SIX SIGMA INTERVIEW QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 2020

Most Commonly Asked Six Sigma Interview Questions and Answers

 

To define employment, The Harvard information for employees puts it in a way that categorizes types of work into six categories, and they are regular employment:

• less than half time employment
• temporary employment 
• extended part-time employment
• concurrent employment
• student employment
• paid cooperative student and interns. 

 

A regular employee has shown to schedule his work 17.5 hours or more per week for a period of 90 days. Toby counted as a regular employee. A regular employee is paid regularly at the rate of $15,000 per year that is the minimum ceiling for employment in European as well as North American nations. The hours of work go the same with all the other differentiations except for the salary ceiling. You may earn more than $70,000 a year if and only if you suffice the criteria inked by the Corporation. 

 

Understanding the Six Sigma Paradigm

 

The reason we started this topic with a heavy note like the above is that we want to present our readers or perspective of what employers mean an employee to be. As far as payroll is concerned, we may find benefits, sick time in some of the categories listed above. It depends upon your eligibility to avail of these benefits. The companies also pay minute attention to the generational divide. If you belong to generation X, your benefits will differ from the benefits availed by Generation Z or millennials. You will get severe Ince packages as well as pension benefits from the company, which may not be seen in the portfolio or for Generation Z professional or a millennial professional.

To understand this generation, the divide in the workplace is quintessential from a demographic perspective. In this way, not only can we reduce employee turnover but also present ourselves as a benchmark in the industry. As per another report released by Harvard University employees, when asked about what are the motivators for them in their jobs, they categorized compensation at the end and recognition at the beginning. To your surprise, when the same question was asked to their employers, they categorized it in the right order but in a jumbled way. Companies felt that compensation plays as a great motivator for their employees, which in turn is the contrast.

 

In this article, we will be focusing on the trends that are surging in the manufacturing industry as well as the production units of multinational companies. We specifically target the production units is because most of the Six Sigma certification holders are either engineers or plant supervisors. To give you some insight, we would also like to convey to you that the usability of the Six Sigma certification is not limited to the production unit. It is rather much more than what we think and perceives as a principle, tool, and a way of professional life. Six Sigma certification is also beneficial to the HR Department, financial Department for budget cost analysis, and cutting. It is also beneficial for the marketing and PR Department, who are considered as the bread earners of the company. In this article, we will be vocal about how you as a certification Holder can answer the trickiest as well as the easiest questions you know subtle way that impresses your hiring manager as well as the authorities who are responsible for your future.

 

Scope of Six Sigma Certified Professionals

 

A mechanical engineer with a Six Sigma certification can earn more than $75,870 per year. Tom word same goes with a manufacturing manager who can earn $70,000 per year. Out of this certification, the most is earned by the quality manager with a staggering salary of $80,000 per year. With your seniority and involvement in different kinds of projects, your salary ceiling is enhanced gradually. We have segregated the top 20 six Sigma interview questions and answers into ten burning questions and ten most asked questions.

 

Top Six Sigma Interview Questions and Answers

 

Q1. What do you mean by six Sigma and elaborates its principles?

To be precise, Six Sigma is a set of techniques and tools devised for process improvement. The idea here is to take the decision's based and backed with the data-driven disciplined methodology that not only when improving the transaction as well as the product to service operations. The concept of six Sigma is drawn from various other concepts related to engineering, but her bright gentleman named bill Smith who was working as a plant manager in Motorola in 1986, came with a model called six Sigma to promote quality by reducing inefficiencies and wastes to the lowest possible units in the sample.

He proposed a formula for defects per million opportunities, which is equal to the total number of defects in a sample divided by the sample size. This formula may seem to be very mechanized but has its roots in work-study, process control, and maximizing productivity. It has drawn some of its concepts from Pareto's principle, famously known as 80/20 rules.

Theologians, scientists, and experts have not found a single limitation against the six Sigma principle. The reason is this formula, as well as the concept, works amicably with different other concepts. It has room for them to come and gel for enhancement of productivity. To this date, many other concepts like Kaizen Kanban lean and agile are working harmoniously with six Sigma. Adopting the concept given by the six Sigma fills the gap between the desired and the actual product quality and reduces the cost of last opportunities.

 

Q2. Define DPMO or DPPM?

DPMO Stands for defects per million opportunities, while DPPM stands for defective parts per million. When we consider the flow of the production in any given industrial unit or production unit, we find that quality is often compromised due to many reasons, and one is ineffective training given to the Labour force.

