Total Quality Through Six Sigma
Some argue that many of the tools Six Sigma uses are not new.
However, while Six Sigma uses conventional methods, its application is anything
but conventional. Instead it stresses the importance of searching for a
new way of thinking and doing. In fact, Six Sigma defines a clear road map
to achieve Total Quality:
- Leadership Commitment: Top management not only
initiates Six Sigma deployment, it also plays an active role in the whole
deployment cycle. Six Sigma starts by providing senior leadership with
training in the principles and tools it needs to direct the development of a
management infrastructure to support Six Sigma. This involves reducing the
levels of organizational hierarchy and removing procedural barriers to
experimentation and change.
- Customer Focus: Systems are developed for establishing close
communications with “external customers” (direct customers, end-users,
suppliers, regulatory bodies, etc), and with internal customers (employees).
From upstream suppliers to ultimate end-users, Six Sigma eliminates the
opportunities for defects.
- Strategic Deployment: Six Sigma targets a small number of
high-financial leveraged items. It focuses the company’s resources: right
support, right people, right project, and right tools, on identifying and
improving performance metrics that relate to bottom-line success.
- Integrated Infrastructure: The Leadership Team defines and reviews
project progress. The Champion acts as a political leader and removes the
barriers for the project team. The Master Black Belt acts as a technical coach
and provides in-depth knowledge of quality tools. The Black Belt controls the
project while the Green Belt supports the Black Belt - together they form the
Six Sigma Project Teams. In addition, the incentive and recognition systems
motivate the project teams to achieve the business goals.
- Disciplined Framework: Six Sigma projects are Implemented using the
Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control disciplined road map. This MAIC
discipline sets up a clear protocol to facilitate internal communication. In
addition, from a business perspective, Six Sigma is also a framework for
continuous business improvement.
- Education and Training: Six Sigma believes that true commitment is
driven by true understanding. As a fact-based methodology, it intensively
utilizes quality and statistical tools to transform a practical problem to a
practical solution. Thus, a top-to-bottom training is conducted in Six Sigma
philosophy and system improvement techniques for all levels.
In conclusion, Six Sigma’s approach and deployment makes it
distinguishable from other quality initiatives. The Six Sigma approach involves
the use of statistical tools within a structured methodology for gaining the
knowledge needed to achieve better, faster, and less expensive products and
services than the competition. The repeated, disciplined application of the
master strategy on project after project, where the projects are selected based
on key business objectives, is what drives dollars to the bottom line, resulting
in impressive profits. Moreover, fueled by the bottom line improvement, top
management will continuously be committed to this approach, the work culture
will be constantly nurtured, customers will definitely be satisfied, and Total
Quality will ultimately be achieved.
Six Sigma VS. Total
Quality Management (TQM)
In some aspects of quality improvement, TQM and Six Sigma
share the same philosophy of how to assist organizations to accomplish Total
Quality. They both emphasize the importance of top-management support and
leadership. Both approaches make it clear that continuous quality improvement is
critical to long-term business success. However, why has the popularity of TQM
waned while Six Sigma's popularity continues to grow in the past decade?
T. Pyzdek (Why Six Sigma is Not TQM, 2001) stated that the
primary difference is management. Unlike TQM, Six Sigma was not developed by
technicians who only dabbled in management and therefore produced only broad
guidelines for management to follow. The Six Sigma way of implementation was
created by some of America's most gifted CEOs - people like Motorola's Bob
Galvin, Allied Signal's Larry Bossidy, and GE's Jack Welch. These people had a
single goal in mind: making their businesses as successful as possible. Once
they were convinced that tools and techniques of Six Sigma could help them do
this, they developed a framework to make it happen.
The differences between TQM and Six Sigma are summarized in
Table 7.1.
Table 7.1: TQM vs. Six
Sigma
| TQM |
Six Sigma
|
A functional specialty within the organization.
|
An infrastructure of dedicated change agents. Focuses on
cross-functional value delivery streams rather than functional division of
labour.
|
Focuses on quality.
|
Focuses on strategic goals and applies them to cost,
schedule and other key business metrics.
|
Motivated by quality idealism.
|
Driven by tangible benefit far a major stockholder group
(customers, shareholders, and employees).
|
Loosely monitors progress toward goals.
|
Ensures that the investment produces the expected return.
|
People are engaged in routine duties (Planning,
improvement, and control).
|
“Slack” resources are created to change key business
processes and the organization itself.
|
Emphasizes problem solving.
|
Emphasizes breakthrough rates of
improvement.
|
Focuses on standard performance, e.g. ISO 9000.
|
Focuses on world class performance, e.g., 3.4 PPM error
rate.
|
Quality is a permanent, full-time job. Career path is in
the quality profession.
|
Six Sigma job is temporary. Six Sigma is a stepping-stone;
career path leads elsewhere.
|
Provides a vast set of tools and techniques with no clear
framework for using them effectively.
|
Provides a selected subset of tools and techniques and a
clearly defined framework for using them to achieve results (DMAIC).
|
Goals are developed by quality department based on quality
criteria and the assumption that what is good for quality is good for the
organization.
|
Goals flow down from customers and senior leadership's
strategic objectives. Goals and metrics are reviewed at the enterprise level
to assure that local sub-optimization does not occur.
|
Developed by technical personnel.
|
Developed by CEOs.
|
Focuses on long-term results. Expected payoff is not
well-defined.
|
Six Sigma looks for a mix of short-term and long-term
results, as dictated by business demands.
|
|
