Six Sigma and the Value of Consistency in Business

by | Oct 29, 2012 | Business and Economy

Six Sigma, and by extension, Six Sigma certification refers to a philosophy and style of management developed by Motorola in the 80s, and adopted by Jack Welch in the 90s. The underlying philosophy of the Six Sigma process is to identify sources of variability in manufacturing and to eliminate these sources of imperfections and defects. Essentially the goal is to make it so consumers know when they buy from a company that the product won’t have defects. From the perspective of the manufacturing company, knowing that they have so few defects being produced they can actually be much more lenient in how they deal with problems. When a company knows they won’t have to cover many defective products they can offer better warranties and support.

One of the most valuable things in a company is consistency. Six Sigma certification makes it easier for a company to market itself and its products as reliable. When people make decisions, uncertainty plays makes the actual making process much more complex, and every bit of certainty helps. To put it in more tangible terms, imagine you’re buying wine, you know one brand will vary massively between vintage sometimes being fantastic and sometimes being terrible. The other is much more consistent, not as good as the other when it’s at its best but much better than the other when it’s at its worst. If the two cost the same price you’re likely to take the consistent bottle simply because you know what you’re getting for your money. With physical manufacturing the range of quality is likely to be more negative than negative to positive.

Defects or production errors rarely make things better when we’re discussing manufactured goods. With food and wine there’s an argument to be made about letting things be a bit less tightly controlled so you can get those fantastically good vintages. With manufacturing the argument isn’t there. When someone buys a mobile phone or a car they don’t want to be buying from a range of quality. They want to know that they’re getting exactly the car they can expect and nothing worse. Six Sigma certification can help a company learn how to detect and eradicate errors and inconsistency in manufacturing, and since Six Sigma certification has meaning in the business world they can advertize their ability to do so to other companies. It might not mean much to the average consumer; more people are going to know Six Sigma because of a skit on the TV show “30 Rock” than actually know what it means. However, a lot of business happens business to business and within that world Six Sigma certification can mean a lot.

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