1

CONTENT
INTRODUCTION____________________________________________________________________2
1. THEORETICAL PART__________________________________________________3
1.1 Description of Six Sigma_____________________________________________________3
1.2 Doctrine________________________________________________4
1.3 Methodologies___________________________________________5
1.4 Implementation roles_________________________________________________7
1.5 Origin and meaning of the term "six sigma process"______________________9
1.6 Role of the 1,5 sigma shift__________________________________10
1.7 Criticism___________________________________________________12
1.8 Application_________________________________________________14
2. PRACTICAL PART
2.1Main characteristic of chosen product________________________________16
2.2 Description of innovation__________________________________19
2.3 Analysis of main consumers________________________________20
2.4 Analysis of main competitors________________________________________21
3. ANALYSIS OF PRODUCTION LINE__________________________________________________24
3.1 Sequence of operations____________________________________24
3.2 Amount of workers and time_________________________________________29
3.3 Description of the equipment________________________________________29
4. PRODUCTION PLAN OF PRODUCT WITH INNOVATION_____________31
4.1 Plan of the works__________________________________________________________31
4.2 Critical path_____________________________________________________________________________32
4.3 Calculation of the network graph indicators______________________________________32
5. NEW DESIGN_____________________________________________33
6. MAIN TECHNIVAL AND ECONOMIC INDICATORS OF PERFORMANCE
________________________________________________________________________________________34

7. CONCLUSION___________________________________________________________________36
8. LIST OF REFERECES_______________________________________37
 2

INTRODUCTION
The main aim of this course project – to consolidate skills on the basis of
key indicators of designing and manufacturing a product on the production
company.
Presented course work structurally consists of four sections.
The first section – theoretical part provides information about the Six
Sigma – a a set of techniques, and tools for process improvement.
Second part of this project encompasses the information about market of
Pringles chips, description of chosen company, its main competitors and
consumers, and depiction of innovation.
In the third section there is production plan of product with the innovation
and network graph.
The forth part includes description of a package – new design which was
invented in framework of course project.
 3

1 THEORETICAL PART
1.1 Description of Six Sigma

Picture 1.1 Six Sigma

Six Sigma is a set of techniques, and tools for process improvement. It was
developed by Motorola in 1986, coinciding with the Japanese asset price bubble
which is reflected in its terminology. Six Sigma became famous when Jack Welch
made it central to his successful business strategy at General Electric in 1995.
Today, it is used in many industrial sectors.
Six Sigma seeks to improve the quality of process outputs by identifying
and removing the causes of defects (errors) and minimizing variability in
manufacturing and business processes. It uses a set of quality management
methods, including statistical methods, and creates a special infrastructure of
people within the organization ("Champions", "Black Belts", "Green Belts",
"Yellow Belts", etc.) who are experts in the methods. Each Six Sigma project
carried out within an organization follows a defined sequence of steps and has
quantified value targets, for example: reduce process cycle time, reduce pollution,
reduce costs, increase customer satisfaction, and increase profits.
The term Six Sigma originated from terminology associated with
manufacturing, specifically terms associated with statistical modeling of
manufacturing processes. The maturity of a manufacturing process can be
described by a sigma rating indicating its yield or the percentage of defect-free
products it creates. A six sigma process is one in which 99.99966% of the products
 4

manufactured are statistically expected to be free of defects (3.4 defective

parts/million), although, as discussed below, this defect level corresponds to only a
4.5 sigma level. Motorola set a goal of "six sigma" for all of its manufacturing
operations, and this goal became a by-word for the management and engineering
practices used to achieve it.
1.2 Doctrine
Six Sigma doctrine asserts that:
- Continuous efforts to achieve stable and predictable process results
(i.e., reduce process variation) are of vital importance to business success.
- Manufacturing and business processes have characteristics that can be
measured, analyzed, controlled and improved.
- Achieving sustained quality improvement requires commitment from
the entire organization, particularly from top-level management.
Features that set Six Sigma apart from previous quality improvement
initiatives include:
- A clear focus on achieving measurable and quantifiable financial
returns from any Six Sigma project.
- An increased emphasis on strong and passionate management
leadership and support.
- A clear commitment to making decisions on the basis of verifiable
data and statistical methods, rather than assumptions and guesswork.
The term "six sigma" comes from statistics and is used in statistical quality
control, which evaluates process capability. Originally, it referred to the ability of
manufacturing processes to produce a very high proportion of output within
specification. Processes that operate with "six sigma quality" over the short term
are assumed to produce long-term defect levels below 3.4 defects per million
opportunities (DPMO). Six Sigma's implicit goal is to improve all processes, but
not to the 3.4 DPMO level necessarily. Organizations need to determine an
appropriate sigma level for each of their most important processes and strive to
 5

