How is Six Sigma different from Lean Manufacturing? Lean Six Sigma Lean Six SigmaLean Manufacturing MethodsLean Manufacturing Value-adding and non-value-adding work

The nature of the job market today is such that some types of job openings require some level of Six Sigma certification as a minimum for employer consideration. Although having certification does not guarantee that a person is truly competent or suitable to achieve the goals of the organization, having certification is the starting point for many companies. Even if you already have a job, some organizations consider 6 Sigma certifications a plus for considering you as an applicant for more high position.

Unlike many other certifications, such as project management certification (PMI), there is not a single authorized institution that lists the body of knowledge (EQA) and a number of requirements necessary for Six Sigma certification. Even though the American Society for Quality (ASQ) body of knowledge (SQK) is quite universal, there are still many variations regarding the required body of knowledge for 6 Sigma, which are very similar but have different meanings– supplementing or reducing the required amount of ASQ knowledge. Certification requirements vary widely. This results in a huge number of certification methods and opportunities with many attributes that can be confusing and therefore need to be reviewed and compared before pursuing certification.

We hope this article will provide general information regarding 6 Sigma Certification and will look at some programs that are commonly recommended by members of their respective LinkedIn communities. Certification methods are classified as first party certification, second party certification, and third party certification. While first party certifications are simply self-declarations, second party certifications are where the organization providing the training sets its own criteria for certification. Third-party certification is confirmation by an impartial party that a product, process, or service meets specified, manufacturing-independent criteria or standards. Most 6 Sigma certifications are second-party certifications, as the company provides the training and certification.

What belts are there?

The generally recognized 6 Sigma belts are Green, Black and Master Black Belts (although some organizations also have White or Yellow Belts). A Green Belt is not required to obtain a Black Belt unless internal policy requires it. There is a wide range of job responsibilities regarding different belts. In general, Green Belts work on 6 Sigma projects as part of their work. Black Belts are project managers and can only work on 6 Sigma projects. A Master Black Belt is the highest level of Six Sigma, these individuals mentor and train others, consult on projects and may be involved in strategic level work. Black Belts and Master Black Belts can move into different industries and develop more flexible skills and change management styles, in addition to using deeper technical skills.

Coursework with a specific industry focus may be offered to obtain Six Sigma belts. The most popular industries are manufacturing, manufacturing, services and healthcare. The examples and cases used during the course have been taken from a specific industry, although the curriculum is industry independent and therefore broadly applicable. Testing and certification are not industry specific. For example, there is no separate Six Sigma test in healthcare.

Lean Six Sigma (LSS) contains the fundamentals of Six Sigma and is complemented by a set of industry philosophies, methodologies and tools for managing cultural transformation that aims to reduce and eliminate waste. External third party experts - Lean Senseis - can provide companies with impartial advice and guidance regarding lean manufacturing. Industry Lean 6 Sigma certification courses are provided.

Some programs provide only 6 Sigma certification, others only provide Lean 6 Sigma certification, and others provide certification for both. ASQ provides coursework for LSS, but does not have any Lean exams or certifications. ASQ focuses your attention on the Lean Manufacturing certification, which is offered separately by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME). SME has grants at bronze, silver and gold levels. The International Association for Six Sigma Certification (IASSC) only provides LSS certification. And as one example, Villanova University provides certification for Six Sigma as well as Lean Sensei.

Requirements for belts

There is no standard for the amount of knowledge, nor a standard for the requirements that are required to obtain these belts. Depending on the organization, certification can be achieved through training and project implementation, or through exam alone, or training only, or both training and exam and project implementation. If a project is still required, then at least one project for a green belt and two projects for a black belt must be completed. Some certifying bodies require that a black belt's project generate significant monetary value or have a significant impact on the organization. Requirements for green belt projects are generally more lenient, ranging from working on a project as a volunteer to a managed online project. ASQ certification requires three years of work experience (full-time and paid) in one or more areas of the required Green Belt knowledge, and admission to the exam is subject to completion of an application.

To characterize the difference between the requirements of organizations, we will give a specific example, so the Ministry navy(IMMF) demands more for a green belt than many organizations do for a black belt! The IWMF requirements for an LSS Green Belt candidate are as follows – 40-hour courses with a certified LSS instructor; be a team member of at least one real project; lead at least two real projects; create a portfolio of projects and occasionally present personally to the Certification Board. Having presented these strict requirements, it becomes clear that not all LSS belts are created equally. Experienced employers will know this, so it's important to choose a program where your certification will make sense.

