Quality Management is a crucial part of every industry. It is a skill that helps companies maintain the quality of their goods and services. Maintaining the quality of your services not only benefit your consumers, but it also creates a positive impact on your company. The two most common criteria for quality management are Six Sigma and ISO 9001. You can use them separately or simultaneously, depending on your choice. In this article Six Sigma vs ISP 9001, let us discuss the similarities and differences between them.
ISO 9001 provides different aspects of quality management, whereas Six Sigma is a method of process improvement. The one difference between these two methods is ISO 9001 does not specify how to maintain the quality, but Six Sigma does.
What is Six Sigma?
Six Sigma is a collection of procedures and techniques for process improvement. It helps a company reduce errors. Bill Smith discovered it in 1986 while working at Motorola. The Six Sigma is wholly based on the detection and solutions of the problem. The five fundamental principles of Six Sigma are:
- Foucs on customers need to provide them with maximum benefits.
- Mapping of steps to know about the real cause of wastage or errors.
- Enhancement of the process to eliminate the problem.
- Building a skilled and dedicated team to implement Six Sigma.
- Developing a robust and flexible system that can quickly adapt required changes.
Six Sigma Methodology
There are two different methodologies for Six Sigma- DMAIC and DMADV. Both follow different processes for improving the quality of products or the services of a company.
The DMAIC stands for Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, and Control. You can use this method to improve the quality of existing products and services.
The DMADV stands for Define, Measure, Analyse, Design, and Validate. You can use this method to design or redesign processes for the manufacturing or delivery of products or services. This technique came into play when the existing operations could not provide customer satisfaction even after optimization.
Six Sigma vs ISO 9001: What is ISO 9001?
ISO 9001 is an international standard for the quality management system (QMS). To get an ISO 9001 certificate, a company has to manage its QMS according to the requirements mentioned by ISO 9001. It is one of the world’s widely accepted standards and provides a company with many benefits. Many organizations claim that the use of ISO 9001 standards helped them save costs, satisfy customers, and improve the processes.
Holding an ISO 9001 certificate tells the following things about a company:
- The company follows guidelines mentioned by the ISO 9001 standard for manufacturing.
- Attains companies requirements
- The product meets the customer’s requirements.
- The company is documented.
Six Sigma vs ISO 9001: Similarities
Several things make Six Sigma and ISO 9001 standards similar. The details of all related factors between Six Sigma and ISO 9001 are:
Process Approach
Both standards give more emphasis on the process approach to implement their methodology. In ISO 9001, the whole system is a combination of a series of small processes. Therefore, the focus is on methods and improvement of the end results. On the other hand, Six Sigma is more focused on improving individual processes. Six Sigma uses a SIPOC (Supplier, Input, Process, Output, and Customers) diagram to understand each process’s working.
Improvement
Organizations use these two standards because they help in improvement by different approaches. ISO 9001 uses the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle for the advancement of products and services. This technology suggests the changes needed in your business to enhance quality and reduce errors.
Similarly, Six Sigma uses DMAIC tools for the improvement of existing methods. In addition, this approach also tells about the required changes in existing approaches to optimize your items and services’ final quality.
Six Sigma vs ISO 9001: Difference
The primary difference between these two standards lies in the scope. The ISO 9001 is a set of requirements that helps to develop a quality management system for a company. It includes every aspect related to the management of the quality of products and services. Six Sigma is an internationally accepted standard for business issues, including resources, products, services, documents, and customers.
On the other hand, Six Sigma is a set of tools and methods that can be effectively used for a business to improve different processes. Six Sigma standard does not have any fixed requirements that are accepted globally. It is primarily used in North America.
Integrating ISO 9001 and Six Sigma
Some people are in a dilemma whether the above two standards can replace each other or combining them together would be better. But it is essential to note that both the methods serve different purposes and they will not replace each other. However, you can use them simultaneously for better and improved quality of products and services.
Integrating Six Sigma and ISO 9001 will increase the chances of success for a business. For example, ISO 9001 will provide you with a framework of the Quality Management System and Six Sigma to resolve the issues affecting your QMS. Merging both the standards for your business will be great to save time and cost.
Merging both standards will need a major shift in workforce understanding of Six Sigma and ISO 9001 concepts and this will happen only when they are trained in some of the popular Six Sigma Certifications and Quality Management Courses.
Some of the popular quality management courses that individuals and enterprise teams can take up are:
