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SixSigma
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

SixSigmaisasetoftechniquesandtoolsforprocessimprovement.
ItwasintroducedbyengineerBillSmithwhileworkingatMotorola
in1986.[1][2]JackWelchmadeitcentraltohisbusinessstrategyat
GeneralElectricin1995.[3]Today,itisusedinmanyindustrial
sectors.[4]
SixSigmaseekstoimprovethequalityoftheoutputofaprocessby
identifyingandremovingthecausesofdefectsandminimizing
variabilityinmanufacturingandbusinessprocesses.Itusesasetof
qualitymanagementmethods,mainlyempirical,statistical
methods,andcreatesaspecialinfrastructureofpeople
withintheorganization,whoareexpertsinthesemethods.
EachSixSigmaprojectcarriedoutwithinanorganization
followsadefinedsequenceofstepsandhasspecificvalue
targets,forexample:reduceprocesscycletime,reduce
pollution,reducecosts,increasecustomersatisfaction,and
increaseprofits.
ThetermSixSigmaoriginatedfromterminology
associatedwithstatisticalmodelingofmanufacturing
processes.Thematurityofamanufacturingprocesscanbe
describedbyasigmaratingindicatingitsyieldorthe
percentageofdefectfreeproductsitcreates.Asixsigma
processisoneinwhich99.99966%ofallopportunitiesto
producesomefeatureofapartarestatisticallyexpectedto
befreeofdefects(3.4defectivefeaturespermillion
opportunities),althoughthisdefectlevelcorrespondsto
onlya4.5sigmalevel.Motorolasetagoalof"sixsigma"
forallofitsmanufacturingoperations,andthisgoal
becameabywordforthemanagementandengineering
practicesusedtoachieveit.

ThecommonSixSigmasymbol

Partofaseriesofarticleson

Industry

Manufacturingmethods
BatchproductionJobproduction
Flowproduction

Improvementmethods
RCMTPMVDM
QRMTOC
LeanSixSigmaTQMZD

Informationandcommunication
ISA88ISA95ERP

Contents

SAPIEC62264B2MML

Processcontrol

1 Doctrine

PLCDCS

2 Methodologies
2.1 DMAIC
2.2 DMADVorDFSS
2.3 Qualitymanagementtoolsandmethods
3 Implementationroles

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3.1 Certification
4 Etymologyof"sixsigmaprocess"
5 Roleofthe1.5sigmashift
5.1 Sigmalevels
6 Software
7 Application
8 Criticism
8.1 Lackoforiginality
8.2 Roleofconsultants
8.3 Potentialnegativeeffects
8.3.1 Overrelianceonstatistical
tools
8.3.2 Stiflingcreativityinresearch
environments
8.4 Lackofsystematicdocumentation
8.5 1.5sigmashift
9 Seealso
10 References
11 Furtherreading