The companies, as well as industries, focused more on productivity by engaging the Labour force in committing to their work as per the piece which system. And this is the reason that often the quality is compromised in order to gain maximum outputs in the shorter time possible. The concept given by the six Sigma is to constantly maintain the paradigm in which factors like time as well as quality are crucial. So, a production manager is responsible for sketching an achievable target with optimized cost maintaining the Labour compensation. From a customer's perspective, it runs a feedback loop in which likes and dislikes of the end-users are considered, and a middle path is found that is inculcated in the production to gain brand loyalty.

 

Q3. What are some of the quality management tools in Six Sigma?

There are many quality management tools that are included in Six Sigma. Some of them are,

• Cost-benefit analysis
• CTQ tree
• SIPOC analysis
• COPIS analysis
• Taguchi Methods
• 5S
• Seven Wastes
• Value stream mapping
• Visual workplace & quality function deployment

 

Q4. List out the different kinds of variations used in six Sigma?

Mean, median, range, and mode are some of the common variations that are used in six Sigma. The whole step starts with the collection of data with a clear picture in mind of all the factors that can impact the collection. As per the six Sigma principles, we can divide data into two major types, and they are quantitative and quality. Quantitative data comes from continuous data, and the discrete data forms a major Attribution to the qualitative data category. Then the six Sigma analyst user's measurement system analysis to introspect that the measurements system off the company is valid or invalid according to the attributed analysis.

This is where these different kinds of variations are mean, median, range, and mode or particularly used the most.

 

Q5. What do you mean by gauge R&R?

When we are concerned about repeatability and reproducibility, then we use gauge R&R to describe the difference between repeatability and reproducibility. We shift our focus on the P -values and, if not the normal values, and try to make the box-Cox transformation as accurate as possible.

 

Q6. Find the value stream mapping?

The common misconception about value stream mapping is that it is often related to lean six Sigma; however, this is entirely different from six Sigma process mapping. The value stream mapping helps us to understand the current state by identifying the start and the endpoint of every process. Further, we have to draw the process flow mapping the process is including all the sub-steps into one unit that has metrics for each process step.

In the next step, we analyze and reflect the current state value stream map with all the stakeholder's expectations. Basically, here we find the root cause of the limitation, a cost-effective solution that is needed to be developed. By looking at the value that weird redelivering currently and waste we are incurring can help us calculate the touch time or the cycle time.

Then we work on improving the slowest throughput or cycle time by implementing the future stated value stream map and socializing consensus from all the stakeholders again. In this way, we optimize the whole and not a single process that also gives us a chance to sustain in aggravating new standards and establishing measured performance related to the cost parameters. This reinforcement is monitored on a continuous basis.

 

Most Asked Six Sigma Interview Questions and Answers

 

Q7. What is the ISHIKAWA diagram?

We can note that there are different steps and processes involved where quality control is an issue and arises time and again with specific requirements. With the help of the Ishikawa diagram, we are able to direct the casual factors into a final outcome by shipping somewhat like a fish, and that is sometimes called a FISHIKAWA Diagram.

This is also preferred as a fishbone diagram and cause and effect diagram. The fishbone diagram shows different causes of a specific event listing on the skeletons with the ribs representing these causes, for example, methods, machinery's common management common materials, and manpower. All the effects are drawn and depicted at the head of the fish. The sole purpose of this diagram is to allow the management to determine which issue is to be dealt with at the earliest and which can be avoided for future consideration. The process of preparing an Ishikawa diagram is to arrange a group that focuses on discuss is and documents the problem statement. This brainstorming helps to categorize the causes of the problems and select the best possible action that can curtail these causes.

 

Q8. How would you define the Alpha and beta risk?

To understand the concept of Alpha and beta risk, we need to close leave understands the pea value in closer details. When the P-value is more than 0.05 or 5%, then it is defined as H 0. If the pee value is lesser than this, then it is called Ha. the concept of the value runs on probability, but when we proceed with 95% of confidence with the sample, then we are prone to risks of 5%.

Now, if the P-value is more than 5%, then the risk is on the higher side making consequences unacceptable if not dealt with immediately. The higher risk is defined as the Alpha risk well; the lowered risk is called beta risk.

 

Q9. how would you define an affinity diagram?

This is an analytical tool that is used to organize ideas into subgroups by having a common theme of relationship to develop solutions after brainstorming. To proceed with this, we need to have an affinity group who quietly puts their ideas of operative quality and initiates the brainstorming session. Then all the solutions given by the group are aligned and segregated into homogeneous groupings with affinity headings above it. And in this way, the candidate visualizes the solutions and list their numbers accordingly.

 

Q10. What are the different quality levels of six Sigma?