Belt suppliers

There are four main providers of Six Sigma certification: employers, professional associations, colleges and universities, and institutes that provide certification services.

Many companies provide training to their employees and provide second-party certification that is based on company-defined standards. The company pays for your training, and it is designed to help you succeed in your job. The downside is that the program may not be as thorough as most independent programs. No one other than company employees will know what training you have completed. Coursework may have a very narrow focus on your skills. So some people might end up corporate training, but is certified by the American Society for Quality (ASQ), due to its reputation and deeper coverage of material.

The American Society for Quality (ASQ) is a professional third-party certification society that requires candidates to submit a package of documents that demonstrate the level of qualification required to pass the exam. You don't need to do their coursework to pass the exam, you can study on your own. Although ASQ provides training, they do not guarantee that it covers the material needed to pass the exam. ASQ also has requirements for your work history and projects.

The International Six Sigma Certification Organization (IASSC) is a third party certification body for LSS that requires passing their exam, but does not require a project. Their website very clearly describes the philosophy and reasoning behind their requirements. The IASSC certifies not only individuals, but also training programs for other entities regarding the IASSC body of knowledge.

Some universities and colleges offer Six Sigma training as part of their continuing education or certification program. There are no entry requirements or degrees awarded by the school. The advantage is that you are face to face with the professor and students and have excellent networking opportunities to connect with your classmates from different industries and perspectives. The duration and costs of training may vary significantly and may sometimes be insufficient. Some universities also offer self-paced online learning.

The final path to certification is certification through certification service providers, which are often companies that are owned or operated by Six Sigma gurus or high-level consultants. These companies provide both group and individual training. Some of them conduct trainings in different cities and provide intensive training over several days or weeks. Others provide online training according to a syllabus that is self-paced and usually limited to 365 days to complete the course. These companies provide a package consisting of course work, exam, project manual, and sometimes software and textbooks. Some of these programs advertise IASSC certification, but it should be noted that the IASSC scope of knowledge is Lean 6 Sigma, not 6 Sigma. It is important to compare training programs carefully before making a choice.

Upon request, they will send you Excel tables with the information shown in the video. They do a great job of emphasizing what to look for in content, materials, and teaching style. They also warn that this information is difficult to find - it is not available on the suppliers' websites.

Final Analysis

The following table provides comparative information for some of the programs:

Online 6 Sigma Green Belt and Lean 6 Sigma Certification Options

The table compares various features, including price, second or third party certification representative for self-paced or online 6 Sigma Green Belt or Lean 6 Sigma Green Belt training. This article does not cover comparisons of the scope of knowledge and course details that these certification bodies offer. Although presenting some difference in reputation would be very useful, this has not been studied and is therefore not included in the article. Also, information about the “success” of certification recipients was not researched or found. The analysis regarding program selection is left to the reader, as their backgrounds, finances, circumstances, opportunities and motivations are as different as their options.

Based on the amount of information considered, the following are important:

If you want to study on your own (i.e., not pay for a course), take an exam, and use work experience or a project outside of work to qualify for certification, your options are very limited. To achieve the 6 Sigma Green Belt, ASQ is the only route. There is no requirement for project completion, but you must have three years' experience in one or more areas of the Green Belt 6 Sigma body of knowledge. While some companies will allow projects outside of the work situation, their requirements for admission to the exam are primarily payment and acceptance of their coursework. There is no option for 6 Sigma Black Belt that meets these criteria. For Lean 6 Sigma Green and Black Belts, the International Organization for Certification (IASSC) provides such a course since you do not have to submit a project and as part of their charter they do not offer or require coursework.

This block purports to be an initial guide to gathering a more comprehensive view on the path to 6 Sigma or Lean 6 Sigma certification. I hope that 6 Sigma or Lean 6 Sigma practitioners, as well as those who offer certification programs and those who seek them, will add objective and subjective information to this post to help everyone who is hungry for 6 Sigma or Lean 6 Sigma certification .

Authors: Michelle Gabriel was one of the first at Motorola to teach statistical process control in the early 1980s, before the invention of the Belt System. As an operations manager, using Lean and Six Sigma tools with her team and her suppliers, she was able to achieve significant cost savings and engineered improvements in a variety of industries from semiconductor capital equipment manufacturing to DSL delivery services. Michelle is currently working toward certification to prepare herself to participate in improvement projects. Currently holds a BS and MS in Materials Science and Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an M.S. business administration from the Berkeley Haas School of Business at the University of California.

