Case study in Six Sigma methodology: manufacturing quality improvement and guidance for managers

This article discusses the successful implementation of Six Sigma methodology in a high precision and critical process in the manufacture of automotive products. The Six Sigma define–measure–analyse–improve–control approach resulted in a reduction of tolerance-related problems and improved the first pass yield from 85% to 99.4%. Data were collected on all possible causes and regression analysis, hypothesis testing, Taguchi methods, classification and regression tree, etc. were used to analyse the data and draw conclusions. Implementation of Six Sigma methodology had a significant financial impact on the profitability of the company. An approximate saving of US$70,000 per annum was reported, which is in addition to the customer-facing benefits of improved quality on returns and sales. The project also had the benefit of allowing the company to learn useful messages that will guide future Six Sigma activities.     

Application of Design for Six Sigma tools in telecom service improvement

Abstract

Six Sigma is a systematic methodology aiming at operational excellence. Under the general umbrella of Six Sigma, DMAIC and Design for Six Sigma are usually be implemented to improve product and process quality. Facing quality bottlenecks in traditional improvement projects, tools in Design for Six Sigma is an efficient way to achieve better results. In this paper, to meet the high-quality requirement of key clients, a telecom service system improvement project is illustrated by redesigning troubleshooting and service delivery processes in company Shanghai Telecom Co. Ltd. (ST) with the aid of some Design for Six Sigma tools. Company ST improved its service system performance and obtained significant economic benefits from this project implementation. Four key factors that affect the success of Design for Six Sigma tools application in improvement projects are discussed at last.     

Six Sigma implementation: a qualitative case study using grounded theory

Many organisations have implemented Six Sigma, but successful Six Sigma implementation has not been fully investigated. The purpose of this study is to explore the process of implementing Six Sigma in a manufacturing plant using qualitative case study methodology. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and analysed using grounded theory to identify the main factors that emerged from the interview data and the relationships between them. Consistent with previous studies, the findings emphasise the role of executive commitment, Six Sigma Champions, and training in successful implementation of Six Sigma projects. Furthermore, the study underlines the role of effective project selection and the coexistence of other management initiatives (e.g. lean manufacturing and continuous improvement) on successful implementations of Six Sigma projects. Our findings also suggest that Six Sigma implementation leads to higher levels of customer focus. The study contributes to the existing body of knowledge in effective implementation of Six Sigma. The results include a coding paradigm for the implementation process and implications for managers and practitioners.     

Improving the efficiency of IT help-desk service by Six Sigma management methodology (DMAIC) – a case study of C company

Six Sigma concept depicts a ‘Triangle Relationship’ that integrates three attributes such as customer quality, science manners and team work. By employing this concept with the required survey and data collection to carry out the continuous improvement, a company can truly take advantage of the minimum set of operational variables and the lowest cost procedures, and hence, result in an increasing competitive value for/to the company. This research is conducted based on the Six Sigma methodology, DMAIC (definition, measurement, analysis, improvement and control) principle, and it deals with project-related issues to improve the efficiency of information technology (IT) help-desk service through an eHelp-desk system. It is the authors’ belief that the use of eHelp-desk system can help case company to improve its service quality and efficiency. In addition, managerial implications and research limitations are discussed at the end of this article.     

Six-sigma for improving Top-Box Customer Satisfaction score for a banking call centre

Six Sigma process improvement methodology has been accepted globally across the service industry. In past one decade, the application and success of Six Sigma in Services is remarkable across Information Technology organisations, Hospitality firms, Government, Healthcare firms and Banking & Financial Sector. The aim of this paper is to explore the role of Six Sigma within call centres where the metric based environment complements the application of Six Sigma for process improvements. The article establishes the literature for the need for Six Sigma in call centre environment elaborating on customer facing metrics in addition to internal performance measures and highlighting the advantages of Six Sigma. A case study is presented in the second part of the article to study the DMAIC project management approach of Six Sigma for improving the Top Box Customer Satisfaction score of a Banking call centre. The literature identifies the possible opportunities for improving the performance of call centre metrics using Six Sigma. The project case study presented as part of the paper delivered a saving of USD 0.27 million to the bank, and is a classic example of how Six Sigma can bring bottom-line impact to an organisation. The article is limited to elaborate the advantages of Six Sigma in call centre environment, emphasising on its need and its compatibility to go along successfully with change acceleration and project management processes. Managerial implications and lessons learned are discussed alongside the concluding notes.     

