When Six Sigma is not good enuf
Labels: defect, defects, level, six-sigma, sixth-sigma
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Labels: defect, defects, level, six-sigma, sixth-sigma
... "Six Sigma at Hexion is a disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects in any business process. It provides various methods and tools to associates to examine processes within the business from the customer's perspective, and to improve them to increase efficiency and effectiveness. Hexion has implemented Six Sigma programming across its global organization and has made Six Sigma a core process in its business operations. Its award entry documented various business process improvements, savings and service enhancements resulting from embracing Six Sigma methodology as a way of doing business. " ...
Labels: award, benchmark, business-process, defect, defects, deployment, efficiency, hexion-specialty-chemicals, maturity-model, methodology, recognition, six-sigma
... "The 2008 Kaizen Challenge award recognizes YRC Worldwide for developing a plan to improve delivery efficiency for oversized and heavy parts such as truck beds, truck frames, drive trains, transmissions and engines from parts distribution centers and vendors to Toyota dealers throughout the country. Plan elements included nationwide implementation of a standard process for equipment placement and material handling and a customer service process to coordinate delivery service with dealers. As a result of this process, damage claims and injuries were virtually eliminated. " ...
Labels: defect, delivery, efficiency, eliminate-defects, implementation, process-excellence, standards, toyota, toyota-kaizen, yrc-worldwide
... "During the month of March, these employees will participate in a two-part training program directed by NCSU’s College of Textiles and Industrial Extension Service (IES) departments. Six Sigma is a data-driven approach for eliminating defects – defined as anything outside of customer specifications / satisfaction – in any process. Clinsys’ Green Belt trainees will use the Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control (DMAIC) methodology to make improvements in the day-to-day operations that directly impact client deliverables. " ...
Labels: defect, eliminate-defects, green-belt-in-six-sigma, state-north-carolina, training

... "Six Sigma stands apart from other process improvement methods because it focuses on reducing variability thereby reducing errors or achieving defect free products or services. It's seems like the perfect methodology to apply in reducing medical errors in our country. " ...
Labels: defect, defects, healthcare, healthcare-six-sigma, hospital, methodology, methods, patient-care-six-sigma, patient-quality, reduce-variation

... "Ford also provides assembly plant teams the necessary tools to deliver quality in the manufacturing process. For example, the company’s Quality Operating System (QOS) is critical for identifying and correcting problems within the manufacturing facilities. QOS is implemented in each plant by Variability Reduction Teams (VRT) – cross-functional groups of engineers, plant management and product specialists, including the company’s most skilled problem solvers who’ve been trained through Six Sigma. Each team is assigned to one of 12 vehicle subsystems crucial to customer satisfaction, such as paint or body interior, and examines every detail, looking for imperfections so slight that even the untrained eye, or ear, could not detect them. " ...
Labels: automotive, defect, ford-lean-manufacturing, ford-qos, manufacturing-quality, production-system, qos, quality-operating-system, reduce-variation, variability, variation

... "Very few U.S. hospitals are using the surgical safety checklist, though Berwick aims to introduce it in the 4,000 hospitals participating in his institute's programs. The major barrier to widespread adoption is physician attitudes, several experts said. " ...
Labels: aviation, checklist, defect, healthcare, healthcare-six-sigma, hospital, reduce-waste
... "Manufacturers applying Six Sigma and Lean are eager to remove waste completely from their value streams, which includes avoiding the production of defective materials in the first place, states John Fishell, director of product management ... " ...
Labels: cost-control, defect, eliminate-defects, lean, quality-control, six-sigma, value-stream-map, waste-reduction

... "Pike argues supply chain visibility is becoming even more critical with the merging of lean manufacturing and six sigma drivers, which seek to identify and remove the causes of defects and errors in manufacturing processes. " ...