achieve these. As a result of this goal, it is incumbent on management of the

organisation to prioritize areas of improvement.
"Six Sigma" was registered June 11, 1991 as U.S. Service Mark
74,026,418. In 2005 Motorola attributed over US$17 billion in savings to Six
Sigma. Other early adopters of Six Sigma who achieved well-publicized success
include Honeywell (previously known as AlliedSignal) and General Electric,
where Jack Welch introduced the method. By the late 1990s, about two-thirds of
the Fortune 500 organizations had begun Six Sigma initiatives with the aim of
reducing costs and improving quality.
In recent years, some practitioners have combined Six Sigma ideas with
lean manufacturing to create a methodology named Lean Six Sigma. The Lean Six
Sigma methodology views lean manufacturing, which addresses process flow and
waste issues, and Six Sigma, with its focus on variation and design, as
complementary disciplines aimed at promoting "business and operational
excellence". Companies such as GE, Verizon, GENPACT, and IBM use Lean Six
Sigma to focus transformation efforts not just on efficiency but also on growth. It
serves as a foundation for innovation throughout the organization, from
manufacturing and software development to sales and service delivery functions.
The International Organisation for Standards (ISO) has published ISO
13053:2011 defining the six sigma process.
1.3 Methodologies
Six Sigma projects follow two project methodologies inspired by Deming's
Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle. These methodologies, composed of five phases each,
bear the acronyms DMAIC and DMADV.
1) DMAIC is used for projects aimed at improving an existing business
process.
2) DMADV is used for projects aimed at creating new product or process
designs.
The DMAIC project methodology has five phases:
 6

- Define the system, the voice of the customer and their requirements,
and the project goals, specifically.
- Measure key aspects of the current process and collect relevant data.
- Analyze the data to investigate and verify cause-and-effect
relationships. Determine what the relationships are, and attempt to ensure that all
factors have been considered. Seek out root cause of the defect under investigation.
- Improve or optimize the current process based upon data analysis
using techniques such as design of experiments, poka yoke or mistake proofing,
and standard work to create a new, future state process. Set up pilot runs to
establish process capability.
- Control the future state process to ensure that any deviations from
target are corrected before they result in defects. Implement control systems such
as statistical process control, production boards, visual workplaces, and
continuously monitor the process.
Some organizations add a Recognize step at the beginning, which is to
recognize the right problem to work on, thus yielding an RDMAIC methodology.
The DMADV project methodology, known as DFSS ("Design For Six
Sigma"), features five phases:
- Define design goals that are consistent with customer demands and the
enterprise strategy.
- Measure and identify CTQs (characteristics that are Critical To
Quality), product capabilities, production process capability, and risks.
- Analyze to develop and design alternatives
- Design an improved alternative, best suited per analysis in the
previous step
- Verify the design, set up pilot runs, implement the production process
and hand it over to the process owner(s).
Quality management tools and methods used in Six Sigma
 7

Within the individual phases of a DMAIC or DMADV project, Six Sigma

utilizes many established quality-management tools that are also used outside Six
Sigma. The following table shows an overview of the main methods used.
- 5 Whys - Process capability
- Analysis of variance / - Project charter
ANOVA Gauge R&R /Regression - Quality Function
- Axiomatic design Deployment (QFD)
- Business Process - Quantitative marketing
Mapping research through use of Enterprise
- Cause & effects diagram Feedback Management (EFM)
(also known as fishbone or Ishikawa systems
diagram) - Rolled throughput yield
- Check sheet - Root cause analysis
- Chi-squared test of - Run charts
independence and fits - Scatter diagram
- Control chart - SIPOC analysis
- Control plan (also known (Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs,
as a swimlane map) Customers)
- Correlation - COPIS analysis
- Cost-benefit analysis (Customer centric version/perspective
- CTQ tree of SIPOC)
- Design of experiments - Stratification
- General linear model - Taguchi methods
- Histograms - Taguchi Loss Function
- Pareto analysis - TRIZ
- Pareto chart - Value stream mapping
- Pick chart
1.4 Implementation roles
One key innovation of Six Sigma involves the absolute "professionalizing"
of quality management functions. Prior to Six Sigma, quality management in
 8

