Six Sigma

Presenter Jean-Marie Cote
He is a Master Black Belt working for PACCAR

Six Sigma – A strategic tool

Historical background
Developed at Motorola (1987)
.
.
.
GE (1985) – turning point
.
.
.

They have not all been successful. Implementation is the issue, not the programme.

Has many names:
 Six Sigma – driving business excellence
 Operations excellence
 Lean manufacturing
 Lean operations
 Lean six sigma
 TPS
 High impact Kaisen

1. close understanding of customer needs and wants
2. design led use of facts, data and statistical analysis
3. diligent approach to problem solving

Six Sigma takes time. It is not a quick fix.

Definition
- statistical measure of performance
- rigorous analytic appr4oaqc for
o process variation reduction
o complex prpblem solving
o waste reduction
- a philosophy that higher quality results in
o increased efficiency
o business excellence
o enhanced customer satisfaction

It is NOT
- just statistics
- a rigid mechanical approach – it can be flexigle and can be adjusted
- not a panacea – not suited for all situations
- magic

need all the rigt people and must be top down (ie supported by all levels of management)

driving excellence
define – measure – analyze – improve/design – control/validate

project selection is key
- in line with business strategy
- target customers
- add value

MUST BE VERY WELL DEFINED
Baseline must be understood
Must be able to measure
Definable goals
Timeline
Reasonable boundaries

As project progresses you refine and redefine project]map the process and identify non value added activities (NVA)
Take time to accurately define the defect

Soft tools

Process map (IPO)
Cause and effect matrix (QFD)
- what and how
- what customer wants and how delivered
Cause and effect diagrams (Fishbone)
- what we think is driving the issue
Waste elimination
- value stream map
- process flow
- spaghetti diagram
Pareto and time charts

Input and output characteristics
Input and output characteristics must be characterized and weighted in relation to goal
Critical characteristics must be measures
# of characteristics must be manageable

Focus on the process not the people until y ou know the process is robust. After that training can be addressed.

Low hanging fruit
Non value added steops – get rid of them
All steps need to add value
There are some necessary NVA – legal, EH&S, etc.

Analyze phase

Use information to create knowledge
Draw conclusions
Objectives
 find root cause not symptoms
 propose options

options mean change. Change means impact on someone. Change may involve investment.

Up to this point you have control and responsibility. After this point someone else may be responsible.

Challenges
Foresee impact of changes
COMMUNICATE

Loop back regularly to revise process

SLA2005