6-
personnel. It opens the dialogue so we most often result in strengthened sigma.com
can get a better understanding of their customer relations and preference for Time Based Management Consulting
requirements and improve customer sat- DuPont products and services,” Group; website: www.tbmcg.com.
isfaction,” says Moore. comments John Stowell, corporate

July/August 2004 REINFORCEDplastics 49