Doctrine
SixSigmadoctrineasserts:
Continuouseffortstoachievestableandpredictableprocessresults(e.g.,byreducingprocess
variation)areofvitalimportancetobusinesssuccess.
Manufacturingandbusinessprocesseshavecharacteristicsthatcanbemeasured,analyzed,
controlledandimproved.
Achievingsustainedqualityimprovementrequirescommitmentfromtheentireorganization,
particularlyfromtoplevelmanagement.
FeaturesthatsetSixSigmaapartfrompreviousqualityimprovementinitiativesinclude:
AclearfocusonachievingmeasurableandquantifiablefinancialreturnsfromanySixSigma
project.
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Anincreasedemphasisonstrongandpassionatemanagementleadershipandsupport.
Aclearcommitmenttomakingdecisionsonthebasisofverifiabledataandstatisticalmethods,
ratherthanassumptionsandguesswork.
Theterm"sixsigma"comesfromstatisticsandisusedinstatisticalqualitycontrol,whichevaluates
processcapability.Originally,itreferredtotheabilityofmanufacturingprocessestoproduceavery
highproportionofoutputwithinspecification.Processesthatoperatewith"sixsigmaquality"overthe
shorttermareassumedtoproducelongtermdefectlevelsbelow3.4defectspermillionopportunities
(DPMO).[5][6]SixSigma'simplicitgoalistoimproveallprocesses,butnottothe3.4DPMOlevel
necessarily.Organizationsneedtodetermineanappropriatesigmalevelforeachoftheirmostimportant
processesandstrivetoachievethese.Asaresultofthisgoal,itisincumbentonmanagementofthe
organizationtoprioritizeareasofimprovement.
"SixSigma"wasregisteredJune11,1991asU.S.ServiceMark74,026,418
(http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=74026418).In2005Motorolaattributedover
US$17billioninsavingstoSixSigma.[7]
OtherearlyadoptersofSixSigmaincludeHoneywell(previouslyknownasAlliedSignal)andGeneral
Electric,whereJackWelchintroducedthemethod.[8]Bythelate1990s,abouttwothirdsoftheFortune
500organizationshadbegunSixSigmainitiativeswiththeaimofreducingcostsandimproving
quality.[9]
Inrecentyears,somepractitionershavecombinedSixSigmaideaswithleanmanufacturingtocreatea
methodologynamedLeanSixSigma.[10]TheLeanSixSigmamethodologyviewsleanmanufacturing,
whichaddressesprocessflowandwasteissues,andSixSigma,withitsfocusonvariationanddesign,as
complementarydisciplinesaimedatpromoting"businessandoperationalexcellence".[10]Companies
suchasGE,[11]Verizon,GENPACT,andIBMuseLeanSixSigmatofocustransformationeffortsnot
justonefficiencybutalsoongrowth.Itservesasafoundationforinnovationthroughoutthe
organization,frommanufacturingandsoftwaredevelopmenttosalesandservicedeliveryfunctions.
TheInternationalOrganizationforStandardization(ISO)haspublishedin2011thefirststandard"ISO
13053:2011"definingaSixSigmaprocess.[12]Other"standards"arecreatedmostlybyuniversitiesor
companiesthathavesocalledfirstpartycertificationprogramsforSixSigma.

Methodologies
SixSigmaprojectsfollowtwoprojectmethodologiesinspiredbyDeming'sPlanDoCheckActCycle.
Thesemethodologies,composedoffivephaseseach,beartheacronymsDMAICandDMADV.[9]
DMAICisusedforprojectsaimedatimprovinganexistingbusinessprocess.[9]DMAICis
pronouncedas"duhmayick"(<dmek>).
DMADVisusedforprojectsaimedatcreatingnewproductorprocessdesigns.[9]DMADVis
pronouncedas"duhmadvee"(<dmdvi>).

DMAIC
TheDMAICprojectmethodologyhasfivephases:
Definethesystem,thevoiceofthecustomerandtheirrequirements,andtheprojectgoals,
specifically.
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Measurekeyaspectsofthe
currentprocessandcollect
relevantdatacalculatethe'as
is'ProcessCapability.
Analyzethedatatoinvestigate
andverifycauseandeffect
relationships.Determinewhat
ThefivestepsofDMAIC
therelationshipsare,and
attempttoensurethatall
factorshavebeenconsidered.
Seekoutrootcauseofthedefectunderinvestigation.
Improveoroptimizethecurrentprocessbasedupondataanalysisusingtechniquessuchasdesign
ofexperiments,pokayokeormistakeproofing,andstandardworktocreateanew,futurestate
process.Setuppilotrunstoestablishprocesscapability.
Controlthefuturestateprocesstoensurethatanydeviationsfromthetargetarecorrectedbefore
theyresultindefects.Implementcontrolsystemssuchasstatisticalprocesscontrol,production
boards,visualworkplaces,andcontinuouslymonitortheprocess.
SomeorganizationsaddaRecognizestepatthebeginning,whichistorecognizetherightproblemto
workon,thusyieldinganRDMAICmethodology.[13]

DMADVorDFSS
TheDMADVprojectmethodology,
knownasDFSS("DesignForSix
Sigma"),[9]featuresfivephases:
Definedesigngoalsthatare
consistentwithcustomer
demandsandtheenterprise
ThefivestepsofDMADV
strategy.
MeasureandidentifyCTQs
(characteristicsthatareCriticalToQuality),measureproductcapabilities,productionprocess
capability,andmeasurerisks.
Analyzetodevelopanddesignalternatives
Designanimprovedalternative,bestsuitedperanalysisinthepreviousstep
Verifythedesign,setuppilotruns,implementtheproductionprocessandhanditovertothe
processowner(s).

