Six Sigma is a methodology that follows data-driven approach for eliminating faults in a process related to any stage of a project from manufacturing to customer service. It is a quality program aimed at minimizing costs and improving the user experience.
Statistically, a process can achieve Six Sigma if it produces less than 3.4 defects for every million opportunities. Anything that does not come in customer specifications can be called as Six Sigma defect. A Six Sigma opportunity is the total amount of chances where a defect can be found. The Six Sigma procedure is aimed at implementing a measurement-based strategy whose core focuses are process improvement and reduction in variation by applying Six Sigma improvement projects.
There are two sub-methodologies of Six Sigma called DMAIC (Design, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control) and DMADV (Design, Measure, Analyze, Design, Verify). The DMAIC is about the improvement of current processes that fall below specification. The DMADV process is about developing new products and processes that cater to the Six Sigma quality levels. This improvement system can also be used when an existing process needs to go beyond incremental improvement. Six Sigma plays an important role in various engineering positions nowadays, some of them are:
Design Engineers:
Design engineers can apply this methodology to get better results in many areas like understanding customer’s requirements, getting the right tech specifications and drawings and extracting knowledge about manufacturing processes.
Process Engineers:
Six Sigma can help process engineers in data mining, enabling them to track every aspect of the process efficiently. It helps them reach maximum throughput levels at the very first time.
Manufacturing Engineers:
It helps manufacturing engineers model the potential shifts in configuration and testing the performance and potential infrastructure costs associated. It is extremely helpful in end-of-the-line testing.
System Engineers:
System engineers have to understand each and every detail associated with a manufacturing process intricately. Six Sigma will help them focus on areas that add value for the customers like cost, quality improvement, and other aspects that rely on data and statistics.
The average salary of a Black Belt Engineer of Six Sigma in the United States is $83,704 per year. The Six Sigma Academy claims that companies save approximately $23,000 per project because of black belts and can complete four to six projects in a year. The far-reaching benefits that six sigma produces have been recognized by thousands of companies across the world.
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