Six Sigma to reduce claims processing errors in a healthcare payer firm

Abstract

As a continuous improvement practice, Six Sigma has been accepted globally across the service industry. In the past decade, the application and success of Six Sigma in healthcare services has been remarkable. Despite the fact that several papers on Six Sigma have appeared in the erstwhile literature related to healthcare operations, there is a dearth of field studies highlighting the application of Six Sigma in healthcare outsourced firms, in specific to healthcare payers that engage in a non-clinical setup. The aim of this paper is to explore the role of Six Sigma within the healthcare payer outsourced firms, where error-free delivery becomes critical. The article contributes to the literature of Six Sigma in healthcare outsourcing highlighting how ‘Six Sigma as a methodology’ could help reduce claims adjudication errors in a healthcare payer firm. The Six Sigma DMAIC project case study presented as part of the paper delivered a saving of USD 0.53 million and is a classic example of how Six Sigma can bring bottom-line impact to healthcare outsourced organizations. Managerial implications and lessons learned are discussed alongside the concluding notes.     

Implementation of Lean Six Sigma framework with environmental considerations in an Indian automotive component manufacturing firm: a case study

Lean Six Sigma is a systematic data driven methodology that integrates two powerful business improvement strategies Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma with the goal of removing wastes and reducing process variation. Lean Six Sigma has a positive effect on environmental performance as defect reduction and reducing process variation leads to reduction in raw material consumption, energy consumption and reduced scrap which in turn reduces the overall environmental impacts. In this context, this study uses a Lean Six Sigma framework with environmental considerations to reduce overall defects and environmental impacts concurrently to improve the firm’s operational and environmental performance. The framework is based on Define Measure Analyze Improve Control methodology where traditional Lean Six Sigma and environmental impact assessment tools are integrated to systematically deploy LSS strategies with environmental considerations. The framework is validated with an industrial case study conducted in an Indian automotive component manufacturing organisation and the inferences are derived. On successful deployment of the framework, the internal defects was brought down to 6000 ppm from 16,000 ppm and environmental impacts was reduced to 33 Pt from 42 Pt. Deployment of the developed framework helped in improving the firm’s sigma level and also reduced the overall environmental impacts.     

Sensitisation of SMEs towards the implementation of Lean Six Sigma – an initialisation in a cylinder frames manufacturing Indian SME

This article suggests the adoption of a model on Lean Six Sigma for successfully implementing it in small and medium engineering enterprises (SMEs). This model is given the name Deficiency Overcoming Lean Anchorage Define Measure Analyse Improve Control Stabilise (DOLADMAICS). The DOLADMAICS model has been designed to lift up an SME through the implementation of Lean Six Sigma in five levels. The implementation study on first level of DOLADMAICS model conducted in an Indian SME, manufacturing a component called ‘cylinder frames’, has been reported in this article. After conducting this implementation study, it was found that the first level of DOLADMAICS model would act as a catalyst and guide for sensitising the management of SMEs to successfully implement Lean Six Sigma.     

Using Lean Six Sigma to improve mobile order fulfilment process in a telecom service sector

This study proposes and follows a specific and systematic framework for implementing Lean Six Sigma (LSS) methodology in a telecom company in order to improve customer satisfaction by minimizing the company’s response time to customer requirements. The goal of this study was achieved by utilizing several LSS tools under five phases of the DMAIC methodology. Unlike previous studies in the telecom sector that used only qualitative method, in this study, both qualitative and quantitative methods were utilized to draw meaningful conclusions. As a result of the implementation of the LSS methodology, the average order fulfilment lead time for sales orders (SO) and value-added service (VAS) orders was reduced from 10.3 to 5.9 days and from 1.5 to 0.5 days, respectively. The reduction in lead time resulted in an increase in the sigma level for SO and VAS orders from 0.44 to 1.26 and from 0.73 to 2.66, respectively. These improvements were expected to lead to a financial benefit in savings of over $600,000 per year in operational costs, enhancements to customer experience and an increase in revenue generating opportunities. Moreover, this article enriches the existing literature on the application of LSS concept in the service industry, and helps the company to speed up the response to customer requirements.     

