Manitowoc in Process of "Institutionalizing" Six Sigma

Six Sigma was introduced to the Manitowoc Company in 2002.

Our strategic plan has a major corporate objective to institutionalize Six Sigma across the company. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines institutionalize as "making into an institution; to incorporate into a structured and often highly-formalized system." For us, this means taking the methodology and appropriate use of the tools of Six Sigma and standardizing the training, understanding, and use across all areas of the company.

Six Sigma is a disciplined approach to identifying customer requirements, then developing the products and processes that meet and exceed expectations in every instance. It is a data-driven method for identifying root causes, solving problems, and making smart business decisions.

Why is institutionalizing Six Sigma at Manitowoc important? We identified several important reasons:

• Six Sigma provides a global methodology, tools, and language for consistent decision-making and problem-solving.


• It is a proven methodology to reduce costs, drive financial improvements, and meet shareholder expectations.


• It helps develop a deeper understanding of our customer needs.


• It results in higher reliability of our products and services.


• It encourages consistent new-product development processes.


• It exudes a culture of continuous improvement. It needs to be a part of every level in the organization.


• It allows for faster decision-making with data.


• It provides a development program for better trained managers and employees.


• It offers analysis tools to solve complex problems.

Mark Beffel
Six Sigma Vice President