Labels: adaptive-network, business-drivers, defect, drivers, eliminate-defects, lean-manufacturing, manufacturing-process, six-sigma, supply-chain, visibility
... "Project recommendations from a Six Sigma study demonstrated that the overall costs of using demineralized water could be cut significantly. The study points to detection and repair of faults associated with steam and water analysis systems, problem valves, vacuum pump overflow, and other issues. " ...
Labels: defect, efficiency, energy-reduction, project, recommendations, savings

... "Those delays became one of the first targets of a Lean Six Sigma project under Lt. Gen. Michael Rochelle, Army deputy chief of staff for personnel. " ...
Labels: army, cycle-time, defect, eliminate-defects, eliminate-waste, lean-six-sigma, military, project

... "The solution, which was up and running in eight weeks, helps Trane quickly identify product quality and warranty-related issues through automated early detection and root cause analysis. After correcting any current issue detected by the solution, manufacturing teams at Trane can pass the information on to the design or engineering teams to help avoid problems in future products, as well as to vendors and suppliers to help improve long-term product reliability. Through this process, the solution offers reduced warranty costs, improved product development, sourcing and manufacturing processes, and better customer satisfaction. " ...
Labels: defect, early-warning, hp, polyvista, product-development, product-quality, root-cause-identification, six-sigma, six-sigma-process, trane, warranty-chain-management, warranty-issues
... "Six Sigma uses statistical analysis to reduce variation. By reducing variation, the probability of producing a defect is less. " ...
Labels: automation, change, competition, continuous-improvement, defect, global, journey, lean-enterprise, lean-manufacturing, manufacturing-software, program-management, reduce-variation, six-sigma, six-sigma-process, variation

... "The team followed the Six Sigma DMAIC process improvement model (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control). The team designed and performed a comprehensive Customer Survey targeting all the Environmental Compliance Officers (ECOs) from the various tenant units. Customer surveys revealed that training and knowledge of the system was sporadic due to ECO turnover and the lack of tenant command emphasis. The team quickly acknowledged that a robust and continual education and outreach program would be needed to improve the overall success of the Hazmat management program. In April 2005, a comprehensive training session was successfully implemented and is now offered on a monthly basis by the EB. " ...
Labels: approach, army, change, defect, dmaic, six-sigma-process, training, waste
... "The collective is finding success with quality-control methods -- such as checklists and automated specimen processing -- that were adapted from Toyota's production system and General Electric's Six Sigma principles for reducing manufacturing defects. " ...
Labels: defect, general-electric, hospital, toyota, toyota-production-system
... "An example of our commitment is that we have implemented a programme called Target Zero, which is a process of educating the workforce to continuously improve our internal philosophy and methods — with the aim of getting zero defects that affect our customer base. This is Six Sigma and beyond. " ...
... "Many businesses have started Six Sigma quality programs, with six sigma being a statistical term for 3.4 defects per million. " ...
... "Since Six Sigma and data quality improvement share the same goal of reducing defects, data certification improvement programs are natural candidates for the application of Six Sigma methodologies. " ...
Labels: defect
... "The process consequently runs more efficiently, which increases output.
Process excellence is a continuous journey and is largely attributable to Genpact's discipline of Six Sigma. " ...
Labels: defect, disciplined-approach
... "In the last century we even decided that quality should be treated as a science and created the profession of quality management. Since then we've developed tools like quality circles, total quality management, statistical process control, and Six Sigma, all designed to help us reach the nirvana of zero defects. " ...
Labels: automation, defect, pokayoke, shingo-award

Labels: assembly, automotive, benchmark, defect, pokayoke
... "If your sales force is not beating the averages in winning major opportunities, then it is time to consider applying the same database-driven Total Quality Management (TQM) techniques used in other aspects of business. " ...
... "If the enterprise already has a quality management program in place, such as Six Sigma, then metrics such as defects per million (DPMO) can be employed. Metrics can be aggregated to provide a data quality indicator " ...