© Material prepared by Anna Dzhezhik
based on materials from foreign publications
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The current global financial crisis and the subsequent economic downturn have changed the operating conditions for business. Companies are forced to restructure their operations due to a lack of financial resources and changes in the structure of demand. In the changed realities, the issues of reducing costs, retaining customers, and increasing the speed of response to changing external conditions become critical for business managers. At the same time, it is important to ensure that the company is ready to scale operations as economic growth begins.

An analysis of the development of companies during the previous economic downturn showed that the industry leaders after the end of the recession were organizations that managed to achieve high operational efficiency. The conditions in which companies find themselves today can be regarded as an opportunity to acquire new skills that were in little demand during the period of rapid economic growth - skills for continuous improvement operational efficiency and cost reduction.

These skills, ultimately, are the only ones that ensure the formation and retention of long-term competitive advantages.

A company may pursue different goals in the process of optimizing its operating activities, depending on its current position and its strategic objectives:

• Achievement leadership positions in the market by creating sustainable competitive advantages;
• Increasing space for debt restructuring by reducing the need for working capital and increasing the rate of capital turnover;
• Increasing the value of the company upon its sale;
• Receiving support from the state.

In addition, the approach to optimizing operations may vary depending on the scale of the desired changes:

• Continuous improvement of activities through the implementation of targeted projects that allow achieving quick results in short terms(up to 1 month). Examples of such projects include initiatives to workplace optimization (5S), improvement of individual operations that do not require radical restructuring of the process;
• Deep optimization of individual areas through the implementation of targeted improvement programs (from 3 to 6 months). In this approach, the entire business process is optimized or a separate functional area is improved (for example, optimization of the supply chain or customer service system);
• Implementation comprehensive programs transformation of operating activities (from 1 to 3 years). In this case, there may be either a radical restructuring of the main business processes or a complete change in the company’s operating model, aimed at achieving qualitatively new operating results.

Regardless of the scale of change and its goals, there is a proven and reliable tool that allows companies to achieve radical improvements in operational efficiency and maintain a leading position in the market - Lean Six Sigma.

The Lean Six Sigma methodology emerged as a result of combining Lean manufacturing methods, which are based on reducing losses and accelerating processes, and 6 Sigma (Six Sigma), the basis of which is improving quality and increasing customer satisfaction (Fig. 1).

Both methods have a long history of successful use, but it is the experience of using them together that has demonstrated the greatest effect. Currently, the Lean Six Sigma methodology is successfully used by the world's leading companies in all sectors of economic activity.

Why Lean Six Sigma?

There are several reasons why companies choose Lean Six Sigma methodology to optimize their operations:

1. The implementation of Lean Six Sigma allows SIMULTANEOUSLY:

• Speed ​​up processes by 20-70%;
• Improve the quality of products and services by 20-40%;
• Increase efficiency by 10-30%
• Significantly increase customer satisfaction

2. Training in Lean Six Sigma methods allows you to:

• Effectively involve company employees in the process of optimizing activities and significantly increase their productivity;
• Instill a culture of teamwork and skills for sharing information and knowledge;
• Organize a process of continuous improvement at all levels of the company.

Six Sigma method is an approach to improving the production process by finding and eliminating the causes of errors or defects in business processes, focusing on output parameters that are critical for the consumer.

How did the term Six Sigma come about?

Sigma is a sign that in statistics is called the standard deviation of values ​​in the general population. The Six Sigma concept implies a level of process efficiency at which there are 3.4 defects for every million manufacturing operations.
This is exactly the quality indicator that Motorola set for everyone in the 1980s production processes as achieving a goal, and since then this concept has been a trademark of the concern. The Six Sigma methodology was borrowed and popularized by such well-known companies such as: General Electric, Honeywell, Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson, Xerox, including Russian units.
For comparison: the standard indicator for companies is the Four Sigma level, that is, 6,210 errors per 1 million transactions. Consequently, moving the work process to the Six Sigma level saves about 25% of annual income. This level of error-freeness allows you to significantly reduce the initial price and expand the product market.

What is the name of the method associated with?

