At exactly two years ago, ISO introduced ISO 13053:2011 entitled " Quantitative Methods in Process Improvement – Six Sigma "

It is about the application of Six Sigma to improve existing processes with 2 parts:

Part 1: DMAIC methodology, describes the five-phased methodology DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve and Control), and recommends best practice, including on the Roles, Expertise and Training of personnel involved in such projects.

Part 2: Tools and Techniques, describes Tools and Techniques, illustrated by fact sheets, to be used at each phase of the DMAIC approach.

Some of you might disagree, but pardon my honest and blunt opinion.

The first time I have read about ISO developing a Six Sigma standard, I laughed.  Really hard.  Why?  Because it was like Samsung, planning to sell iPhone-inside-a-Samsung-Box to its customers.  It was like re-packaging an already finished good and telling everyone that this is 'the' original.  Nothing more like selling pirated DVDs and telling everyone to buy only from me, because it is only I that sells the real deal.

We all know that ISO, its certifying bodies and consultants are earning a lot to sell the standard (print), consulting and auditing services to companies.  ISO, in my opinion, wants to take a piece of the Six Sigma pie, even to the point of monopolizing it since they can now say that they own "the" standard. 

They are trying to exploit Six Sigma's weakness of not having a central certifying body.  It is indeed ironic, that a discipline that aims to reduce variations does not have a standard way of implementing the initiative and issuing Six Sigma certifications.

Why did ISO thought about it in the first place?  Was it because ISO's revenues were declining and want to enter new market?  To me, it seems like a desperate move.

So did it sell?  Did companies adopt ISO 13053 to roll-out Six Sigma?  Try to ask around, and you'll get blank stares.

On one of my previous posts, I asked what is more important to you, and to your organization, is it Six Sigma or Innovation? 

This time, let's talk about Six Sigma vs ISO (specifically ISO 9001, or Quality Management Systems, since there are hundreds of ISO standards). 

I am not fond of comparing Six Sigma to other quality initiatives, but these are usual questions I get from executives and quality practitioners.

In fact, I remember this question from iSixSigma thread way back in 2007, where one executive asked:

"ISO and Six Sigma – where is the connection? Why do we need both? Can we live without one or the other? Should they both remain as they serve different purposes? Should one yield to the other and integrate before dissolving? What are your thoughts?"

The scope of comparing the two quality initiatives is as wide as the pacific ocean.  Since this blog post is only as big as a surfboard, it would be impossible for me to cover everything.  I would also like to get insights from you, dear readers, and fellow quality practitioners so we could learn from one another.

Main Goal
The goal of ISO 9001 are standardization and compliance.

Standardization means making your processes the same, which would result to having your customers receive a "similar" service or product every time, all the time, whenever, wherever.  It means receiving a "similar quality" burger from your favorite fast food chain wherever (branch), whenever, every time, all the time.  It also means, that even if you have 3 people making your burger in a branch, all three would create "same quality" burger.

Compliance means ensuring that what is "really" happening on your production floor, offices, warehouse, etc. are SIMILAR to the processes written on your Operations Manual and Work instructions.  If there are differences, you should either update your documentation, or align actual processes to your manuals. 

Six Sigma, on the other hand, drives change for the better.  The heart of six sigma initiatives are process improvement projects, which aims to "change" the current process to the ideal process and in turn would lead to reduction of process defects, delays, and variations.

What is interesting is this: in the CONTROL Phase, the last phase of DMAIC (Six Sigma methodology), project teams ensure that the "new/ improved" process shall be the new standard to avoid recurring of defects.  If Six Sigma is also used by an ISO company, it is a must for the team and process owners update their operations manual to reflect the improved process and make it the new standard, and let everyone comply to it.

Certification
Six Sigma certifies individuals, while ISO certifies companies.  ISO certifying bodies certify companies that complies to ISO standards.  Six Sigma initiatives certify individuals, after satisfying requirements set by the person or institution.  ISO has a central certifying body, while Six Sigma has none.  Due to that, one big risk companies and individuals should look into is the quality of a Six Sigma training program.  You will only be as good as the person or institution that will certify you. 

At iAcademy School of Continuing Education, where I am the Lean Six Sigma Program Director, we strictly maintain the following standards before we certify an individual as Six Sigma Green or Black Belt:.