Labels: defect, lean-enterprise
... "The Six Sigma approach is a philosophy and a type of analytic thinking that can permeate an organization and drive behavioral change. Quality, safety, effectiveness and efficiency go hand in hand. Improving quality and safety is not only a moral imperative for us. It also makes solid business sense. We have made a significant investment to provide foundation training for virtually all of our employees. We have extensively trained almost 200 Six Sigma experts that are called Black Belts. These experts are leading more than 200 distinct defect reduction projects, with several dozen having been completed. Six Sigma is a statistical measure representing virtual perfection, defined as 99.9997 percent quality, or no more than 3.4 errors per million opportunities. Our pursuit of Six Sigma quality is in its early stages, and we also have much more to achieve, but we are making great progress. " ...
... "Has the program taken meaningful steps to address its management deficiencies? The introduction of Lean thinking, Theory of Constraints, and Six Sigma have proven to increase efficiency in other services' depots. These management techniques have reduced cycle times and costs. The Air Force is also applying them to its depot programs and expects to realize efficiency gains. This should allow the Air Force to reduce defect rates and increase due date performance, which are captured in some of their performance metrics. ...
Labels: defect, theory-of-contraints
... "Beth Lanham, BSN RN, is a Six Sigma Coordinator in the department of quality management, staff development and safety, at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee, WI. Ms. Lanham received her bachelor's degree from Otterbein College in Westerville, OH and has an extensive clinical and management background in critical care nursing. In April 2000, Ms. Lanham completed the Six Sigma Black Belt training program through the American Society for Quality. She is currently working as a Six Sigma Black Belt and is actively involved with numerous committees and projects aimed at reducing medical errors and enhancing patient safety. Ms. Lanham has presented Six Sigma initiatives at the International Quality Congress sponsored by the American Society for Quality, the University Healthcare Consortium National Conference, the International Quality and Productivity Center National Conference on Six Sigma for Healthcare Providers, and the American Hospital Association Patient Safety Leadership Fellowship Retreat. " ...
Labels: college, conference, critical-to-quality, defect, healthcare, healthcare-six-sigma, hospital
... "Six Sigma represents a disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects (driving towards six standard deviations between the mean and the nearest specification limit) in any process from manufacturing to transactional and from product to service. The statistical representation of Six Sigma describes quantitatively how a process is performing. To achieve Six Sigma, a process must not produce more than 3.4 defects per million opportunities. A Six Sigma defect is defined as anything outside of customer specifications. A Six Sigma opportunity is then the total quantity of chances for a defect. Process sigma can easily be calculated using a Six Sigma calculator. The fundamental objective of the Six Sigma methodology is the implementation of a measurement-based strategy that focuses on process improvement and variation reduction through the application of Six Sigma improvement projects. This is accomplished through the use of two Six Sigma sub-methodologies: DMAIC and DMADV. " ...
... "The Six Sigma approach is a philosophy and a type of analytic thinking that can permeate an organization and drive behavioral change. Quality, safety, effectiveness and efficiency go hand-in-hand. Improving quality and safety is not only a moral imperative for us, it also makes solid business sense. We have made a significant investment to provide foundation training for virtually all of our employees, and we have extensively trained almost 200 Six Sigma experts called Black Belts. These experts are leading more than 200 distinct defect-reduction projects, with several dozen having been completed. Six Sigma is a statistical measure representing virtual perfection, defined as 99.9997% quality, or no more than 3.4 errors per million opportunities. Our pursuit of Six Sigma quality is in its early stages and we also have much more to achieve. But we are making great progress." ...
