Quality improvement | Lean Six Sigma, Six Sigma Certification

Six Sigma is a combination of the best elements of various quality improvement methodologies and a rigorous statistic-driven approach to performance improvement. The term “Six Sigma” was coined by Bill Smith, an engineer at Motorola. Six Sigma, in the present form, originated in the early 1980s at Motorola as a tool for reducing product-failure levels by 10 times in five years. General Electric (GE) implemented Six Sigma in 1995 after Motorola, and Allied Signal followed the Six Sigma trail after GE.

Six Sigma methodology evolved by combining the best elements of earlier quality improvement innovations.

Innovation	Description
Uniformity system	Introduced by Eli Whitney in 1798 Created a necessity for measuring dimensions Evolved into specifications
Moving assembly line	Introduced by Henry Ford in 1913 Highlighted the importance of part consistency Led to the sampling method, replacing 100% inspection
Control charts	Introduced by Walter Shewhart in 1924 Signaled the age of statistical quality control
Quality movement	Introduced by the Japanese in 1945 Pioneered the usage of data to quantify variation Ensures integration of quality across all levels of an organization
Customer Centric Products	Japanese focused on eliminating defects and reducing cycle time Resulted in production of high-quality, efficient, and customer-centric products
.Zero defects	Was introduced by Philip Crosby in 1980 Led to perfection in a product, process, or service is attainable.
Quality standards	Introduced by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 1987 Led to uniformity in quality practices across countries
Six Sigma	Motorola wins the first Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in 1987 Led to the present Six Sigma methodology