Defects tail off with six-sigma manufacturing

A description is given of the six-sigma technique, the goal of which is to aid in the design of products that will function as intended, despite variations of 6 sigma ( sigma is the standard deviation) in their physical/operating parameters. The six-sigma metric provides a statistically defined yardstick for quantifying a product´s level of quality, using process capability indices. The meaning of the indices and why they are useful are explained. The use of Shewhart statistical process control (SPC) charts is briefly discussed. The six steps in the six-sigma program are outlined.<>