... "we have incorporated these concepts into our own Six Sigma initiative to help take us to the next level in improving quality and safety. The Six Sigma approach has paid dividends for countless manufacturing companies during the past twenty or more years, including General Electric, Texas Instruments, and Motorola. We are the first major company in healthcare services to pursue Six Sigma, and have been underway for more than two years. Six Sigma is already changing Quest Diagnostics, and I am absolutely convinced that it will ultimately change the world of healthcare quality and safety for the better, forever. During today's hearing, you will learn about many fascinating and important technology solutions that will reduce errors and improve safety. But technology can only be as effective as the processes that employ it. The Six Sigma approach is a philosophy and a type of analytic thinking that can permeate an organization and drive behavioral change. Quality, safety, effectiveness and efficiency go hand-in-hand. Improving quality and safety is not only a moral imperative for us, it also makes solid business sense. We have made a significant investment to provide foundation training for virtually all of our employees, and we have extensively trained almost 200 Six Sigma experts called Black Belts. These experts are leading more than 200 distinct defect-reduction projects, with several dozen having been completed. Six Sigma is a statistical measure representing virtual perfection, defined as 99.9997% quality, or no more than 3.4 errors per million opportunities. Our pursuit of Six Sigma quality is in its early stages and we also have much more to achieve. But we are making great progress." ...
Labels: approach, ceo, defect, general-electric, healthcare, healthcare-six-sigma, motorola
... In this case study, the Six Sigma DMAIC process is augmented with powerful optimization tool, CrystalBall, to decrease the number of inventory stock-outs while minimizing inventory costs for a company that sold perishable inventory. The Six Sigma project team resolved this problem and lowered the defect rate for stock-outs. The use of a stochastic solution, such as CrystalBall, in the DMAIC process resulted in lower costs than other methods. Also, the optimization model is run dynamically in the control phase of the DMAIC process to incorporate the latest demand and delivery information to determine if the improvement in defect rate can be sustained.
Crystal Ball is a suite of Excel add-ins that help turn your existing engineering and process spreadsheet models into dynamic forecasting tools. Today, Crystal Ball is the tool chosen by more than 85% of the Fortune 500. Companies like GE, Motorola, Honeywell, Seagate, Black & Decker, and Osram Sylvania all rely on Crystal Ball to manage risk, reduce variability, and make more informed business and strategic decisions. Crystal Ball is for anyone who uses spreadsheets and needs to forecast uncertain results. Six Sigma Black Belts, Master Black Belts, Green Belts, and other practitioners in nearly every industry, from manufacturing to software to pharmaceuticals to consulting, all rely on Crystal Ball to improve the quality of their Six Sigma analyses. In addition to Monte Carlo simulation, key Crystal Ball features include distribution fitting to historic data, correlation of distributions, sensitivity analysis, precision control of simulations, and forecast filtering. ...
Labels: case-study, defect, dmaic, motorola, project, results
... "Process measurements provide for organizational process improvement as well as project planning and tracking. Product quality metrics are related to process metrics since product consistency is highly correlated with production process consistency. The process metrics may include product attribute measurements such as defect rates, but they do not include direct product quality measures such as those related to the evaluation of product performance: size, durability, maintainability, usability, or safety. Some metrics can be both process and product related, depending on the way they are to be used, such as checksheet data that sums to product defect rates, but also provides indications of where in the process defects are inserted." ...
... "Key indicators to help determine whether the process goals are being accomplished can then be derived. Typical measures include planned vs. actual (xxx), defect rate, amount of rework (quantity or cost), and productivity measurements. Technical and process leaders determine key indicators that measure progress against the goals. These are reviewed and approved by the appropriate organization and department leaders. " ...
Labels: defect
... "include ratios such as productivity (output to input), cost per unit, time per unit; differences such as profit (selling price minus input cost); or a series of individual terms such as quantity produced, rework costs, rework time, and reject/defect rate. State and define underlying 'values' and quality factors such as safety, rework, environmental soundness, customer satisfaction. State optimal direction (Maximize, Minimize) " ...
Labels: defect
... "elimination of CFC solvent as a surface mount printed circuit board cleaner has caused a thorough reevaluation of cleanliness requirements and process technologies. This change has driven a similar evolution of the surface mount solder reflow process. these changes include the use of new inert reflow atmospheres and 'no clean' paste formulations. This study discusses the relative costs and merits of inert reflow including a statistical study on the impact of an inert atmosphere on the solderability and defect rate for fine pitch components in conjunction with no clean pastes." ...