1.  Attend learning sessions/ lectures (100% attendance for Green Belt; 85% Black Belt)
2 . Pass practical and written examinations (60% passing score)
3. Complete an actual Six Sigma project by hitting the goal and show proper use of six sigma tools and methodology.
4. Mentor a green belt candidate to complete his/her project (For Black Belt only)


ROI
This is where Six Sigma is way ahead than ISO.  Both programs require significant investments in terms of money, time, and resources, but in Six Sigma, you can get your ROI as fast as you finish your first few projects.  Projects produce quantifiable soft & hard savings (affects your P&L), and executives love that.  This is one main cause why Six Sigma is still widely used today.

Critical Success Factors
Both programs in my opinion, share similar critical success factors:  Support from the top management; Competent program manager (Black Belt for Six Sigma, QMR for ISO); Alignment of initiatives to support management strategies; and support from critical mass.


Now, I give you back the question asked by the Executive on iSixSigma forum.  Share your thoughts and let everyone learn something new today.

"ISO and Six Sigma – where is the connection? Why do we need both? Can we live without one or the other? Should they both remain as they serve different purposes? Should one yield to the other and integrate before dissolving? What are your thoughts?"

In a company that uses Six Sigma as its process improvement initiative, you'll hear hundreds of jargons like DMAIC "dee-meyk" (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control), VOC (Voice of the Customer), CTQ (Critical to Quality), VOP (Voice of the Process), SIPOC (Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs, Customers), and many more.


What is VoE and why is it important?

Voice of the Employee is the term used to describe the stated and unstated needs or requirements of the employees of your business.

It is no secret that employees who are satisfied in their jobs are more motivated, loyal, dedicated and productive

By asking your employees what they care about, you can understand motivations and perceptions to create and maintain a loyal and committed staff.


VoE is More than Just an Employee Survey

Doing employee survey is not the end but only the beginning.  Doing feedback collection or employee survey is the first step to your VoE journey (See figure 1).  What's important is you translate VoE, which are usually general statements, like "I want a cool boss", or "I want an attractive benefit", to CTQs (Critical to Quality), or measurable characteristics, like "I want a boss that gives feedback at the end of the day and not every 15 minutes", or "I want the flexibility to convert my unused Sick Leaves upgrade my health benefit plan".

Figure 1. VoE Methodology

Are you a Manager or a Fire Fighter?

When I was a fresh graduate, I was hired by a local Telecommunications Company.  On my first day, I remember attending its New Employee Orientation program together with 50+ new hires.  The facilitator asked that we take out a pen and paper.  “Remember when you were 5 years old.  What did you want to be when you grow up?”    After five minutes, he then asked, “How many of you wrote down “manager?”

After seeing that no one replied, I raised my hand.  The facilitator looked at me with a surprised face.  “At 5 years old, you already knew you wanted to be a manager?  You knew what a manager was?”

“No,” I answered, “but I came pretty close.  I wrote ‘fire fighter’.”

I have worked as a quality practitioner for several industries and one common complain I hear managers say: “The fire never ends.  It seems that crisis overlaps one after another.  I don’t know how much of this my team and I can take.  We never have time to get any ‘real work’ done.”  (Those who can relate to or heard your colleagues/ boss said the same thing, give me a silent nod).

While it is expected that managers rescue the company and solve problems, when a manager’s department is spending huge amount of time fighting fires, it’s a sign that something is very wrong.  It means that the manager was unable to address the root causes of the problem and that he is focusing more on rework to correct the situation.  Rework means spending more time and resources (including money) to fix the problem which should have not been there in the first place.



PREVENTION IS INDEED BETTER THAN CURE

As a manager, how can you lead your team get back on its feet to do “real work”?  There are several methodologies in a manager’s arsenal to solve a problem’s root causes and prevent it from recurring.  As shown on figure one, the first thing to ask is “Is the solution known?”  (A1).  If the solution is known, then assess the level or risks involved (A2).  Are the risks high or low?  Does it involve mission critical data risks such as customer information, regulated transaction details, and trade secrets?  For low risks, just do the solution and check if it solves the problem (A3), otherwise use PDCA (A4).  Then, check if the problem has been solved.  If solution is unknown or if the problem recurs in spite of implemented solutions, then you may use Six Sigma’s DMAIC (A6) methodology.

DMAIC WHAT?

DMAIC is pronounced as “dee-meyk.”  Pyzdek, T. (2003) states that every Six Sigma project follows a standardized and systematic method known as DMAIC (acronym for Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control).  DMAIC is a disciplined, data-driven, problem-solving methodology.  Data-driven just means that decisions are based on data, not on perception or opinion.  This approach eliminates wasting people’s valuable time and makes sure the real problems are solved.