practice was largely relegated to the production floor and to statisticians in a

separate quality department. Formal Six Sigma programs adopt a kind of elite
ranking terminology (similar to some martial arts systems, like Kung-Fu and Judo)
to define a hierarchy (and special career path) that kicks across all business
functions and levels.
Six Sigma identifies several key roles for its successful implementation.
- Executive Leadership includes the CEO and other members of top
management. They are responsible for setting up a vision for Six Sigma
implementation. They also empower the other role holders with the freedom and
resources to explore new ideas for breakthrough improvements.
- Champions take responsibility for Six Sigma implementation across
the organization in an integrated manner. The Executive Leadership draws them
from upper management. Champions also act as mentors to Black Belts.
- Master Black Belts, identified by champions, act as in-house coaches
on Six Sigma. They devote 100% of their time to Six Sigma. They assist
champions and guide Black Belts and Green Belts. Apart from statistical tasks,
they spend their time on ensuring consistent application of Six Sigma across
various functions and departments.
- Black Belts operate under Master Black Belts to apply Six Sigma
methodology to specific projects. They devote 100% of their valued time to Six
Sigma. They primarily focus on Six Sigma project execution and special leadership
with special tasks, whereas Champions and Master Black Belts focus on
identifying projects/functions for Six Sigma.
- Green Belts are the employees who take up Six Sigma implementation
along with their other job responsibilities, operating under the guidance of Black
Belts.
Some organizations use additional belt colours, such as Yellow Belts, for
employees that have basic training in Six Sigma tools and generally participate in
projects and "White belts" for those locally trained in the concepts but do not
 9

participate in the project team. "Orange belts" are also mentioned to be used for
special cases.
1.5 Origin and meaning of the term "six sigma process"
The term "six sigma process" comes from the notion that if one has six
standard deviations between the process mean and the nearest specification limit,
as shown in the graph, practically no items will fail to meet specifications. This is
based on the calculation method employed in process capability studies.
Capability studies measure the number of standard deviations between the
process mean and the nearest specification limit in sigma units, represented by the
Greek letter σ (sigma). As process standard deviation goes up, or the mean of the
process moves away from the center of the tolerance, fewer standard deviations
will fit between the mean and the nearest specification limit, decreasing the sigma
number and increasing the likelihood of items outside specification.

Picture 1.2 Graph of the normal distribution

Graph of the normal distribution, which underlies the statistical
assumptions of the Six Sigma model. The Greek letter σ (sigma) marks the
distance on the horizontal axis between the mean, µ, and the curve's inflection
point. The greater this distance, the greater is the spread of values encountered. For
the green curve shown above, µ = 0 and σ = 1. The upper and lower specification
limits (USL and LSL, respectively) are at a distance of 6σ from the mean. Because
of the properties of the normal distribution, values lying that far away from the
mean are extremely unlikely. Even if the mean were to move right or left by 1.5σ
 10

at some point in the future (1.5 sigma shift, coloured red and blue), there is still a
good safety cushion. This is why Six Sigma aims to have processes where the
mean is at most 6σ away from the nearest specification limit.
1.6 Role of the 1,5 sigma shift
Experience has shown that processes usually do not perform as well in the
long term as they do in the short term. As a result, the number of sigmas that will
fit between the process mean and the nearest specification limit may well drop over
time, compared to an initial short-term study. To account for this real-life increase
in process variation over time, an empirically-based 1.5 sigma shift is introduced
into the calculation. According to this idea, a process that fits 6 sigma between the
process mean and the nearest specification limit in a short-term study will in the
long term fit only 4.5 sigma – either because the process mean will move over
time, or because the long-term standard deviation of the process will be greater
than that observed in the short term, or both.
Hence the widely accepted definition of a six sigma process is a process
that produces 3.4 defective parts per million opportunities (DPMO). This is based
on the fact that a process that is normally distributed will have 3.4 parts per million
beyond a point that is 4.5 standard deviations above or below the mean (one-sided
capability study). So the 3.4 DPMO of a six sigma process in fact corresponds to
4.5 sigma, namely 6 sigma minus the 1.5-sigma shift introduced to account for
long-term variation. This allows for the fact that special causes may result in a
deterioration in process performance over time, and is designed to prevent
underestimation of the defect levels likely to be encountered in real-life operation.
The role of the sigma shift is mainly academic. The purpose of six sigma is
to generate organizational performance improvement. It is up to the organization to
determine, based on customer expectations, what the appropriate sigma level of a
process is. The purpose of the sigma value is as a comparative figure to determine
whether a process is improving, deteriorating, stagnant or non-competitive with
others in the same business. Six sigma (3.4 DPMO) is not the goal of all processes.
Sigma levels
 11

The table below gives long-term DPMO values corresponding to

various short-term sigma levels.
Sigma Sigma (with Percent Percentage Short- Long-
DPMO
level 1.5σ shift) defective yield term Cpk term Cpk

