What is Six Sigma

What is Six Sigma ?

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Lorenzo Del Marmol

May 19, 2015

What is Six Sigma

What is Six Sigma and what is the Main Goal of Six Sigma Implementation ?

The best person that can tell you what Six Sigma is could be former General Electric CEO Jack Welch (1981-2001) since his Six Sigma story is touted as the prime example how this method and approach can turn your company from a dying organism to the industry leader—if it’s implemented correctly.

People always ask, “What is the main goal of six sigma implementation?” Essentially, Six Sigma aims to “achieve lasting business leadership and top performance applied to benefit the business and its customers, associates and shareholder,” according to Michael L. George (2002). Looking at it carefully, Six Sigma ultimately lets your company become the best in the industry by optimizing your processes to produce the best quality. You live, breathe and eat quality all day long at work so your product gains the top rank in your target client base.

 

What is the nature of Six Sigma implementation?

I always tell my clients and co-workers that to know what is the main goal of six sigma implementation is to achieve market leadership for your company and business. It isn’t simply a matter of innovation and following trends—it’s the matter of making your processes optimized.

How do you do this with the Six Sigma method? With hard numbers and data. At the heart of this business approach is a rigorous quantitative method that determines the value of every part of the business process and ruthlessly cutting out parts that don’t contribute enough value to the product. Six Sigma rests on the assumption that people will pay for quality that fetches value even at high prices. This means that more than making your product competitive through price, make it competitive through innovation and value.

What does Six Sigma look like?

To a Six Sigma Black Belt, the hum of processes and the quality of the product have a life of their own. True experts know what is the main goal of Six Sigma implementation and how to sense if it’s working the moment they step into a factory or plant. There is a hum to top quality goods and to an optimized business process.

But that’s how the experts see it. How should you feel or sense that Six Sigma is working in your company? Simple—through a culture brought about by transformative change. No matter how great your business already is, Six Sigma is going to transform it. How? Here are the changes you can expect:

  • You value your customer above all else. A customer-centric approach becomes the focal point of your production processes. You determine which features of your product are critical to quality and eliminate those that aren’t.
  • Everything should translate to financial performance. While you have product quality benchmarks, the system’s dedication to quality and consideration for the market should translate into at least a quarter of a million to your company’s profits or revenues every year. Six Sigma is ruthless because it can be highly effective and wants to drive results.
  • Active executives. The trickle-down effect doesn’t cut it anymore. Results can only happen when everyone is on board with Six Sigma and works towards the goals you set. Higher-ups don’t just provide lip service, they mobilize resources and provide support to teams espousing the quality- driven method.
  • 1% to 3% of your workforce is always on Six Sigma. When we said transformative change, we meant something that takes up a significant chunk of your workforce and resources. At any given time, a percentage of your company must be dedicated to the new method.
  • Action across the board. Once the project is implemented or launched, each level of your company mobilizes. From the higher-ups who set the goals to the rank and file that documents all the minute changes. Six Sigma is the new machinery that runs your company.

 

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