... "As a part of the manufacturing strategy, Quality Improvement Teams (QITs) have successfully provided the catalyst for virtually all product and process improvements at TI/SG/MP. In 1985, the TI/SG/MP cost of quality was $9 million with a defect rate of 3,500 ppm and a yield of 80% overall. TI/SG/MP made a commitment on quality that year, and the commitment led to a culture of total quality, continuous improvement, and employee education. Each year, roadmaps were developed, data was collected and analyzed, and processes were evaluated. Team-building was accomplished through employee education and skills development -- and importantly -- by using QITs. " ...
Labels: defect, employee-involvement-teams, strategy
... "Surgeon's gloves and patient examination gloves that contain holes are adulterated devices. Adulteration will be determined on a lot by lot basis for enforcement purposes. [See 21 CFR 800.20.] Surgeon's gloves whose leakage defect rate exceeds an AQL of 2.5% and patient examination gloves whose leakage defect rate exceeds an AQL of 4.0% will be deemed actionable as described in 21 CFR 800.20. " ...
Labels: defect
... "Process Control Statistics - Loss of process control is then assessed by determining if ?defect rate? has become greater than what would be expected by ?chance alone? Approach can be used with either ?variables? (quantitative data) or ?attribute? (+/- or binned quantitative data) sampling plans" ...
... "The adjustment factor refers to an amount that is deducted from the observed defect (ODR) when random sampling is with extrapolated deductions (RSED) or random sampling without extrapolated deductions (RSWED) is used to calculate the defect rate (DR) for the entire population. This factor is determined from standard tables." ...
Labels: defect
... "Manufactured goods--e.g. garments, refrigerators, automobiles--are subject to defects in materials and workmanship: manufacturing defects. These occur essentially at random. Manufacturers can typically reduce defect rates by spending more money; however, defects can never be entirely eliminated." ...
... "Manufacturing excellence has been achieved by the direct involvement of focused groups of operators, technicians, and managers working together to solve specific problems. The creation of self-managed work teams empowered employees to act where they felt they were responsible for eliminating conditions that caused or contributed to problems. One team developed the idea of Total Productive Maintenance as a way to eliminate problems that cause equipment breakdown. Other teams developed application of a soft touch marking system and an alternative lead frame carousel. The automation of a mechanical/visual defect control system resulted in a system that uses eight people in two manufacturing modules today. " ...
Labels: automation, defect, manufacturing-excellence
... Portec Rail Products, Inc. (Nasdaq: PRPX - News) announced today that it has completed the merger whereby Portec Rail acquired 100% of the outstanding shares of Salient Systems, Inc. for a combination of Portec Rail stock and cash. Each Salient Systems, Inc.'s common stock shareholder will receive approximately 0.24 shares of Portec Rail Products, Inc. common stock and approximately $1.45 in cash for each of their shares of Salient common stock. The combined merger consideration payout to Salient System Inc.'s common shareholders is approximately $12.8 million. This strategic combination significantly expands Portec Rail's services portfolio and strengthens its global footprint in the growing market for Friction Management, Wayside Detection and Operating Asset Data Management, thus creating a leading global entity to provide essential products and services to the railway industry. ...
Labels: city-chicago, defect, results
Labels: defect, dmaic, project, six-sigma-green-belt, variation, waste
Labels: approach, certificate, defect, dmaic, project, theory-of-contraints
Labels: 5s, automotive, class, defect, electronics-manufacturing, employee-involvement-teams, ford-lean-manufacturing, forum, general-motors, manufacturing-excellence, manufacturing-flow, mobile, plant-floor, raytheon, recognition, shingo-award, speed, toyota, toyota-kaizen, transformation, variation, waste
Labels: approach, competitive, critical-to-quality, ctq, defect, dfss, dmaic, innovation, manufacturing-flow, strategy, variation
Labels: critical-to-quality, defect, motorola, project, strategy