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.     

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.     

Lean Six Sigma implementation: modelling the interaction among the enablers

Abstract

Lean Six Sigma (LSS) methodology has been acquiring a prominent position in organisations. The aim of this study is to demonstrate an approach to LSS implementation in organisations using the development of a hypothetical model based on interpretive structural modelling (ISM) and fuzzy Matriced Impacts Croisés Multiplication Appliquée á un Classement (fuzzy MICMAC) analysis phenomenon. Seventy Lean Six Sigma enablers (LSSEs) have been identified through extensive literature review and out of which 40 most important LSSEs were finalised through opinions of experts both from industry and academia. Furthermore, the valuable expert opinions have been applied to determine contextual relationships between these significant LSSEs and a hierarchical model has been created based on an ISM. The fuzzy MICMAC analysis has also been utilised to classify the enablers based on the dependence and driving power, and validate the created ISM-based model. The developed hierarchical model will assist to understand interrelationships and interdependencies among the identified LSSEs. Having high driving and low dependence power, the LSSEs have strategic significance because of their driving character. On the other hand, having high dependence and low driving power, LSSEs are more performance orientated. The mutual influence, driving and dependence power of LSSEs render valuable information to top management to distinguish between independent and dependent LSSEs. An organisation desiring of adopting LSS may get benefited by the understanding of LSSEs and their interactions.     

Improving patients’ satisfaction in a mobile hospital using Lean Six Sigma – a design-thinking intervention

Abstract

Lean Six Sigma (LSS) that offers a unique integration of Lean and Six Sigma has been accepted globally across services sectors. Previous studies that examined the application of LSS in healthcare were steered in traditional hospital settings. Apparently, there are no studies that highlight the application of LSS in mobile hospitals, an emerging trend in the healthcare sector. The aim of this article is to explore the applicability of LSS in a mobile hospital. The authors present a case study of improving patients’ satisfaction in a mobile hospital, through reducing turnaround time. Design-thinking intervention to LSS helped resolve a real-time problem using Define-Measure-Analyze-Design-Verify roadmap. This article contributes to the ‘healthcare quality” body of knowledge and is novel as it is the first of its kind of LSS application in a mobile hospital underpinning Design thinking. This study is unique as it demonstrates academia–industry collaboration in solving an organizational problem.     

Eco-Six Sigma: integration of environmental variables into the Six Sigma technique

The impressive results achieved by several companies through the Six Sigma technique have motivated other organisations to follow their footsteps in search for competitiveness. As noticed in the literature, most Six Sigma projects in manufacturing have aimed to obtain process enhancements, focusing mostly on optimising product cycle times with almost none taking into consideration environmental aspects as part of their developments. Furthermore, organisations have been worrying worldwide about environmental issues, seeking to foster their eco-efficiency. As a result, the main objective of this paper is to formally introduce the environmental considerations into the Six Sigma technique by proposing a procedure to incorporate environmental variables into the DMAIC process as a way to increase the eco-efficiency level of the firms. Based on the literature review, a conceptual procedure to incorporate environmental variables into the Six Sigma DMAIC technique is proposed. To verify its possible application to real-life situations an action research was developed and could verify that the traditional Six Sigma approach (dealing only with the manufacturing process variables) was capable of improving the eco-efficiency level of the process area under study by 11%. The consideration of the environmental variables as part of the DMAIC technique as per the proposed approach allowed an additional 20% gain, which demonstrates its adequacy to increase the eco-efficiency level of the manufacturing area under evaluation.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Lean Six Sigma applied to process performance and improvement model for the development of electric scooter water-cooling green motor assembly

Abstract

In response to the environmental issues triggered by global warming, worldwide companies gradually put the factor of carbon emission into the process of product lifecycle, developing green technology or adopting cleaner production aimed at sustainable development. Lean Six Sigma has advantages of cutting waste and facilitating process improvements as well as system analysis, helping enterprises create the overall business benefits in the value chain. Used in the renewable energy industry, it can promote the triple bottom line (TBL), the performance of sustainable production for corporate profit, social responsibility and environmental responsibility. Therefore, this work took the process performance of the electric scooter water-cooling green motor manufactured in Taiwan with the world’s highest density of scooters as a case study. The developed performance evaluation and improvement model for manufacturing scheduling and process quality achieved the goal of economic benefits of enhancing process quality performance by shortening manufacturing scheduling and reducing process variations with Lean Six Sigma. Besides, they could respond to the policy of energy saving and carbon reduction – replacing the traditional scooters of high-carbon emissions with the electric scooters of low emissions. Furthermore, they could bring enterprises into harmony with economic benefits, ecological benefits and social benefits.     

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.     

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.