Page 39 - Six Sigma Advanced Tools for Black Belts and Master Black Belts

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24 August 31, 2006 2:53 A Strategic Assessment of Six Sigma
improvement largely from statistical tools that relate input--output data and make
use of analytical transfer functions for optimization studies. When extended to non-
manufacturing processes, the premise is again that the output is wanted by the cus-
tomer and desired to be uniform around some specified target. Regardless of the
application, the use of quantitative measures is stressed throughout: one adverse con-
sequence of requiring successes to be judged by numbers is, as Galbraith pointed
out, that ‘to many it will always seem better to have measurable progress toward the
wrong goals than unmeasurable progress toward the right ones’. 53
With Six Sigma starting out as a defect prevention and error avoidance scheme, one
still finds today, in promotions for its adoption, arguments such as if airlines do not
operate at Six Sigma level, there will be so many crashes a month; if power companies
are not at Six Sigma level, there will be so many hours of blackouts per week; if utilities
are not at Six Sigma level, there will be so much unsanitary drinking water per day,
and so on. Such ‘illustrations’, if not emotional blackmail, could simply be a reflection
of na¨ıvet´e in problem solving. In reality, when performance is expressed in terms of
the common measure of DPMO, it would be unwise to assume that all non-defects
are equally good or even desirable, and that all defects are equally damaging -- for
example, unsold electricity is profit lost to the power supplier, a poor aircraft landing
could take many forms, and a defective hospital procedure could result in anything
from a slight annoyance to a life-threatening situation.
As Six Sigma is increasingly being touted as the route to organizational and business
excellence, it must be noted that one would be grossly off the mark if conformance to
numerical specifications and minimization of errors were to be forced upon a thriving,
forward-looking enterprise such as one engaged in research and development. If no
mistake is to be made, the first step would have to be suppression of all innovative
thinking and exploratory activities among the staff. Six Sigma can serve as a prescrip-
tion for conformance -- safe landing of an airplane, uninterrupted electricity supply,
sanitary drinking water, successful operation in a hospital, etc. -- but hardly a formula
for creativity, breakthrough or entrepreneurship.
There is yet another aspect of Six Sigma as it is known and practiced today that calls
for attention. Partly owing to the pressure to show results and demonstrate successes,
many Six Sigma practitioners tend to work on problems that are related to the ‘here’
and ‘now’ around them. There is no guarantee that the problem solving or process
optimization efforts led by Champions and Black Belts are, from larger perspectives,
well conceived or well placed. To make the point, consider the string quartet on board
the Titanic: at some stage it might be brilliant at technical delivery, error avoidance,
team work and customer satisfaction -- nevertheless it was doomed right where it was
doing all these. In other words, a larger picture or time frame could show whether a
Six Sigma initiative is meaningful or worthwhile.
In the increasingly globalized environment today, new products and services are
constantly needed in anticipation of customer requirements, cultural trends, changing
lifestyles, new technologies or unexpected business situations. Customization -- that
is, i.e. variety -- is of increasing importance relative to uniformity and predictability.
Unfortunately it is not uncommon to see Black Belt projects formulated with an inter-
nal focus or dominated by local concerns and prevalent measures of performance.
Naturally, not all of the above aspects are necessarily material drawbacks in any
given Six Sigma journey, but they do provide a reminder that Six Sigma cannot be a