Why Sigma?

The word is a statistical term that measures how far a given process deviates from perfection. The idea behind Six Sigma is that if you can measure how many defects you have in a process, you can systematically figure out how to eliminate them and get as close to zero defects as possible. To achieve Six Sigma quality, a process must produce no more than 3.4 defects per million opportunities, or chances for nonconformance. This means we strive to be nearly flawless in executing our processes and programs.

How we work

Six Sigma defines the way we work at Rail Services. It is present in everything we do and in every product or service we deliver.

Our Work-Out system

Our move toward Six Sigma quality control began in the late 1980s with Work-Out. This new system opened our culture to ideas from everyone and created a learning environment conducive to achieving Six Sigma. Today Six Sigma influences how we work and is embedded in quality, process-oriented thinking across every level of our operation.

Elements of quality

Everything we do to remain a world-class quality company focuses on these three essential elements:

• Customers
  Customers are the center of the GE universe. They expect us to deliver performance, reliability, competitive prices, on-time delivery, clear and correct transaction processing, and service. In every action that influences customer perception, we know that being good is not enough - we must be the best.
• Processes
  Our pursuit of quality requires us to look at our business from the customer's perspective, not ours. That means we look at processes from the outside in. We understand the transaction lifecycle and identify our customers' needs. With this knowledge, we identify areas where we can add value or improve the speed or efficiency of the process.
• Employees
  At GE, people create results. That's why it's essential that we involve all employees in our approach. We are committed to providing opportunities and incentives for our employees to channel their talents into delivering customer satisfaction. Our pursuit of quality depends on the participation of every member of our team.

Related Links

• Fact Sheet