Applying Lean Six Sigma for Waste Reduction in a Manufacturing Environment

Abstract

This study was applied in a welding wire manufacturing plant to improve the quality of the manufactured welding wires, reducethe manufacturing waste and increase the yield of the manufacturing process, by applying the Lean Six Sigma (LSS) methodology and waste management. LLS is considered one of the successful approaches in the field of quality improvement and cost reduction. The case study plant working environment was analyzed to isolate the root causes for the waste generation. Remedies and countermeasures were suggested and some were implemented. The study compares the performance of the plant before and after implementation of the proposed solutions for waste reduction. Improvements in yield, waste, Defects Per Million Opportunities (DPMO), and sigma levels were achieved.The LSS methodology was linked to the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to prioritize the causes of waste. The objective was to use an analytical method in judging the influence of the waste causes on the amount of waste to enrich the methodology effectiveness and facilitate some ease of use in the practical field.