Implementing Six Sigma: Smarter Solutions® Using Statistical Measures

Citation

Narasimhan, K. (2003), "Implementing Six Sigma: Smarter Solutions® Using Statistical Measures", The TQM Magazine, Vol. 15 No. 6, pp. 427-430. https://doi.org/10.1108/tqmm.2003.15.6.427.5

A number of multi‐national organizations have turned to implementing Six Sigma methodology, in pursuit of achieving global excellence to improve customer satisfaction while at the same time reduce defect levels and improve cycle times. The above two books, which complement each other, show how these twin objectives can be achieved by following a method that goes beyond Six Sigma and involves linking it with other methodologies such as “lean production”, and “theory of constraints”.

Forrest W. Breyfogle III is the founder and President of Smarter Solutions, Inc. The company specializes in training and consulting in Six Sigma methodologies. He was the Six Sigma subject matter expert for a Six Sigma benchmarking study conducted, in 2001, by the American Productivity and Quality Center (APQC).

The book, titled Wisdom on the Green, is published by the consulting firm and can be obtained from them (to place an order visit www.smartersolutions.com). Analogies from the game of golf are used to introduce the reader to the underpinning concepts and good practices of Six Sigma (SS) movement in 12 short chapters. Examples from both manufacturing and service industries are used to give an insightful overview of good practices of SS. A reader not familiar with the game of golf will certainly gain an idea of the game of golf too, as the 20‐page glossary at the end of the book defines golf terms too. The ideas are imparted through conversations among four friends, who met while pursuing their MBAs and who continue their friendship and discuss their successes and frustrations through a monthly meet‐and‐play at a golf course. All the four friends work as vice‐presidents (VP): a VP of operations at a computer components manufacturing firm, a VP of research and development in a chemical firm manufacturing shampoos, etc., a senior VP at a hospital, and a VP in a financial credit organization. The book is written in simple English and is very effective in imparting concepts and thoroughly enjoyable too. This is a book that should be read by managers in every organization irrespective of the field of operations.

Implementing Six Sigma is a comprehensive reference book on SS implementation. It comprises 55 chapters grouped into eight parts based on themes. Parts I to V cover the five stages of deployment and define (D), measure (M), analyze (A), improve (I) and control (C) phases of SS implementation using beyond traditional SS methodology, which the author has termed smarter SS solutions with integrated enterprise excellence (S⁴/IEE). Part VI deals with lean and theory of constraints, part VII with design for SS and 21‐step integration of the tools, and the final part covers management of infrastructure and team execution. Each of the first five parts commences with a short introduction and contains checklists of components for the completion of each of the five stages of DMAIC.

The book also comprises five appendices A to E. Flowcharts of the difference stages are given in Appendix A, which helps to understand how individual tools fit into project execution. Best practices and lessons learnt from the benchmarking study, and tips for developing SS implementation strategy are also provided. Appendices B, C, and D contain respectively equations for various statistical distribution used in the chapters, and discussions on probability plotting, and sample size calculation methodologies for design of experiments. Appendix E contains 28 useful reference statistical tables and graphs.

Two chapters make up part I: a longish introductory chapter and a short chapter on deployment and define stage of the five‐step process. Chapter 1 includes a discussion on the benefits of S⁴/IEE implementation and execution strategy. Also covered are the normal terminologies found in books on traditional SS, and three new terminologies of business metrics – “satellite‐level” (business level), “30,000‐foot‐level” (project level), and “50‐foot‐level” (process level) – that are used for classifying organizational measures. It is also explained how the use of these metrics would help organizations to move away from the firefighting mode to fire prevention mode. In chapter 2, the use of Noriaki Kano's method for capturing voice of the customers, and Kaplan and Norton's balanced score card, in the define stage are very briefly dealt with.

Part II, dealing with the measure stage, is the longest (318 pages) one comprising twelve chapters. The various tools used in the measure stage are grouped in the checklists into five components: plan project and metrics, baseline project, lean tools, measurement system analysis, and wisdom of the organization. Topics covered in the 12 chapters include data collection, sampling and various experimentation traps with examples; the basic tools of quality, probability and statistical distributions and tests; Six Sigma measurements, control charts, and process capability and performance metrics; quality function deployment, and failure mode effect analysis.

Part III (164 pages) also comprises 12 short chapters and deals with the analysis phase for learning about causal relationships among various data, which will provide an insight into variability and unsatisfactory performance. First, graphical techniques of multi‐variable chart, box plot, and scatter diagram are addressed; then hypothesis or inference testing of both continuous and attribute data, bootstrapping, and single‐factor and two‐factor analysis of variance are covered in some depth with a number of examples.

Design of experiments (DOE) to see what happens to a process when interventions are made forms the theme of discussion in part IV (120 pages). Topics covered in the seven chapters include the need for and benefits of DOE, conceptual explanations of two‐level full factorial experiment, points to consider in setting up a DOE to avoid wasting time and resources, and other alternatives including robust DOE. Also covered in some depth is the response surface methodology for cases where interaction between two factors is present.

Part V (188 pages) comprising ten chapters is devoted to the control phase of DMAIC process. Traditional control charts and how to overcome some of the deficiencies by the application of exponentially weighted moving average and pre‐control charts are covered in the first four chapters of this part. The next four chapters deal with issues related to mistake proofing (Poka‐yoke), and reliability testing of repairable and non‐repairable systems. Situations where it is non viable to test all possible combinations, such as items that can be configured to customers” specifications, are dealt with in chapter 42. A total of 18 examples of real‐life applications are given in chapter 14, to highlight the application of SS in product/service development.

Parts VI to VIII are comparatively short (134 pages). They respectively address lean methods and theory of constraints; Design for SS for both products and processes; and leadership tools such as change management, project management, team effectiveness, and the alignment of management initiatives with S⁴/IEE. Time value diagram and value stream or material and information flow mapping are covered in some depth in the chapter on lean methods.

The 23‐page contents gives detailed information about each chapter and the 48‐page index helps to find the topic of interest. The book is full of symbols and acronyms that are summarized in six pages; and there is a 27‐page glossary of special terms used in the book. A total of 195 figures and 138 tables support the narrative. Over 100 examples support the practical, how‐to information. Most of the chapters end with exercises (there are 407 exercises); the solutions for the exercises are being offered (available from September 2003) at their Web site, www.smartersolutions.com

This book on SS is a useful guide for both academia and organizations. It offers a structure for teaching SS tools to students and is useful source of reference for researchers. For an organization it shows how wisely to implement SS tools. This book can be daunting to those who have an aversion to numbers and formulae. However, it is an excellent reference book that should be on every individual involved in Six Sigma or even just quality assurance/quality improvement, as an organization's customers or suppliers might be using SS.

Six Sigma Study Guide CD by Engineered Software, Inc. ($90) is available from Smarter Solutions, Inc. This guide is useful for self‐paced study of statistical problem solving. It has two sections: a fundamentals section and an applications section. Detailed theory is provided for each problem along with step‐by‐step solutions to example problems. The fundamentals section covers nine topics: discrete distributions, continuous distributions, statistical inference, measurement assurance, SPC, process capability, regression, one‐way ANOVA and multifactor ANOVA. Also included are simple problems that can be solved in less than ten minutes after the user has learned the material.

The applications section contains computer simulations that require a series of problem solving steps to be completed. These problems may take over one hour to complete. Topics included in this section are: experimental design, process target optimization, process variance minimization, project value and project management. This software is designed for Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000 and XP.

This is a joint review with Wisdom on the Green: Smarter Six Sigma Business Solutions (2nd ed.) and Six Sigma Study Guide CD.