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This paper aims to show that the extent to which convergence/divergence of a company's quality policies and practices towards/away from those of Six Sigma benchmark policies and practices mirror and anticipate the divergence of its sigma metric (SMs) from quantitative Six Sigma benchmarks. Further, the paper proposes to evaluate the robustness of the quality processes of these three companies and to compare them to that of the Six Sigma benchmark by subjecting these processes to the twin performance shocks of the benchmark Six Sigma 1.5σ allowance for process drift and a 25 percent tightening of customer requirements.

Using a novel methodology more appropriate to the critical quality characteristics of typical service industry companies, the paper computes a set of SMs for each company that is richer and broader than the metrics found in standard Six Sigma tables. This new methodology is based on the empirically observed defect rates that are currently being generated by a service process. Further, based on the available empirical data, the paper compared these metrics to the Six Sigma benchmarks.

First, the paper shows that it is possible to compute a broad array of Six Sigma metrics for service businesses based on defect rate data. Second, the results confirm the central proposition of the research to the effect that the divergence/convergence of the qualitative characteristics of a company's quality system from benchmark Six Sigma policies and practices mirror and anticipate the convergence/divergence of the company's quality metrics from the Six Sigma benchmark. Third, the research produced the unanticipated result that the quantitative quality performance of high‐performing service businesses on the Six Sigma metrics are much lower than anticipated and below what is normally achieved by their manufacturing counterparts. The results were also used to do an evaluation of the Taguchi robustness of service processes.

First, the paper demonstrates that traditional Six Sigma computational methodology for generating Six Sigma metrics that is prevalent in manufacturing applies equally to service businesses. Second, the parallel convergence of the qualitative characteristics of a company's quality system towards Six Sigma practices and its quantitative metrics towards the Six Sigma benchmark means that primacy must be given to quality practices as the drivers of quality improvement. Third, the fact that high‐performing service businesses achieve Six Sigma measures that are so low compared to their manufacturing counterparts seems to point either to some key measurement challenges in deploying Six Sigma in service industries or to the need to further change Six Sigma methodology to make it more applicable to these businesses.

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how Six Sigma methodology has been applied in a small-scale foundry industry to improve the overall first-pass material yield and quality, with a view to the product and the process.

The researchers have reported this paper based on a case study carried out in industry using the Six Sigma Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control (DMAIC) and its application in improving the manufacturing process of a foundry shop.

Identified root causes are validated and countermeasures are implemented for improvement. As a result of this case study, the overall first-pass yield of the sand casting process is improved to 78.88% from the previous yield of 67%. For product-specific case, yield is improved by 18% through the improved gating system design. Sigma level of the process is improved to 3.08 from baseline 2.21. Key lessons learned from this case study are mentioned in the current study.

This case study provides a standard road map and motivates small-scale foundry industries to implement Six Sigma methodology for productivity improvement, especially in jobbing foundry. The presented paper is based on a single case study, and the results are limited to the company only. Also, one of the reasons for low process yield is slag creation, which is not covered here, as it is a concern of the material quality supplied by the vendor. However, the approach of this paper is generic for learning perspective.

This case study provides a standard road map and motivates small-scale foundry industries to implement Six Sigma methodology for productivity improvement, especially in jobbing foundry. Through the effective application of Six Sigma quality initiative, how a quantum jump in financial aspect could be gain, has been demonstrated.

This research study showcases step-by-step implementation of Six Sigma-DMAIC methodology at a small-scale foundry industry. This paper could serve as a unique roadmap for practitioners and academicians to improve the material productivity of the foundry industry both ways, product and process.

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the successful application of Six Sigma at a small and medium scale plastic parts manufacturing unit. Overall operational excellence is one of the foundations of global competiveness. Indian industries are also keeping up with achieving and maintaining operational excellence through different improvement tools and methodologies. Plastic parts manufacturing industries in India are also on the move to increase their overall quality, productivity and profitability. However, it appears from the available literature that application of Six Sigma, one of the most effective breakthrough improvement strategies having direct impact on bottom line of the organization, is not being explored to its full potential, especially at plastic parts manufacturing industries in India. This study was thus undertaken at plastic products manufacturing plant to introduce Six Sigma to them by applying the same to their chronic problems and drawing improvements in quality, productivity and profitability.

This paper illustrates the real-life case study of improving quality and productivity of injection molding process by phase wiz application of define, measure, analyze, improve and control, the process improvement methodology of Six Sigma.

The critical defects, such as short molding, contamination, injection point and flash are reduced from the process leading to annual savings of INR 10.80 lacs. This is a considerable amount for a small concern in question.