Qualitymanagementtoolsandmethods
WithintheindividualphasesofaDMAICorDMADVproject,SixSigmautilizesmanyestablished
qualitymanagementtoolsthatarealsousedoutsideSixSigma.[14]Thefollowingtableshowsan
overviewofthemainmethodsused.
5Whys

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Statisticalandfittingtools
Analysisofvariance
Generallinearmodel
ANOVAGaugeR&R
Regressionanalysis
Correlation
Scatterdiagram
Chisquaredtest
Axiomaticdesign
BusinessProcessMapping/Checksheet
Cause&effectsdiagram(alsoknownasfishboneorIshikawadiagram)
Controlchart/Controlplan(alsoknownasaswimlanemap)/Runcharts
Costbenefitanalysis
CTQtree
Designofexperiments/Stratification
Histograms/Paretoanalysis/Paretochart
Pickchart/Processcapability/Rolledthroughputyield
QualityFunctionDeployment(QFD)
QuantitativemarketingresearchthroughuseofEnterpriseFeedbackManagement(EFM)systems
Rootcauseanalysis
SIPOCanalysis(Suppliers,Inputs,Process,Outputs,Customers)
COPISanalysis(Customercentricversion/perspectiveofSIPOC)
Taguchimethods/TaguchiLossFunction
Valuestreammapping

Implementationroles
OnekeyinnovationofSixSigmainvolvestheabsolute"professionalizing"ofqualitymanagement
functions.PriortoSixSigma,qualitymanagementinpracticewaslargelyrelegatedtotheproduction
floorandtostatisticiansinaseparatequalitydepartment.FormalSixSigmaprogramsadoptakindof
eliterankingterminology(similartosomemartialartssystems,likeKungFuandJudo)todefinea
hierarchy(andspecialcareerpath)thatincludesallbusinessfunctionsandlevels.
SixSigmaidentifiesseveralkeyrolesforitssuccessfulimplementation.[15]
ExecutiveLeadershipincludestheCEOandothermembersoftopmanagement.Theyare
responsibleforsettingupavisionforSixSigmaimplementation.Theyalsoempowertheother
roleholderswiththefreedomandresourcestoexplorenewideasforbreakthroughimprovements
bytranscendingdepartmentalbarriersandovercominginherentresistancetochange.[16]
ChampionstakeresponsibilityforSixSigmaimplementationacrosstheorganizationinan
integratedmanner.TheExecutiveLeadershipdrawsthemfromuppermanagement.Champions
alsoactasmentorstoBlackBelts.
MasterBlackBelts,identifiedbyChampions,actasinhousecoachesonSixSigma.Theydevote
100%oftheirtimetoSixSigma.TheyassistChampionsandguideBlackBeltsandGreenBelts.
Apartfromstatisticaltasks,theyspendtheirtimeonensuringconsistentapplicationofSixSigma
acrossvariousfunctionsanddepartments.
BlackBeltsoperateunderMasterBlackBeltstoapplySixSigmamethodologytospecific
projects.Theydevote100%oftheirvaluedtimetoSixSigma.TheyprimarilyfocusonSixSigma
projectexecutionandspecialleadershipwithspecialtasks,whereasChampionsandMasterBlack
Beltsfocusonidentifyingprojects/functionsforSixSigma.
GreenBeltsaretheemployeeswhotakeupSixSigmaimplementationalongwiththeirotherjob
responsibilities,operatingundertheguidanceofBlackBelts.
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Specialtrainingisneeded[17]forallofthesepractitionerstoensurethattheyfollowthemethodologyand
usethedatadrivenapproachcorrectly.Thistrainingisveryimportant.
Someorganizationsuseadditionalbeltcolours,suchasYellowBelts,foremployeesthathavebasic
traininginSixSigmatoolsandgenerallyparticipateinprojectsand"Whitebelts"forthoselocally
trainedintheconceptsbutdonotparticipateintheprojectteam."Orangebelts"arealsomentionedtobe
usedforspecialcases.[18]