1 -0.5 691,462 69% 31% 0.33 –0.17

2 0.5 308,538 31% 69% 0.67 0.17

3 1.5 66,807 6.7% 93.3% 1.00 0.5

4 2.5 6,210 0.62% 99.38% 1.33 0.83

5 3.5 233 0.023% 99.977% 1.67 1.17

6 4.5 3.4 0.00034% 99.99966% 2.00 1.5

7 5.5 0.019 0.0000019% 99.9999981% 2.33 1.83

Table 1.1 Long-term DPMO
It must be understood that these figures assume that the process mean will
shift by 1.5 sigma toward the side with the critical specification limit. In other
words, they assume that after the initial study determining the short-term sigma
level, the long-term Cpk value will turn out to be 0.5 less than the short-term Cpk
value. So, for example, the DPMO figure given for 1 sigma assumes that the long-
term process mean will be 0.5 sigma beyond the specification limit (Cpk = –0.17),
rather than 1 sigma within it, as it was in the short-term study (Cpk = 0.33). Note
that the defect percentages indicate only defects exceeding the specification limit
to which the process mean is nearest. Defects beyond the far specification limit are
not included in the percentages.
A control chart depicting a process that experienced a 1.5 sigma drift in
the process mean toward the upper specification limit starting at midnight. Control
charts are used to maintain 6 sigma quality by signaling when quality professionals
should investigate a process to find and eliminate special-cause variation.
 12

Picture 1.3 Control chart

1.7 Criticism
1.7.1 Lack of originality
Noted quality expert Joseph M. Juran has described Six Sigma as "a basic
version of quality improvement", stating that "there is nothing new there. It
includes what we used to call facilitators. They've adopted more flamboyant terms,
like belts with different colors. I think that concept has merit to set apart, to create
specialists who can be very helpful. Again, that's not a new idea. The American
Society for Quality long ago established certificates, such as for reliability
engineers."
1.7.2 Role of consultants
 13

The use of "Black Belts" as itinerant change agents has (controversially)

fostered an industry of training and certification. Critics argue there is overselling
of Six Sigma by too great a number of consulting firms, many of which claim
expertise in Six Sigma when they have only a rudimentary understanding of the
tools and techniques involved, or the markets or industries in which they are
acting.
1.7.3 Potential negative effects
A Fortune article stated that "of 58 large companies that have announced
Six Sigma programs, 91 percent have trailed the S&P 500 since". The statement
was attributed to "an analysis by Charles Holland needed of consulting firm
Qualpro (which espouses a competing quality-improvement process)". The
summary of the article is that Six Sigma is effective at what it is intended to do, but
that it is "narrowly designed to fix an existing process" and does not help in
"coming up with new products or disruptive technologies." Advocates of Six
Sigma have argued that many of these claims are in error or ill-informed.
1.7.4 Lack of systematic documentation
One criticism voiced by Yasar Jarrar and Andy Neely from the Cranfield
School of Management's Centre for Business Performance is that while Six Sigma
is a powerful approach, it can also unduly dominate an organization's culture; and
they add that much of the Six Sigma literature lacks academic rigor:
Probably more to the Six Sigma literature than concepts, relates to the
evidence for Six Sigma’s success. So far, documented case studies using the Six
Sigma methods are presented as the strongest evidence for its success. However,
looking at these documented cases, and apart from a few that are detailed from the
experience of leading organizations like GE and Motorola, most cases are not
documented in a systemic or academic manner. In fact, the majority are case
studies illustrated on websites, and are, at best, sketchy. They provide no mention
of any specific Six Sigma methods that were used to resolve the problems. It has
been argued that by relying on the Six Sigma criteria, management is lulled into
the idea that something is being done about quality, whereas any resulting
 14

improvement is accidental (Latzko 1995). Thus, when looking at the evidence put
forward for Six Sigma success, mostly by consultants and people with vested
interests, the question that begs to be asked is: are we making a true improvement
with Six Sigma methods or just getting skilled at telling stories? Everyone seems
to believe that we are making true improvements, but there is some way to go to
document these empirically and clarify the causal relations.
1.7.5 Criticism of the 1.5 sigma shift
The statistician Donald J. Wheeler has dismissed the 1.5 sigma shift as
"goofy" because of its arbitrary nature. Its universal applicability is seen as
doubtful.
The 1.5 sigma shift has also become contentious because it results in stated
"sigma levels" that reflect short-term rather than long-term performance: a process
that has long-term defect levels corresponding to 4.5 sigma performance is, by Six
Sigma convention, described as a "six sigma process." The accepted Six Sigma
scoring system thus cannot be equated to actual normal distribution probabilities
for the stated number of standard deviations, and this has been a key bone of
contention over how Six Sigma measures are defined. The fact that it is rarely
explained that a "6 sigma" process will have long-term defect rates corresponding
to 4.5 sigma performance rather than actual 6 sigma performance has led several
commentators to express the opinion that Six Sigma is a confidence trick.
1.8 Application
Six Sigma mostly finds application in large organizations. An important
factor in the spread of Six Sigma was GE's 1998 announcement of $350 million in
savings thanks to Six Sigma, a figure that later grew to more than $1 billion.
According to industry consultants like Thomas Pyzdek and John Kullmann,
companies with fewer than 500 employees are less suited to Six Sigma
implementation, or need to adapt the standard approach to make it work for them.
Six Sigma however contains a large number of tools and techniques that work well
in small to mid-size organizations. The fact that an organization is not big enough
to be able to afford Black Belts does not diminish its abilities to make
 15

improvements using this set of tools and techniques. The infrastructure described
as necessary to support Six Sigma is a result of the size of the organization rather
than a requirement of Six Sigma itself.
 16

