Six Sigma Standard- Mumbai Dabbawalas

 In Metro cities, a major problem is to get healthy and homely food. The need for a healthy lifestyle encourages people to eat homemade food. But a major problem in the process is to get the food at the right time. Analyzing this problem the Mumbai Dabbawallas became the savior for the people who need home food.

In 1890 the story of Dabbawalla started. It started when a Parsi Banker demanded home-cooked food in the office. People liked the idea of getting food at their desks and the demand for home food increased.

Currently, more than 5000 dabbawallas are working all over Mumbai to serve home food to people. The Dabbawallas have to face a war against time as they need to collect the lunchbox, deliver it to the office, and again deliver the empty lunchbox to the original destination. Wearing the same Gandhi cap since 1890 and delivering the tiffin at the perfect time shows their dedication and commitment towards work. The Dabbawallas have gained international recognition for their efficiency and accurate delivery system.

Mumbai Dabbawallas is successful in implementing a zero-defect process that is termed as Six Sigma performance standard. This technique is a quality management technique that focuses on improving the overall quality of the entire process and also reduces defects.

The Six Sigma technique was developed by Motorola and is used by various organizations worldwide. It includes a problem-solving method (DMAIC) define, measure, analyze, improve, and control that helps in eliminating the defects in the process. 

There were two major factors that helped the Dabbawallas gain a zero-defect performance standard. The first factor was that the Dabbawallas were making use of a simple color-coding system so that the lunch box is delivered to the correct location. The second factor was that they were following a well-organized system for collecting sorting and delivering the lunch boxes.

Dabbawallas has strong teamwork and accountability towards the work. Each dabbawalla needs to deliver a set number of lunch boxes and if a mistake is made in the process the entire team works together to correct the problem. Dabbawallas implemented Six Sigma principles in their lunchbox delivery system by using a simple coding system, organized process, and culture of teamwork and accountability.

This has enabled them to achieve a 6 Sigma standard with a defect rate of less than 1in six million deliveries and hold 99.99999 Six Sigma performance.

There is no doubt that Dabbawallas has implemented a benchmark for all organizations worldwide to create a defect-free process that overall satisfies the custom and enhances the organization's value.

Thank you for reading!!