Six Sigma Methodology & Lean

QFD was created by Mitsubishi Heavy Industry at Kobe Shipyards in the early 1970s. Stringent government regulations for military vessels coupled with the large capital outlay per ship forced Kobe Shipyard’s management to commit to upstream quality assurance. The Kobe engineers drafted a matrix which relates all the government regulations, critical design requirements, and customer requirements to company technical controlled characteristics of how the company would achieve them. In addition, the matrix also depicted the relative importance of each entry, making it possible for important items to be identified and prioritized to receive a greater share of the available company resources. Winning is contagious. Other companies adopted QFD in the mid-1970s. For example, the automotive industry applied the first QFD to the rust problem. Since then, QFD usage has grown as a wellrooted methodology into many American businesses. It has become so familiar because of its adopted commandm...

Common Misperceptions about Six Sigma The New Six Sigma Approach Six Sigma only applies in a manufacturing environment. Six Sigma provides tools that enable teams to improve any type of process, both continuous and transactional. Six Sigma is too complicated and requires a Ph.D. in Statistics. Breakthroughs in desktop software and improved courseware enable teams to complete complex analysis and experiments quickly and easily. Six Sigma projects can go on for months with no clear gains assured. Clear project charters, upfront financial benefits analysis, and executive accountability ensure timely completion of projects as well as significant financial returns on every project. Six Sigma projects add to employee overload. Project prioritization and continuous management review ensure the optimization of team resources. Six Sigma primarily focu...

Statistics for Six Sigma Made Easy by Warren Brussee Issues in Getting Good Data Manufacturing Samples and the resultant data have to represent the total population, yet processes controlling the population are often changing dramatically, due to people, shift, environment, equipment, etc. Sales Sales forecasts often use sampling techniques in their predictions. Yet the total market may have many diverse groups to sample. These groups may be affected by many external drivers, like the economy. Marketing What data should be used to judge a marketing campaign's effectiveness, since so many other factors are changing at the same time? Software Development What are the main causes of software crashes and how would you get data to measure the "crash-resistance" of competing software? Receivables How would you get good data on the effectiveness of a program intended to reduce overdue receivables, when factors like the economy exert a strong influence and change frequent...