Grateful, 6 sigma

1. Grateful to God and all that helps me get through a day, especially the nice people

2. Grateful about programs like six sigma that may help - even I am on a green belt team now

3. Grateful that Dept. of Health called to say they would follow up on Taza.

Wikipedia is helping me understand even better what six sigma is and any ties it has to programs set up by people like Deming. The wikipedia entry calls six sigma a business management strategy. It was originally developed by Motorola. I wonder who wrote the wikipedia entry. Was it someone from Motorola?

Six sigma is used to remove defects and errors in manufacturing and business processes. It uses statistical and quality methods. It relies on a group of people within the organization - black belts, etc. - who are trained in six sigma processes. A six sigma project follows a defined sequence of steps and has quantifiable targets such a cost reduction or profit increase.

Originally designed to address manufacturing problems, six sigma has now been extended to include business processes. A defect is now defined as anything that could lead to customer dissatisfaction.

Six sigma was inspired by several previous quality methodologies based on work by people such as Deming and Juran.

What does six sigma have in common with previous quality improvement initiatives? Continuous improvement, measuring, analyzing, committment from management - these are some of the common qualities.

How is six sigma different from previous quality improvement initiatives? An emphasis on financial returns, an emphasis on management leadership, the black belt terminology and approach - these are some of the differences.

Six sigma is credited by Motorola as having helped the company save billions of dollars. This is as of 2006. Honeywell and General Electric also use the technique. Jack Welch introduced it into GE. About 2/3s of Fortune 500 companies use six sigma initiatives.

Lean six sigma is another term that has been used in recent years. It is a combination of lean manufacturing and six sigma.

I see the wikipedia entry also notes that not all companies have had success with six sigma initiatives. It is too narrow to address issues properly according to some. Another critic says it stifles creativity.

Juran says there is nothing new here. He says it is just quality improvement. The terms are more flamboyant is what he says.

How can we apply this to technical communication? Will