Leadership and Six Sigma project success: the role of member cohesiveness and resource management

The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether the effect of leadership on Six Sigma project success (PS) may be mediated by member cohesiveness (MC). The second objective was to examine whether the impact of MC on PS was moderated by resource management. The effects of the project manager's leadership styles and MC on PS were also investigated in this research. To address the primary aims, a survey was used to measure the project manager's leadership styles, MC and the overall success of Six Sigma projects. The analyses suggest that MC may serve as a mediator between leadership and PS. The results also indicate that resource allocation has a moderating effect on the relationship between MC and PS.     

Lean Six Sigma approach in an Indian auto ancillary conglomerate: a case study

The purpose of this article is to illustrate how Lean Six Sigma (LSS) methodology was applied to an Auto ancillary conglomerate in India for achieving operational excellence. The research reported in this paper is based on a case study carried out using LSS methodology in improving yield of a semi-automated transfer line process of the organisation. The root causes for the problem were identified and validated through data based analysis from LSS tool box, at different stages in the study. The application of LSS methodology resulted in reduction of drilling defects while machining injector bodies and reduced the Defects Per Million Opportunities from 38,000 to 5600. The application of this methodology had a significant financial impact (saving of about INR 1.4 million per annum) on the bottom-line of the company.     

Enhancement of sigma level in the manufacturing of furnace nozzle through DMAIC approach of Six Sigma: a case study

In this paper, a case study on implementing Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control (DMAIC) phases of Six Sigma programme in a furnace manufacturing company is reported. When Six Sigma was developed at Motorola, it was encapsulated with DMAIC and belt-based training infrastructure. Since belt-based training is expensive, companies with less revenue have been implementing only DMAIC phases. In this background, the impact of implementing DMAIC phases was examined in the research narrated in this paper through the reporting of the case study mentioned above. As the result of implementing DMAIC phases, the sigma level increased from 3.31 to 3.67 in the case of drilling a hole in a component called ‘furnace nozzle’. This increase in sigma level proved that DMAIC phases are powerful enough to enable the companies with less revenue to perform at six sigma level quality and acquire competitive strength.     

Rejects reduction in a retail bank using Lean Six Sigma

Lean Six Sigma (LSS) is a majestic process improvement methodology that has been proved to be a powerful management strategy across services. The influential synergy of Six Sigma and Lean aims at improving the processes, focusing on both rapid and robust improvements, reducing waste and variation in the process. LSS generates successful results in key performance indicators (KPIs) based environments, where process data gets measured and leveraged for making essential management decisions. The aim of this paper is to highlight the importance of LSS in banking industry through a real-time process improvement study. The article establishes the literature for the need for LSS in banks detailing on customer facing metrics and process KPIs. An action-research study conducted in a retail bank is presented in LSS DMAIC methodology which reaped a benefit of INR 1.6 million and is a classic example of how LSS can bring bottom-line impact to an organisation, alongside contributing to the process improvement mind-set in employees.     

A Knowledge Framework Underlying Process Management*

Organizations are increasingly implementing process‐improvement techniques like Six Sigma, total quality management, lean, and business process re‐engineering to improve organizational performance. These techniques are part of a process management system that includes the organizational infrastructure to support the improvement techniques. The knowledge‐based view of a firm argues that organizational knowledge is the source of competitive advantage. To the extent that the process management system enables knowledge creation it should be a source of competitive advantage. This study investigates the underlying framework and factors of a process management system that lead to organizational knowledge creation. Prior studies have considered knowledge creation in process improvement, but none have considered the role of the process management system. Specifically, the study uses the case study method to investigate multiple levels (organization level and project level) of two firms using Six Sigma as their chosen process management system. Analysis of the cases reveals that the leadership creates a supportive infrastructure enabling process‐improvement techniques to effectively create organizational knowledge. Interestingly, focusing on decision‐making tools and methods may not be effective without developing a supportive infrastructure. The proposed framework provides a basis for organizational leaders to think about how to design and implement a process management system to better enable knowledge creation in organizations.     

Defining Problems Fast and Slow: The U‐shaped Effect of Problem Definition Time on Project Duration

This study examines how time spent in problem definition affects problem solving in projects such as Six Sigma projects. Our hypotheses are tested using data collected from 1558 Six Sigma projects in a company. The results show evidence of a U‐shaped relationship between the amount of time spent in the Define phase and project duration. This finding suggests that spending too little time on problem definition potentially causes poor problem formulation, which leads to deficient problem solving and lengthens overall project time. On the other hand, too much time spent on problem definition can lead to unneeded delays in project completion due to diminishing returns on problem definition efforts. Furthermore, the optimal balance between spending too little and too much time depends on prior project experience and project complexity. Prior project experience reduced project completion time and weakened the U‐shaped effect. Conversely, complex projects took longer and appeared to show some evidence of a stronger U‐shaped effect; this suggests balancing the time spent in the Define phase was more challenging for complex projects. Our study also underscores the importance of managing project duration, as projects that were completed faster tended to be associated with higher project savings.     

