Lean Methodologies & Six Sigma Module – Case Study for Assignment

One of the cornerstones to business success, as well as solving business problems, is continuous quality
improvement. Six Sigma is the most well-known and well-received quality improvement method. Six
Sigma is a statistical measure of variability that identifies the source of inefficient and out-of-control
processes. Six sigma was used to eliminate duplex gluing faults in cartoon manufacturing at the Big Box
firm in this Case study. After identifying and adjusting the levels of three components that were
discovered to be the cause of the increasing defective units, the number of defectives was successfully
reduced. The speed, the amount of pressure used to set the glue, and the pressure time are all
significant factors. (Byrne 2021)

Analysis

Six Sigma locations a heavy emphasis on achieving verifiable and demonstrable economic gains, as
properly as robust and enthusiastic management support. In fact, it makes use of each human and
technique elements to address problems, such as way of life alternate and patron focus, as nicely as
procedure management, statistical analysis, and size device analysis. Managers and personnel in Six
Sigma have a hierarchical organizational shape based totally on their competence. In the Six Sigma
programmed, the Master Black Belt is the individual with the best diploma of technical and
organizational effectively and serves as technical leadership. Green Belts, on the different hand, are
personnel who have been taught in Six Sigma equipment and who make contributions to Six Sigma
initiatives whilst nonetheless having different duties. However, in the case the “success and failure”
factor are considering as blown. The Big Box management team considers which task management
approach to use. (R 2021)They'd want to implement an Agile approach since it aligns with their
Customer's project management style, but they don't have any agile experts on their staff. All formal
initiatives are managed using the PRINCE2 methodology, which includes stringent stage gate
management and a single deliverable at the project's conclusion. They also consider using a DMAIC
diagram to connect with the Six Sigma analysis, but because they are unfamiliar with this approach, they
dismiss
this Recognize notion.
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Moreover, The Customer Service Department in Manchester successfully established a group briefing at
the start of each day, and each of these briefings utilized the new Performance Board. The Department
is fortunate to have a recent Math’s graduate who has conducted some statistical analysis of
manufacturing problems and presented the results on the Performance Board. All defects have been
detected earlier than gadgets have been dispatched to Customers. In the manufacturing areas, the
Boards are in vicinity however no longer up to date daily, and most of the KPIs suggested are no longer
wholly understood via the Operatives. Mike Jones performed Shift Briefings for a full week in the
Manchester Factory in order to kick-start this activity, however in the course of his The Shift Managers,
who are concerned of addressing their groups in a formal briefing, and dwell on consideration of the fact
that this would just lead to delays in production throughout hectic periods, did not maintain this after a
two-week excursion.

Step 1: Create a Big Box

Organizations have to have a compelling motive for enforcing Lean Six Sigma. Some examples of a
Packaging business:
“We are struggling big best losses. They account for extra than forty five percentages of our costs.”
“Our rivals are gaining our market with the aid of 12 percentages each quarter.”
Without a Big Box, there is seldom a motivation to enforce a non-stop enhancement initiative. Company
management must emerge as acquainted with the Big Box, and recognize how Lean Six Sigma can tackle
the troubles in the platform. (MANTEC 2018)
Step2 Put Resources in Place
Do no longer hesitate to employ the proper aid at proper price. This is relevant to any resource, be it
employees, fabric or technology. But sources by myself do now not make sure that a deployment will be
successful. They ought to be capable to work collectively as a team, and be empowered to elevate out
initiatives.
It is vital to comprehend what to appear for in a viable resource. One example: My company had
finalized a candidate for a Black Belt role in our patron provider process. During an interview, I
requested him, “What was once the most brilliant trip in your life?” He replied, “The six months I spent
working in a farm with no people, no cellphone and no tension.
Step 3: Teach the Methodology

As the saying goes, if I give a man a fish, he can only survive a day. But if I teach the person to catch the
fish, he can live for a lifetime. For Lean Six Sigma to survive for a lifetime, organizations need to train
their team members to be powerful change agents. Yellow Belt, Green Belt and Black Belt training, along
with skilled mentors, can help increase organizational awareness. The employees identified for training
should share the organization’s vision.