2 PRACTICAL PART
2.1 Description of Pringles

Picture 2.1 Logo

Pringles is a brand of potato- and wheat-based stackable snack chips owned
by the Kellogg Company.
Originally marketed as "Pringles Newfangled Potato Chips", Pringles are
sold in more than 140 countries, and have yearly sales of more than US$1.4 billion.
They were originally developed by Procter & Gamble (P&G), who first
sold the product in 1967. P&G sold the brand to Kellogg in 2012.
2.1.1 History
Pringles were first sold in the United States in October 1967, and
distributed internationally by 1975. P&G wanted to create a perfect chip to address
consumer complaints about broken, greasy, and stale chips, as well as air in the
bags. The task was assigned to chemist Fredric Baur, who, from 1956 to 1958,
created Pringles’ saddle shape from fried dough, and the can to go with it. Baur
could not figure out how to make the chips taste good, though, and he eventually
was pulled off the Pringles job to work on another brand. In the mid-1960s,
another P&G researcher, Alexander Liepa of Montgomery, Ohio, restarted Baur’s
 17

work, and set out to improve on the Pringles taste, which he succeeded in doing.
While Baur was the true inventor of the Pringles chip, according to the patent,
Liepa was the inventor of Pringles. Gene Wolfe, a mechanical engineer-author
known for science fiction and fantasy novels, developed the machine that cooks
them. Their consistent saddle shape is mathematically known as a hyperbolic
paraboloid. Their design is reportedly aided by supercomputers to ensure safe
aerodynamics while packaging.
There are several theories behind the origin of the name "Pringles". One
theory refers to Mark Pringle, who filed a US Patent 2,286,644 titled "Method and
Apparatus for Processing Potatoes" on March 5, 1937. Pringle's work was cited by
Procter & Gamble (P&G) in filing their own patent for improving the taste of
dehydrated processed potatoes. Another theory suggested two Procter advertising
employees lived on Pringle Drive in Finneytown (north of Cincinnati, Ohio), and
the name paired well with potato. Another reference says that P&G chose the
Pringles name from a Cincinnati telephone book.
They were originally known as "Pringles Newfangled Potato Chips", but
other snack manufacturers objected, saying Pringles failed to meet the definition of
a potato "chip". The US Food and Drug Administration weighed in on the matter,
and in 1975, they ruled Pringles could only use the word "chip" in their product
name within the following phrase: "potato chips made from dried potatoes". Faced
with such an unpalatable appellation, Pringles eventually opted to rename their
product potato "crisps" instead of chips. This later led to other issues in the United
Kingdom, where the term potato "crisps" refers to the product Americans call
potato "chips".
In April 2011, P&G agreed to the $2.35 billion sale of the brand to
Diamond Foods of California, a deal which would have more than tripled the size
of Diamond's snack business. However, the deal fell through in February 2012
after a year-long delay due to issues over Diamond's accounts. On May 31, 2012,
Kellogg Company officially acquired Pringles for $2.695 billion as part of a plan
 18

to grow its international snacks business. The acquisition of Pringles makes

Kellogg the second-largest savory snacks company in the world.
Pringles are manufactured in factories in Jackson, Tennessee; Mechelen,
Belgium; Johor, Malaysia; and Fujian, China.

Picture 2.2 Pringles’ share of the market

2.1.2 Ingredients
Pringles have only about 42% potato content, the remainder being wheat
starch and flours (potato, corn, and rice) mixed with vegetable oils, an emulsifier,
salt, and seasoning. Other ingredients can include sweeteners like maltodextrin and
dextrose, monosodium glutamate (MSG), disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate,
sodium caseinate, modified food starch, monoglyceride and diglyceride, autolyzed
yeast extract, natural and artificial flavors, malted barley flour, wheat bran, dried
black beans, sour cream, cheddar cheese, etc.; Pringles varieties vary in their
ingredients. Contrary to a popular misconception, Pringles chips are fried, not
baked.
 19

