Describe the Six Sigma philosophy

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Essentially, Six Sigma is about results; enhancing profitability through improved quality and efficiency. Improvement projects are chosen based on their ability to contribute to the bottom line on a company's income statement by being connected to the strategic objectives and goals of the corporation. Projects that do not directly tie to customer issues or financial results are often difficult to sell to management. When choosing a Six Sigma project or any improvement project, care should be taken to avoid poorly defined objectives or metrics. Key business metrics include revenue dollars, labor rates, fixed and variable unit costs, gross margin rates, operating margin rates, inventory costs, general and administrative expenses, cash flow, warranty costs, product liability costs, and cost avoidance. Six Sigma projects are easy to identify, since the Six Sigma methodology seeks to reduce the variability present in processes, project teams seek out sources of waste, such as overtime and warranty claims, investigate production backlogs or areas in need of more capacity, and focus on customer and environmental issues. With high volume products even small improvements can produce significant impact on the financial statement.