Certification
GeneralElectricandMotoroladevelopedcertificationprogramsaspartoftheirSixSigma
implementation,verifyingindividuals'commandoftheSixSigmamethodsattherelevantskilllevel
(GreenBelt,BlackBeltetc.).Followingthisapproach,manyorganizationsinthe1990sstartedoffering
SixSigmacertificationstotheiremployees.[9][19]CriteriaforGreenBeltandBlackBeltcertification
varysomecompaniessimplyrequireparticipationinacourseandaSixSigmaproject.[19]Thereisno
standardcertificationbody,anddifferentcertificationservicesareofferedbyvariousquality
associationsandotherprovidersagainstafee.[20][21]TheAmericanSocietyforQualityforexample
requiresBlackBeltapplicantstopassawrittenexamandtoprovideasignedaffidavitstatingthatthey
havecompletedtwoprojectsoroneprojectcombinedwiththreeyears'practicalexperienceinthebody
ofknowledge.[19][22]

Etymologyof"sixsigmaprocess"
Theterm"sixsigmaprocess"comesfromthenotionthatifonehassixstandarddeviationsbetweenthe
processmeanandthenearestspecificationlimit,asshowninthegraph,practicallynoitemswillfailto
meetspecifications.[5]Thisisbasedonthecalculationmethodemployedinprocesscapabilitystudies.
Capabilitystudiesmeasurethenumberofstandarddeviationsbetweentheprocessmeanandthenearest
specificationlimitinsigmaunits,representedbytheGreekletter(sigma).Asprocessstandard
deviationgoesup,orthemeanoftheprocessmovesawayfromthecenterofthetolerance,fewer
standarddeviationswillfitbetweenthemeanandthenearestspecificationlimit,decreasingthesigma
numberandincreasingthelikelihoodofitemsoutsidespecification.Oneshouldalsonotethat
calculationofSigmalevelsforaprocessdataisindependentofthedatabeingnormallydistributed.In
oneofthecriticismstoSixSigma,practitionersusingthisapproachspendalotoftimetransforming
datafromnonnormaltonormalusingtransformationtechniques.ItmustbesaidthatSigmalevelscan
bedeterminedforprocessdatathathasevidenceofnonnormality.[5]

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Graphofthenormaldistribution,whichunderliesthestatisticalassumptionsoftheSix
Sigmamodel.TheGreekletter(sigma)marksthedistanceonthehorizontalaxis
betweenthemean,,andthecurve'sinflectionpoint.Thegreaterthisdistance,the
greateristhespreadofvaluesencountered.Forthegreencurveshownabove,=0
and=1.Theupperandlowerspecificationlimits(USLandLSL,respectively)are
atadistanceof6fromthemean.Becauseofthepropertiesofthenormal
distribution,valueslyingthatfarawayfromthemeanareextremelyunlikely.Evenif
themeanweretomoverightorleftby1.5atsomepointinthefuture(1.5sigma
shift,colouredredandblue),thereisstillagoodsafetycushion.ThisiswhySix
Sigmaaimstohaveprocesseswherethemeanisatleast6awayfromthenearest
specificationlimit.