In July 2008 in the London High Court, P&G lawyers successfully argued
that Pringles were not crisps (even though it said "Potato Crisps" on the container)
as the potato content was only 42% and their shape, P&G stated, "is not found in
nature". This ruling, against a United Kingdom VAT and Duties Tribunal decision
to the contrary, exempted Pringles from the then 17.5% VAT for potato crisps and
potato-derived snacks. In May 2009, the Court of Appeal reversed the earlier
decision. A spokesman for P&G stated it had been paying the VAT proactively and
owed no back taxes.
Table 2.1 Description of the product
Description of product Indicators which can be Quantitative index(g)
measured
Carbs Cm(H2O)n 57.97
Fiber (C6H10O5)n 10.9
Sugar C6H12O6 9.75
Protein NH2CHRCOOH 4.13
Total fat H3C 24.23
Sodium Na 246

2.2 Description of innovation

Pringles is famous because of its taste, variety of flavors, so that everyone
can find a personal favorite. But mostly Pringles is famous because its packaging.
The innovation – is new convenient and eco-friendly tube for stackable
chips. As we know Pringes’ tube is quite narrow, so when you ate half of the tube,
it’s not convenient to get the rest of the chips. Purpose is to make the process of
enjoying chips even more enjoyable.

Picture 2.3 Pringles’ inconvenience

 20

2.3 Analysis of main consumers

By age
3% 2%
11%
18% 13 years
15 years
25%
17 years
19 years
41%
21 years
>21 years

Chart 2.1 Analysis of consumers by age

Children up to 13 consume only 2%. Up to 15 – 11%.Young people up to
17 consume 25%, up to 19 – 41%. Adults (21 years old) consume 18%
As we can see Pringles’ target audience are people between 17 and 21.

By gender

41%

59% Woman
Man

Chart 2.2 Analysis of consumers by gender

According to survey, people who bought Pringles only 1 time – 6%.
Amount of people who buy Pringles often – 13%. Amount of people who never
bought Pringles – 20%. And percent of people who buy Pringles sometimes –
61%.
 21

Chart 2.3 Analysis of consumers by frequency of purchase

Brand of Pringles chips gained a place in the minds of its major consumers,
ie youth. Pringles is one of the most consumed and popular snacks because of the
pleasant taste, convenience, packaging, etc.
2.4 Analysis of main competitors
National

Picture 2.4 Top 10 brands

 22

Global
As we can see, Pringles’ main competitors are:
1) Cheetos - (formerly called Chee-tos until 1998) is a brand of cheese-
flavored, puffed cornmeal snack made by Frito-Lay, a subsidiary of PepsiCo. The
initial success of Cheetos was a contributing factor to the merger between The
Frito Company and H.W. Lay & Company in 1961 to form Frito-Lay. In 1965
Frito-Lay became a subsidiary of The Pepsi-Cola Company, forming PepsiCo, the
current owner of the Cheetos brand. (3.6% market share) (Has some nutritional
benefits)

Picture 2.5 Cheetos logo

2) Doritos - is a brand of seasoned tortilla chips produced since 1964 by
American food company Frito-Lay (a wholly owned subsidiary of PepsiCo, Inc.).
(4.5% market share) (They satisfy the need for fat, sugar, and salt, all in one)

Picture 2.6 Doritos logo

3) Lay’s - is the brand name for a number of potato chip varieties as well
as the name of the company that founded the chip brand in 1932. A company
owned by PepsiCo since 1965. (8.6% market share) (Advantages – price, taste,
flavors)

Picture 2.7 Lay’s logo

 23

Our advantages:
- Big amount of chips;
- Satiety;
- Abundance of advertising;
- Packaging;
- Quality;
- Taste;
- Diversity of flavors.
According to the survey, we can see what is more necessary to our
consumers, and what is less necessary.
As we can see, Pringles’ main advantage is packaging.

Big amount of chips Satiety

Abundance of advertising Packaging
Quality Taste
Diversity of flavors

Chart 2.4 Main advantages

 24

3 ANALYSIS OF A PRODUCTION LINE

3.1 Sequence of operations

Picture 3.1 Production process

Table 3.1 The machine list of stackable Pringles Chips production line
No Name Amount
1 Aggregate elevator 2
2 Cone mixer 1
3 Powder feeding platform 1
4 Quantitative Feeder 1
5 Knead dough platform 1
6 Knead dough mixer 1
7 Scrap Conveyor 1
8 Inclined hoist 1
9 Smoothing machine 1
10 Tabletting machine 1
11 Molding machine 1
12 Back to the feed conveyor 1
13 Freezer 2
14 Grinder 1
15 Frying machine 1
16 Oil-fired boiler 1
17 Oil tank 1
18 Filter 1
 25

