1.0 Building the Responsive Six Sigma Organization

Apuntes

What Is Six Sigma? Six Sigma is a rigorous, focused, and highly effective implementation of proven quality prin ciples and techniques. Incorporating elements from the work of many quality pioneers, Six Sigma aims for virtually error-free business performance. Sigma, σ, is a letter in the Greek alphabet used by statisticians to measure the variability in any process. A company’s perfor mance is measured by the sigma level of their business processes. Traditionally companies accepted three or four sigma performance levels as the norm, despite the fact that these processes created between 6,200 and 67,000 problems per million opportunities! The Six Sigma standard of 3.4 problems-per-million opportunities∗ is a response to the increasing expectations of customers and the increased complexity of modern products and processes. Despite its name, Six Sigma’s magic isn’t in statistical or high-tech razzle-dazzle. Six Sigma relies on tried and true methods that have been used for decades. By some mea sures, Six Sigma discards a great deal of the complexity that characterized Total Quality Management (TQM). Six Sigma takes a handful of proven methods and trains a small cadre of in-ho...