Key Points

• Six Sigma is one of the most widely used and popular business methodologies available to organizations today.
• This is especially true in manufacturing, where Six Sigma is most commonly associated.
• When you realize just how impactful this process has been for companies like Motorola and GE, it’s an easy sell to other organization leaders.

In the world of Six Sigma, you might think it’s become a catch-all that can help just about every industry make organization-wide improvements. For the most part, if you do believe this, you wouldn’t be wrong, but in the case of Six Sigma, nowhere is this more true than in the manufacturing industry, which is where its origins really happened.

Understanding how Six Sigma plays a role in the manufacturing world can lay the groundwork for process improvement and increased efficiency. Perhaps more importantly, there is the belief that Six Sigma is a competitive advantage for the companies that look to roll it out or incorporate it into their work environments to bring about massive improvements.

What Is Six Sigma?

At the end of the day, the best way to understand Six Sigma is to consider it a data-driven methodology that aims to eliminate defects, specifically in manufacturing processes, while also improving the quality of those processes.

Unlike some other business methodologies, Six Sigma focuses on using data and statistics to identify defects and then introducing improved output methods for the products being manufactured.

To put it into context with manufacturing, think of Six Sigma as a way for businesses to streamline production, reduce defects, and improve overall productivity for both the business and its employees.

The Role of Six Sigma In Manufacturing

Building on the above, it’s truly important to recognize that Six Sigma in the manufacturing world can both identify and eliminate unnecessary processes, which might be the root cause of product defects or inconsistent output.

Using the DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control) process, Six Sigma provides a data-driven and structured approach to problem-solving on the manufacturing line. The goal is to deliver a product of better overall quality, which in turn results in increased customer satisfaction, repeat business, and, hopefully, increased customer loyalty.

Using this methodology, Six Sigma also strives to lay the groundwork for the idea of Continuous Improvement in manufacturing, which is essentially an ongoing belief that a business can continually optimize its processes to increase output and profits.

There is no question that Six Sigma is a critical player in the manufacturing space, which is why it is most closely aligned with this type of workplace. Even as manufacturers focus heavily on aligning with the digital age and new technologies like automation and artificial intelligence, Six Sigma plays a vital role in the future.

Benefits of Implementing Six Sigma In Manufacturing

As one might suspect, there is no shortage of benefits in introducing Six Sigma into the manufacturing workforce.

Quality Control

In the market, quality is everything for customers, and it’s for this reason that in manufacturing, Six Sigma is looking to cut out any defect or failure that exists in the process. Anything that is built and winds up as waste doesn’t get sold to a customer and results in a net loss for the company, so helping to identify defects means less waste and therefore results in more profits.

Reducing Defect Number

At the very core of Six Sigma in manufacturing is reducing the number of defects, errors, flaws, or any other word you can describe that would fit in this space. If defects are reduced, it can fix problems early on in the manufacturing process that would otherwise result in products being tossed at the final production stage.

This means reduced costs as a result of reduced waste, and it generally means reworking a manufacturing process, which is far less expensive than the amount of total waste that can be spent without any return.

Data Is Everything

If you think about Six Sigma at its core, everything about it ties back to data in some capacity. It’s safe to say that Six Sigma is heavily reliant on data that can be collected, analyzed, and used to make sure that the manufacturing process is delivering improved product quality. Data can also play a critical role in looking for future errors, which is at the core of Continuous Improvement.

Bottom Line Increases

Ultimately, what a company wants most with its manufacturing process is to find ways to improve the bottom line by driving improved quality across its products. There is a direct correlation between manufacturing process, implementing Six Sigma to make improvements, and increasing a company’s overall revenue. Products that are sold to customers that are quality and reliable are going to help drive a company’s revenue goals.

Process Improvement

There are no surprises in Six Sigma and manufacturing that come along with a focus on process improvement. Identifying flaws and defects is a direct line to improving manufacturing processes and goes far beyond just fixing a current defective issue. Instead, the focus with process improvement is to make lasting changes using Six Sigma methodology and data to help better deliver a product that would not just meet, but exceed customer demands.

Driving Customer Satisfaction

The single most important reason why Six Sigma is a competitive advantage in manufacturing isn’t the defects or the data, but it’s all about driving customer satisfaction. This is the end game for everything that is done before getting a product into the hands of customers. If a customer is happy with a product, then everything that took place, as far as identifying defects, improving manufacturing processes, etc., was all worth it in the end.

Six Sigma Creates Measurable Manufacturing Advantages

If you’re looking for how Six Sigma really delivers a competitive edge in manufacturing, the answer isn’t always black and white, but this doesn’t mean one doesn’t exist. For most businesses, enabling this methodology is going to allow a company to transform its manufacturing operations into a precision-driven competitive weapon by eliminating any variability that is costing it market share currently.

Rest assured that Six Sigma isn’t looking to deliver general quality improvement ideas, but its focus is on data-driven approaches and quantifiable objectives that can directly and often immediately translate into a manufacturer’s ability to outperform its competitors.

First Advantage

Through the DMAIC framework, the idea is to create a sustainable moat that uses three critical mechanisms to deliver a competitive advantage. The first is to drive defect rates below 3.4 parts per million, which is the industry-agreed metric for quality. If a company can accomplish this, it means lower warranty repair concerns, fewer customer complaints, and higher customer retention rates compared to its competitors.

Second Advantage

The second idea is to utilize Six Sigma’s focus on process optimization to reduce manufacturing cycle times by 20-50%. This is a significant move, but it would enable a faster time-to-market, making a company more responsive to customer feedback than slower-moving competitors.

Third Advantage

Lastly, Six Sigma allows an organization to build new capabilities over time, which is another way of saying Continuous Improvement. This is exactly what companies like Motorola, GE, and Honey did when implementing their own Six Sigma projects, as it became embedded into the manufacturing DNA of each company. This is now so true that employees proactively look out for defects and waste and start to optimize processes to eliminate both.

Suppose a company can get employees to create their own self-reinforcing cycle. In that case, it creates an environment internally that is hard to match by competitors who might be relying on methodologies that are not as rigorous or data-driven as Six Sigma.

No question, implementing Six Sigma can be expensive, and it can cost hundreds of thousands to get started. However, the savings that can be reported as a result of this initial expense not only offset the initial cost but can also lead to reduced production costs of up to 10% in the first year alone, which results in savings that far surpass the initial expense.

The bottom line is that companies focused on Six Sigma training and organizational alignment will not only capture more market share as a result of being more reliable and delivering faster, but will also make more money than their competitors.

Other Useful Tools and Concepts

While reading about Six Sigma can keep you busy for hours, the good news is that it isn’t the only thing you can spend some time learning. You might want to try to learn more about how small problems can become big ones and how to stop this from happening with Daily Kaizen. It’s an engaging read for both personal and business reasons.

Once you are done with this fantastic walkthrough on life, turn your attention to how a company can raise the bar on call center service. Just as Six Sigma can help deliver improved customer satisfaction through delivering more reliable products, a company can win customer loyalty by delivering outstanding customer service.

Conclusion

Ultimately, it should be self-evident that Six Sigma is a key driver in creating a competitive advantage. This is something that Motorola and GE found true, and if these titans of industry can create this reality, then so can businesses of any other size. If a company really wants to set itself apart in its industry, enabling Six Sigma is a no-brainer.