DPMO - Defects per Million
Opportunities
Calculation used in Six
Sigma that will indicate the number of defects
in a process,
procedure or service measured in the number of millions of opportunities.
Sometimes referred to as PPM, (parts per million). (see
note)
To calculate DPMO you must first calculate DPO,
(defects per opportunity). Once you have the DPO, you multiply
by 1,000,000 or 106 to get DPMO.
We have a free and commercial product to
aid you in these calculations. See the free
DPMO calculator and the commercial
DPMO calculator for more details.
This calculation is based in part on the
book The
Six Sigma Way and Motorola six
sigma training.
Note:
for the purest, PPM and DPMO are not one and the same. Many
professionals believe or have it in mind that PPM denotes defective
pieces. This would mean that 6 sigma, or 3.4 'defective' pieces for every
million pieces produced. If there are too many defects opportunities, then
this number can be skewed higher. Also
see Using Defects Per Unit To Benchmark Different Products at the
bottom of the page. Also see our six
sigma page.
Also see DO
- Defect opportunity and DFSS -
Design for Six Sigma.
