Three common metrics used to measure quality

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Various quality management tools or quality control techniques such as TQM viz., Affinity diagrams, Tree Diagrams, Gantt Chart, Relationship Diagram, PDPC (Process Decision Program Chart), Cause & Effect Diagram, other tools such as Kaizen, TPM (Total Productivity Management), ISO, BPR (Business Process Reengineering). These tools aim at one common objective - increased profits through enhanced quality.

Six Sigma is a methodology that combines both, the gradual & continuous improvement and radical redesign. Six Sigma has gained a lot of importance in the past few years. Meaning of Six Sigma
Six Sigma is a:
* A Quality Philosophy. It's a philosophy that talks about attainable short-term goals while striving for long term objective.
* A Tool. Six sigma is a statistical and problem solving tool.
* A Management Strategy or a Business Process. That allows companies to design, operate, control and monitor everyday processes.
* A Concept or an Idea. Which has to be first understood and then merged into the organization's culture.
* A Process. Business revolves around processes. A process is any activity or group of activities that takes an input, adds value to it, and provides an output to an internal or an external customer. Six Sigma provides it's inputs in the form of measurements of the company's existing set standards, working on them to get the desired output i.e.; less number of defects and higher quality.
* A Measurement. Of total quality as well as the defects that might have been overlooked till now.
Applicability of Six Sigma to the organization
 Process improvements;
 Product and Services improvement;
 Supplier improvement;
 Design Methodology;
 Training and improvement.

Biggest impact to the organization will be in operations and profitability, It will help in:
• Six Sigma helps the organization to achieve improved process flows and better communication. There is decreased Work-in-Progress. Cycle time for every activity/process is reduced.
• With Six Sigma an organization has enhanced productivity and improved capacity thereby resulting in increased amount of output. There is a decrease in unit costs since cycle time is reduced and more time is available to produce more thereby allowing the company to have more Price flexibility.
• Reduction in total number of defects in any activity is the main thrust of Six Sigma therefore we get better quality products which contribute straight to the bottomline.
• Since we have better quality thus we have reliable products that again contribute straight to the bottomline and not to mention the elevated image the company gains.
Benefits to stakeholders (shareholders, customers, suppliers, employees):

• Shareholders end up receiving more profits (dividends) due to millions of dollars of additional savings per year.
• Customers are delighted with, now, higher quality products and services.
• Suppliers are able to supply higher quality inputs. (Otherwise also they are pulled up and asked to get rid of their complacent attitude as the case may be).

How would DFSS be applied to your supply chain operations?
Six Sigma begins by measuring the statistical variability within a process. It means plus or minus six standard deviations, which translates down to 3.4 errors per million occurrences. Six Sigma ...