Sick(s) Sigma gets the ISO treatment - but will it really make a....
11/11/2011
Sick(s) Sigma gets the ISO treatment - but will it really make a difference?
It is ironic that Six Sigma – a method for improving business and quality performance – has suffered a decline in quality of deployment which has affected the credibility of this method over the past few years.
Originally developed as a rigorous approach to quality control in 1986 by Motorola to eliminate defects, the methodology became hugely popular across a range of industries in the 1990s, but has since suffered a loss of reputation and a decline in uptake.
This decline can be attributed to the lack of standardisation and regulation of deployment of the method, leading to an increase in the number of practitioners and along with that huge variation in the standards of deployment. As a result, many started to question the value of Six Sigma.
We believe the introduction of ISO 13053 should change all this, as there exists now, for the first time a standard for “Quantitative methods in process improvement – Six Sigma” as it is titled. The standard consists of two parts, the first of which describes the well-known five-phased DMAIC methodology and makes recommendations for best practice. The second part describes the tools and techniques associated with the various phases of the approach.
There is a resurgence of uptake of this methodology. The introduction of the ISO standard, which is internationally recognized and respected will provide a platform for growth via practitioner excellence and purchaser confidence.
According the Dr Michèle Boulanger, President of JISC-Statistics and co-chair of the subcommittee that developed the standard “Organisations can deploy Six Sigma projects to increase customer satisfaction and become more competitive.”
With its focus on removing waste, one of the key benefits of introducing the Six Sigma approach is the potential for huge cost reduction – a massive driver, particularly during times of recession.
Businesses can once again place their trust in this tried and tested methodology, now that this methodology has its own best practice model – but remember – regulation alone will not ensure success! When it comes to any change management initiative the key factor to achieving success is the buy-in and commitment at all levels of the organisation, particularly at executive level.
