Local firms turn eyes on 'Six Sigma'

Jonminofri, Contributor, Jakarta

The term "quality assurance" carries quite a few meanings. Some companies translate it as a "good and correct" production method in accordance with ISO standards, while others connect it with "customer satisfaction". The latest interpretation, which is becoming more popular, is the application of "Six Sigma" in the management as well as the production process.

The numerous interpretations of the term imply that "quality assurance" has experienced a sort of evolution in its application, so that its perception has kept changing. However, whatever its interpretation, history indicates that the main intention is for a company to operate efficiently and protect the quality of its products, which finally results in higher returns.

The following are three examples of its application in Indonesia: Griya Pijat Bersih Sehat (Clean and Healthy Massage House) with its ISO 9002, Citibank, which relies on Customer Satisfaction and Texmaco, which is actively utilizing the Six Sigma concept.

Griya Pijat Bersih Sehat has been in operation for 19 years and its services have been commended by many, including Yayuk Basuki, the national tennis player, who often frequents the place. Another loyal customer, Bondan Winarno - a renowned columnist - came to its defense when the Jakarta City Administration mislabeled the place and described it as being as murky and indecent as the others. The place is also famous among expatriates, especially the Japanese.

Hartono, the owner-cum-manager, said that obviously his customers are satisfied with Griya's services, otherwise they would have run off to other massage places. The graduate of the Institute of Technology, Bandung, with an engineering degree, has expanded his business to seven branches, including one in Singapore and the latest in Menteng Plaza, Central Jakarta.

One wonders how Hartono has been able to consistently maintain the quality of his Griya. He admitted that he was not particularly up to speed on theories of massage or management and that his method of business was mostly based on his "feeling and intuition", including the setting of his massage standards.

He formulated the massage standards around 19 years ago, when he opened his first griya and they were based on himself - an ardent lover of massage - as the role model. The method has been maintained to the present day. "It has been relatively unchanged all this time," Hartono said.

Apparently this is Hartono's business strength, which has made it durable for close to 20 years.

Citibank has a different method of maintaining the quality of its services, as its business is more complex. What it emphasizes is the "customer satisfaction" element to ensure their loyalty. Hence, all of its services and products must meet the customers' expectations and, furthermore, must be different from other banks' so that customers feel there is always something new cropping up at Citibank.

Consequently it is easy to understand why Citibank has been launching heavy advertising campaigns, creating new products and widening the function range of their credit cards, such as Eazy Pay, fixed installments and refill or recyclable loans. The success rate of these products can be measured not only by the huge number of merchants, but also from the fact that many other banks copy the products.

Citibank is not only busy promoting its various new products, but is also fully occupied internally with their efforts to create the highest level of customer satisfaction. Citibank has a special department to attend to this task and it works in close coordination with every other department. "We conduct a monthly survey," said Yati Achjadi, Vice President Quality Director.

Apart from customer complaints received by phone and the customer services, this survey reveals a number of things, including what customers really expect from Citibank. Naturally this way the monthly surveys help improve the bank's products and services.

Some of the achievements the management is proud of are: the opening time for new accounts speeded up to 5 days instead of the previous 21, an 80 percent satisfaction level in contacting customer service by phone and 70 percent for statement delivery.

Are these percentages high or low? "We use the customer satisfaction standards of Citibanks in other countries as a benchmark," replied Th Wiryawan, the marketing communications director.

The job of increasing customer satisfaction falls on the shoulders of Yati Achjadi, Vice President Quality Director and her staff of seven. As facilitators they work in close coordination, moving from one department to another. This resembles the Six Sigma concept, which Citibank is also planning to incorporate in the near future.

Today the Six Sigma concept is the mainstay of many companies. For instance, the McDonald's fastfood chain, by applying this concept, is able to serve its customers within one minute, as clearly demonstrated by the hourglass placed close to the cashier.

Astra Credit Company also utilizes the concept and soon to follow is United Tractor. But the most aggressive user of the Six Sigma concept is Texmaco. "Every project in our company relies on Six Sigma," said I Wayan Jardana, the company's Quality Assurance Manager. I Wayan, formerly employed by the National Aircraft Manufacturing Industry (IPTN), learned all about Six Sigma at NASA in the United States and is now the person at the company most responsible for applying the concept.

Currently the total number of the company's projects using the Six Sigma concept is 150, of which 17 are at the Texmaco Perkasa Engineering company. Of these 17 projects eight have been finalized and have achieved a cost efficiency of US$35,000 annually.

Cost efficiency is not the only reason for applying Six Sigma; in fact, the key objective is to increase production capacity resulting in high-quality products. The stages of such production will then be concise, low cost and easy to deliver as well as being free of defects due to the efficient and time- saving process. This way all aspects are assured, namely: high quality products, punctual delivery and low cost. The Six Sigma concept obviously contributes a great deal to this end.

According to I Wayan, the Six Sigma concept is applicable anywhere, including in government management, because even here it can bring about efficiency, low cost, speed and produce highly acceptable policies.

The Six Sigma concept is based on the relationship between the supplier and his or her customers. Such suppliers and customers can exist even within a company, for example, the relationship between the finance and the production departments, where the requirements are dictated by the customer.

The Six Sigma concept can improve a faulty or incorrect system as well. The main concern is the process itself, more than the result. Though it is irrefutable that end results should be the best, it does not mean much when such a superior result comes at an exorbitant cost and takes a longer time to deliver.