DEFINE
When going into the Define phase, the first phase of the DMAIC process, executive management has an idea of which processes are not producing the results their customers expect and have a vague problem statement. However, this is not enough to begin a Six Sigma project. Since Six Sigma calls for unmistakable, measurable results, the goal of the Define phase is to clearly identify and articulate the problem in a clear and measurable way.
The basic steps to the Define phase of DMAIC are as follow:
- Identify or refine the problems in your process that must be solved in order to meet or exceed the customer's specifications or expectations.
- Identify and quantify customer requirements.
- Identify and quantify the process output and defects that fall short of these requirements and create a problem statement.
- State the project goal, which also must be a clear and measurable goal, and include a time limit for the project's completion.
- Determine the few vital factors that are Critical to Quality, which need to be measured, analyzed, improved and controlled.
- And finally, create a project charter, which will contain the problem definition, goal, business case, project scope, team members, and high level project plan for the M, A, I and C phases.
MEASURE
The measure phase of DMAIC is dedicated to assembling a data collection plan, executing that plan and verifying the data collection is performed properly.
In order to do this, the team must:
- Select the Critical To Quality characteristics in your process. These are the outputs of the given process that are important to the customer.
- Define what that process output should be, which is done by looking at the customer requirements and the project goal.
- Define the defect for the process. Remember, a defect is an output that falls outside the limits of customer's requirements or expectations and must be measurable.
- Find the inputs to the process that contribute to defects.
- Define the exact dollar impact of eliminating the defects in terms of increased profitability and/or cost savings.
- Measure the defects that affect the Critical To Quality characteristics as well as any related factors.
- Incorporate Measurement Systems Analysis - a method to make sure the defects are being measured properly.
- And refine data collection procedures, if needed.
Once the defects have been measured, the Sigma Level for the process may be calculated and used as a baseline to compare against the improved process.
Within this DMAIC phase, it is a good idea to employ a statistical package, such as JMP, as it will drastically ease and improve the data collection and analysis to come.
Once the defects have been measured and all critical data collected, it is time to figure out what is causing the problems - that is, what inputs to the process, as well as parts of the process itself, are affecting the output.
ANALYZE
At this point of the DMAIC process, the Black Belt will:
- First, develop hypotheses about the causes of the defects.
- Then, analyze the data and process by statistical and non-statistical methods.
Finally, prove or disprove the hypothesis. If the hypothesis is correct, add it to the short-list of causes. If not, refine it.
IMPROVE
The Improve phase is the fourth step of the DMAIC process is the point where the hard work of defining, measuring and analyzing pays off - the point where the ideas for process improvement are formulated and implemented.
In this phase of DMAIC, the Black Belt will:
- Confirm the key process inputs that affect the process outputs, causing defects.
- Identify the acceptable range of each input so the Critical To Quality output stays within the specified limits.
- Adjust the process as needed.
- Plan any special measures that are needed for improvements - for example, implementation of a new or modified software system.
- Implement the changes.
- Install and validate a measurement system for the improved process.
- And verify the new process is working.
CONTROL
The final phase of the DMAIC process is control. Six Sigma calls for this step, which goes beyond improvement, and includes the control of your improved process. There are many factors that could affect the adjusted inputs and, thus, the output, so ongoing monitoring of the process to make sure it stays "in control" is critical.
In most cases, this is done for a limited amount of time by the Six Sigma team or the Black Belt and then handed off to the process owner. The Control process involves quality and statistical concepts that have existed for decades. However, the advent of quality control software makes the process simple enough for anyone to perform.
Contact Us
Contact us for more
information on DMAIC or any course we offer.
