UPDATED Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification QUESTION AND ANSWER 2023//2024

What is Six Sigma? - ANSWER is both a methodology for process improvement and a statistical concept that seeks to define the variation inherent in any process. The overarching premise of Six Sigma - ANSWER is that variation in a process leads to opportunities for error; opportunities for error then lead to risks for product defects. Decision-making with Six Sigma - ANSWER The six sigma method lets organizations identify problems, validate assumptions, brainstorm solutions, and plan for implementation to avoid unintended consequences. What is 6σ as a statistical concept? - ANSWER is a statistical representation of what many experts call a "perfect" process. Technically, in a six sigma process, there are only 3.4 defects/1,000,000 opportunities, or 99.99966% of the products from six sigma are without defect. Common six sigma principles - ANSWER - Customer-focused improvement - Value streams - Continuous process improvement - Variation - Removing waste - Equipping people - Controlling the process Value stream - ANSWER is the sequence of all items, events, and people required to produce an end result Jidoka - ANSWER a principle that creates control of defects inside a business. Jidoka demands that a process stop as soon as errors are detected instead of identifying defects at the end of the production line and attempting to trace errors back to a source. Principles of Lean Six Sigma - ANSWER - Defining customer values - Identifying the value stream for customer needs and desires - Identifying waste in the process - Creation of a continuous process flow - Continually working to reduce the number of steps and time it takes to reach customer satisfaction Rummler-Brache's Nine Box Model - ANSWER - Improvement-planning - Definition - Analysis and Design - Implementation - Management of process - Processes are turned over to daily teams Scrum - ANSWER is a project development method specific to Agile programming endeavors in technical departments. When to use six sigma - ANSWER - When facing the unknown - When problems are widespread and not defined - When solving complex problems - When costs are closely tied to processes Other formal quality or process improvement programs - ANSWER - Lean Process Management - Total Quality Management - Business Process Reengineering - Rummler-Brache - Scrum - The Customer Experience Management Method - JumpStart Muda - ANSWER Waste that fails to add value to a product or process as defined by the customer or end-user. The Seven Muda or Wastes - ANSWER - Overproduction - Correction - Inventory - Motion - Conveyance - Over-processing - Waiting Muda of Overproduction - ANSWER A product, part, or service was produced too fast, at the wrong time, or in too much quantity for the process. Muda of Correction - ANSWER Reworking an end product to eliminate defects. Muda of Inventory - ANSWER When materials or inputs stack up before a step in the process. Muda of Motion - ANSWER How employees themselves move during a process. E.g: The half a second it takes for data entry employees to toggle between two windows could cost the company x amount of dollars depending on salary. Muda of Conveyance - ANSWER Involves the movement of outputs, products, or resources. E.g: If the glue that binds doll eyes to doll faces is kept in an inventory room, and carried, as needed, to the process. Muda of Overprocessing - ANSWER When an employee or process inputs more resources into a product or services than is valued by the customer. E.g: When an office worker delves deep into insurance verification, spending an hour on the phone with the company to get detailed benefit information. Muda of waiting - ANSWER Refers to any idle time in a process, whether that time is for machinery or for people. Other forms of waste - ANSWER - Talent - Ideas - Capital/Cash Type I Muda - ANSWER Non-value added tasks that might actually be essential or required by circumstances E.g: Inspection of products during a process if the process is known to produce defects. Type II Muda - ANSWER Non-value added tasks that are not essential and can be immediately removed from a process. 5S - ANSWER a Japanese Lean approach to organizing a workspace, so that by making a process more effective and efficient, it will become easier to identify and expunge muda.