Six Sigma Tools

Six Sigma

● Six Sigma is a framework that was designed to eliminate waste and improve the customer
experience.
● It was introduced to our mainstream business culture in the 1980’s when Bill Smith, an engineer
for Motorola, first introduced the concept
● Today, according to many business development experts, Six Sigma is the most popular quality
improvement methodology in history/.
● It is used worldwide across a diverse range of organizations including nonprofits, prisons,
hospitals, banks, and corporations.
The 5 Whys

➔ The 5 Whys typically refers to the practice of asking, five times, why the failure has occurred in
order to get to the root cause/causes of the problem.
➔ There can be more than one cause to a problem as well.
➔ In an organizational context, generally root cause analysis is carried out by a team of persons
related to the problem. No special technique is required.
Benefits of the 5 Whys

● Help identify the root cause of a problem.

● Determine the relationship between different root causes of a problem.
● One of the simplest tools; easy to complete without statistical analysis.

When Is 5 Whys Most Useful?

➔ When problems involve human factors or interactions.
➔ In day-to-day business life; can be used within or without a Six Sigma project.
The 5s System
SORT
It slows progress distracts workers and takes up space.
SET IN ORDER
Process steps should be close to each other.
SHINE
Cleaning machinery makes them more efficient and reduce
errors and defects
STANDARDIZE
These are key for Standardization
SUSTAIN
Review and improve the standards over time.
Value stream mapping

● It is also known as "material- and information-flow mapping", is a lean-management method for analyzing the
current state and designing a future state for the series of events that take a product or service from the
beginning of the specific process until it reaches the customer.
● A value stream map is a visual tool that displays all critical steps in a specific process and easily quantifies
the time and volume taken at each stage.Value stream maps show the flow of both materials and information
as they progress through the process.
● A value stream map represents a core business process that adds value to a material product, a value chain
diagram shows an overview of all activities within a company.
Purpose of value-stream mapping

● The purpose of value-stream mapping is to identify and remove or reduce "waste" in value streams,
thereby increasing the efficiency of a given value stream.
● Waste removal is intended to increase productivity by creating leaner operations which in turn make
waste and quality problems easier to identify.
● It is often associated with manufacturing, it is also used in logistics, supply chain, service related
industries, healthcare,software development,product development, and administrative and office
processes.
Methods

● There are two kinds of value stream maps, current state and future state.
● The current state value stream map is used to determine what the process currently looks like
● The future state value stream map focuses on what the process will ideally look like after process
improvements have occurred to the value stream.
● The current state value stream map must be created before the future state map and is created by
observing the process and tracking the information and material flow.
Regression Analysis

● Regression analysis is a set of statistical methods used for the

estimation of relationships between a dependent variable and one or
more independent variables.
● It can be utilized to assess the strength of the relationship between
variables and for modeling the future relationship between them.
● Regression analysis includes several variations, such as linear, multiple
linear, and nonlinear. The most common models are simple linear and
multiple linear.
● Nonlinear regression analysis is commonly used for more complicated
data sets in which the dependent and independent variables show a
nonlinear relationship.
Regression Analysis – Simple linear regression

Simple linear regression is a model that assesses the relationship between a dependent variable and an
independent variable

Y = a + bX + ϵ
● Y – Dependent variable
● X – Independent (explanatory) variable
● a – Intercept
● b – Slope
● ϵ – Residual (error)
Regression Analysis – Multiple linear regression

Multiple linear regression analysis is essentially similar to the simple linear model, with the
exception that multiple independent variables are used in the model.

Y = a + bX + cX + dX + ϵ
1 2 3
● Y – Dependent variable
● X1, X2, X3 – Independent (explanatory) variables
● a – Intercept
● b, c, d – Slopes
● ϵ – Residual (error)
 Pareto Chart

➢ A frequency bar chart.

➢ The most frequent activities
are placed in order from left to
right.
➢ Plots the frequency.
Pareto Analysis

➢ Used when we have many problems or

projects and to identify the most
significant one.

➢ It is used to focus on the causes that

contribute most to a particular effect.
Construction

1. Define the problem.

2. a Identify the possible causes of the problem (using brainstorming or similar technique).
3. Collect then record the data.
4. Calculate the frequencies of the identified causes.
5. Draw a vertical bar for each cause or cause group.
6. Sort them by frequency in descending order. Calculate then draw the cumulative percentage
line.
7. If you observe a Pareto effect, focus your improvement efforts on those few factors.
Benefits of Pareto Analysis

● Separate the problem and causes

● Helps to focus on the right
problems
● Enhance the decision making
skills
● Improves problem solving skills
● Increases the efficiency of work
● Saves time
FAILURE MODE AND EFFECTS ANALYSIS (FMEA)

Failure Modes and Effects Enalysis (FMEA) is a step-by-step approach for identifying all possible failures
in a design, a manufacturing or assembly process, or a product or service. It is a common process analysis
tool.