Because this was the pilot project and the firm was of small and medium size, data collection was the major issue, which consequently took considerable time and efforts at define and measure phases. Injection molding is a very salient process for plastic products manufacturing. Almost one-third of plastic products are made by this process. Thus, improving quality of products made out of injection molding process is of paramount importance. The paper is an attempt to exhibit how a small-scale plastic injection molded parts manufacturing unit can put fruitful efforts to achieve competitive advantage through Six Sigma.

From the review of literature, it appears that application of Six Sigma among plastic parts manufacturing units, especially small and medium, is very rare, not in India but across the globe. This case study has opened up the direction to small- and medium-scale plastic parts manufacturing units to implement Six Sigma and to move a step forward toward achieving competitive advantage.

The purpose of present study is to expose the detailed review for benefits and challenges about implementation of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) in business organization and spread of LSS literature in term of various sectors wise, research methodology wise and journal wise.

This paper covers the literature on LSS from 2000 to 2018. The authors have selected a large number of research papers using the keywords as Lean Six Sigma implementation in automotive, micro small medium enterprises, health care, education, financial sectors and many more. A total of 216 research papers have been reviewed on LSS distribution of sector wise, research methodology adopted, active countries, year of publication and critical barriers in implementation of LSS.

The present literature classifies the spread of LSS in four important sectors of manufacturing, health care, human resource, financial and education. It presents the critical barriers and benefits of LSS implementation in various sectors mentioned above and an important research gap, where practitioner/researcher can focus more during their research on LSS.

It is important for industry, researchers and LSS practitioners to be aware about challenges and success factor during LSS implementation in various sectors such as manufacturing, education, financial, human resource and health care. Hence, this paper could provide significant and valuable insights to industry and practitioners for successful implementation of LSS projects.

LSS results in reduced waste, defects and improve process, which in turn provide high-quality products at minimum cost, and this leads to customer delight, which ultimately raises the societal living standard. The results encourage LSS practices without fear because there is a huge discussion of near about all success and failure parameters about LSS.

To the authors’ best knowledge, no studies have still covered the literature review of LSS implementation in three different sectors: manufacturing, service and process. The present study was mainly focused on presenting a systematic review of literature in said sectors and found the gap between current status and future direction for the implementation of LSS in different areas.

The purpose of this paper is to review Lean Six Sigma (LSS) literature and report different definitions, demographics, methodologies and industries.

This paper highlights various definitions by different researchers and practitioners. A total of 235 research papers has been reviewed for the LSS theme, research methodology adopted, type of industry, author profile, country of research and year of publication.

From the review, four significant LSS classifications were identified that deal with the spread of LSS in different industries followed by observation for classification.

LSS is a strategy for success, but it did not examine its presence in various Industries. From this paper, readers can understand the quantum of its spread before implementing LSS. For academicians, it will be a comprehensive list of papers for research.

This paper reviews 235 research papers for their year, author profile, research methodology and type of industry. Various characteristics of LSS definitions and their theme are also reviewed.

Increasing competitive pressure in all business sectors (e.g. private, public SME) is reflected in the continuing quest for business improvement philosophies and methodologies to address this challenge. Recent developments have included increased organisational and academic interest in the six sigma approach to business improvement. There are many organisational examples (mainly USA and UK based) of large scale improvements in defect and process measures attributed to this approach. However, there is a paucity of critical studies on six sigma beyond that of “how to” and that of descriptive accounts, with a focus on measures and results rather than employee involvement and motivation. The aim of this paper is to explore the development of six sigma in a multilevel case analysis, from both a process perspective and a people perspective. The findings show that the case organisation had to widen its conception and application of six sigma to include people and organisational criteria to enable the approach to become embedded in the organisation.

This paper aims to introduce some of the most important and fundamental points about Six‐Sigma and the main points that researchers, implementers and users should keep in mind in addressing Six‐Sigma to large and small companies as well as system development and/or planning for such applications. In addition to that this author proposes an algorithm for calculating the overall sigma level of a multistage system. Example problems are provided and the weighting technique is discussed.

The paper provides a general review of the Six‐Sigma and some of its extensions. The topic is followed by the introduction of a new algorithm that can be used for calculating the overall sigma level of a multistage system.

In a journey to business excellence, an organization is successful if specific goals for critical processes of the organization are identified. The quality management programs implemented can modernize and simplify activities towards the ultimate goal of the business. Regarding that, the author discusses key issues as such as leadership commitment, what Six‐Sigma would bring to the organization, how it works, Six‐Sigma business strategies, Six‐Sigma methodologies, mathematical formulation of Six‐Sigma, the use of simulation with Six‐Sigma, new Six‐Sigma, benefits of Six‐Sigma, costs of Six‐Sigma, critical success factors and the future of Six‐Sigma.