Roleofthe1.5sigmashift
Experiencehasshownthatprocessesusuallydonotperformaswellinthelongtermastheydointhe
shortterm.[5]Asaresult,thenumberofsigmasthatwillfitbetweentheprocessmeanandthenearest
specificationlimitmaywelldropovertime,comparedtoaninitialshorttermstudy.[5]Toaccountfor
thisreallifeincreaseinprocessvariationovertime,anempiricallybased1.5sigmashiftisintroduced
intothecalculation.[5][23]Accordingtothisidea,aprocessthatfits6sigmabetweentheprocessmean
andthenearestspecificationlimitinashorttermstudywillinthelongtermfitonly4.5sigmaeither
becausetheprocessmeanwillmoveovertime,orbecausethelongtermstandarddeviationofthe
processwillbegreaterthanthatobservedintheshortterm,orboth.[5]
Hencethewidelyaccepteddefinitionofasixsigmaprocessisaprocessthatproduces3.4defectiveparts
permillionopportunities(DPMO).Thisisbasedonthefactthataprocessthatisnormallydistributed
willhave3.4partspermillionoutsidethelimits,whenthelimitsaresixsigmafromthe"original"mean
ofzeroandtheprocessmeanisthenshiftedby1.5sigma(andtherefore,thesixsigmalimitsareno
longersymmetricalaboutthemean).[5]Theformersixsigmadistribution,whenundertheeffectofthe
1.5sigmashift,iscommonlyreferredtoasa4.5sigmaprocess.However,itshouldbenotedthatthe
failurerateofasixsigmadistributionwiththemeanshifted1.5sigmaisnotequivalenttothefailurerate
ofa4.5sigmaprocesswiththemeancenteredonzero.[5]Thisallowsforthefactthatspecialcausesmay
resultinadeteriorationinprocessperformanceovertimeandisdesignedtopreventunderestimationof
thedefectlevelslikelytobeencounteredinreallifeoperation.[5]
Theroleofthesigmashiftismainlyacademic.Thepurposeofsixsigmaistogenerateorganizational
performanceimprovement.Itisuptotheorganizationtodetermine,basedoncustomerexpectations,
whattheappropriatesigmalevelofaprocessis.Thepurposeofthesigmavalueisasacomparative
figuretodeterminewhetheraprocessisimproving,deteriorating,stagnantornoncompetitivewith
othersinthesamebusiness.Sixsigma(3.4DPMO)isnotthegoalofallprocesses.
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Sigmalevels
ThetablebelowgiveslongtermDPMO
valuescorrespondingtovariousshortterm
sigmalevels.[24][25]
Thesefiguresassumethattheprocessmean
willshiftby1.5sigmatowardthesidewith
thecriticalspecificationlimit.Inother
words,theyassumethataftertheinitialstudy
determiningtheshorttermsigmalevel,the
longtermCpkvaluewillturnouttobe0.5
lessthantheshorttermCpkvalue.So,for
example,theDPMOfiguregivenfor1sigma
assumesthatthelongtermprocessmean
willbe0.5sigmabeyondthespecification
limit(Cpk=0.17),ratherthan1sigma
withinit,asitwasintheshorttermstudy
(Cpk=0.33).Notethatthedefect
percentagesindicateonlydefectsexceeding
thespecificationlimittowhichtheprocess
meanisnearest.Defectsbeyondthefar
specificationlimitarenotincludedinthe
percentages.

Sigma
level

Sigma(with1.5
shift)

DPMO

Acontrolchartdepictingaprocessthatexperienceda1.5
sigmadriftintheprocessmeantowardtheupper
specificationlimitstartingatmidnight.Controlchartsare
usedtomaintain6sigmaqualitybysignalingwhenquality
professionalsshouldinvestigateaprocesstofindand
eliminatespecialcausevariation.

