Six Sigma - DMAIC



DMAIC : The Acronym

DMAIC is the Six Sigma acronym for:

A DMAIC project has the goal of improving an existing system.  (A DMADV project creates a new system or a new product).

Define

Define three concepts: the problem; the process; and the goal(s) of this project.

The problem must be clearly articulated using quantitative terms.  One cannot simply say, “The quality is poor”.  The problem should be stated as, “The defect rate is 7%”.  The term “defect rate” should also be defined – the number of sold units returned by customers?  The number of completed units scrapped before shipment?  The difference between the number of units begun minus the number which passed final inspection?

Some prefer to speak of “opportunities for improvement” rather than “problems”.

Define the process under study, at a high level.  Important aspects of the process are:

The goal(s) must be clearly articulated to solve the problem.  For example, “To improve the defect rate to be less than 4% within 3 months”.

Measure

This phase should start with a process map, whether by observation or by interviewing the participants.  Sometimes there are useful surprises when interviewing or observing different participants – does the midnight shift work at a slower pace, or with fewer interruptions?

Measure key aspects of the situation.  Gather relevant data – look for the factors which may affect the outcome of the process under study.

Analyze

Analyze the data for statistical relationships.

For example: it was observed that the midnight shift works differently.  Data should then have been gathered on productivity and quality on a per-shift basis.  The analysis may, or may not, show that one shift contributes more to the problem than another.

One roadblock may be that the anomalies might be explained by “random chance”.  If the statistics do not support a cause/effect relationship, then Six Sigma’s DMAIC does not offer a solution.

This phase seeks to identify the “root cause” of the problem.

Improve

Improve the process to avoid similar mistakes.

The emphasis is on correcting the root cause(s) of the problem.

An important factor is continuing to work with the people involved in the process under study.  They may have valuable insights into the problems and potential solutions.  They definitely must implement the improvements.

It is possible that various solutions will compete for your attention.  It may be necessary to try different pilot changes, and measure their outcomes.

Control

Control the future state: implement data collection and control systems.

A significant early question is: does the improved process yield the desired goal as stated in the “Define” stage?

Another important question: do the improvements remain?

The Control phase must include processes to request corrective action if problems recur later.

Oskar Olofsson, 2009









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I am a Swedish-based Lean consultant, and the owner of the World-Class-Manufacturing.com web site.

Contact Oskar Olofsson



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