Converters

PPM / DPMO / Yield Converter

Convert between PPM, DPMO, yield, and defect rate, with the corresponding Six Sigma level.

Yield = 1 − DPMO ÷ 10⁶

Quality Metrics Converter

From

3.4

Six Sigma Level: ≥6σ

PPM (Parts Per Million):3.4

Yield %:99.9997%

Yield (Decimal):0.999997

Defect Rate (Decimal):0.0000034

DPU (Defects Per Unit):0.00000340001

•Six Sigma Projects: Convert between DPMO and yield for process capability analysis
•Manufacturing Quality: Translate PPM defect rates to yield percentages
•Process Benchmarking: Compare quality metrics across different reporting standards
•Quality Goals: Set targets in preferred units (99.9% yield vs 1000 PPM)

Metric	Definition
PPM	Defective units per million units produced — simple and widely understood
DPMO	Defects per million opportunities — accounts for several possible defects per unit
Yield %	Share of units that pass without defects (100% − defect %)
DPU	Average defects per unit — can exceed 1 when units carry several defects

DPMO ↔ yield

Yield % = (1 − DPMO ÷ 1,000,000) × 100

PPM ↔ defect rate

Defect rate = PPM ÷ 1,000,000

Yield ↔ defect rate

Defect rate = (100 − Yield %) ÷ 100

DPU ↔ yield (Poisson)

Yield = e^(−DPU)

Six Sigma uses DPMO to express process level, including the conventional 1.5σ shift for long-term drift:

PPM to yield. A line runs at 1,000 PPM defective.

Yield

(1 − 1,000 ÷ 1,000,000) × 100 = 99.9%

That corresponds to roughly a 4.6σ process level.

DPMO with multiple opportunities. A product has 20 critical characteristics; 50 defects are found in 10,000 units.

Opportunities

10,000 × 20 = 200,000

DPMO

50 ÷ 200,000 × 1,000,000 = 250 (≈ 5σ)

Use PPM when…	Use DPMO when…
The result is pass/fail per unit	Products have many defect opportunities
Only one critical defect matters per unit	You track several defect types independently
Reporting to non-specialists or customers	Running formal Six Sigma (DMAIC) projects
Tracking warranty or customer returns	Comparing processes of different complexity