MBA Journal Six Sigma Education Resources

Plan, Do, Check, Act: The Essence Of Six Sigma

Plan, Do, Check, Act is the essence ofthe business management strategy known as Six Sigma. Popularized in the 1980s by the Motorola Corporation, the Six Sigma method focuses on creating consistently high quality products by constantly monitoring and improving the entire production process. The goal of Six Sigma is zero defects. This goal is attained through a laser like focus on every step of production. It is a system in which every employee on any level within the production chain is empowered to identify defects in the product or system and alert management and work to eliminate the problem. Six Sigma has grown to become one of the most effective management systems ever devised.

The Plan, Do, Check, Act paradigm calls for rigorous planning, flawless implementation, consistent monitoring and the willingness and ability to act immediately to make any necessary changes to the production methodology to eliminate errors. Initially seen as tedious and expensive, the Six Sigma system has proven itself to be the ideal way to improve any product or service. It engages everyone in the company in the process of improving the products and services created and the company as a whole. As such it has grown from merely being a management strategy to being a type of corporate culture where perfect products are the ultimate goal.

The rudiments of the system first began to be identified and utilized in the 1970s by Art Sundry, a senior executive at Motorola in response to what he saw as bad quality within the Motorola. Bill Smith is credited with having formalizing the system within Motorola which led to the dramatic rise in the company's fortunes. The concepts themselves are not new. They built on the concepts of Zero Defects, Total Quality Management and Quality Control promoted by such legendary management gurus as Taguchi, Ishikawa, Juran, Crosby Shewhart and Deming. The concept is based on eliminating imperfections in the product before it's released into the marketplace.

The Six Sigma concept of Plan, Do, Check, Act is now used in many industries. The strength of the Plan, Do, Check, Act concept is that all eyes in the company are focused on doing their best, identifying potential problems and taking immediate action to eliminate them. Although the concept was initially associated with manufacturing, visionary managers have come to realize it can be applied to almost any type of business with great success.