Six Sigma

The September 2005 issue of Fast Company has an article called “Six Sigma Stigma”.  The author was in Japan visiting a car-making facility in Toyota City.  Toyota is renowned for its quality.  In fact, Toyota had the #1 ranking for auto manufacturers in JD Power and Associates 2005  Initial Quality Study.   The funny thing is, Toyota does not use Six Sigma.  The engineers at Toyota had never even heard of it.  On the other hand, Ford, who has been using Six Sigma since 1999, finished below average on the JDP survey again.

The article also lists Xerox and Sprint as Six Sigma adopters whose quality scores fall below that of their peers.  Canon, Toshiba and HP have better quality then Xerox.  Verizon beats sprint.  None of the companies with better scores are Six Sigma disciples.

What does this say about Six Sigma?  Is it a bad tool for management?  Does it help improve quality?  Six Sigma is a good tool that can help improve quality.  The problem is most likely with management’s attitude.  The people at the top might want excellent quality.  They may realize that it not only improves sales, but it saves money—so, it affects both the top and bottom lines of the income statement.  That is all well and good, but one other thing management is looking for is an easy fix or a sure thing.  They don’t want to have to work hard at quality.  Quality is not what gets them a bonus.  Higher stock prices lead to higher bonuses.  Management doesn’t really believe in quality because it takes too much effort and takes time away from “growing the business”.  So, they sign up for the sure thing or the latest buzzword that will meet the immediate need with minimal effort on their part.  The board of directors signs off on the huge expenditures needed to train everyone because Jack Welch said it’s a good idea.

Here is a truth about managers, especially at the upper-level.  They don’t do real work.  They think, plan, manage and DELEGATE.  Programs like Six Sigma are great because they let management do what it does best—lead.  However, that is the big problem when it comes to quality.  Management can not simply dictate quality and go back to analyzing sales reports.  They must stay engaged.  They must review quality reports and continually ask why the company is not meeting its goals.  They must fund projects that focus on increased quality.  Six Sigma makes it too easy to issue the order and forget it.

Why are companies like Toyota successful at having high quality when they don’t even know what Six Sigma is?  Because they work hard at it from the top of the organization on down.  Other companies who talk about quality should start working at it as well.