The art and science of winning physician support for Six Sigma change

Active physician participation and acceptance of Six Sigma is critical to successful implementation. Take a look at strategies and techniques that can help secure physician support for Six Sigma.     

Mathematical modelling to improve Rolled Throughput Yield in a supply chain

The outspread of supply chains competition entails inevitable application of quality improvement methods, such as Six Sigma. It is less than a decade that Six Sigma methodology has entered the supply chain scope; however, researches undertaken in this field have massively increased. Most of these research works have been done towards the application of the Six Sigma method for supply chain improvement, yet nothing has been done about suitable entity selection in supply chain for improvement. The purpose of this article is to propose a method for individual entity selection in the supply chain. Accordingly, a mixed integer non-linear programming model is presented that shows which supply chain entity should be selected, and how much to improve, in order to maximise financial benefit. This article also presents new comprehensive criteria based on the previous approach, which can measure the performance of the supply chain. Moreover, the ability of the proposed criteria is shown through a numerical example. Finally, the optimisation model was applied for selecting individual entity in tweedy supply chain in order to illustrate the capability of the model. In addition, sensitivity analysis is carried out on the parameters of the model.     

Development of an RFID‐based Traceability System: Experiences and Lessons Learned from an Aircraft Engineering Company

This paper presents a case study of the research and development of an RFID‐based traceability system in an aircraft engineering company in Hong Kong. We report the system design and implementation, and discuss our experiences and lessons learned. The aim of the RFID system is to effectively support the tracking and tracing of aeroplane repairable items in the company. The study reveals eight critical success factors for the successful implementation of RFID systems, namely, create strong internal and external motivation for improvement, stir up desire to keep abreast of the latest technology for global competitiveness, strive for cross organizational implementation, avoid major process changes/limit process changes, start with a small RFID project scope, facilitate equipment vendor's investment, use cost‐effectiveness reusable tags, and transfer RFID skills and knowledge from university to industry. We also summarize 13 lessons learned, including three lessons concerning RFID implementation at strategic level, six lessons at management level, and four lessons at operational level resulting from carrying out this project. Given the contextual details of the study, the lessons learned can help other firms to better anticipate the hurdles they will experience, and make them aware of the possible ways to cope with such difficulties before embarking on the journey of RFID implementation.     

A Lean Six Sigma framework for the reduction of ship loading commercial time in the iron ore pelletising industry

Evidence suggests that specifically designed frameworks to implement Lean Six Sigma (LSS) projects to tackle particular problems are more effective than ‘generic’ versions. This paper proposes an implementation framework to effectively deploy LSS to improve a key operation and performance indicator, i.e. ship loading commercial time, of one of the largest world producer of iron ore. This article therefore contributes with a refined framework to effectively implement LSS, and documents its successful application and effectiveness within the context of the case organisation. The LSS framework and project contributed in helping the studied organisation to improve both the capability of its ship loading process and commercial time by more than 30%, resulting in operational savings in the range of $300,000 USD per year. The systematic nature of the framework proposed also helped the organisation to establish a standardised routine to improve its operations. Managerial implications exposing the challenges faced during the implementation of LSS are also discussed to serve as lessons learnt to be considered in other LSS projects. Managers and engineers incharge of improving operations and processes can benefit from this paper as it can be used as a guide to direct the conduction of LSS projects and the empirical application of its principles and tools.     

Reengineering of a supply chain management system: A case study

A business process reengineering (BPR) project concerning a supply chain management (SCM) system of a heavy machinery manufacturing company has been discussed in this paper. The BPR implementation process model has been described. The principal objective of this project has been to bring about radical changes in the mind sets, management styles and systems of a very mature but large organization in India. The implementation process has been very successful because the model has been explored by an organizational development initiative. BPR is both feasible and worthwhile in business only when ideas and ideals are put willingly in practice; and is practised in a collaborative mode to get closer to the people, especially at the floor level, and to customers and suppliers.