6 Sigma Management System Project?

["Dirk van Putten" <dvanputten@linear.com>]

Hello DENizens:

Following is a quote from another discussion group to which I belong. For
clarification and to protect the author, I believe the author has experience
with management systems and the companies are pushing the Six Sigma angle.

"I am currently working with two pump manufacturers who are exploring the
possibility of combining their registered QMS [Quality Management System]
and EMS [Environmental Management System] systems as a Six Sigma project.
They see lots of advantages to this direction and are looking forward to a
more efficient management system that costs less to maintain."

I find it interesting that these companies are considering combining
*management systems* as a project. Based on what I think I have learned from
the DEN, I think it would be more effective to combine management systems as
an ongoing system approach and culture and not as a project with a specific
beginning and end date.

Also, I wonder how they will measure the cost improvements of the system
using standard deviations of their samples? I am pondering if there are more
or fewer unknowns and unknowables at the system level versus the process
level. If these companies want to measure improvement  of the system, then
they have to measure variables at the system level.

Regards, Dirk van Putten
dvanputten@linear.com