Six Sigma Brief History
To get to the meaning of Six Sigma, we need to look at six sigma brief history. Six Sigma started by Motorola in the 1980s who was driven by an engineer named Bill Smith and get full support from CEO Bob Galvin. Motorola use statistics which are mixed with the knowledge of management tools using financial metrics (ie Return on Investment, ROI) as one of the metrics / measuring tools of quality improvement process. This concept was later further developed by Dr. Mikel Harry and Richard Schroeder that make this method more widely received by the tops of Motorola and other companies.
Six Sigma is a structured methodology to improve business processes that focus on reducing process variation (process variances), while reducing defects (products / services that are outside of specification) by using the statistical method and problem solving tools intensively.
Literally, Six Sigma (6?) is a quantity that we can easily translate as a process that has the possibility of defects (defects opportunity) as much as 3.4 per million pieces in a single product / service. There are a lot of controversy around the decline in the number of Six Sigma to be 3.4 DPMO (defects per million opportunities). But for us, the important point is Six Sigma as metrics is a reference to achieve a state of almost defect-free. Six sigma further development, not just a 6? metrics, but has developed into a methodology and even business strategy.
there are six main components of the concept of Six Sigma as a business strategy:
1. It really put the customer: as we know together, customers not only mean the buyer, but could also mean as our colleagues, team who received the results of our work, government, public service users, etc.
2. Management decision is based on data and facts: not based on opinions, or opinions without solid foundation.
3. Focus on process, management and improvement: Six Sigma is highly dependent our ability to understand the process that combined with good management to make improvements.
4. Proactive management: the role of leaders and managers is critical to success in making changes.
5. Collaboration without borders: the cooperation among the team that should be smooth.
6. Always chasing perfection.
In addition to the six things above, another attractive feature of the application of Six Sigma is the time for targeted improvements can be completed within 4 to 6 months
In the course of time, General Electric (GE) popularizing Six Sigma as a trend and make other companies and people competing to find out what it is and try to implement Six Sigma in their respective workplaces. In this case, the role of CEO Jack Welch arguably very important because he is one who makes the Six Sigma as the backbone of all processes at GE.
