Exchanging comments with one of my colleagues, Lynn Lopez, I told her that Six Sigma is useful for almost any process improvement.
Taking that as premise, I searched for Six Sigma’s other uses. Since I love music, I tried researching Six Sigma and music. As I expected, I found one quality person who is able to relate Six Sigma to music, or more specifically, rhythm.
Because Six Sigma makes us look at our each of our operations closer, PQ Systems eLine says that we need to do it with some rhythm. Although W. Edwards Deming and Six Sigma both have taught us to look with the perspective of processes that we can strive to control, there are rhythms in the naturally existing patterns that influence what happens to us and to our organizations. These natural rhythms are much more difficult to control.
The lesson is here is that we should not take each operation singly and separately from each other. Find the rhythm, the right timing to have all these processes working for a common goal. We take every experience we share with our customers, employees, our processes, structures, equipment, tools, and even the environment we are in, and view them as part of the whole and therefore should perform along with the others. The challenge is to view all these as a major production not segments.
As a final take, the article aptly ends: “Stay in touch and dance with your own rhythms, as well as the rhythms both inside and outside your organization, rather than ignoring or attempting to conquer them. These are, I think, our most common responses. And take a little time to consider what rhythms mean to you. I’m sure I have barely scratched the surface.”
So have you found that Six Sigma rhythm yet?
Link: A look at rhythm and Six Sigma
Photo credit: MorgueFile.com
