Enhancing the Future Impact of Six Sigma Management

Abstract

Though Six Sigma has proven to be an effective framework for performance improvement in a wide variety of industries for many years, the future development of Six Sigma needs to be explored. In this paper, we briefly review the background and development of Six Sigma and suggest ways to enhance and extend the effectiveness of Six Sigma in the coming years. We propose the future development of Six Sigma from three perspectives: strategy, integration and innovation. Some challenges are addressed for Six Sigma’s spreading to service systems. Research shows that when Six Sigma becomes more pervasive and inclusive, it will offer opportunities for excellence in performance in the production of goods and services in a wide variety of businesses.

Key Words:

• Continuous improvement
• DMAIC
• organizational excellence
• quality management
• Six Sigma.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Zhen He

Zhen is Professor of Industrial Engineering at Tianjin University, China. His main research areas are statistical quality control, design of experiments, Six Sigma and quality management. He is the chairman of Six Sigma Expert Steering Committee under China Association for Quality. He is also the recipient of NSFC (National Natural Science Foundation of China) Outstanding Young Scholar, and the recipient of the New Century Excellent Talents Program, Ministry of Education in China

Thong Ngee Goh

Thong Ngee Goh is Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering, National University of Singapore. His main research areas are statistical quality control, Taguchi methods and robust design, Six Sigma and quality management. He is an Academician of the International Academy for Quality (IAQ) and Fellow of the American Society for Quality (ASQ). He is a co-author of the book “Six Sigma: Advanced Tools for Black Belts and Master Black Belts” (Wiley, 2005) which won the Masing Book Prize of the IAQ, and is the only non-Am erican in the world to have received both the William G Hunter Award and Grant Medal of the ASQ.