Can anyone define what Six Sigma really is?

[Geoff Withnell]

I do just want to document the following about my opinion of Six Sigma. Not trying to convince anyone to change their mind but here is where I am coming from:

1. The 1.5 sigma shift is a problem. We have pretty well agreed here that this is a red herring and have agreed it is something that would better be left out of six sigma.

2. The Mikel Harry salesmanship. Agreed.

3. The elitism of the belts. And I must point out that this would especially be a problem where I work as we have gone with the OSHA Voluntary Protection Program, with heavy emphasis on employee involvement and management leadership. Again, we have some agreement here on this

4. The focus on elimination of defects. Elimination of defects does not necessarily leave you with a "good thing".

5. Along with this, the focus on ppm defect rates, especially based upon the Normal distribution tables.

6. The reliance on numerical targets. You need the target for ppm and your "six sigma capability". The Deming folks work to eliminate numerical targets.

7. The DMAIC is a linear process. At the end, you "control" it. The PDSA model is a cyclic process, potentially never ending.

8. The focus on direct costs, without considering non-quantifiable costs, and with considering indirect costs - optimizing the pieces at the expense of the whole.

So, for me, I stick to what is working for me, a Deming approach. If asked, I will recommend against someone pursuing Six Sigma, but it is their right to do so if they want.

As an aside, I had to give a short speech about ASQ to a joint meeting of ASQ and the National Management Association and the Project Management Insititute. I actually listed Six Sigma as a quality tool supported by ASQ without grimacing or or or

Steve,
You showed remarkable restaint speaking at the meeting. I salute you!

I agree with your points. I am myself an old timer. I first passed the CQE exam in 1979. I took and passed the second SSBB exam ASQ ever gave with two references, Juran's Quality Handbook and a Six Sigma glossary, so I could translate the SS jargon into standard Quality jargon. I wanted to show that SS is a SUBSET of Quality Engineering. To my mind, Six Sigma is a project oriented sheaf of process improvement tools. It works best when it is embedded in a well run QMS, that deals with such matters as management direction, goal setting, etc. You are absolutely correct that it is not a continuous process. If you doubt that Six Sigma is (or should be) project oriented, look at the Project Management Institute's Project Management Professional BOK. The Project Management process maps almost exactly to DMAIC, in slightly different words.

Geoff Withnell
Master Black Belt, BearingPoint, Inc.
CQE, CMQ/OE, CSSBB, CQA, CQSE

 

[artichoke]

The ones that have been proven to be the most effective and efficient for each individual or organization.

If you claim that "six sigma" has provided "stronger tools" to organizations, just what are the specific "stronger" tools has six sigma provided to which specific organizations ?

Meaningless generalizations of this kind do not help quality.

While the term "six sigma" has come to mean almost anything a consultant wants it to mean, it's implications of a mystical six standard deviation spec limit with the even more nonsensical 3.4dpmo has been such a retrograde step for quality I will be very glad to see the demise of the terminology "six sigma".

 

[Randy]

Meaningless generalizations of this kind do not help quality.

I'm sorry, I misread the intent of your post.I didn't realize that we had entered a phase of the "I'll bet I know more than you do game".

The Poster, peacewong, may have been trying to say that the 6S tools used by practioners are themselves not a systems type of approach and as such have a greater potential for hard realization due to their focus as opposed to the improvements that can be achieved by using a QMS/PDCA type system alone. I may be wrong. There is a pretty good possibility that his lack of fluency in our native tongue has created some twist in his message.

On the other hand, in my post I was just making a general statement that because of "no one shoe fits all" the tools that I have seen used by practioners have provided various levels of success across different organizations. So to me strength is a relevant issue.

 

[artichoke]

... the 6S tools used by practioners are themselves not a systems type of approach and as such have a greater potential for hard realization due to their focus ...

Perhaps you can enlighten us as to exactly what SS tools "have a greater potential for hard realization" and how they do this ?

Some data to support your assertion would also be a useful.

 

[Randy]

Perhaps you can enlighten us as to exactly what SS tools "have a greater potential for hard realization" and how they do this ?

I haven't made any claim about tools. Personally I don't know and couldn't care less, I'm not a 6S user. All I have said is that it has been explained to me by various clients some of the different methods they have used that provided individual success for them. Whether the tool be a type of survey, balanced scorecard, any of those things with a "D" in it I can't say exactly and pinpoint it. I didn't put this to memory because it is not relevant to any of my needs. My general statement was based on general knowledge.


Some data to support your assertion would also be a useful.

I haven't made any assertion to anything. I am claiming no personal expertise, I'm just stating what has been relayed to me. Why don't you enlighten us seeing as you must know it all?

I'm having a hard time trying to get a grasp on this need to be aggressive in a forum related to free discussion of opinion and experience. It may be a better service if you could enlighten the group on what you think are some of the best or strongest tools insted of playing the silly game that looks like we're starting to play. You're clearly the expert or at least you have asserted that in your profile. I would like to know if there are specific methods that are better than others and what makes them better. This is the type of information I could pass on and actually reference the provider of if anyone were to ask me who could help them fill their need.

 

[Jim Wynne]

I'm having a hard time trying to get a grasp on this need to be aggressive in a forum related to free discussion of opinion and experience.

Was the irony here intentional?

 

[Randy]

Was the irony here intentional?

Naaaaaaaaa, I'm really trying to be nice and get some info myself here Jim.

 

[artichoke]

I'm having a hard time trying to get a grasp on this need to be aggressive in a forum related to free discussion of opinion and experience. .... I would like to know if there are specific methods that are better than others ...

My apologies if I sounded agressive but I have become quite frustrated on what seems like a game of Chinese whispers with issues like six sigma ( and global warming as another example ). It is so easy for people to make generalised, unsupported statements, then to have them repeated ad nauseum as fact. This is far from the approach to quality teaches us. Whether you call this approach The Scientific Method, PDCA, DMAIC or whatever flavour of the week, the approach should be to make a hypothesis, then to support it with evidence. The global warming debate is a classic example ... a hypothesis (man's contribution of 0.3% greenhouse gases is causing the earth to heat up catastophically ) is not supported by the data ... yet many people continue to repeat the mantra unquestioningly. A scientist and hopefully a quality specialist, will always ask questions to discover the truth ... despite some people becoming upset by having their beliefs questioned.

You asked for my views ... I have recently drafted a paper on the topic :

https://users.bigpond.net.au/SixSigmaFallacies/SSDeming.htm

also:
https://qualitydigest.com/IQedit/QDarticle_text.lasso?articleid=8819

I'd be interested in your comments.

 

[Randy]

Thank you so much and forgive any rudeness on my part.

With Global Warming and your interest in it you might want to visit the EMS/ISO 14001 Forum and give us your point of view. Please start a new thread on Global Warming if you want and we'll try to keep the crack-pots at bay.

I am at the catch-as-catch-can stage with my understanding of 6S, so to keep from twisting stuff around too bad I'll watch from afar.

 

[Jim Wynne]

Thank you so much and forgive any rudeness on my part.

With Global Warming and your interest in it you might want to visit the EMS/ISO 14001 Forum and give us your point of view. Please start a new thread on Global Warming if you want and we'll try to keep the crack-pots at bay.

I am at the catch-as-catch-can stage with my understanding of 6S, so to keep from twisting stuff around too bad I'll watch from afar.

We tried it once before and Marc (probably wisely) called a halt to it after a while. If the discussion were to be reopened (and I'm not recommending it, mind you) that thread should probably be the place.