"Failure modes" means the ways, or modes, in which something might fail. Failures are any errors or
defects, especially ones that affect the customer, and can be potential or actual.

"Effects analysis" refers to studying the consequences of those failures.

WHEN TO USE FMEA?

➔ When a process, product, or service is being designed or redesigned, after quality function
deployment (QFD)
➔ When an existing process, product, or service is being applied in a new way
➔ Before developing control plans for a new or modified process
➔ When improvement goals are planned for an existing process, product, or service
➔ When analyzing failures of an existing process, product, or service
➔ Periodically throughout the life of the process, product, or service
The purpose of the FMEA is to take
actions to eliminate or reduce failures,
starting with the highest-priority ones.
Kaizen

● Kaizen is a Japanese philosophy that focuses on continual improvement throughout all aspects of
life.
● When applied to the workplace, Kaizen activities can improve every function of a business, from
manufacturing to marketing and from the CEO to the assembly-line workers.
● Kaizen aims to eliminate waste in all systems of an organization through improving standardized
activities and processes.
The continuous cycle of Kaizen activity has seven phases:

● Identify an opportunity
● Analyze the process
● Develop an optimal solution
● Implement the solution
● Study the results
● Standardize the solution
● Plan for the future
Through Six Sigma, companies can make breakthrough improvements in existing processes. Cost savings
from breakthrough Six Sigma projects are not always reflected in the bottom line, however. The reason
for this is the absence of small improvements, as well as maintenance – establishing standard operating
procedures and ensuring everyone follows them. Processes can degrade without systemic monitoring
and improvement.
But if a company has a combined system of Six Sigma, a strict adherence to established processes, and
local resources who are constantly looking for ways to make their processes better (Kaizen), the situation
becomes the best. This puts the organization in a better financial position in the long-run because
improvements happen on an ongoing basis in addition to the occasional breakthrough.
Poka-Yoke

➔ Derived from Japanese words

➔ Yokeru – Avoid
➔ Poka – Mistakes
➔ Coined in Japan during 1960s by Shigeo Shingo part of the Toyota Production System.
➔ Initially Boka Yoke – fool proofing
➔ Changed to POKA YOKE – Mistake Proofing
WHAT IS POKA YOKE OR MISTAKE PROOFING?

➔ Poka Yoke is a tool to have “zero defects” and even to reduce or eliminate quality control.
➔ Poka Yoke represents the intelligence of operator by excluding repetitive actions that require a
thinking process.
➔ Mistake Proofing is a product’s design and its manufacturing process is a key element of design for
manufacturability/ assembly.
➔ Mistake proofing is also a key element of improving product quality and reliability.
PRINCIPLES OF POKA YOKE
CLASSIFICATION OF POKA YOKE

Prevention Based PoKa Yoke – It act before a defect occurs. The poke yoke mechanism sense an abnormality that
is about to happen and the signal the occurrence.

Detection Based Poka Yoke - In many of the situations, it is not possible to economically feasible to prevent
defects. Poke yoke signal the user when a mistake has been made. The system does not allow the continuation of
the process so that user can quickly correct the problem.
WHEN TO USE IT?

❖ It is a technique, a tool that can be applied to any type of process in manufacturing or service
sector.
❖ Poka Yoke can be used wherever something can go wrong or an error can be made.
HOW TO USE IT ?
Step by step process in applying poka yoke

1. Identify the operation or process.

2. Analyze the 5-Ws and understand the ways a process can fail.
3. Decide the right Poka-yoke approach, such as using a:
Shut out type: Preventing an error being made.
Attention type: Highlighting that an error has been made.
4. Determine whether a Contact Method, Constant Number or Counting Method, Motion-Sequence
Method.
5. Trial the method and see if it works.
6. Train the operator, review performance and measure success.
The contact method identifies defects using a part’s shape, size, colour, or other physical attributes. The
contact method can also include limit switches and proximity sensors.

The constant number (or fixed-value) method alerts the operator if a certain number of movements are
not made. Counters could also be a fixed number of parts must be used at each step.

The sequence (or motion step) method aims to ensure the prescribed steps of the process have been
followed before starting the next stage. Not allowing the mistake to be made in the first place.
ADVANTAGES

● Implementing a Poka-Yoke doesn’t need to be expensive.

● It can carry out steps in a process, knowing that you will get it right. It helps things work right the
first time.
● They are placed close to where the mistakes occur, providing quick feedback to the workers so that
the mistakes can be corrected.
● Once put in place, they require minimal supervision.