| ATTRIBUTE
DATA |
A type of data used
to represent qualitative measures. |
| BLACKBELT |
A
process improvement project team leader
who is trained and certified in the Six Sigma breakthrough methodology
and tools and who is responsible for project execution. |
| CAPABILITY |
The
total range of inherent variation in a
stable process. It is determined using data from control charts. |
| CAPABILITY
INDEX |
A
calculated value used to compare process
variation to a specification. Examples are Cp, Cpk. Can also be used to
compare processes to each other. |
| CONTINUOUS
DATA |
A type
of data used to represent
quantitative measures. |
| CONTROL
PLAN |
A
process control document that describes
the system for controlling processes and parts. |
| CORRELATION |
A
measure of the linear association between
2 or more variables. |
| COST
OF POOR QUALITY |
Cost
associated with poor quality products
or services. Examples: Product inspection, Sorting, Scrap, Rework, and
Field Complaints. |
| CP |
Cp is
a process capability index that
compares the total process tolerance to its spread. |
| CPK |
A
process capability measure that takes
into account a process shift. |
| CUSTOMER
NEEDS, EXPECTATIONS |
Six
Sigma is a disciplined methodology that
helps understand the customer requirements. It helps identify and
bridge the gap between what a customer truly wants Vs what a company
delivers to them. |
| DECISION
TREE |
A
decision tree represents a hierarchy of
several courses of action. The tree starts with a decision that has to
be made and branches out to subsequent (or possible) ones lead by the
outcome of initial decision. |
| DEFECT |
Any
characteristic that deviates outside of
specification limits or customer requirements. |
| DEGREES
OF FREEDOM |
Degrees
of freedom is a measure of the
number of independent pieces of information that can used to estimate a
population parameter. |
| DESIGN
FOR SIX SIGMA |
Design
for Six Sigma (DFSS) is a set of
tools and techniques that will allow your designs to be right the first
time, work better than existing and competing products. These DFSS
tools include state-of-the-art Voice of the Customer (VOC) Techniques,
New Concept Creation and Evaluation techniques, advanced statistical
and experimental tools. |
| DESIGN
OF EXPERIMENTS (DOE) |
An
efficient method of experimentation
which identifies, with minimum testing, factors (key process input
variables) and their optimum settings that affect the mean and
variation. |
| ESTIMATE |
An
estimate is an indication of the value
of an unknown quantity based on observed sample data. |
| EVOP
(EVOLUTIONARY OPERATION) |
EVOP
(Evolutionary Operation): EVOP is a
process improvement tool. The key factor settings can be obtained to
optimize the output using small sequential changes to the process under
controlled conditions. |
| EXPERIMENT |
A
research study in which one variable (the
independent variable) is manipulated by an operator while all other
factors are held constant; the effect of the independent variable(s) on
the response variable (the dependent variable) is studied and some
inferences are made. |
| FACTOR |
Factor
is a variable investigated in a
statistical study, anything that contributes causally to a result; "a
number of factors determined the outcome". |
| FEEDBACK |
View
your business in the eyes of your
customer. Ask your customers how they feel about your products/services
and use that information to improve your businesses. |
FIRST
PASS YIELD
(FPY) |
The
percentage of products or services that
are successfully completed on the first attempt without requiring
remedial action or rework. |
| FISH
BONE DIAGRAM |
A
Cause and Effects diagram where causes
are typically based on certain category like 6 M’s (Machine,
Method, Materials, Measurement, Man and Mother Nature), 4 S’s
(Surroundings, Suppliers, Systems, Skills) and 8 P’s (Price,
Promotion, People, Processes, Place / Plant, Policies, Procedures
&
Product). |
GAGE
BIAS
(ALSO KNOWN AS ACCURACY) |
The
difference between the true or
reference value and the observed average of multiple measurements of
the identical characteristic on the same part. |
| GAGE
REPEATABILITY |
The
variation in measurements obtained with
one measurement instrument when used several times by one appraiser
while measuring the identical characteristic on the same part. |
| HISTOGRAM |
A
graphic way of summarizing data by
plotting possible values on one axis and the observed frequencies for
those values on the other axis. It helps one visualize the central
tendency and dispersion of the data. |
| HYPOTHESIS
TEST |
A
process of testing two mutually exclusive
statements about a population using a sample data. The test verifies
which of the statements is best suited for the population. |
| ISHIKAWA
DIAGRAM |
Ishikawa
diagram is another name for Cause
and Effects diagram. |
| KANO
DIAGRAM |
Kano
Analysis creates separate categories
of customer requirements, not all of them are created equal. Your
customers can tell you which requirements belong to what category, the
most commonly used being Basic, Expected, Delighters. A Kano Diagram
represents a picture form of this arrangement. |
| KEY
PROCESS INPUT VARIABLE (KPIV) |
The
vital few process input variables that
have the greatest effect on the output variable(s) of interest. They
are called “X’s”, (normally 2 –
6) |
| KEY
PROCESS OUTPUT VARIABLE (KPOV) |