Percent
defective

Percentage
yield

Shortterm
Cpk

Longterm
Cpk

0.5

691,462 69%

31%

0.33

0.17

0.5

308,538 31%

69%

0.67

0.17

1.5

66,807 6.7%

93.3%

1.00

0.5

2.5

6,210

0.62%

99.38%

1.33

0.83

3.5

233

0.023%

99.977%

1.67

1.17

4.5

3.4

0.00034%

99.99966%

2.00

1.5

5.5

0.019

0.0000019%

99.9999981% 2.33

1.83

Software
Application
SixSigmamostlyfindsapplicationinlargeorganizations.[26]AnimportantfactorinthespreadofSix
SigmawasGE's1998announcementof$350millioninsavingsthankstoSixSigma,afigurethatlater
grewtomorethan$1billion.[26]AccordingtoindustryconsultantslikeThomasPyzdekandJohn
Kullmann,companieswithfewerthan500employeesarelesssuitedtoSixSigmaimplementationor
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needtoadaptthestandardapproachtomakeitworkforthem.[26]SixSigmahowevercontainsalarge
numberoftoolsandtechniquesthatworkwellinsmalltomidsizeorganizations.Thefactthatan
organizationisnotbigenoughtobeabletoaffordBlackBeltsdoesnotdiminishitsabilitiestomake
improvementsusingthissetoftoolsandtechniques.Theinfrastructuredescribedasnecessarytosupport
SixSigmaisaresultofthesizeoftheorganizationratherthanarequirementofSixSigmaitself.[26]

Criticism
Lackoforiginality
QualitycontrolanalystJosephM.JurandescribedSixSigmaas"abasicversionofquality
improvement",statingthat"thereisnothingnewthere.Itincludeswhatweusedtocallfacilitators.
They'veadoptedmoreflamboyantterms,likebeltswithdifferentcolors.Ithinkthatconcepthasmeritto
setapart,tocreatespecialistswhocanbeveryhelpful.Again,that'snotanewidea.TheAmerican
SocietyforQualitylongagoestablishedcertificates,suchasforreliabilityengineers."[27]

Roleofconsultants
Theuseof"BlackBelts"asitinerantchangeagentshasfosteredanindustryoftrainingandcertification.
CriticshavearguedthereisoversellingofSixSigmabytoogreatanumberofconsultingfirms,manyof
whichclaimexpertiseinSixSigmawhentheyhaveonlyarudimentaryunderstandingofthetoolsand
techniquesinvolvedorthemarketsorindustriesinwhichtheyareacting.[28]

Potentialnegativeeffects
AFortunearticlestatedthat"of58largecompaniesthathaveannouncedSixSigmaprograms,91
percenthavetrailedtheS&P500since".Thestatementwasattributedto"ananalysisbyCharles
HollandofconsultingfirmQualpro(whichespousesacompetingqualityimprovementprocess)".[29]
ThesummaryofthearticleisthatSixSigmaiseffectiveatwhatitisintendedtodo,butthatitis
"narrowlydesignedtofixanexistingprocess"anddoesnothelpin"comingupwithnewproductsor
disruptivetechnologies."[30][31]
Overrelianceonstatisticaltools
Amoredirectcriticismisthe"rigid"natureofSixSigmawithitsoverrelianceonmethodsandtools.In
mostcases,moreattentionispaidtoreducingvariationandsearchingforanysignificantfactorsandless
attentionispaidtodevelopingrobustnessinthefirstplace(whichcanaltogethereliminatetheneedfor
reducingvariation).[32]Theextensiverelianceonsignificancetestinganduseofmultipleregression
techniquesincreasestheriskofmakingcommonlyunknowntypesofstatisticalerrorsormistakes.A
possibleconsequenceofSixSigma'sarrayofPvaluemisconceptionsisthefalsebeliefthatthe
probabilityofaconclusionbeinginerrorcanbecalculatedfromthedatainasingleexperimentwithout
referencetoexternalevidenceortheplausibilityoftheunderlyingmechanism.[33]Oneofthemost
seriousbutalltoocommonmisusesofinferentialstatisticsistotakeamodelthatwasdeveloped
throughexploratorymodelbuildingandsubjectittothesamesortsofstatisticalteststhatareusedto
validateamodelthatwasspecifiedinadvance.[34]

