Sigma is founded on the use of measurements, facts, and statistics to move organizations in directions that constantly improve and reinvent business processes(Ref 8). The roots of this business system are in the statistical limits set for the maximum number of defects in a product, as a fraction of the total number of opportunities for such defects to occur. To the practitioners of this system, "six sigma" is a statistical metric referring to six times the statistical standard deviation of a normal distribution, which allows no more than 3. 4 defects per million opportunities(equivalent to 99.9997% reliability). This is indeed a lofty goal for any organization(be it a manufacturing company, a petrochemical plant, a service business, or a government agency), but companies committed to Six Sigma have reported significant gains in productivity with simultaneous improvements in organizational culture(Ref 7, 8, 9) The most positive result of these new management systems is that organizations have responded to the higher expectations of consumers and users and have provided higher-quality products and systems, with attendant increases in customer satisfaction. However, this notion of the quality of a product or system is multifaceted Juran described quality as fitness for use"'(Ref 5). tQM defines quality as the ability to satisfy the needs of a consumer(Ref 10). These characteristics of quality also apply internally to those in organizations, either in the services, or in manufacturing, operating, or administering products, processes, and systems(Ref 10). The intent is to provide not only products and systems that garner high customer satisfaction, but also that increase productivity, reduce costs, and meet delivery requirements In general, high quality refers to products and systems manufactured to higher standards, in response to higher expectations of consumers and users. These expectations include such attributes as Greater safety Improved reliability Higher performance Greater efficiency Easier maintenance Lower life-cycle cost Reduced impact on the environment ome or all of these qualities at one time appeared mutually exclusive. However, customer demands and the aforementioned new business-management systems have provided a means of measuring and quantifying these attributes creating a new paradigm for business. With the business-culture changes that have occurred through the implementation of one or more of the aforementioned improvement systems, users in recent years have experienced, in general improvement in all of these areas simultaneously. That translates to reduced product failure and greater likelihood of preventing failures. It is important to recognize that, with all the gains achieved under these management systems, the full potential for maximizing these attributes is yet to be achieved Though all of the various improvement systems are unique, they have two aspects in common. They are all customer focused and are founded on problem solving as a means for improvement When addressing customer focus, producers and other organizations have identified that the form, fit, function, and service-life requirements of a product or system are actually defined ultimately by customers. Customer-focused manufacturers strive to meet these requirements in designing, developing, and producing their products or systems. In a broad sense, form, fit, function, and service life represent the technically relevant properties of a product. The form, or physical characteristics of components or products, include the size and shape of a product, as well as the materials of construction and the manufacturing techniques used. The manner in which individual components are assembled into and integrate with the product as a whole describes the fit of components. The function of a product or system is its ability or apability to serve the need for which it was intended. Service life is the duration over which the product or system successfully serves its function. These characteristics define products in the customers eyes. Arguably the most important characteristics, from a consumer's perspective, are how well a product or system functions and how long it serves a usefu Problem Solving, Quality, and Customer Satisfaction. Achieving the levels of quality that meet and exceed customer expectations is paramount to customer satisfaction in a customer-focused management system. Since a customer's perspective of quality is strongly tied to the function and service life of a product or system, it follows that failure to provide adequate measures of function and service life presents problems. One proven technique to improving quality is problem solving. Problems can range broadly, from maintenance training issues, to marginal equipment reliability,to business systems conflicts, to policy inconsistencies, to poor working conditions on the shop floor. When a problem occurs, the responsible organization will analyze the problem to determine the cause and solve it. However, due to various business or cultural pressures, some organizations fall into the following pitfalls when problems arise(Ref 9) Do nothing and perhaps hope that the problem will go away Deny that the problem exists, minimize its importance, question the motives of those identifying the problem Troubleshoot in a haphazard fashion (i.e,"shotgun"troubleshooting) Thefileisdownloadedfromwww.bzfxw.comSigma is founded on the use