Your reputation, customer satisfaction, the value of your products, expansion opportunities and your attractiveness as an employer all depend on the quality of your product.<\/p>\n
But let\u2019s take a step back from the end product.<\/p>\n
To get to a consistently high-quality product, you need to look at each part of the value chain in detail. By constantly seeking optimisations and process improvements while simultaneously eliminating defects and inefficiencies, manufacturers can achieve sustainable growth<\/a> without compromising quality.<\/p>\n How is it done? With a combination of Quality Assurance, Lean manufacturing, and Six Sigma tools.<\/p>\n Think of Quality Assurance, often written QA, as your \u201cmust-have\u201d resources and requirements to create a satisfactory product. Not to be confused with quality control<\/i> (the mechanism used to eliminate defects), QA is the higher-order process you design to prevent mistakes.<\/p>\n Lean manufacturing principles focus on eliminating waste and adding value. As the name suggests, Lean is lean \u2013 meaning manufacturers are always looking for non-value-adding activities<\/a> where there\u2019s fat to trim or inefficiencies to optimise.<\/p>\n These techniques are all about reducing defects \u2013 that is, suboptimal products that fail to meet expectations. Six Sigma (6\u03c3) aims to eliminate defects by detecting process variations.<\/p>\n Did you catch the subtle differences in the definitions above?<\/p>\n Each philosophy is unique \u2013 and they dovetail nicely together.<\/p>\n Rephrasing the definitions another way might help to clarify why these are symbiotic approaches to improve quality in manufacturing:<\/p>\n We\u2019ve discussed Lean manufacturing principles in earlier blogs<\/a>. So let\u2019s dive deeper into Six Sigma processes that complement Lean principles.<\/p>\n Whereas Lean is the set of guiding principles for process improvement, Six Sigma refers to the methods that result in fewer variations and better products.<\/p>\n The name refers to the statistical quality control principle that targets long-term defect levels below 3.4 defects per million opportunities (dpmo).<\/p>\n It\u2019s a complicated set of equations (which you can read on Wikipedia<\/a>), but the vital thing to remember is the 3.4dpmo figure. \u201cOpportunities\u201d refers to individual defect opportunities, i.e. multiple types of defects or multiple defects of the same type.<\/p>\n Getting to 3.4dpmo \u2013 achieving \u201cSix Sigma quality\u201d \u2013 requires manufacturers to follow 1 of 2 methods, DMAIC or DMADV:<\/p>\n The short answer is yes<\/i>. In the Australian manufacturing industry, leading-edge companies of all sizes use Six Sigma in combination with Lean principles and QA processes to address production challenges and ultimately yield greater ROI.<\/p>\nQuality Assurance<\/h3>\n
Lean<\/h3>\n
Six Sigma<\/h3>\n
Combining QA, Lean and Six Sigma<\/h2>\n
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Six Sigma methodologies for Aussie manufacturers<\/h2>\n
DMAIC method<\/h3>\n
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DMADV method<\/h3>\n
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Does Six Sigma work?<\/h2>\n