What is quality? This is an interesting question.

Depending on your product, your service or your

business, it can mean any number of things. But, at the end of the day, it all boils down to how well
we serve the needs of our customers. Crosby described quality as, "the conformance to
requirements realized through prevention and reduction of defects and nonconformances. " In
essence, do it right the first time. There are many paths to sound and robust quality. Two of the
most comprehensive and prevalent in the industry are Lean and Six Sigma. Six Sigma is both a quality
management philosophy and a methodology that focuses on reducing variation, measuring defects,
and improving the quality of products, processes and services. The purpose of Lean is, to maximize
customer value while minimizing waste. So, you can see how Lean and Six Sigma were meant to
complement each other. The evolution of Six Sigma began with statistical process control within
the quality organization. This developed into business process re-engineering, and later into
process improvement philosophy known as Total Quality Management. TQM grew into the
methodology we know as Six Sigma. Lean traces its origins to the organization's desire to improve
productivity. One of the first examples of this, the forward production system, was used to assemble
cars. This was used as the basis for the Toyota production system. Just In Time production
philosophies combined with the Toyota production system ultimately evolved into Lean. Now, Lean
and Six Sigma are emerging to get the most of both improvement philosophies. Using Lean and Six
Sigma tools, empowers us to eliminate waste and excess cost, reduce variation and defects and
improve our processes and customer experience in our business. The Six Sigma methodology is
grounded in a process known as DMAIC. DMAIC stands for Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and
Control. The premise behind DMAIC requires a change in our thinking. Instead of being problem
driven, we need to be customer driven. Instead of reacting to issues and dissatisfaction, we should
search for ways to prevent issues and dissatisfaction. The existence of waste and rework are
viewed as opportunities for improvement, prevention, and reduction. The idea of Six Sigma is not
new, and can be taken from statistical principles. In the past, organizations aimed for 99 percent
defect free. Without realizing that this is the same as at least 200,000 wrong drug prescriptions each
year, too short or long landings at major airports each day, 5,000 incorrect surgical procedures every
week, 20,000 lost articles of mail per hour, unsafe drinking water for almost 15 minutes each day,
and no electricity for almost seven hours every month. This is 66,810 defects for every one million
opportunities. From a cost and waste perspective, this is astonishing. Six Sigma aims us toward a
goal of 99.99966 Percent defect free. This is 3.4 defects for every one million opportunities. This
can seem staggering and perhaps even difficult to reach and even sustain. But, the journey to this
goal, reaps its own substantial rewards. Once reaching Six Sigma, we can realize: 68 wrong drug
prescriptions each year. One short or long landing at a major airport each five years, 1.7 incorrect
surgical procedures every week, seven lost articles of mail per hour, one unsafe minute of drinking
water every seven months. And, no electricity for almost seven hours every five years. Imagine, the
vast gains we can fulfill in defect reduction, waste reduction and customer service, as we journey
toward a Six Sigma level of quality excellence.

Six Sigma is a process improvement approach. In Juran's Trilogy, this falls in the third part, quality
improvement. It can also be part of quality planning, since it should be strategic. This approach is
very focused and follows a five step model. There is also a heavy reliance on statistical methods. TQ
stands for total quality. It is reflective of Deming's ideas and embodied in the Malcolm Baldrige
criteria. Some differences between total quality and six sigma are pointed out here. Although there
are differences, these two approaches work quite well together. Total Quality tends to focus on
culture change, empowering workers and teams and much of the improvement takes place within
the departments or functions. Six Sigma focuses on high level cross-functional processes, with
involvement from upper management and relies on experts to implement. Total Quality generally
uses simple tools for process improvement, but these simple tools can be very powerful. You do not
need complex statistical methods for everything. It is important to use the approach that fits the
situation. Six Sigma uses a five step model called DMAIC, to shape improvement projects and focuses
on outcomes in terms of benefits for the company. Six Sigma focuses on reducing variation,
measuring defects and improving quality of products, processes and services. The beginnings of Six
Sigma can be traced to Motorola. In the early '80s in which later transformed into an enterprise-
wide strategy for business management and improvement. Motorola introduced Six Sigma as a
measure of quality in 1986. Bill Smith with Mikel Harry developed the initial four step Six Sigma
stages, measure, analyze, improve and control to reduce defects. Mikel Harry with Richard
Schroeder went on to found Six Sigma Academy in 1994. Mikel Harry is considered the main
architect of the Six Sigma movement. The foundations of a Six Sigma can be traced to a group of
highly knowledgeable individuals in quality. Crosby's four absolutes for quality conformance and
prevention, are high level statements that help us define and frame the idea of quality within the
realm of our business. Dr.Deming is another quality guru who has made substantial contributions to
the body of knowledge that we call quality. These can be summed up as Deming's 14 points. These
include a constancy of purpose toward improving, and an unwillingness to accept commonly
occurring defects and errors. Deming also strongly opposed inspecting quality in the product, and
focusing exclusively on price at the expense of quality. There is no reason why we cannot have both.
If we are strategic. Deming was also a huge proponent of continual improvement at a time when
most industries looked to sustain their position in the marketplace as opposed to seizing
opportunities for growth. This continual improvement also reflected in terms of training, training on
the job, cross-training and confirming that training is still valid. Deming also points to the difference
between supervision and leadership, and the need to drive fear out of the organization. If an
organization is driven by fear, it will never achieve and grow. Dr.Deming also believed in keeping the
message simple in the organization, breaking down barriers and building cross-functional teams
from all areas of the business. Deming was not very enthusiastic about numerical quotas for the
workforce or numerical goals for the management. Even today, every organization has a difficult
time moving away from the need for numerical metrics as a means of tracking performance. He also
had little use for merit systems and annual ratings, and instead felt that these mechanisms fed into
employee fear and created an environment of competitiveness instead of collaboration. Finally, in
line with his ideas of continuous improvement, Deming envisioned an organization heavy into the
education and self-improvement of every employee. Employees are the organization's most valuable
asset. They should be treated as such. Once you have raised the level of knowledge of your
employees, utilize them and everyone to transform your business. Too often, organizations have
segments of their employee population that go un-utilized or underutilized. Taguchi was another
quality guru who recognized the importance of initiating the proper quality at the engineering and
design levels of the process. Feigenbaum had some similar yet distinct insights into quality beyond
the manufacturing floor. By focusing our quality efforts in the design and delivery realms, we can see
gains in areas outside the scope found on the manufacturing floor. In summation, Feigenbaum
characterized total quality control as an effective system for integrating the quality development,
quality maintenance, and quality improvement efforts at the most economical levels. Other
contributions found in various stages of the Six Sigma process come from Ishikawa, who is known for
the Fishbone diagram and the Five Whys. Once we have established the causes, Shewhart took
things forward to identify assignable and chance causes. These causes can be monitored through
statistical process control and confirmed through PDCA, Plan, Do, Check, Act. Another luminary in
quality circles is Juran. Juran's most significant contribution is known as Juran's Trilogy. This
includes quality planning, quality control, and quality improvement.
Purpose of 6 sigma- Refer video