The methodology of Six Sigma is developed on measuring the quality of a process, and at every Six Sigma level, correspondence is achieved to several acceptable defects per million or to the extent that is optimum to six Sigma. The optimum six Sigma level, which is to be achieved, goes by 3.4 defects per million opportunities. This number gives us a general overview of the output levels.

One defect in every 69,0000 articles or outputs is permissible, whereas two defects in every 308 537 outputs are permissible with three defects in 66807 outputs are permissible. While the six Sigma considers four defects in every 6210 output are normal and five defects in every 233 outputs to be normal. This, if so, the window for six defects in every 3.4 outputs.

 

General Six Sigma Interview Questions and Answers

 

Q1. Define the Kano Model?

This model is used to identify the voice of the customer but helps us to compare the characteristics versus the degree of satisfaction in each delivery. It was invented by Dr. Kano, who has listed five of the following characteristics Toby ascertained in the voice of the customer, and they are as follows;

• Dissatisfying
• Must-haves
• Customer needs
• Delighters 
• indifferent

This is a revolution in the service management industry. Professor Noriaki Kano founded this beauty of product development and customer satisfaction in the late 1980s to determine the must be quality, one-dimensional quality, attractive quality, indifferent quality, and reverse quality. These threshold attributes are taken as an output of price of entry to develop strategies that can be recognized through companies' slogans. The idea here is to aggravate functional expectancies of customer satisfaction from dysfunctional to the following categories depending upon the answers our customers have for our future product. We can inculcate online service software, questionnaire, and client interview as a specialized tool for analysis.

 

Q2. Define the spaghetti diagram?

A spaghetti diagram is used to limit or eliminate different forms of waste from the pipeline. This also includes reducing waste in transportation, motion, and waiting time. In this dire need of heavy competitiveness among each other, companies and multinationals are taking a step further by developing spaghetti diagram that is a part of lean tools to offer efficiencies in work layouts, transport-related waste, non-value items, the fatigue of people and adding value to the concept of lean.

 

Q3. When should we use Kaizen events?

In situations where we need to establish incremental improvement, Kaizen serves as the best solution by bringing quick solutions to two pressing problems that appear to be very significant. This is highly efficient in handling intensive cross-functional collaboration; with a quick solution, we can aggravate improvement in nearly three to five days of implementation.

 

Q5. Define control charts?

On six of March, when we need to evaluate the durability of a process over a given period of time, then we use control charts as a tool to graph and state whether the process is scaled between the permissible limits or not. It adds value to the time and resources of the company by saving additional efforts. Along with control charts, we use histograms to develop and evaluate observations that are helpful in determining the process needs.

 

Q6. What, how, and why control is required?

Before we understand the needs for control, we need to understand data projection, continuous use of data, discrete data, and their users in control charts. In Minitab and Nelson's rule, control needs are devised once the improvement is sustained in the due process. This is usually carried out after the completion of the project so that we can find no prevailing issues. To strengthen control, we need to have information off continuous data and discrete data fed into the control chart. Here box plots and histograms are used for different purposes in differentiating between the control and run chart.

 

Q7. Define Pareto chart?

To be precise, Pareto analysis is probably the most used important tools in six Sigma for improvement of quality. This not only prioritizes issues or causes but also define each and every aspect. It hypothesizes and gives us a clear understanding of the regression. We use chi-square tests and the most critical parts to gain momentum in quality improvement. A Pareto chart set up a clear picture of what needs to be done with the issues keeping in mind the available resources as well as the cost involved. With the help of this analysis, we can optimize the process needs as well as the cost factor. This also helps us to target customer needs better than our competitors and reach satisfaction with the feedback loop provided by our stakeholders.

 

Q8. List the lean six Sigma project types?

To be practical or pragmatic in our approach to service delivery, we use lean six Sigma. There are three kinds of lean, six Sigma projects, and they are as follows:

Quick win project: friendly it is called us just do it project this is a plain and painless project as we know the problem and the solution.

Process improvement projects: the peculiarity of this project is that the causes are undefined that is leading to unsatisfactory results. Process improvement projects help us to better bridge this gap of undefined causes an unsatisfactory result. 

Designing new projects: as a whole, designing new projects involve the creation of a brand-new process and set the benchmark to compare with the voice of the customer.

Redesigning new process projects: the idea here is to focus more on the overhauling process that is ineffective and re-engineer it how to make it more efficient and customer friendly.

Implementing new infrastructures: this is popularly known as process management, Which helps us to establish key measurement systems in the production as well as the service delivery model.

 

Q9. What do you mean by effect size?

When we measure the overall magnitude in quantitative terms, then we use or experiment effect size. This helps us to understand the size of the impact and the relationship it has between other variables.

 

Q10. What do you mean by be the value? Continue Reading