Six Sigma implementation in small and medium-sized business processes

Questions have often been raised about the effective implementation of Six Sigma in small and medium-sized organizations. However, an article published on isixsigma.com explains that small companies can implement Six Sigma with certain changes in methodology, provided the owner of the company is committed to Six Sigma and there is a willingness to change the working process.

The company must display the patience to withstand variation and must ensure that its customers are not affected adversely by the changes in the working process. The company must also have the capacity to create “slack” and redundancy. To begin with, in its growing phase, the company must retain two or three Green Belts; later, when the size of the company is large enough, it can have one Black Belt, who can work with the Green Belts. Other challenges that the company must face up to are ensuring expertise and coping with the dynamics associated with small businesses. isixsigma.com reports:

Most Six Sigma projects take four to six months, which is often too long in a small business environment. However, long cycle times often are the result of big company bureaucracy. They are not a built-in limitation of Six Sigma. Choose projects carefully, sponsor them effectively and pursue them aggressively. A small business will find that it can successfully complete most projects in four to six weeks, instead of months.