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AnothercommentreferstotheoftenmentionedTransferFunction,whichseemstobeaflawedtheoryif
lookedatindetail.[35]Sincesignificancetestswerefirstpopularizedmanyobjectionshavebeenvoiced
byprominentandrespectedstatisticians.Thevolumeofcriticismandrebuttalhasfilledbookswith
languageseldomusedinthescholarlydebateofadrysubject.[36][37][38][39]Muchofthefirstcriticism
wasalreadypublishedmorethan40yearsago.Referto:Statisticalhypothesistesting#Criticismfor
details.
ArticlesfeaturingcriticshaveappearedintheNovemberDecember2006issueofUSAArmy
LogisticianregardingSixSigma:"Thedangersofasingleparadigmaticorientation(inthiscase,thatof
technicalrationality)canblindustovaluesassociatedwithdoublelooplearningandthelearning
organization,organizationadaptability,workforcecreativityanddevelopment,humanizingthe
workplace,culturalawareness,andstrategymaking."[40]
NassimNicholasTalebconsiderriskmanagerslittlemorethan"blindusers"ofstatisticaltoolsand
methods.[41]Hestatesthatstatisticsisfundamentallyincompleteasafieldasitcannotpredicttheriskof
rareeventssomethingSixSigmaisspeciallyconcernedwith.Furthermore,errorsinpredictionare
likelytooccurasaresultofignoranceforordistinctionbetweenepistemicandotheruncertainties.
Theseerrorsarethebiggestintimevariant(reliability)relatedfailures.[42]
Stiflingcreativityinresearchenvironments
ABusinessWeekarticlesaysthatJamesMcNerney'sintroductionofSixSigmaat3Mhadtheeffectof
stiflingcreativityandreportsitsremovalfromtheresearchfunction.ItcitestwoWhartonSchool
professorswhosaythatSixSigmaleadstoincrementalinnovationattheexpenseofblueskies
research.[43]ThisphenomenonisfurtherexploredinthebookGoingLean,whichdescribesarelated
approachknownasleandynamicsandprovidesdatatoshowthatFord's"6Sigma"programdidlittleto
changeitsfortunes.[44]
AccordingtoanarticlebyJohnDodge,editorinchiefofDesignNews,useofSixSigmaisinappropriate
inaresearchenvironment.Dodgestates[45]"excessivemetrics,steps,measurementsandSixSigma's
intensefocusonreducingvariabilitywaterdownthediscoveryprocess.UnderSixSigma,thefree
wheelingnatureofbrainstormingandtheserendipitoussideofdiscoveryisstifled."Heconcludes
"there'sgeneralagreementthatfreedominbasicorpureresearchispreferablewhileSixSigmaworks
bestinincrementalinnovationwhenthere'sanexpressedcommercialgoal."

Lackofsystematicdocumentation
OnecriticismvoicedbyYasarJarrarandAndyNeelyfromtheCranfieldSchoolofManagement's
CentreforBusinessPerformanceisthatwhileSixSigmaisapowerfulapproach,itcanalsounduly
dominateanorganization'scultureandtheyaddthatmuchoftheSixSigmaliteratureinaremarkable
way(sixsigmaclaimstobeevidence,scientificallybased)lacksacademicrigor:
Onefinalcriticism,probablymoretotheSixSigmaliteraturethanconcepts,relatestothe
evidenceforSixSigmassuccess.Sofar,documentedcasestudiesusingtheSixSigma
methodsarepresentedasthestrongestevidenceforitssuccess.However,lookingatthese
documentedcases,andapartfromafewthataredetailedfromtheexperienceofleading
organizationslikeGEandMotorola,mostcasesarenotdocumentedinasystemicor
academicmanner.Infact,themajorityarecasestudiesillustratedonwebsites,andare,at
best,sketchy.TheyprovidenomentionofanyspecificSixSigmamethodsthatwereusedto
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resolvetheproblems.IthasbeenarguedthatbyrelyingontheSixSigmacriteria,
managementislulledintotheideathatsomethingisbeingdoneaboutquality,whereasany
resultingimprovementisaccidental(Latzko1995).Thus,whenlookingattheevidenceput
forwardforSixSigmasuccess,mostlybyconsultantsandpeoplewithvestedinterests,the
questionthatbegstobeaskedis:arewemakingatrueimprovementwithSixSigma
methodsorjustgettingskilledattellingstories?Everyoneseemstobelievethatweare
makingtrueimprovements,butthereissomewaytogotodocumenttheseempiricallyand
clarifythecausalrelations.
[32]

