Breaking Down the Analyze Phase

In order to analyze, you must have the data so that you can find out what isn’t working and how it is affecting the process so that it can be fixed. If accurate data collecting is part of the routine, then chances are fixing a process will be either non-existent or an easier fix.

The longer a problem brews, the more damage it causes and money is lost in making it right. So if you actually kept up-to-date data to analyze, this action alone would prevent or minimize loss.  

Six Sigma’s DMAIC template is a great template with many uses, but its original use (which is to help identify problems in the production process) is still the best use of this template and the best reason to keep it handy. 

Let’s quickly review the acronyms first before we go on.

D: Define 

M: Measure

A: Analyze

I: Improve

C: Control

Now let’s go back to discussing the “Analyze” portion of the DMAIC. If you don’t keep an analytical eye on the data that you are collecting, by the time you decide to use the entire DMAIC template, you have already accrued some pretty significant losses. Luckily, you will get back on track by using the DMAIC template. 

You will know just how much of a loss your company has experienced by how much you can save in production costs after you fix the problem. So don’t get too upset because you have fixed the problem — look how much you are saving!

General Electric (GE), over the course of five years announced that the company saved 12 billion dollars after they implemented Six Sigma. Obviously, the savings will be different for every company, but working efficiently and effectively is part of the Six Sigma culture.

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