The first step towards this has been achieved with ECS jointly promoting the Six Sigma approach along with Motorola University by way of nation-wide seminars. Motorola is the inventor of the Six Sigma approach that ensures that quality is built into every single process in order to provide customers with products and services that are defect free. The company recently underwent a change when it was reconstituted as a 50:50 JV between ECS and the US-based Strategic Development Group (SDG). It has already got the required approvals from the FIPB in this regard, he added. Under the new set up ECS will be the holding company while the operations will be looked after by two units. The ECS unit will look after the operationsconsulting division while SDG, India will be the strategy division. Bandyopadhyay, however, refused to divulge details about the exact corpus of the group. The group is headed by Carl Spetzler of SDG while Anil Sachdev is the managing director.

Talking about the company he said the aim is to be among the top three consulting companies in India, not only in terms of size, but in terms of value also. ``Our focus will be on transferring competencies to our clients to make them more efficient and effective. We would like to be known as a company that made a difference to clients, not just in the way they do business, but in their very spirit,'' he added. Justifying the logic why companies should shift to Six Sigma, Bandyopadhyay, said the process will enhance the capabilities of chain management process. Companies that adopt the approach will have to take into account three elements, software, thoughtware and humanware. Human resources is one area where most Indan firms lack expertise. Thankfully the situationis now changing with more focus on HRD,'' he added. Reducing the opportunity for defects to creep into the final product or service is a one-time expense and if not done will have a telling effect on companies, he opined.

``The traditional three sigma designs yield a defect rate of 2,700 defective parts per million (PPM). With the changeover to Six Sigma the target defect rate is 3.4 per million,'' said Charles Loew, managing consultant, Motorola University. He further added that Motorola, from 1987 to 1991, reduced its average in-process defect rate for all manufactured products from approx 6,000 ppm to 40 ppm. During this period sales per employee rose from $ 62,000 to more than $ 111,000, employment increased, dividends increased and net cash from operations doubled as did R&D investments, share values etc.