The Six Sigma theory is based on six points on which the efficiency of business processes depends.
1) Showing interest in the client. This is reflected in constant monitoring and analysis of customer needs.
2) Management based on verified data and facts, and not on the basis of assumptions that can happen with a certain probability.
3) Orientation to the production process. Continuous process management, improvement, process improvement. The entire production cycle can be divided into separate processes and managed - this is based on a process approach to management.
4) Proactive management (advance). Managers do not wait for what might happen, but rather anticipate possible changes.
5) Openness to cooperation, transparency of production for both clients and suppliers.
6) Continuous improvement. Any quality improvement process involves continuous improvement, and the forgiving attitude towards failure is to overcome and learn from it.
To implement Six Sigma, Motorola came up with a systematic way of doing things called DMAIC(eng. define, measure, analyze, improve, control), which consists of five steps:

• Define– determination of project goals and customer requests (internal and external);
• Measure– process measurement to determine current execution;
• Analyze– analysis of defects, identification of root causes of defects;
• Improve– process improvement through defect reduction;
• Control– control of further progress of the process.

Implementation of the Six Sigma concept

To implement this process at enterprises it is necessary staffing. Training in the Six Sigma methodology is somewhat reminiscent of the science of martial arts. In addition to knowledge and diplomas, students also receive belts - a symbolic confirmation of their competencies, and the title of “agents”.
The list of Six Sigma agents is as follows.
"Champions and Sponsors"
"Champion"- This is one of the top managers who knows the Six Sigma ideology and is actively striving for its implementation.
"Sponsors" are process owners who help implement the concept and coordinate related activities within their responsibilities.
"Master Black Belt"- These are employees who have the highest technical and organizational skills and provide technical leadership to the program. They understand what certain statistical methods are based on, and are also able to correctly apply these methods in non-standard situations.
"Black Belts"– these are individuals who are engaged only in improving the quality of projects, without being distracted by any other responsibilities.
"Green Belts"– these are leaders (formal and informal) of specific projects who lead the corresponding teams. Unlike Black Belts, they spend only a small portion of their time on Six Sigma projects.
"Yellow Belts"– these are performers who have been trained and can participate in the work of teams led by “black and green belts”.

This is a preliminary encyclopedic article on this topic. You can contribute to the development of the project by improving and expanding the text of the publication in accordance with the rules of the project. You can find the user manual

The method was developed at Motorola Corporation in the 1980s. Gained widespread popularity in the mid-1990s after it was introduced as a key strategy by Jack Welch at General Electric Corporation.

Six Sigma is one of the process management methods based on a statistical assessment of facts, process data, systematic search and development of measures to increase the level of yield of suitable products, their consistent implementation and subsequent analysis of the error-free processes to increase customer satisfaction.

The name comes from the Greek letter sigma σ, which denotes the concept of standard deviation in statistical analysis. The level of error-free production process in this method is determined by the number σ, which represents the percentage of defect-free products at the output of the process. A process with an output quality of 6σ characterizes 99.99966% of cases without defects, or no more than 3.4 defects per 1 million operations. At Motorola Corporation, achieving a 6σ quality indicator for all production processes is defined as a goal, hence the name of the concept.

As a rule, in most processes in enterprises, the level of defects is within the framework of sigma analysis between three σ and four σ. This means that the yield of suitable products lies between 93.3 and 99.4%. At four sigma, the defect rate is 6210 cases per million. No one would be happy if they were one of the 6,210 customers who are the victim of a defective product or process. Thus the method six sigma provides the opportunity, along with increasing productivity, to also increase customer satisfaction.

Six Sigma is a consistent, customer-driven, evidence-based process improvement method. Schematic diagram The operation of the method is presented in Scheme 1.

Diagram 1. Reflection of the Six Sigma operating principle in process improvement.

What does Six Sigma mean in practice?

If the proportion of defective products supplied to the automotive industry is high, then two things are significant from the point of view of system suppliers for the automotive industry or OEMs:

• Inspection slippage leads to subsequent use of defective products and may thereby undermine the reliability of the production system or equipment;
• Meeting delivery deadlines may be in jeopardy due to additional processing and additional controls.

From the manufacturer’s point of view, these are additional costs for defects and a reduction in opportunities to increase production capacity. In addition, many enterprises go to the extent of demanding that suppliers return additional costs incurred by them and/or imposing a supply ban on these suppliers.