Step 4: Prioritize Activities

Once sources and education are in place, a variety of possibilities might also current themselves.
Organizations have to make it precedence to:
Listen to the customer
Identify critical-to-quality criteria
Ensure Lean Six Sigma efforts are linked to enterprise goals
It is vital to analyze what to forget and the place to take risks. Activities have to be assessed to make
sure they are assembly the expectations of the organization’s goals.
Step 5: Establish Ownership
It has to be clear who owns the Lean Six Sigma initiative. This may additionally contain appointing a
committee to discover out who is accountable for the whole team. With possession come
empowerment and an experience of pride, and crew contributors who are greater committed, to blame
and engaged.
Step 6: Take the Right Measurements
What can't be measured can't be improved. By growing a size system, practitioners can decide baseline
overall performance and use the facts in goal choice making and evaluation of variation.
The key for size is to get the feel of fantastic right. The following example, which took region whilst I
used to be working as a trainee engineer in an engineering firm, helps illustrate this premise. I used to
be posted to a area warehouse to take inventory of all the nuts, bolts and different components as
section of an annual stock exercise. I realized that if I have been to begin counting every and each part, I
would be spending weeks doing this – it would now not be the proper way to measure. Therefore, I
devised a way to remember the nuts and bolts by way of working on a machine of weighing the
components in giant batches and changing them into units. It took a fraction of the time to depend the
components than different techniques used in the previously.
Step 7: Govern the Program
A suitable governance shape can assist a application maintain momentum. Poor governance or too a
great deal governance can lead to the imaginative and prescient falling apart. For instance, organizing a
commercial enterprise fine council can assist to clear any hurdles that might also sluggish a project,
permitting the undertaking to adhere to timelines.
Proper governance additionally helps practitioners create a excellent exercise sharing forum, which
helps tasks to be replicated and can spotlight frequent challenges. Without typically scheduled,
productive conferences or evaluation sessions, the application can veer off path and personnel might
also lack guidance.
Step 8: Recognize Contributions.
Rewards and recognition play a valuable role in making sure team members remain satisfied in their
roles. They can help build enthusiasm for the program from a top-down and grassroots level. Rewards
and recognition also can help drive innovation throughout the organization. Another example from my
experience: During my days as a quality engineer, we got a note from one of our biggest customers, an
automobile manufacturer that we supplied springs to. The note was to reduce the price of our springs
by 10 percent. We were in a fix – we did everything possible to make improvements across the
company. The changes made it possible for us to reduce prices by around 7 percent, but we still needed
a three percent reduction. Then my boss, who was a quality expert, asked me to go to one of our
suppliers, who provided the spring wires, and work with them to reduce the cost of making wires.
In addition, defining the critically of project management as Project management is the application of
processes, methods, skills, knowledge and experience to achieve specific project objectives according to
the project acceptance criteria within agreed parameters. Project management has final deliverables
that are constrained to a finite timescale and budget. In this case study of big box they are critically
analyzing and implementing the project management strategies and reducing the waste by using lean
resource such as effective of applying Agile approaches and Kiazen approaches of management to
improve the employment productivity and factor of production. Furthermore, Improvement project plan
which was completed by him after the initial kick-off meeting. Since this contains some confidential
information about the Director’s targets for Lean Cost savings, this plan has not been shared with other
managers or team leaders. A project to introduce 5S into the production areas was put on hold due to a
dispute about production operatives carrying out housekeeping tasks.
Bibliography
Byrne, Brian. Applying Lean Six Sigma Methodology. 2 March 2021.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/350284598_Applying_Lean_Six_Sigma_Methodolog
y_to_a_Pharmaceutical_Manufacturing_Facility_A_Case_Study.

MANTEC. 28, June 2018. https://mantec.org/six-sigma-benefit-manufacturers/#:~:text=The%20Six

%20Sigma%20Methodology%20comprises,it%20ideates%20new%20process%20solutions.

R, Lokesh. may 2021. https://www.isixsigma.com/implementation/8-steps-successful-lean-six-sigma-

implementation/.