"Six Sigma" concept earns popularity Local companies turn eyes on 'Six Sigma'

"Six Sigma" concept earns popularity Local companies 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.