[sparky]

The Emperors New Clothes (Six Sigma Fad or Failure?)

Six Sigma might make you look good, but can you afford it?

We've all heard the old tale about the Emperor's new clothes. Two scheming tailors decide to exploit the vanity of the Emperor by inventing a fantastic material that only clever people can see. The tailors, after being employed by the emperor, pretended to dress him in this super new material. They cruelly exploit his vanity. When the newly clad emperor stands in front of the mirror to admire his fine new clothes, he can only see himself in his underwear. However, he's afraid to say anything in case he reveals himself as not being clever, and so he parades through his kingdom in his underwear.

All who saw him claimed to admire his fantastic new clothing. They didn't want to reveal their shortcomings any more than he did. After all, nobody likes to admit that they're not clever. Those who could afford the costly miracle material followed the Emperor's example and rushed to the same tailors for suits of their own. Soon, much of the kingdom was complaining about the unusually chilly weather.

Does it sound familiar?

Companies are terrified of not adopting Six Sigma and spend vast sums of money on training because they don't want to be seen as quality improvement laggards, who are out of step with the latest ideas in quality thinking. To keep up with the latest trend, they specify Black Belt certification as a job requirement, thereby excluding many quality practitioners who can't afford the horrendously costly Six Sigma clothing. However, nobody looks too closely at what the Emperor is actually wearing.

Unlike the Emperor in our original tale, the Six Sigma Emperor is wearing clothes, but their designer label has probably cost many, many times their actual value and is probably a little discoloured too. Whilst there can be little doubt that Six Sigma delivers improvements to both quality and productivity, one must question if it is the only way.

Reducing variation to improve quality isn't really rocket science is it? Henry Ford might not of had a clue as to what a sigma was, never mind the theory of six of them. What he did though was to reduce variation with the tools of the day. Ford's success can hardly be questioned. The use of tools, not designer labels is what brings results.

Six Sigma identifies waste, and that includes inefficiencies and hidden plant waste. Waste reduction was key to Henry Ford's business strategy. Ford allegedly even requested his suppliers to pack components into crates made out of specific sizes and grades of wood so that he might use them as floors for his cars.

The heart of Six Sigma is the DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve and control) cycle, which echoes W. Edwards Deming's plan-do-check-act cycle. First, identify a situation, then try to improve it, check the results, and hold the gains. Repeat the cycle for continuous improvement.

Harry and Schroeder expanded the original DMAIC cycle to become RDMAICSI. (Recognize, define, measure, analyze, improve, control, standardize and integrate). It works, but then again, so do many others. Ford Motor Co.'s TOPS-8D (Team Oriented Problem Solving, Eight Disciplines) for example, which is very closely related to the Kepnor-Tregoe teachings.

DMAIC claims to have a data focus. But 8D can also use data derived methods such as design of experiments and capability analysis.8D is seen by some to be more versatile than RDMAICSI. It uses cross-functional teams, looks for root causes, and implements and tests permanent corrections or improvements. Six Sigma doesn't seem to add anything to it.

Six Sigma devotees may dismiss these observations as sour grapes from someone unwilling to pay the price to acquire a Six Sigma Black Belt. But let's be fair and honest here. Can four weeks of training really create the experts that the tuition claims to? Aren't statistics and the other areas taught to Black Belts, full college courses in their own right? The bottom line is that there is no quick fix; no matter what price you are prepared to pay.

There can be no doubt that good quality Six Sigma training equips a Black Belt to identify applications for designed experiments, to work with cross-functional problem-solving teams and to work effectively with a graduate of an applied statistics or quality management program. However, it's not a substitute for a comprehensive mastering of the basic quality sciences, and that can only come with time.