Six Sigma

We discussed various methodologies which support Deming’s PDCA concept.

One of the most prevalent today is Six Sigma

History

  • Developed around 1987 at Motorola
  • Adopted shortly thereafter by Allied Signal, then by GE in early 1990’s
  • We discussed the definition last class
  • Def. Six Sigma is a disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects (driving toward six standard deviations between the mean and the nearest specification limit) in any process – from manufacturing to transactional and from product to service.
  • Striving towards near perfection
  • In statistical terms a 6 sigma means that the process will produce or deliver a product/service reliably at a 99.99966% or 3.4 failures per million operations.

Six Sigma Benefits

  1. Generate sustained success
  2. By emphasizing a culture and developing the skills towards a perfect product
  3. Sets a performance goal for everyone
  4. Perfect product
  5. Defined as 3.4 failures per million operations
  6. Identifies a common standard and terminology to be used throughout the company.
  7. Enhance value to the customer
  8. Recognize only by having a perfect product/service will your customer want to buy your product
  9. Accelerates the rate of improvement
  10. Since this approach is on the forefront of each person as to the goal, improvement is continuous
  11. Having a common standard will help in managing a change
  12. Promotes learning and cross-pollination
  13. Recognize that solutions are across functions
  14. Skills can be transferred across locations and assignments
  15. Executes strategic Change
  16. A better understanding of your company’s processes and procedures will give you a greater ability to carry out both minor adjustments and major shifts

Six Themes of Six Sigma

  1. Genuine focus on the customer
  2. By recognizing that defects are determined by the customer, the elimination of the defects adds value to the customer.
  3. Define what the customer wants as an explicit requirement
  4. Customers can be internal and external
  5. Critical To Quality (CTQ) – customer requirements
  6. Key results or Y’s
  7. Identify a consistent metric
  1. Data and Fact Driven Management
  2. What data/ information do I really need
  3. How do we use the data/ information to max benefit
  4. Count the number of defects
  5. Any instance or event in which the product or process fails to meet a customer requirement
  6. Calculate the yield
  7. % of items without defects
  8. DPMO
  9. Link to an ambitious goal
  10. Process Focus, Management and Improvement
  11. For Six Sigma to be effective across an organization, guidelines need to be established
  12. Sigma measurements are not static; as customer needs are not static
  13. Getting Sigma scores on processes throughout an organization takes time and resources
  14. Customer knowledge and effective measurements are key to Six Sigma
  15. The focus of the company must be changed to integrate the following
  16. Processes are documented and managed end-to-end
  17. Responsibility has been assigned (process owner)
  18. Customer requirements are clearly defined and regularly updated
  19. Measures of outputs, process activities and inputs are thorough an meaningful
  20. Managers and associates use the measures and process knowledge to assess performance
  21. Process improvements and process design/redesign are built around the six sigma tools
  22. Proactive Management
  23. Focus is on continuous improvement
  24. Fixing a problem while leaving the basic process intact
  25. Need to be proactive to stay on top
  26. Boundaryless Collaboration
  27. Recognize that decisions are multifunctional
  28. Quality is everyone’s responsibility
  29. Drive for Perfection; Tolerance for Failure
  30. Even though there are defects you must continue to strive for no defects

Process focused

  • Based on a closed loop system
  • All processes have
  • Inputs (X’s)
  • Activity (F(X))
  • Outputs (Y’s)
  • So Y = F(X)
  • So mostly defects are found in the inputs or the activity
  • So we need to find out which X in which activity is negatively impacting our Y
  • The assumption is that we have correctly mapped the activities in our process and we are using the right Y’s to determine the condition of the output.

Variability (the Big Evil)

  • Processes do not like variability
  • Does not allow us to meet the specs on a consistent basis
  • Poor planning
  • Increases cost
  • If we can reduce variability then we can create a product relative to a given spec
  • the assumption is that this spec is customer driven
  • will have a significant impact on the finished product
  • TOC

DMAIC

  • Design
  • incremental
  • Identify the problem
  • Define the requirement
  • Set goal
  • Design/redesign
  • Identify specific or broad problems
  • Define goal/change vision
  • Clarify scope & customer requirements
  • Measure
  • Incremental
  • Validate problem/process
  • Refine problem/goal
  • Measure key steps/inputs
  • Design/Redesign
  • Measure performance to requirements
  • Gather process efficiency data
  • Analyze
  • Incremental
  • Develop causal hypotheses
  • Identify “vital few” root causes
  • Validate hypothesis
  • Design/redesign
  • Identify best practices
  • Assess process design
  • Refine requirements
  • Improve
  • Incremental
  • Develop ideas to remove root causes
  • Test solutions
  • Standardize solution/measure results
  • Design/redesign
  • Design new process
  • Implement new process, structures, systems
  • Control
  • Incremental
  • Establish standard measures to maintain performances
  • Correct problems as needed
  • Design/redesign
  • same

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Lean Six Sigma

Lean methodology, known best from its use by Toyota Motor Corporation, is the reduction of waste in any process to maximize profit and reduce costs. The central principal involves optimizing the flow of products and services to customers.

Six Sigma

Six Sigma tools, popularized by General Electric, are used to find and eliminate process variation. The ultimate goal of the Six Sigma process is perfection in the finished product.

Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control

The acronym DMAIC is the project flow of every Six Sigma effort and represents Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control -- defining the problem, understanding how to measure the effects of the project, analyzing the process through experimentation, improving the process based on the solution and putting controls in place to maintain the improvement.

Difference

The difference between Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma involves the primary objective of each.

  • Lean focuses on removal of waste (MUDA)
  • Six Sigma is about removal of defects.

One could argue these are one in the same.

Upon closer look, it is possible to create a product which is without defect but areas such as inventory levels, movement of product, overproduction, waiting, and method of processing may not be at optional levels.

Lean looks at reducing the waste found within the process.

So the combination of the two methods combine the data driven methodology of Six Sigma approach to produce a perfect product while utilizing a process that reduces the waste required by the process the defect free product/service

Lean, the 'IC' of DMAIC

Lean's techniques of optimizing a process fit into DMAIC as the foundation of sustaining the improvements. By implementing standard work, improved walk patterns and better tool organization, the chances of falling back into inefficient processes are reduced.

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Assignment: Review case study

Write a summary of how the DMAIC method was implemented in the case. Create separate headings for each step of DMAIC

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

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Week 2Class 2