ABSTRACT
Six Sigma was developed at Motorola in the 1980s. It is a strategic business initiative designed to identify sources of error and determine how best to eliminate them. The benefits of Six Sigma are to minimize errors, eliminate hidden inventory, free up floor space by eliminating clutter, improve the flow of materials, reduce walk and transportation time, and eliminate unnecessary items for reuse somewhere else. A key feature of Lean Six Sigma is that time and resources are dedicated to what is critical to quality—those attributes most important to the customer so there is as little variation in expectations as possible. While Lean Six Sigma relies heavily on statistical analysis to calculate operational capacity and error rates, there is also a work environment impact that generally receives little attention. Six Sigma focuses on eliminating mistakes, rework, and waste. It recognizes that improved quality is a means to an end. Six Sigma principles are applicable in industrial and service environments.