The
output variable(s) of interest. They
are called the “Y’s”, (usually 1). May be
process
performance measures or product characteristics. |
| LEAN
DESIGN |
Lean
is a methodology focusing on
aggressively eliminating waste and reducing complexity in all aspects
of business and manufacturing. Waste is defined as defects,
overproduction, transportation, waiting, inventory, motion, and
processing (DOTWIMP). |
MASTER
BLACKBELT
(MBB) |
A
person who is “expert” in Six
Sigma breakthrough techniques and project implementation. MBBs play a
key role in training and coaching Blackbelts. |
| MEASUREMENT
ERROR |
An
ideal measurement system produces
“true” measurements every time; this however, may
not
happen in a practical situation. If you measure the same object two
different times, the two measurements may not be the same. The
difference between two measurements is called a variation in the
measurements or the Measurement Error. |
| MEASUREMENT
SYSTEM |
The
complete process used to obtain
measurements. It consists of the collection of operations, procedures,
gages and other equipment, software, and personnel used to assign a
number or value to the characteristic being measured. |
| MEASUREMENT
SYSTEM CAPABILITY |
Short
term estimate of the Measurement
System Variation. Short term estimate of the Measurement System
Variation in order to assess what percent of the total process
variation is taken up by measurement error (includes both repeatability
and reproducibility). |
| MINITAB |
The
main statistical software package used
by the Six Sigma Blackbelts. |
| MULTI-VARI
CHART |
A
graphic way of depicting variation within
a single part, machine or process, or between parts (produced at the
same time or over time). Allows the study of process inputs and outputs
in a passive mode (natural day-to-day process). |
| NORMAL
DISTRIBUTION |
A
continuous, symmetrical, bell shaped
frequency distribution for variable data. |
| POKA
YOKA |
Error
/ Mistake Proofing |
| PROBABILITY |
The
chance of an event happens or a
condition occurring in a random trial. |
| PROCESS |
The
combination of people, equipment,
materials, methods, and environment that produce output – a
given
product or service. It is the particular way of doing something. |
| PROCESS
MAP |
A
step-by-step pictorial sequence of a
process showing process inputs, process outputs, cycle time rework
operations, and inspection points. |
| PROCESS
SPREAD |
The
extent to which the distribution of
individual values of the process characteristic (input or output
variable) vary; often shown as the process average plus and minus some
number of standard deviations. Other related measures of spread include
the range, and variance. |
| PULL
SYSTEM |
A
system in which the amount of production
(supply) is triggered by the amount of demand. When an item, or small
batch of items, is 'consumed' a kanban triggers the replenishment. |
| RANDOM
SAMPLING |
Collecting
a sample of units from
population such that each unit has an equal chance of being selected
for a sample. This helps to ensure that the method of sample selection
is not biased. |
| ROI
(RETURN ON INVESTMENT) |
ROI is
a key measure that compares the
profit against investments and helps to assess the financial
performance of an organization. It is defined as the ratio of
“Net Profit After Taxes” to “Total
Assets”. |
| ROLLED
THROUGHPUT YIELD |
The
multiplication of all of the individual
first pass yields of each step of the entire process. |
| ROOT
CAUSE ANALYSIS |
Analyzing
a problem to investigate a
“root cause” or reason for the problem. |
| SAMPLE |
A
representative of the population, a
collection of units from the population itself. |
| SAMPLE
SIZE |
The
number units (drawn from a population)
in a sample. |
| SIGMA
LEVEL |
Sigma
Level is a statistical measure used
in Six Sigma world to assess the process performance. Typically the
goal is to achieve sigma level of 6 (and hence the name six sigma)
which is equivalent to having 3.4 defects per million opportunities. |
| SIX
SIGMA CHAMPION |
A
business leader who facilitates the
leadership, implementation, and deployment of the six sigma initiative
and breakthrough philosophies, and provides support to the blackbelt(s)
and or greenbelt(s) and their project(s). |
| SIX
SIGMA PROCESS DESIGN |
Six
Sigma Process Design (SSPD) is used to
design a new process or service capable of meeting the performance
requirements by a customer. It is appropriate for either designing a
process from scratch or redesigning an existing process. SSPD can be
applied to services as well as manufacturing processes. |
| SPECIFICATION |
The
engineering requirement or customer
requirement for judging acceptability of a particular characteristic. |
| STANDARD
DEVIATION |
A
measure of the spread of the process
(width of the distribution). |
| STATISTICAL
CONTROL |
The
condition describing a process from
which all special/assignable causes of variation have been eliminated
and only common/random causes remain. Applies to both the mean
(location) and standard deviation (spread). |
| SUM
OF SQUARES |
Gives
a measure of variation for an
experiment. |
| VARIATION |
Difference
between individual measurements.
Differences are attributed to common and/or special causes. |
| WORK
IN PROGRESS |
Work
at various stages of production (or
service) from start to finish through a complete cycle of a process. |
