Six Sigma as a Philosophy
There is also a philosophical element to Six Sigma. The underlying belief is that the highest quality 'producer' is the lowest cost 'producer'.
Allied with this belief is the concept that
variation is the root cause of performance limitations. If we could remove all variation from our organisation so that we provided the right product or service on time at the right cost that is defect free that lasts an expected period of time, we would receive no customer complaints!
Variation, however, cannot be removed, but it can be reduced. The question of course is how much should variation be reduced and Six Sigma, with its
target of 3.4 defects per million opportunities, is the level currently accepted as world class.
