Back Print Page Email Page

A strategy for improving shareholder and customer satisfaction which has taken the world by storm over the last decade and a half, Six Sigma is both a business philosophy and goal, as well as a comprehensive set of business analytics, tools and methodologies that lead to exponential increases in efficiency, innovation, competitiveness and profitability. From the shop floor to the customer service desk - from the shipping dock to the management boardroom - defects and errors in processes, products and services fall victim to the relentless application of Six Sigma Methodology. A Six Sigma organization looks at itself in a new light.  There is revitalized or enhanced focus on customer satisfaction, and there is a greater sensitivity and awareness of the predictability and capability, or lack thereof, of mission-critical business processes. "Nothing is so firmly believed as what we least know" Michel de Montaigne, 1533-1592

A Six Sigma level of quality means that your processes are producing no more than 3.4 defects per million opportunities – an opportunity being the chance for nonconformance, or not meeting the required specifications – ultimately, the customer specifications. This level of perfection requires a different approach to not only managing your business, but also the way your services and products are delivered as well as designed.  This is the goal of companies – many of them world leaders in their respective fields – have chosen… a difficult and challenging path, but one that delivers tremendous value to those who travel it.   A vital part of Six Sigma is the focus on the customer – laser-focus supported by a mantra that reverberates throughout your organization… “Variation is the enemy”.     So many of your business processes are measured in terms of outcome, (let’s call these the “Y's” or output variables), and what key performance indicators you have in place typically provide information on the average or mean of a given process.  What this means is that the majority of your business processes are managed by looking at the historical output (Y) to predict or forecast the future, and rarely, if ever, do you get a glimpse of the variation in the processes.     Six Sigma transformation changes that.  A Six Sigma view has to incorporate not only the "Y's" but also the key input variables that affect processes, (let's call these "X's"), if we are to manage and ultimately control process variation and deliver on perfection.  A simple formula Y=f(x), but the key to managing businesses in the 21st century.   Six Sigma strives for process stability… precise and accurate processes that efficiently and predictably deliver high value to customers and ultimately to your shareholders.   Rather than spend more time trying to convince you of the validity of Six Sigma in powering today’s business world, why not review one of the world’s most successful firms, who, under the firm and visionary guidance of its former CEO and Chairman, Jack Welch, defined what Six Sigma means to an organization, and how it became one of the four pillars of General Electric’s unparalleled success.   By clicking on the following link, you will be transported from our website to General Electric’s Six Sigma pages, where you can hear from them directly on how Six Sigma has been woven into the fabric of their organization and ultimately drives their high-performance culture… year, after year, after year.   Click here now to launch the GE Six Sigma website.   When you have completed your review at General Electric, we invite you to continue your exploration of the e-Zsigma website, Canada’s leaders in Six Sigma solutions.  We thank you for your interest.