Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control is better known by its acronym DMAIC and this is a 5 phase problem-solving technique that is part of Six Sigma. DMAIC allows management in an organization to plan their projects well in advance and have a series of steps that will help things go smoothly.
DMAIC history
When Motorola came up with Six Sigma, DMAIC was not part of the original concept way back in the 1980s. They called it Six-Step to Six Sigma back then and the steps included
- Highlight the service or product being provided
- Know who the customers are and what matters to them
- Highlight the things needed to provide them with good service
- Know the process needed to get the job done
- Make improvements while eliminating anything that brings about waste
- Always seek to improve all the time by controlling, analyzing and measuring
While the steps above do have similarities to the process of DMAIC, it is clear to see that it is a very important component of Six Sigma. This method has played an important role in helping organizations across the world maximize their production, improve what they offer to customers and most importantly, achieve long term results.
Advantages of DMAIC
- Increase revenue
When an organization manages to cut out production processes that are not needed thanks to DMAIC, they will experience high levels of production. When production is increased, mistakes are few which brings in plenty of profits
- Reduction in cost
An organization that is not on top of things will not realize the number of resources and time they are wasting until it’s too late. The process of DMAIC helps an organization to reduce wasted resources and time which ultimately saves them plenty of money long term.
- Max production
The main reason why organizations use Six Sigma is to reduce cost and this will increase how much an organization produces because they are able to use fewer resources.
How does the process of DMAIC help an organization maximize production
- Define
During this very important phase, an organization has to ask themselves some very crucial questions like what are the flaws in the production process and what how have any problems affected business operations.
When these two key questions have been properly addressed, an organization can define its goals and make sure their production process is effective. They do this by looking at all their available resources and formulate a plan.
- Measurement
An organization here needs to look at their production system and see what’s working and what isn’t. When everything is measured up, an organization is able to know what the root cause of their production problem is and start looking for ways to solve it. Having a data collection plan is very useful when conducting this phase.
- Analysis
During this phase, an organization needs to analyze what they have gathered during the measurement phase about their production process. When data is analyzed by the management, an organization is able to narrow down the cause of their production problems and figure out ways to maximize things.
- Improvement
When the production problem is well understood by everyone, it is time for everyone in the organization to start brainstorming ideas on how to make things better. This is the stage where an organization tests and implements all their ideas in terms of improving production and makes any changes if needed.
- Control
Implementing the chosen solution to the production problem is only the beginning, an organization has to make sure that they maintain it. This is the last stage of the continuous improvement process and it is all about coming up with strategies to maintain high levels of production all the time.
Conclusion
Overall the process of DMAIC is all about improving while making as little mistakes as possible. Six Sigma wouldn’t be the world-renowned model it is today that delivers concrete results if it wasn’t for DMAIC.
It helps businesses find solutions to their problems as it acts as a roadmap. When a business uses DMAIC the right way, their production quality improves and customers, the cost is reduced and revenue is increased.
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