Six Sigma aims to reduce defects to how many defects per million opportunities?

Six Sigma aims to reduce defects to how many defects per million opportunities?

• A. 0.5%
• B. 3.4 defects per million opportunities
• C. 1 per 1000
• D. 100 defects per million

Answer: (B)

Six Sigma sets an extremely high quality standard by expressing defects as defects per million opportunities. The goal is 3.4 defects for every million opportunities, which is the benchmark used in Six Sigma to reflect a process that is nearly flawless over time. This figure comes from the way Six Sigma accounts for a small, inevitable drift of the process mean (about 1.5 standard deviations) plus the six-sigma spread, resulting in a practical defect rate of 3.4 per million opportunities. In other words, only about 3.4 defects are expected in a million chances for a defect, under typical Six Sigma assumptions. The other options represent much higher defect rates (for example, 0.5% equals 5,000 per million; 1 per 1000 equals 1,000 per million; 100 per million equals 100 per million), which do not align with the Six Sigma target.

Six Sigma sets an extremely high quality standard by expressing defects as defects per million opportunities. The goal is 3.4 defects for every million opportunities, which is the benchmark used in Six Sigma to reflect a process that is nearly flawless over time. This figure comes from the way Six Sigma accounts for a small, inevitable drift of the process mean (about 1.5 standard deviations) plus the six-sigma spread, resulting in a practical defect rate of 3.4 per million opportunities. In other words, only about 3.4 defects are expected in a million chances for a defect, under typical Six Sigma assumptions. The other options represent much higher defect rates (for example, 0.5% equals 5,000 per million; 1 per 1000 equals 1,000 per million; 100 per million equals 100 per million), which do not align with the Six Sigma target.