Six Sigma

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HA International innovation and improvement relies on Six Sigma as a key process. Six Sigma is a disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects in any process – from manufacturing to transactional and from product to service. It provides various tools for our associates to look at key processes within the business from the customer's perspective.

Why "Sigma"? The word is a statistical term that measures how far a given process deviates from perfection. In statistical terms, "reaching Six Sigma" means that your processes or product will perform with almost no defects. The philosophy is based on the fact that if you can measure how many "defects" you have in a process, you can systematically figure out how to eliminate them and get as close to "zero defects" as possible. To achieve Six Sigma Quality, a process must produce no more than 3.4 defects per million opportunities. This means or objective is drive towards being nearly flawless in executing our key processes. In laymen’s term, 3 - sigma performance translates to 20,000 lost articles per hour in postal service.

Six Sigma methodology efforts target three main areas in:

Improving customer satisfaction
Reducing cycle time
Reducing defects

Measurable improvements in these areas usually represent dramatic cost savings in process improvement internally as well as for customers. Additionally improvements are seen with products and services.

This methodology is based on a 5-step process. (D – M – A – I – C)

Define: Define the problem or opportunity from customer’s viewpoint.

Measure: Measure current process and define desired outcomes.

Analyze: Analyze and identify the root causes using practical statistical tools.

Improve: Prioritize, plan & test proposed solutions.

Control: Measure progress and hold the gains

Although it involves measuring and analyzing an organization's business processes, Six Sigma is not merely a quality initiative; it is a business initiative. Achieving the goal of Six Sigma requires breakthroughs in every area of an operation. It goes beyond statistics. It is simply a philosophy of excellence, customer focus, process improvement, and metrics driven culture rather than gut feel. Six Sigma is about making every area of the organization better able to meet the changing needs of customers, markets, and technologies - with benefits for employees, customers, and shareholders.