Six sigma: effective handling of deep rooted quality problems

Purpose – Details the implementation of six sigma at one UK based manufacturing company.Design/methodology/approach – Describes how and why one company has introduced six sigma, and looks at a number of specific improvement projects – the approach taken, the common fault causes and the benefits gained from introducing new practices.Findings – Six sigma has enabled the company to eliminate a wide range of long standing process variation problems. The projects undertaken highlight the importance of a structured process and the importance of data collection. Only when working with the facts, rather than on “gut feeling” do the real causes become clear and solutions effective.Originality/value – Brings to the attention of managers how six sigma can be used to enhance existing improvement efforts, and uses specific examples to show how the approach can be used to tackle long standing, and often hidden, quality issues.