The practical application of the Six Sigma method involves the use of the most important principles:

• the desire to create stable and predictable processes to improve business performance;
• data and indicators characterizing the passage of production processes and business processes must be measurable, manageable and improved, and also reflect operational changes;
• active involvement of company employees at all levels, including top and middle management, is necessary to ensure continuous quality improvement;
• process orientation instead of functional orientation, process management and continuous process improvement;
• management based on agreements about goals;
• transparency of internal corporate barriers, management without barriers.

Motorola Corporation has proposed a systematic course of action when implementing the Six Sigma method (see Diagram 2), which consists of five steps and is called DMAIC(eng. define, measure, analyze, improve, control):

• determination of project goals and customer requests (internal and external);
• process measurement to determine current execution;
• defect analysis, identification of root causes of defects;
• process improvement through defect reduction;
• control of the further course of the process.

In the USA and Europe this concept used in many areas - in industrial sectors, in medicine, in the service sector, in education, and even in the defense industry. In Russia, Six Sigma is being implemented by the following companies: Istrum-Rand (a joint venture with Ingersoll-Rand); AVISMA; VSMPO; Rybinsk Motors (NPO Saturn); ROSTAR; Krasnoyarsk Aluminum Plant; Auditing firm Aval; 3M division in Russia; Xerox division in Russia, etc. The production practice of these enterprises confirms the introduction of tangible economic effect and in Russian conditions.

In I-space they exclaimed: “These Six Sigma again! And what do they have to do with it? It's about processes and quality! I don’t understand anything.” Indeed, let's figure out how Six Sigma interfaces with project management. Is this system part of project management or is the implementation of this doctrine one of the company’s modernization projects? The interesting topic raised will occupy our minds for a few minutes and allow us to slightly shift the perspective of the management school.

Initial basis of the methodology

Indeed, upon a superficial examination of Six Sigma, the connections “optimization of business processes” and “establishment of a quality system” automatically pop up in the mind. And this is a completely justified logical model of perception of the subject area of ​​the concept. This technique in the English-speaking environment is called “Six Sigma” or abbreviated “6σ”. Among the many definitions, the following seems to be the most adequate. “Six Sigma” is a multifaceted system for setting up business processes, providing a significant reduction in losses, costs and product defects in the following areas:

• economical use of resources;
• reducing unproductive expenses;
• quality management of main and auxiliary power supplies;
• optimization of business cycle time.

Agree that this is a very comprehensive definition. It covers entire layers of management science and practice, while claiming the significance of “tectonic shifts” in the internal structure of a company at a strategic level. In our conversation, it is important to understand and focus on the place 6σ occupy in modern reality.

In anticipation of the conclusions, I will immediately note that Six Sigma is far from just a method, although it is called that way. Much more accurately and completely, this concept should be considered from the point of view of belonging to an integral management system.

We know from theory that a business process is a set of interrelated works that have input, output, control and a basis in the form of resources and mechanisms. This is a classic technique that we will not hesitate to use. During the implementation of processes, many factors are constantly discovered that influence the transformation of given “inputs” into the resulting “outputs”. These factors work both at the moment of entering the process from the outside and during internal procedures. Examples of sources of such influence:

• raw materials;
• external environment;
• technology;
• adjustment and technical level equipment;
• mood and qualifications of performers, etc.

It is an axiom that the quality of the process and the quality of its result are always determined by quantitative parameters. Let's call the target values ​​of the result as Y1, Y2,... Yn, there are always several of them. Accordingly, we define the quantitative parameters of the internal events of the process as X1, X2,... Xm. These parameters are just that: raw materials, equipment, technologies, other resources and mechanisms. The Y criterion is described as a function of various Xi. The logic of reasoning is based on a visual model diagram of the process from a parametric point of view, which is presented below.

Process model as a function Y=f(X)

The variability of the Xi indicators in relation to their optimal values ​​harms the resulting Yj, and the instability of each of the input factors and factors of the current process procedures leads to a scattering of the results at the output of the process. Parameters Yj almost always have a defined range of acceptable values, which allows one to judge that the result is of high quality. If the deviation is significant and Yj does not correspond to the level of acceptable values, then the BP result is considered defective. It follows that deviations in processes lead to losses of time, resources, and costs due to product defects.

Why six sigma?

The Six Sigma methodology is based on the postulates of mathematical statistics, which are increasingly making their way into business pragmatics. There are only two ideas at work here: that the spread of Y values ​​obeys the rules of the standard deviation (σ), and that the spread of the characteristics of the result should be small. The magnitude of the spread is insignificant compared to the tolerance limits, and the influence of external and internal factors is leveled out. In this case, the safety margin (the length of the distance between the peak of the deviation histogram and the nearest tolerance limit) significantly exceeds the parameter σ.