19 Drain conveyor 1
20 Sprinkle powder machine 1
21 Cooling Conveyor 1
22 Control Box 3
Processing Introduction of Stackable Pringles Chips Production Line
1.Main raw material characterization
Potato flake is the main ingredient of the dry mix for stackable potato chips
with typical amount ranging between 70 and 80 % of the dry mix.
The other ingredients, with the exclusion of the oil for frying and the
flavoring are: corn starch, potato starch, corn flour, sugars and dextrins.
2. Dosing step
As described below a very fast continuous mixing process have been
adopted. For this reason, the precise control of the dry and liquid inlet is a key
point. Pavan adopted the gravimetric dosage of the dry materials and a
sophisticated volumetric liquid multiple dosing system. The typical range of
dry ingredients inlet is between 90 and 160 kg/h.

Picture 3.2 Mixing

 26

3. Mixing step
The continuous mixing of the dry ingredients with water has been preferred
from the very beginning as the possible alternative to batch mixing. The main
reason for this preference was the evidence of instability in the process when the
mixed dough was held for different times before being sheeted.

Picture 3.3 Sheeting

4. Sheeting step
The sheeting step have been revised at the initial stage of the development
and, from the results of the pilot plant experiments, Pavan had the confirmation
that a multiple reduction system was narrowing the possibilities of getting a
controlled surface and texture of the product.

Picture 3.4 Cutting

 27

5.Cutting and rework handling

The rotary cutters derived from the biscuit technology has become a
standard in reformed potato chips production both wet fried or pellets type. In the
case of stackable potato chips, the most important issue is the regularity of the
cutting and the absence of movement of the cut chips. Each product must stay in its
position on the transporting belt in order to be fed in the continuous fryer exactly
aligned with the fryer moulds that will give the classical curved shape to the chip.
The scrap resulting from the cutting ranges between 40 and 45% of the sheet
surface and must be reintroduced in the dough to be sheeted and reused.
6. Frying and moulding:
The frying time for stackable potato chips - as many other potato based wet
fried products with similar 0.6 – 0.7 mm thickness - is ranging between 15 and 20
seconds with an oil temperature of 185 °C.
The turn over of the oil in the type of fryer used for stackable potato chips is
generally around 8 hours. Being the typical characteristics of this product its long
shelf life, the oil quality and management must be at the highest possible standards.
7. Seasoning device:
The variety of seasonings necessary to cover the market request led to the
need of different seasoning units designed around the seasoning characteristics.

Picture 3.5 Seasoning

 28

8.Portioning and Packaging:

The importance of this section is clear when comparing the shelf attraction
of a can or a nice carton box with a tray in it against the common form/seal bags.

Picture 3.6 Shipping

Picture 3.7 Stackable chip machine

 29

3.2 Amount of workers and time

There are over 1,200 workers working in shifts in the one facility as a
whole. Pringles production line is automatic, so the number of operators required
in the production is a minimum.
This machine can make the potato powder to eatable Pringles. The whole
line is highly automatic, only 8 - 10 workers is needed to operate. To make one
tube of stackable chips, machine need 20 minutes. There can be more than 100 kg
of Pringles at the end of the day

3.3 Description of equipment

Table 3.2 Quick Details
Condition: New
Model Number: ALSC-250
Power(W): 120KW
Certification: BV,ISO9001
Product Name: Stackable Pringles Chips Production
Line
Engine: Electricity
Capacity: 250kg/h
Place of Origin: Henan China (Mainland)
Application: Chips
Weight: According to the capacity
Warranty: 1 year
Material: Stainless Steel
Type: fully automatic
Usage: Stackable Potato Chip
Brand Name: ALLANCE
Voltage: 220V/380V
Dimension(L*W*H): different dimension for
 30

different line
After-sales Service Provided: Engineers available to service
machinery overseas
Color: Silver
Raw Material: Potato starch
Package: container for production line
 31

4 PRODUCTION PLAN OF PRODUCT WITH INNOVATION

4.1 Plan of the works
Table 4.1 Plan of the works
№ Name Name of operation Durati IP
on
1 A Budgeting 3 -
2 B Design 7 A
3 C Bespeak materials 1 A
4 D Presentation of the new 1 B
design
5 E Implementation of new 12 D
design
6 F Convention with the 2 C,E
technical department
7 G Regulation of the equipment 5 F
8 H Delivery materials 10 C
9 I Locate materials in 1 H
warehouses
10 J Testing of the equipment 2 G,I