1.5sigmashift
ThestatisticianDonaldJ.Wheelerhasdismissedthe1.5sigmashiftas"goofy"becauseofitsarbitrary
nature.[46]Itsuniversalapplicabilityisseenasdoubtful.
The1.5sigmashifthasalsobecomecontentiousbecauseitresultsinstated"sigmalevels"thatreflect
shorttermratherthanlongtermperformance:aprocessthathaslongtermdefectlevelscorresponding
to4.5sigmaperformanceis,bySixSigmaconvention,describedasa"sixsigmaprocess."[5][47]The
acceptedSixSigmascoringsystemthuscannotbeequatedtoactualnormaldistributionprobabilitiesfor
thestatednumberofstandarddeviations,andthishasbeenakeyboneofcontentionoverhowSix
Sigmameasuresaredefined.[47]Thefactthatitisrarelyexplainedthata"6sigma"processwillhave
longtermdefectratescorrespondingto4.5sigmaperformanceratherthanactual6sigmaperformance
hasledseveralcommentatorstoexpresstheopinionthatSixSigmaisaconfidencetrick.[5]

Seealso
DesignforSixSigma
DMAIC
Kaizenaphilosophicalfocusoncontinuousimprovementofprocesses
LeanSixSigma
LeanManufacturing
Managementfad
SixSigmaforROI
Totalproductivemaintenance
Totalqualitymanagement
W.EdwardsDeming
SixSigmaMadeeasy(http://ississippi.org/index.cfm)

References
1. "TheInventorsofSixSigma".Archivedfromtheoriginalon20051106.Retrieved20060129.
2. Tennant,Geoff(2001).SIXSIGMA:SPCandTQMinManufacturingandServices.GowerPublishing,Ltd.
p.6.ISBN0566083744.
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Furtherreading
Adams,CaryW.Gupta,PraveenWilson,CharlesE.(2003).Six
WikimediaCommonshas
SigmaDeployment.Burlington,MA:ButterworthHeinemann.
mediarelatedtoSixSigma.
ISBN0750675233.OCLC50693105.
Breyfogle,ForrestW.III(1999).ImplementingSixSigma:
SmarterSolutionsUsingStatisticalMethods.NewYork,NY:JohnWiley&Sons.ISBN0471265721.
OCLC50606471.
DeFeo,JosephA.Barnard,William(2005).JURANInstitute'sSixSigmaBreakthroughandBeyond
QualityPerformanceBreakthroughMethods.NewYork,NY:McGrawHillProfessional.ISBN007
1422277.OCLC52937531.
Hahn,G.J.,Hill,W.J.,Hoerl,R.W.andZinkgraf,S.A.(1999)TheImpactofSixSigmaImprovementA
GlimpseintotheFutureofStatistics,TheAmericanStatistician,Vol.53,No.3,pp.208215.
Keller,PaulA.(2001).SixSigmaDeployment:AGuideforImplementingSixSigmainYourOrganization.
Tucson,AZ:QualityPublishing.ISBN0930011848.OCLC47942384.
Pande,PeterS.Neuman,RobertP.Cavanagh,RolandR.(2001).TheSixSigmaWay:HowGE,Motorola,
andOtherTopCompaniesareHoningTheirPerformance.NewYork,NY:McGrawHillProfessional.
ISBN0071358064.OCLC647006794.
Pyzdek,ThomasandPaulA.Keller(2009).TheSixSigmaHandbook,ThirdEdition.NewYork,NY:
McGrawHill.ISBN0071623388.OCLC51194565.
Snee,RonaldD.Hoerl,RogerW.(2002).LeadingSixSigma:AStepbyStepGuideBasedonExperience
withGEandOtherSixSigmaCompanies.UpperSaddleRiver,NJ:FTPress.ISBN0130084573.
OCLC51048423.
Taylor,Gerald(2008).LeanSixSigmaServiceExcellence:AGuidetoGreenBeltCertificationandBottom
LineImprovement.NewYork,NY:J.RossPublishing.ISBN9781604270068.OCLC271773742.
Tennant,Geoff(2001).SIXSIGMA:SPCandTQMinManufacturingandServices.Aldershot,UK:Gower
Publishing,Ltd.ISBN0566083744.OCLC44391556.

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