What Six Sigma Can Learn from the Systems: ISO 9000

Abstract

Over the decades, companies have evolved various quality checks to minimize defects in productivity. There have been many good and not so good quality techniques; however one technique, which has stood out, is the Six Sigma approach. This approach has enjoyed tremendous corporate attention, the kind, which no other approach can quite claim for itself.

Six Sigma, despite of far flung success and wide spread applications, has some limitations like any contemporary new improvement methodology, both in Theory and Practice as well as tools and methods available to achieve the Six Sigma performance. One such weakness is that, that Six Sigma does not take a system view. A subject which can help this weakness is the systems (QMS) itself.

This paper takes a brief look at the ISO 9000. It compares Six Sigma with the ISO 9000 quality system, attempts an integration and identifies some areas where Six Sigma can learn from the systems to ensure long-term success in the industry