Six Sigma Methodology.

 Although there are many process methodologies for six sigma, the most common is DMAIC.
DMAIC consists of define, measure, analyze, improve, and control. It is primarily used in
manufacturing, service, and transactional settings.
 Under each phase, there are a series of essential steps required.
 To accompany these steps, are a series of common and effective tools. In the define phase,
project goals are set and boundaries established to align with the aims of the organization.
 The measure phase establishes our baseline and attempts to localize the vital few xs that
are the prime drivers behind the problems we seek to address in our project.
 Using the findings of the measure phase, conjectures are formulated of root causes. We can
confirm these theories through the collection of data to further localize and understand the
sources of the problem.
 It is very important that we confirm that our process is functioning as it should prior to
analyzing the problem. Otherwise any results we glean could be invalid. Now that we have
ascertained the source as the problem, we are ready to develop, implement and evaluate
solutions targeted at our verified cause.
 Our aim here is to demonstrate a positive change to the current state of the process through
our adjustments.
 The improvement phase is really meant as a pilot of the proposed change. To ensure long
term affective change on a larger scale, mechanisms must be put into place to ensure the
problem stays fixed long after the team has been re-purposed. We also wish to leave open
the possibility for future improvement and adoption of best practices in other areas of the
business with similar problems.

Evolution of Six Sigma.

 Lean Six Sigma started with statistical process control on the quality side. It evolved in the
business process reengineering where we throw out the old process and start over.
 And then on to total quality management, process improvement which ultimately evolved
into Six Sigma.
 On a productivity side, the Ford Production System was used to assemble cars, which was
used as the basis for the Toyota Production System.
 Just In Time production philosophies joined by TPS which evolved into Lean.
 Now Lean and Six Sigma are merging to get the most of both improvement philosophies.
 Lean began as the Toyota Production System in 1973. Lean is essentially the elimination of
waste, this waste can be identify to the process speed, efficiency and reduce through
continuous improvement.
 The five principles of Lean include value, the value chain, flow, pull and perfection.
 This five principles can be brought to [INAUDIBLE] through a wide spectrum of Lean tools.
 In a related way, different areas of emphasis of the business flow directly into Six Sigma.
 We may consider the curve of parts per million defects compared to sigma level. We see
that many processes commonly used daily are ripe for improvement.
 The best in class organization will consistently deliver products and services in the realm of
Six Sigma.
  As you can imagine, the financial and customer perception risk to the company can be
staggering at lower sigma levels. Lean Six Sigma requires a fundamental shift on our mindset.
Instead of being problem-driven, we need to be customer-driven. Instead of reacting to
issues and dissatisfaction, we should search for ways to prevent issues and dissatisfaction.
The existence of waste and rework are viewed as opportunities for improvement,
prevention and reduction.
 Together Lean and Six Sigma combines to produce a methodology driven to reduce
variation by attacking waste and excessive cost aimed toward maximizing the customer's
experience.

Value of Six Sigma

 Sometimes there is speculation about whether quality improvement methods have a place
in services, particularly given their long history in manufacturing. However, both
manufacturing service have customer requirements that need to be met. Service processes
tend to be more complicated with branching decision points.
 Measurement and manufacturing tends to be tangible, but there are plenty of ways to
measure service processes as well.
 Someone also said that all companies are service companies, some of them also make
products.
 Business results could be financial but could also include customer satisfaction or market
share.
 Six Sigma relies on a high level of processe and statistical expertise. These levels are
identified with colored belts, black, green, etc. You don't get an actual belt, just a certificate
that says so. SIPOC stands for Supplier, Inputs, Processes, Outputs, and Customers. SIPOC is
used to ensure the scope of the project is well understood.
 It is also a check and balance for the customer and the stakeholder analysis and a glimpse
into the potential benefit to the organization.
 Any customers and suppliers should also be identified as a project stakeholder. In terms of
stakeholders, the benefits of Six Sigma can be seen at the organizational output level in
terms of profit, growth, additional orders and employee betterment and advancement.
 Ultimately, the customer, community and society as a whole, rightfully so, will see the true
value.
 Improved quality design and conformance creates a cascade of impacts on customer
perceived quality. Lower service costs, increased margin and market share, and ultimately,
higher profitability.