When it comes to process capability, the more tools you have, the better. An L2 spreadsheet can help to make working with your capabilities a simpler endeavor.
L2 Spreadsheet
An L2 spreadsheet is just one of many spreadsheets that can help you be more knowledgeable about the ins and outs of your business.
Overview: What is an L2 spreadsheet?
An L2 spreadsheet is utilized for calculating both the short and long-term Z-values of continuous sets of data.
3 benefits and drawbacks of an L2 spreadsheet
There are some clear benefits and drawbacks to using L2 spreadsheets:
Benefit 1: Data organization
Like all spreadsheets, an L2 can be an ideal way of organizing data. Information is easily placed in rows and columns, which can then be sorted by the type of information.
Drawback 1: Potential user bias
The information that is presented is dependent on what the user chooses to include for analysis. This means that relevant information could be excluded from what is presented.
Benefit 2: Streamlining of calculations
Once the formula is written and a set command is established, spreadsheets can easily compute complex calculations.
Drawback 2: Learning how to do this takes skill
While spreadsheets can crunch data for you, it takes a degree of skill to accomplish this. The calculations require inputting formulas, which may be difficult to learn for a number of users.
Benefit 3: Access for multiple users
With today’s spreadsheets, they can be set up to be accessed by multiple users. This makes it incredibly helpful when collaborating with several employees in a workplace.
Drawback 3: Security
Spreadsheets can lack file security and be potentially easy to corrupt.
Why are L2 spreadsheets important to understand?
Understanding L2 spreadsheets is important for the following reasons:
Sorting and rearranging data
Having an understanding of L2 spreadsheets allows you to rearrange and sort your data for analysis and aids in making better decisions.
Efficiency
Having a working knowledge of how to work with spreadsheets makes dealing with data much more efficient.
Information storage
Understanding how to create a spreadsheet saves a lot of space since you are working with data electronically instead of wasting a bunch of paper.
An industry example of an L2 spreadsheet
A sales completion team aims to reduce the shipment time for their most urgent orders. The team studies the process and uses control charts to identify the variables and eliminate the most common causes of variation. An L2 spreadsheet is created to calculate the long and short-term Z values to further understand the capability of their process. With the capability determined, the team feels confident that they can successfully reduce the shipment time on urgent orders.
3 best practices when thinking about L2 spreadsheets
Here are some best practices to consider when working with L2 spreadsheets:
1. Focus on continuous data sets
When working with L2 spreadsheets, be sure your data sets are continuous, as an L2 spreadsheet will not be beneficial otherwise.
2. DPMO
Using short and long-term Z values, you can easily translate your L2 spreadsheet metrics into defects per million opportunities.
3. Calculate both short and long-term
Short and long-term Z shares can give you different kinds of information. Calculating both can give you the fullest representation of your process capability.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about an L2 spreadsheet
What is process capability?
It is defined as a statistical measure of the process variability of a characteristic. In Six Sigma, it is the quantifiable comparison between the Voice of the Customer and the Voice of the Process.
What is the difference between short and long-term Z shares?
The short-term Z value is the short-term variation of a process, while the long-term Z value is how the process performs if the short-term variation is kept constant.
What is Z shift?
It is the difference between short and long-term indices.
L2 Spreadsheets as a Process Capability Tool
Understanding the capability of your process is an important part of managing your business properly. Knowing how to work with an L2 spreadsheet is a useful tool to have in your process capability arsenal.