Six‐Sigma has the potential to change the quality program of an organization. When the selected quality program is Six‐Sigma, the organizational goal is to reach a sigma level of 6, or the objective of 3.4 defects per million opportunities.

In this paper, the author reviews the fundamental concept of Six‐Sigma and elaborates why it is important for small and large organizations to employ Six‐Sigma concepts into their working methodology for quality improvement. The DMAIC steps to be taken, tools to be used and the deliverables are completely discussed. The author also discusses a Six‐Sigma weighted average methodology for calculating the overall Six‐Sigma level for an organization with many working stages or processes.

This study aims to concentrate on quality improvement in plain yogurt production process at company A through adjusting the factors affecting the acidity of the yogurt and determining the optimal level of these factors.

Six Sigma-based framework using define-measure-analyze-improve-control (DMAIC) methodology is adopted through the application of design of experiments tool to focus on customer’s requirements to improve the quality characteristic of plain yogurt production process in dairy products manufacturing company (company A) in Iran.

The results showed that incubation time and fat percentage were significant factors on pH values of yogurt and the optimum settings for these factors were defined as 12 h for the incubation time and 1.5 per cent for the fat percentage.

This study focused solely on the plain yogurt production process in dairy products manufacturing company.

Simplicity of Six Sigma plays a leading role for enabling any dairy manufacturer to determine the problem and minimize its cause through a systematic approach.

Six Sigma has been considered to be a systematic, powerful technique to continuously improve the processes and develop the new products by using effective analytical and statistical tools and methods. This paper presents a Six Sigma-based framework using DMAIC methodology to improve the quality characteristic of plain yogurt production process in dairy products manufacturing company.

This study contributes to show a potential area in which Six Sigma DMAIC approach can promote to improve the quality of yogurt production process. This case can prompt managers of the company to apply Six Sigma method to address complicated problems in other processes, where causes particularly are not clear.

This paper aims to unearth the essential components of Six Sigma for successful deployment and sustainment of service quality in four different organizations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). More specifically, the paper is intended to determine the motivation to apply Six Sigma, Voice of Customer, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Critical-to-Quality (CTQ), readiness factors, Critical Success Factors, sustainment measures, tools and techniques used, challenges/barriers and performance impact on the company.

An exploratory research methodology with multiple case study analyses was adopted to determine the answers to the research objectives. Four case studies from different service processes of four companies were analyzed. The case studies were collated from these companies via a case study protocol with pre-defined criteria.

The analysis shows that service operation improvement projects are primarily dependent on the voice of the internal customer, with return on investment in savings as the KPI of the process. Most organizations prefer cycle time and errors as the CTQs in the Six Sigma projects. Even novice users can effectively apply the Six Sigma methodology with external experts’ assistance, mentoring and interventions. Across the case studies, it is observed that the projects were successfully deployed due to the support of top management leadership, effective communication and cross-functional teams. Employee resistance to change is the common barrier observed during the case study analysis. Eventually, in all the four case studies, Six Sigma is executed with standard tools and techniques within the define, measure, analyze, improve, control (DMAIC) approach.

The present study’s findings cannot be generalized due to the limited number of case study analyses in different ecosystems in the UAE. The authors would like to analyse and report more case studies in service quality improvement through the Six Sigma methodology to comprehend and develop a generic roadmap for the deployment of Six Sigma in the UAE service industry.

The study’s findings provide insights into commonalities and differences between the essential factors of Six Sigma deployment and sustainability in UAE companies.

The study results might help the policymakers and key decision makers in UAE and other countries understand the effectiveness of Six Sigma in service quality improvement with its essential factors for deployment.

This paper aims to identify and review the critical success factors (CSFs) for successful Six Sigma implementation in service and manufacturing companies given in published literature.

A descriptive evaluation of the literature body is followed by future research opportunities. Studies published on the topic of Six Sigma during 2005-2016 are reviewed to retrieve identified CSFs.

From published literature, 48 CSFs vital for Six Sigma implementation were identified. The identified CSFs were classified under eight core categories. As per the categorization, 35 out of 48 CSFs identified are either Company Strategy related, Six Sigma Project related or Human Resources related. Only a limited number of studies are carried out mainly focusing on the stated three core areas. Hence, it is vital that these three core areas are further explored in future research.

With the outcome of this paper, the identified CSFs for Six Sigma will be taken for further studies, where they will be applied to service and manufacturing companies based in Sri Lanka. Hence, it would provide Sri Lankan service and manufacturing companies guidelines for successful implementation of Six Sigma for future endeavors.