6 Sigma: Whatever Happened to This Trend?

For those who have actually forgotten, or just weren’t around a years or so ago when it was the focus of numerous books, posts, and panel discussions, Six Sigma is a procedure that relies on stats and data analysis to minimize mistakes or problems. 6 Sigma’s primary function is to enhance cycle times while decreasing flaws to no more than 3.4 defects per million systems or occasions.

Yet time moves forward and other approaches, such as Agile, Lean, and Continual Improvement, have gradually nudged 6 Sigma out of the efficiency/productivity spotlight.

Seeking Relevance

Six Sigma and its offspring, Lean 6 Sigma, remain relevant in manufacturing and numerous service industries, including health care and transport, where mistake reduction, effectiveness, and consistency are crucial to achieving optimal performance, quality assurance, and customer satisfaction. “Nevertheless, it has lost a few of its appeal over the previous 10 to 20 years with the rise of the Internet and software application, where speed, development, and innovation are of critical issue,” says Brad Schaltenbrand, a partner in banking, insurance coverage, and capital markets at business advisory company Guidehouse. “Agile is more prevalent in information technology and software product development … where priorities and obstacles are in flux and speed is of the essence.”

Kathryn Bingham, CEO of LEADistics, a management, development, and executive training company, believes that for business challenged by supply chain concerns, increasing costs, and developing work needs 6 Sigma continues to matter. “The label we apply isn’t as essential as the underlying procedure,” she keeps in mind. Whether a company calls its program Six Sigma, Lean, Continuous Enhancement, or some other name makes no distinction. “What a change leader wants to know is whether the stakeholders have a typical language and set of tools that can be used broadly to the requirements of the organization,” Bingham states.

Developing and Adjusting

Many manufacturing businesses continue to use the fundamental 6 Sigma structure while enhancing it with more modern-day methods and applications, such as Lean and sustainability. “Where Six Sigma might start to falter in relevance is where it’s accepted as a wide and strict program structure for quality assurance and management,” states Ola Chowning, a partner with worldwide innovation research and advisory firm ISG. “For instance, 6 Sigma might be less pertinent in cases where it may clash with Nimble approaches, such as those that concentrate on flexibility and flexibility, and product-oriented delivery that acknowledges the requirement to adjust processes and abilities at the product level.”

Nowadays, companies may use Six Sigma as part of a methodology method to problem resolving. This can make the procedure more useful in an Agile or product-oriented environment, Chowning says. The increase of Lean Six Sigma as an approach to lower waste, for example, has actually recently led to interest in Green Lean Six Sigma to resolve ecological effect reduction. “With its concentrate on measurement and outcomes, it seems a fine fit for sustainability and green initiatives,” she states.

Another example of adjustment is likely through Industry 4.0 adoption. “This need to allow for richer and more immediate input information to the critical measurement step in the Six Sigma procedure,” Chowning states. “This would supply the possible to not only fix procedure problems, however to anticipate and permit enhancement of quality even prior to a business effect.”

Future Outlook

While implementing 6 Sigma on its own can help optimize processes and businesses, it shouldn’t be deemed a one-size fits all method, Schaltenbrand says. “Complementary disciplines like Lean and Agile will be utilized in conjunction with Six Sigma where tools and techniques are leveraged à la carte, depending upon the requirement or fit.”

Schaltenbrand anticipates companies to continue mixing and matching procedures, consisting of Six Sigma, to attain optimal outcomes. “For example, voice of the client, metrics, and information analytics from Six Sigma, integrated with iterative development and improvement from Agile, can be integrated to produce results quickly and on a continuous basis with the data to back it up,” he says. “The additive benefits of combining one or more complementary disciplines … will ensure Six Sigma endures for several years to come.”

Chowning likewise anticipates 6 Sigma to conveniently adapt to altering times and choices. “6 Sigma as a process, rather than a program, may end up being a somewhat ubiquitous set of actions for process improvement and problem solving,” she notes. When deployed within broader approaches, such as Agile, Six Sigma will continue “to find significance within industrial environments and business process locations as a program for flaw reduction and quality improvement.”