DMAIC IN ACTION

Here is a practical example of DMAIC in action.  Imagine one February night that you are in your house watching the highlights of the day’s impeachment proceedings while enjoying your favourite ice-cold soda, and then it starts to rain.  Suddenly, water begins dripping from your ceiling.  The following morning, you buy one gallon of elastomeric sealant and ask your carpenter to seal the holes and cracks of your 5 year-old roof.  The sealant costs P1,600 and you pay P400 for labor.

Two days after, while sipping a freshly brewed coffee in another rainy morning, water starts dripping again.  With that, you immediately call your local roofing contractor and have a new roof put on the next day.  The bill is P17,000.  Three days later, the water starts to drip again.  So you get on the phone and call the contractor to give them a piece of your mind.  Only thing is, while you are on hold, you look outside and notice it isn’t raining.  On taking a closer look, you find out that the PVC (Polyvinyl chloride) pipe that runs up to your second floor bathroom is leaking.  Now don’t you think that some data, such as how often and when does your ceiling leak, what the weather was, and others, might have been valuable?  That it might have saved you money too?

Define is the first phase.  In this phase the project goal or purpose is carefully defined.  The scope is determined, which is an understanding of how wide or comprehensive the project will be.  (Find out why the roof is leaking and fix it.)

Measure is the second phase.  In the measure phase information is gathered that will be needed to support finding root causes and support improvement.  If it is a process, baseline data on the process’s performance are gathered.  If it is a problem, data that can be used to pinpoint the problem will be gathered (e.g. Days water leaked from the ceiling and if it was raining, how much water leaked from the ceiling, confirmation that the liquid is water, condition of roof, locations of leak in ceiling, how old the roof is.)

Analyze is the third phase.  The purpose of the analyze phase is to use the data to verify the root causes of the problem.  Theories of the causes are examined and tested.  (You ask your neighbours to come over and brainstorm about what could be causing the leak.  On several days when it rained, the ceiling leaked so you have formed the “hypothesis” that there is a problem with your roof.  You pour water over the roof, but the ceiling does not leak, so you “reject” your hypothesis.  On further review, you notice that it was when someone is upstairs that the ceiling leaked.  Due to that, you form another hypothesis that the water going up to your 2nd floor bathroom causes the leak.  You ask someone to turn on the faucet upstairs and the ceiling leaks!  The leaks happen every time the faucet is on.  Now you have verified that the root cause is a leak in the PVC pipe that travels through you ceiling)

Improve is the fourth phase.  This phase is where solutions are verified until root causes are addressed.  Sometimes this takes several solutions.  (You apply duct tape around the leak, you apply PVC pipe sealant on the seam that is leaking, and you try different fittings where the pipe is leaking.)

Control is the last phase.  The purpose this phase is to test the solutions and develop a plan to keep the problem from recurring.  (You find the pipe leaks with duct tape applied, the pipe leaks after PVC pipe sealant is applied, and the pipe no longer leaks when you try a new fitting.  You replace the fitting permanently and implement a control plan of having a professional to inspect the pipe on an annual basis in the future.)

The problem is solved!  And isn’t that a lot better than paying P2,000 for sealant & labor and P17,000 to replace a 5 year old roof that wasn’t leaking?  (Carreira, 2006)

 
REFERENCES

Carreira, B., Trudell B. (2006). Lean Six Sigma that works: a powerful action plan for dramatically improving quality, increasing speed, and reducing waste.  New York:  Amacom. 

Pyzdek, T. (2003).  The Six Sigma Handbook: A Complete Guide for Green Belts, Black Belts, and Managers at All Levels.  New York: McGraw-Hill. 

MAKATI, Philippines-   Lean Six Sigma is now widely used not only by Manufacturing companies, but also other industries including Services, BPO, Telecommunications & IT here in the Philippines.   These industries are equally represented on the ongoing 2nd Six Sigma public run at iAcademy School of Continuing Education. 

The program is based on the recognition that true mastery cannot be gained through instructive learning alone but with hands-on, experiential method.

Also, recognizing the key gap in conventional Six Sigma trainings that tend to only focus on statistical tools, www.6sigmaPH.com has developed a unique working model which ensures that persons to be certified in Six Sigma are competent not only Six Sigma tools and methodologies but also Change Management, Business Process Management, Project Management, Innovation, Presentation and Facilitation Skills.



Our mission is to make Lean Six Sigma practical, affordable and effective

For inquiries on the next public run schedule, or request for in-house training program, please e-mail ask@6sigmaph.com