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The concept of six sigma was introduced for the very first time in the 70s. A senior executive at Motorola queried the inconsistent quality of the company’s products. As a result, the system was developed to improve quality while reducing costs. In the mid-80s, the six sigma concept was fully launched and became popular.
Six sigma has evolved from the manufacturing industry to other industries. Almost every industry employs six sigma concepts to improve their operations. Six Sigma aims at identifying and eliminating errors that cause defects in a process, product or service.
It has grown over time to represent a number of concepts:
- A performance goal, representing 3.4 defects for every million opportunities to make one (99.99% of the products are meant to be free of defect).
- A series of tools and methods used to improve or design products, processes, and/or services.
- A set of tools and techniques that are used to aid in process improvement