#ISHIKAWA DIAGRAM IN SIX SIGMA HOW TO#

The category names can have generic names, such as material, method, machine, manpower, measurement and environment.

The categories will be 45-degree lines that attach to the spine of the fish like bones. From there, you will draw a horizontal line from the center to serve as the spine. This is where you will write down the problem. You start by drawing a box on the right, which will serve as the fish head in the diagram. You just need to follow the steps below: Identify the problem However, it is a relatively simple process.

#ISHIKAWA DIAGRAM IN SIX SIGMA HOW TO#

How to create a fishbone diagramĪ fishbone diagram is undoubtedly an important tool, which can make one think that drawing the diagram is a complicated process. The fishbone diagram also goes by other names, such as the Herringbone diagram, Fishikawa diagram and Ishikawa diagram. He was a Japanese professor and expert in quality management. The fishbone diagram was developed in 1960 by Kaoru Ishikawa. But when the cause and effect diagram is used correctly, we can find out that the obvious cause we think is major is actually minor and vice-versa. These are the causes we think have the biggest impact on the problem we are experiencing with a particular process or product. When we analyze a problem, we tend to put heavy emphasis on the obvious causes. It is used when thinking about root cause analysis on a higher level, leading to solutions that have the potential to solve the problem once and for all. When drawn, the result looks like the skeleton of a fish – hence the name. What is a Fishbone Diagram?Ī fishbone diagram is a graphical tool that is used to identify all potential causes of a process or product failure. Sometimes you will hear it being called the cause and effect diagram when project managers are using it for quality management. It is mainly used in root cause analysis, particularly in the Analyze phase of the DMAIC methodology. There are several quality control tools in Six Sigma, one of them being the fishbone diagram. Six Sigma Virtual Instructor-led Training.As fishbone diagram identify only potential causes, it may be a good idea to use a Pareto Chart to determine the cause(s) to focus on first. Detail each cause further (recursively) to the lowest level possible.Īnalyse this diagram to identify the causes that require deeper investigation. Identify as many causes under each category and add them to the corresponding category. Add selected categories in the diagram as illustrated in the following figure.

These process elements are people, environment, material, method, machinery, and measurement. These categories can easily be selected from the applicable six key process elements.

Identify the main categories of causes resulting in the effect under consideration. Write the effect in a box on the right side and draw a horizontal arrow from left to right that touches the box as illustrated in the figure below. Develop an Operational Definition to ensure that it is clearly understood. Identify the process effect to be analysed. The example effect to illustrate the concept is 'high petrol consumption in a car'. The balance chapter details the steps required to construct a fishbone diagram. It is also known as 'Cause-and-Effect Diagram' or 'Ishikawa Diagram'. Kaoru Ishikawa, a famous Japanese consultant developed this method in the 1960s. The effect can be either a negative one, such as a process defect or an undue process variation or a positive one, such as a desired process outcome. The fishbone diagram is a graphical method for finding the root causes of an effect.

Ishikawa diagram in six sigma