I'm often asked how six sigma can be applied to other departments within a company. This prompted me to list a few examples beyond the scope of Manufacturing and Product Quality. A DMAIC or PDCA Project could be executed on any of these as each has a cost and an impact to the Companies overall Quality performance.

Human Resources

What is the Quality of Lost Time / Safety?
What is the Quality of Safety Incidents?
What is the Quality of our Expertise / Tech. Ability?
What is the Quality of Employee Attendance?
What is the Quality of Employee Training / Development?
What is the Quality of Employee Morale?
What is the Quality of Employee Retention?
What is the Quality of Staffing Levels?
Material Control

What is the Quality of Delivery (On Time / Late)?
What is the Quality of Normal Freight Costs?
What is the Quality of Expedited Freight?
What is the Quality of On Hand Inventory?
What is the Quality of Internal Delivery?
What is the Quality of Customer Response Time?
Manufacturing / Quality

What is the Quality of the Product being delivered?
What is the Internal Quality Rating?
What is the Quality of Overall Efficiency?
What is the Quality of Productivity?
What is the Quality of Inspection Costs?
What is the Cost of Poor Quality?
What is the Quality of PPAP / Part Submission turnaround time?
What is the Quality of the C/A System?
What is the Quality of the CPI System?
Sales / Purchasing / Finance

What is the Quality of Supplied Material?
What is the Quality of Material Costs?
What is the Quality of Supplier Delivery?
What is the Quality of our Sales?
What is the Quality of Quotation / Awards?
What is the Quality of Customer Feedback Participation?
What is the Quality of Departmental Performance?
What is the Quality of Company Performance?
Engineering / Maintenance

What is the Quality of Product Value Streams?
What is the Quality of Standard Work?
What is the Quality of Work Station Ergonomic Risks?
What is the Quality of Utility Costs?
What is the Quality of Repair costs?
What is the Quality of Maintenance?
What is the Quality of Equipment Availability?
What is the Quality of Engineering Response Time?
What is the Quality of Project Cost Benefit Analysis?