Also known as: 6σ, 6Sigma, you can not use the capital Σ, sigma (Σ, σ) is the Greek letters, in statistics is called the standard deviation, used to indicate the degree of dispersion of data.
The meaning is derived to mean: the defect rate of the average enterprise is about 3 to 4 sigma, in terms of 4 sigma, which is equivalent to 6,210 errors in every million opportunities. If a company continually pursues quality improvement to the point of 6 sigma, performance will be nearly perfect in meeting customer requirements, with only 3.4 defective items found in a million opportunities. The concept of Six Sigma (6σ) as a quality management concept was first proposed by Mike Harry of Motorola in 1987. It was first introduced by Motorola's Mike Harley in 1987 with the goal of designing a process to reduce the number of defects in products and processes, prevent product variation, and improve quality. Really popular and developed, is the practice of General Electric Company, in Jack Welch in the 1990s developed 6σ (sigma) management is summarized in the successful experience of total quality management, distilled the essence of the process management skills and the most effective methods, to become a kind of management model to improve corporate performance and competitiveness. The management method in Motorola, General Electric, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Siemens, Sony, Toshiba, Asus and many other multinational enterprises has proved to be fruitful. For this reason, some domestic departments and organizations vigorously push 6σ management in domestic enterprises and guide them to carry out 6σ management. With the accumulation of practical experience, it has been derived from a mere process optimization concept to a management philosophy. It is not only a standard to measure the capability of business processes, not only a set of methods to continuously optimize business processes, but also an enterprise strategy to cope with the dynamic competitive environment, enhance the competitiveness of enterprises and achieve long-term success.
Benefits of Six Sigma Management
The benefits of implementing 6σ management are obvious, summarized in the following aspects:
Enhancement of enterprise management
6σ management is driven by data and facts. In the past, the enterprise's understanding of management and knowledge of management theory stayed more in words and on paper, while 6σ transformed all this into practical and effective actions. 6σ management method became synonymous with the pursuit of flawless management style. As Welch pointed out in GE's 2000 annual report, "The high quality created by 6σ management has miraculously reduced the waste, streamlined management processes, and lowered material costs that GE had experienced in the past with its complex management processes.The implementation of 6σ management has become one of the necessary strategies and hallmarks of the introduction of, and commitment to, high-quality, innovative products. " 6σ management gave Motorola more motivation to pursue what seemed almost impossible at the time. the company's quality goal in the early 1980s was to improve 10 times every 5 years, which was changed to 10 times every 2 years after the implementation of 6σ management, creating a miracle of 100 times improvement in 4 years. The statistics of successful experience in foreign countries show that: if the enterprise fully implements 6σ innovation, it can improve one σ level every year until it reaches 4.7σ without big capital investment. During this period, the profitability improvement is very significant. And when 4.8σ is reached, it is then raised again. Reaching this level requires process redesign and increased capital investment, but at this time the competitiveness of products and services increases, and market share increases accordingly.
Saving enterprise operating costs
For the enterprise, all the defective products are either discarded, or need to be reworked, or at the customer site need to be repaired, replaced, all of which need to spend the cost of the enterprise. U.S. statistics show that a company implementing 3σ management standards has costs directly related to quality issues that account for 10 to 15 percent of its sales revenue. In the 10 years from 1987 to 1997, Motorola's cost savings due to the implementation of 6σ management have totaled $14 billion. 6σ management has enabled Honeywell to save $600 million in 1999 alone.
Increase customer value
The implementation of 6σ management can make enterprises realize a virtuous circle from understanding and satisfying customer needs to realizing the maximum profit in all aspects: the company firstly understands and grasps the customer's needs, and then reduces the arbitrariness and reduces the rate of error by adopting the 6σ management principle, so as to increase the degree of customer satisfaction. General Electric's medical equipment division created a new technology after the introduction of 6σ management, bringing about a revolution in medical testing technology. Whereas it used to take three minutes for a patient to undergo a full body examination, it now takes only one minute. As a result, the hospital has increased equipment utilization and reduced examination costs. In this way, a result that satisfies the company, the hospital, and the patient has emerged.
Improving service levels
Since 6σ management can be used to improve not only product quality, but also service processes, the level of customer service can be greatly improved. A 6σ management team at General Electric's lighting division successfully improved payment relationships with its largest customer, Wal-Mart, reducing billing errors and disputes by 98 percent, speeding up payments and fostering a mutually beneficial relationship.
Forming a positive corporate culture
Under traditional management, people often feel overwhelmed, don't know their goals, and work in a passive state. Through the implementation of 6σ management, everyone knows what they should do and how they should do it, and the whole enterprise is full of enthusiasm and efficiency. Employees attach great importance to quality and customer requirements, and strive to do their best, and through participation in training, master standardized and standardized problem solving methods, work efficiency has been significantly improved. With strong management support, employees are able to focus on their work, reducing and eliminating fire-fighting activities at work.