11 K Standardization 2 J
12 L Launching 1 K
 32

4.2 Critical path

LABDEFGJKL = 3+7+1+12+2+5+2+2+1=35
LACFGJKL = 3+1+2+5+2+2+1=16
LACHIJKL = 3+1+10+1+2+2+1=20
4.3 Calculation of the network graph indicators
Table 4.2 Calculation of the network graph indicators
IP Code Time Tes Tef Tls Tlf Slack
- 0-1 3 0 3 0 3 0
1 1-2 7 3 10 3 10 0
1 1-3 1 3 4 18 19 15
1 2-4 1 10 11 10 11 0
1 3-6 0 4 4 23 23 19
1 3-9 10 4 14 19 29 15
1 4-5 12 11 23 11 23 0
1 5-6 0 23 23 23 23 0
2 6-7 2 23 25 23 25 0
1 7-8 5 25 30 25 30 0
1 8-11 0 30 30 30 30 0
1 9-10 1 14 15 29 30 15
1 10-11 0 15 15 30 30 15
2 11-12 2 30 32 30 32 0
1 12-13 2 32 34 32 34 0
1 13-14 1 34 35 34 35 0

According to the nalysis of the network graph indicators calculation

showed, that to implement new product with innovation to the company it’s needed
35 days. There is also slack time on few positions.
 33

6 THE NEW DESIGN

New design consists of new convenient tube, which you can abate with a
twist, and the new eco-friendly biodegradable packaging.
In general Pringles’ tube is made out of plain brown paper and foil-backed
paper. The idea is to substitute plain brown paper with natural resources including
sugarcane waste fibre, corn starch, wood cellulose and recycled unbleached paper.
And also substitute plastic lid.Conventional plastic is made from oil. Oil can take
up to 300 million years to form.
Thus, the idea is to design of new tube and to decrease the amount of
harmful components.
Not only can switching to biodegradable packaging help to distinguish our
product, it can also increase brand recognition and build loyalty with the increasing
number of environmentally aware consumers.
This is how it will look like without a cover.

Table 6.1 New tube without cover

 34

6 MAIN TECHNICAL AND ECONOMIC IN|DICATORS OF

PERFORMANCE
For analyzing the economic situation in the company after implementation
of innovation, first it’s needed to calculate Liquidity coefficient. The degree to
which an asset or security can be bought or sold in the market without affecting the
asset's price.
Table 6.1 Financial performance
Year 2011 2012
Non-current assets 357.4 326.7
(Dollars in millions)
Current assets 223.3 361.8
(Dollars in
millions)
Total assets: 580.7 688.5
Total current
177.8 192.1
liabilities

Kl = current assets/ current liabilities

Kl2011 = 223.3/177.8=1.256
Kl2012 = 361.8/192.1=1.893
∆KL=Kl2012/Kl2011=1.893/1.256=1.507
Current ratio increased during the year by 50.7%.
According to calculations, we can see that liquidity coefficient increases on
50.7%, thus project is beneficial to accept.
Second, we will calculate Payback period.
The payback period is calculated by counting the number of years it will
take to recover the cash invested in a project.
Pringles invests $400,000 in more efficient equipment. The cash savings from the
new equipment is expected to be $100,000 per year for 10 years.
 35

The payback period is 4 years ($400,000 divided by $100,000 per year).

This is not a long period for a payback, so this project is remunerative.
 36

7 CONCLUSION
In the first theoretical part of a course project we became familiar with the
concept of Six Sigma. It was sad that Six Sigma is a set of techniques, and tools for
process improvement. It was developed by Motorola in 1986, coinciding with the
Japanese asset price bubble which is reflected in its terminology.
We also acquainted with Six Sigma doctrine, methodologies, its
implementation roles, origin and meaning of the term "six sigma process", levels,
criticism and application.
In the second part of a project I scrutinized the production process of
Pringles US chips – one of the most popular snack in the world. I also created and
embed the new design, which is new convenient tube, which you can abate with a
twist, and the new eco-friendly biodegradable packaging.
In general Pringles’ tube is made out of plain brown paper and foil-backed
paper. The idea is to substitute plain brown paper with natural resources including
sugarcane waste fibre, corn starch, wood cellulose and recycled unbleached paper.
For analyzing the economic situation I have calculated some main technical
and economic indicators of performance such as liquidity coefficient and payback
period.
According to calculations we can see that liquidity coefficient increases on
50.7%, thus project is beneficial to accept. And the payback period is 4 years,
which is quite short period.
 37

8 LIST OF REFERENCES
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Sigma
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pringles
- http://caloriecount.about.com/tag/food/pringles
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V83rdbSpiGA
- http://www.pringles.co.uk/home
- http://www.kelloggs.com/en_US/our-brands.html
- http://www.annualreport2012.kelloggcompany.com/highlights.htm
- http://shhengguang.en.alibaba.com/product/599349293-
219234316/Automatic_pringles_potato_chips_production_line.html
- http://www.getfilings.com/sec-filings/120215/KELLOGG-CO_8-
K/d300946dex992.htm