The concept assumes that the entire process adjustment occurs in the direction of reducing the spread of indicators and bringing the median value of the deviation histogram closer to the center of the tolerance range. The goal is to remove all destructive factors affecting the process, and therefore its result. Note the target quality diagram in the Six Sigma model.

Six Sigma model quality target diagram

Standard deviation (σ) demonstrates the degree of variability in the level of a process output parameter. The developers calculated that the optimal level of standard deviation is when it is six times less than the distance from the median value to the nearest control limit. And it is precisely this achievable state that ensures a quality level equal to 99.9997% of the given plan. This is the concept of methodology that dictates the content of a fairly strict system.

The technique offers effective management of process quality and product manufacturing costs. This directs management towards truly efficient business processes and moves towards zero-defect production. The 6σ method, in contrast to the traditional idea of ​​quality, requires increased activity to eliminate process defects even before the tolerance limit is reached. This position is expressed in the loss function model of G. Taguchi. The concept of the model is presented below in graphical form.

Approach to responding to deviations according to G. Taguchi’s model

Paradoxically, the traditional approach assumes that defects occur abruptly at the moment the tolerance limit for the quality of a parameter is crossed. At the same time, it turns out that within the range it is quite possible to “rest on your laurels” and not make efforts to improve, conditionally believing that everything is fine. The innovative concept of the loss function, on the contrary, put forward a number of requirements, and quite stringent ones at that.

1. There are only one process outcome parameters – target ones.
2. Any, even the slightest deviation from the target values ​​creates a threat and initiates a response.
3. The size of the threat of losses increases with the growth of deviations and requires an adequate increase in response.

Thus, the Six Sigma concept involves implementation in management paradigm revolutionary ideas related to the elimination of the causes of defects. If you implement them, then marriage will cease to occur. There will be no need for cumbersome quality control.

The relationship between Six Sigma and project management

The concept presented to your attention involves a systematic approach to implementation and progressive development of the methodology. The system as a set of interconnected elements, based on the main method, uses almost all management components for its implementation, branching into many functional management areas. The strength of the method is such that by incorporating the required changes, it acts with a synergistic effect, filling the complex solution with energy greater than its component parts. Let's take a figurative look at the composition of the Six Sigma system.

Six Sigma System Components

The components of the system are in a “Rubik’s Cube” state: each of them is part of the whole and includes elements of other components. When considering a system from the point of view of the main business objectives, one cannot take into account the fundamental rule of management: “Before any significant transformation, examine the key problem!” This corresponds to two components responsible for research and statistical control processes according to the parameters of losses, defects and costs.

The sequence of steps to establish a system involves actions from researching the problem to transferring corporate and technological cultures to a new state of quality and costs. In a certain perspective, the costs of increasing quality with this approach become many times lower than the increase in effects.

Any management system is divided into two large parts: personnel and means of operation. The latter consist of a material part (equipment, technology, communications, etc.) and an intangible part (communications, educational institutions, information and software, etc.). In this regard, there is no way to ignore the issue of debugging the implementation infrastructure and personnel training system.

The 6σ methodology is untenable without the use of a project approach. Project implementation here is based on the researched problems and the importance of selected areas for improving quality and costs. Compliance with the principles and methods of PM is in demand in the Six Sigma doctrine more than anywhere else. It is recommended to start an implementation project in those areas that will give the maximum effect in the shortest possible time. This obviously follows from the Pareto 20/80 rule. A typical project for the implementation of the Six Sigma system must comply with certain conditions, which at the same time are strict criteria for selecting project tasks for implementation:

• solves problems that are significant for the company, he is supported by the decision-maker;
• provides the company with additional income corresponding to its scale;
• relies on the resources actually present in the company;
• the success of the possible implementation is obvious to the management and project team;
• does not require long periods of time and is implemented within 3-6 months;
• the ratio “obtained effect/implementation costs” in the first year is at least 5.

Concluding this reflection, I would like to emphasize the main conclusion of the article: the Six Sigma concept is a modern (especially for countries such as Russia) system of management changes in the project paradigm of business management. At the same time, the scale of this system allows it to be placed at a fairly high level in the hierarchy of management school tools. This is a whole philosophy that has serious prospects for development. As an integral and structured doctrine, Six Sigma is harmoniously integrated into the project and process sections of management.

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