#six-sigma

Motorola's 1986 initiative reduced product defects to 3.4 per million opportunities using statistical measurements. Most companies operate at 3 Sigma with 66,807 defects per million. Shifting just one Sigma level to 4 Sigma returns massive savings to bottom line, typically generating 20% profit margin growth annually through systematic DMAIC methodology identifying root causes.

Continuous process improvement is a systematic approach to ongoing workflow reviews that identifies improvements, with only one in three improvements generating financial impact and 13 percent actually saving money. Successful implementation requires integration into corporate culture, balance between incremental improvements and breakthrough thinking, and commitment from leadership to workforce engagement.