In March of 2014, according to The New York Times, more than 40 executives at Universal Studios met with Bob Wright Chairman NBC Universal, a Division of General Electric, now the parent company of Universal Studios. General Electric is one of the large-scale pioneers in Six Sigma management. Among the topics they conferred about was adopting the rigorous system of Six Sigma Management General Electric employs.

Has Six Sigma Come to Hollywood?

Universal Studio’s Chairwoman, Ms. Stacey Snider, confirmed that Universal has been working on a variant of Six Sigma quality control methods since 2010 and have come up with a variant that fits their industry. They call it Four Sigma. (To achieve Six Sigma quality the studio could produce no more than 3.4 “defects’ per million opportunities–i.e., chances to not meet required specifications). Ms. Snider could not name the parts of Six Sigma that Universal omitted. Mr. Wright has said that Six Sigma was an effective training tool. He said it was part of the seamless transition for Universal Studios from being an independent studio to being one of General Electric’s properties.

No matter how you slice it, Six Sigma has come only halfheartedly to Hollywood. The requirement of full commitment appears to be missing. Universal Studios appears to be accepting the methodology in a watered-down form only as part of their integration into their highly Six Sigma committed now owner.

All parties agree that Lean Six Sigma Training is an effective tool for improving quality. Thomas Pyzdek is a world authority on Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma training.


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