Lean Six Sigma

The Greek letter sigma is an indicator of the relationship between customer desire and the quality of the goods and services provided. The higher the Sigma value, the fewer discrepancies or defects that are produced. 6 Sigma, for instance, is equivalent to a mere 3.4 defects per 1 million possibilities. This very ambitious goal should therefore also be regarded as the symbolic objective of the process improvement programme.

Six Sigma offers a structured approach to process improvement, denoted by DMAIC. DMAIC stands for the five phases followed by project leaders along the project trajectory: Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve and Control. At each stage of this DMAIC cycle, all decisions must be grounded in fact. Because facts are obtained on the basis of data, statistics play an essential role here.

However, Six Sigma is about more than just statistics. At least as important is applying a structured approach to those projects that have a large impact on business results. Alongside DMAIC, 'Design for Six Sigma' (DFSS) has also been specifically developed for the design of new products and
processes.