Although Six-Sigma originated in telecommunications back in the 1980s, the business improvement methodology has been successfully applied to a wide variety of industries across the world.

Six-Sigma seeks to improve product quality by identifying and eliminating the causes of defects. It also seeks to ensure that processes are fully repeatable with minimal variation. The maturity of a process is defined by its sigma rating (1 to 6) which indicates the percentage of defect-free products it creates. A process with a sigma rating of 6 means that 99.99966% of the products created are statistically expected to have only 3.4 defects per million – which is virtually error- free.

To create a Six-Sigma culture, companies need to appoint people to become skilled in the methods used. Typically they are referred to as Green belts or Black belts. Each Six-Sigma project follows a defined sequence of steps referred to as DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve and Control) and must have quantifiable financial targets e.g. cost reduction or increase profits.

Six-Sigma will help your business

There are numerous benefits of implementing Six-Sigma, the primary one is the decrease in defective products reaching the customer. Others include:

What Altremis can do for you

We provide cost effective and comprehensive consultancy and in-house Six-Sigma training, enabling your business to implement successful business process improvements. We will ensure you have all the skills and tools necessary to develop a sustainable programme and apply Six-Sigma in a way that fits your business needs: