In this blog we have talked a lot about the different tools we can use in our improvement projects, but it’s my professional opinion that knowing why something works is as good as if not better than knowing that it works. In this blog post we need to discuss how you categorize defects. When you have enough data to cast a critical look over your process, you will find yourself face with the inevitable question of ‘how to I classify the variety of errors’? Well have no fear; here are the 3 most common classifications:
Controllable
A controllable error or defect is something specific that you can pinpoint and directly affect with improvement. For example think of the lowering of the thermostat to improve the operating expenses or pressing the collate button on the copier to reduce the prep time for paperwork.
Procedural
These are errors that occur during the steps of a process, like a safety checklist or a quality control checklist. The easiest way to decide if an error belongs in this category is to ask yourself ‘ is this a routine step to completing a task? If the answer is yes, then it’s procedural.
Noise
This is the trickiest category of all because it is basically a runoff category. This category is for things that cannot be fit into a specific setting or procedure. The category is for miscellaneous and arbitrary errors, think things like the amount of noise children make in school. If it is too big to measure and too hard to assess, it is most likely a noise classification.
The trickiest thing about 6Sigma is knowing which tool to use, to that end knowing where to classify potential areas of improvement is even more necessary. This is a great place to start and once you are ready to start categorizing your errors, we can help. Give us a call and we can you started.
