Investigation into the Barriers to Six Sigma in Libyan Manufacturing Companies and Development of a Framework for its Implementation

The six sigma technique has been in use over the past decades, as a tool for quality improvement. It was first introduced by Motorola in the 1980s. However, this unique technique only became well known after GE’s Jack Welch made it a central focus of his business strategy in 1995. Since then, thousands of companies around the world have adopted six sigma as a way of doing business. Today, six sigma is the fastest growing business management system. However, to date, there is no evidence of the adoption of six sigma in the Libyan manufacturing companies (LMCs). This research therefore aims to identify the reasons why six sigma has not yet been adopted in the LMCs and then to develop a framework for its implementation. A comprehensive review of literature was carried out to identify the barriers affecting the implementation of six sigma that were experienced by different organisations around the world. The summarised barriers were subsequently used in the empirical investigation. The employed research methodology involved was a mixed-method approach, using a survey as the main strategy, starting by conducting interviews to collect qualitative data followed by the development of a questionnaire to obtain quantitative data. The findings revealed that none of the LMCs have ever implemented six sigma, and also showed that there were six key reasons/ barriers behind their lack of six sigma use, which are: "Lack of six sigma training", "Lack of six sigma expertise and specialists", "Lack of knowledge and awareness about six sigma in our company", "Lack of top management commitment", "Culture effect", "We have not heard of six sigma, it is unknown to us". Upon these findings, and with reviewing a wide and comprehensive literature of six sigma, a six sigma implementation framework was built for LMCs. The framework was carefully designed, developed and assessed. The proposed framework is clear and can be understood by all levels of managers and workers in a company. It offers guiding information on how six sigma implementation can begin by providing a valuable insight into the practice of six sigma. The framework serves as a platform which can enable manufacturing companies to identify the gaps in their implementation efforts, focus attention on areas for improvement and assess the potential benefits of six sigma. This will help LMCs to effectively implement six sigma and give them more capability to compete and opportunities to enter the global market. It will also reflect a considerable impact on the national economy, and offer new job opportunities as well as opening new markets