of measurements, facts, and statistics to move organizations in directions that constantly improve and reinvent business processes (Ref 8). The roots of this business system are in the statistical limits set for the maximum number of defects in a product, as a fraction of the total number of opportunities for such defects to occur. To the practitioners of this system, “six sigma” is a statistical metric referring to six times the statistical standard deviation of a normal distribution, which allows no more than 3.4 defects per million opportunities (equivalent to 99.9997% reliability). This is indeed a lofty goal for any organization (be it a manufacturing company, a petrochemical plant, a service business, or a government agency), but companies committed to Six Sigma have reported significant gains in productivity with simultaneous improvements in organizational culture (Ref 7, 8, 9). The most positive result of these new management systems is that organizations have responded to the higher expectations of consumers and users and have provided higher-quality products and systems, with attendant increases in customer satisfaction. However, this notion of the quality of a product or system is multifaceted. Juran described quality as “fitness for use” (Ref 5). TQM defines quality as the ability to satisfy the needs of a consumer (Ref 10). These characteristics of quality also apply internally to those in organizations, either in the services, or in manufacturing, operating, or administering products, processes, and systems (Ref 10). The intent is to provide not only products and systems that garner high customer satisfaction, but also that increase productivity, reduce costs, and meet delivery requirements. In general, high quality refers to products and systems manufactured to higher standards, in response to higher expectations of consumers and users. These expectations include such attributes as: · Greater safety · Improved reliability · Higher performance · Greater efficiency · Easier maintenance · Lower life-cycle cost · Reduced impact on the environment Some or all of these qualities at one time appeared mutually exclusive. However, customer demands and the aforementioned new business-management systems have provided a means of measuring and quantifying these attributes, creating a new paradigm for business. With the business-culture changes that have occurred through the implementation of one or more of the aforementioned improvement systems, users in recent years have experienced, in general, improvement in all of these areas simultaneously. That translates to reduced product failure and greater likelihood of preventing failures. It is important to recognize that, with all the gains achieved under these management systems, the full potential for maximizing these attributes is yet to be achieved. Though all of the various improvement systems are unique, they have two aspects in common. They are all customer focused and are founded on problem solving as a means for improvement. When addressing customer focus, producers and other organizations have identified that the form, fit, function, and service-life requirements of a product or system are actually defined ultimately by customers. Customer-focused manufacturers strive to meet these requirements in designing, developing, and producing their products or systems. In a broad sense, form, fit, function, and service life represent the technically relevant properties of a product. The form, or physical characteristics of components or products, include the size and shape of a product, as well as the materials of construction and the manufacturing techniques used. The manner in which individual components are assembled into and integrate with the product as a whole describes the fit of components. The function of a product or system is its ability or capability to serve the need for which it was intended. Service life is the duration over which the product or system successfully serves its function. These characteristics define products in the customer's eyes. Arguably the most important characteristics, from a consumer's perspective, are how well a product or system functions and how long it serves a useful life. Problem Solving, Quality, and Customer Satisfaction. Achieving the levels of quality that meet and exceed customer expectations is paramount to customer satisfaction in a customer-focused management system. Since a customer's perspective of quality is strongly tied to the function and service life of a product or system, it follows that failure to provide adequate measures of function and service life presents problems. One proven technique to improving quality is problem solving. Problems can range broadly, from maintenance training issues, to marginal equipment reliability, to business systems conflicts, to policy inconsistencies, to poor working conditions on the shop floor. When a problem occurs, the responsible organization will analyze the problem to determine the cause and solve it. However, due to various business or cultural pressures, some organizations fall into the following pitfalls when problems arise (Ref 9): · Do nothing and perhaps hope that the problem will go away. · Deny that the problem exists, minimize its importance, question the motives of those identifying the problem. · Troubleshoot in a haphazard fashion (i.e., “shotgun” troubleshooting). The file is downloaded from www.bzfxw.com