6.7 Key Terms
Key Terms
- Appraisal costs refer to the resources dedicated to inspecting, testing, and evaluating products or services during the production or delivery process.
- Assignable Variation arises from identifiable and addressable causes, such as employee error, software malfunction, or equipment failure.
- Black Belt: A Black Belt is a full-time position within the quality department, where the individual works exclusively as a coach and leader for Six Sigma projects.
- C-chart, or count chart, monitors the number of defects or non-conformities in a sample or subgroup of constant size.
- Cause-and-effect Diagrams, also known as Fishbone diagrams, were developed by Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa to help identify the root causes of a problem. The diagram’s overall shape resembles a fish’s, with the “head” pointing to the effect or problem being analyzed. Each “rib” of the fishbone represents a major cause or category that could potentially contribute to the problem.
- Champion: A Champion is typically a senior manager or executive overseeing the Six Sigma program and its associated personnel.
- Check Sheet is a custom-designed form used to record the frequency or number of occurrences of a particular event or outcome of interest.
- Common causes, also known as chance causes or noise, are the natural and random fluctuations inherent in a stable and predictable process.
- Common Variation, also known as chance variation, is inherent to the process and generally expected.
- Control Chart is a statistical tool used to monitor and control the quality of a product or process. It is a graphical representation that depicts whether sample quality falls within the normal range of variation.
- Cost of Quality, a framework for understanding and managing the financial implications of quality.
- Deming Cycle or Deming Wheel is also known as PDCA, or “Plan, Do Check, Act.” It is a version of continuous improvement that emphasizes the continuous nature of process improvement.
- DMAIC Improvement Model stands for Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control. Six Sigma’s improvement method utilizes project teams to define problems, measure performance, analyze root causes, implement solutions, and establish controls for sustained improvement.
- External failure costs are incurred when defective products or non-conforming services reach the customer.
- Green Belt: A Green Belt designation indicates that an individual has received Six Sigma training.
- HACCP is a quality management system specifically designed for organizations in the food processing industry.
- Hidden Plant, refers to the untapped productive capacity lost due to inefficiencies, defects, and rework.
- Histogram is a graphical representation that displays the distribution of a dataset by grouping the data into bins or intervals along the horizontal axis and showing the frequency or count of observations in each bin on the vertical axis.
- Internal failure costs arise when defects or non-conformities are detected within the organization before the product or service is delivered to the customer.
- Master Black Belt: A Master Black Belt is a full-time position within the Six Sigma team, with extensive experience managing and overseeing Six Sigma projects.
- Mean (X̄) Chart: This chart monitors the process mean or average value of the quality characteristic.
- np-chart monitors the number of defective items or units in a sample or subgroup of constant size.
- P-charts, or fraction defective charts, are useful when the quality characteristic cannot be quantified, such as holes in cloth or the absence of picture quality.
- Pareto Chart is a specialized type of bar chart that displays the frequency of occurrences for various characteristics, arranged in descending order from highest to lowest.
- Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule. This principle, originally an observation by Pareto that 80% of Italy’s land was owned by 20% of the population, has become a cornerstone of problem-solving and continuous improvement efforts in quality management. The principle suggests that a significant portion of problems (around 80%) often stem from a relatively small number of root causes (around 20%).
- Prevention costs encompass all expenditures aimed at proactively avoiding the occurrence of defects or non-conformities in products or services.
- Process Quality refers to the ability of the organization to produce the good or service having perfect quality at each stage of the process, or in other words, manufacturing defect-free products.
- Range (R) Chart: This chart monitors the range or the difference between the highest and lowest values within a sample or subgroup.
- Scatter Diagram is a graphical representation that displays the relationship between two variables by plotting their values as a series of points on a Cartesian coordinate system.
- Six Sigma is a comprehensive set of techniques and tools designed for process improvement.
- Special causes, also known as assignable causes or signals, are abnormal and non-random fluctuations due to external factors.
- Standard Deviation (σ) Chart: This chart monitors the process variability by tracking the standard deviation of the quality characteristic.
- The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is an independent, non-governmental organization that develops and publishes voluntary international standards.
- Total Quality Management (TQM), also known as quality assurance, encompasses all the steps a company takes to ensure its products or services align with customer-defined specifications and maintain high quality.
- Zero Defects is a philosophy emphasizing the elimination of errors from the outset.
