Six Sigma as a Methodology to Reduce Weight Variability: Antonio Dairy Case Study

Abstract

The purpose of this was to improve the procedure for making cheese in the Antonio dairy company applying Six Sigma. The following work was presented, which focused on reducing the variability of the weight of the units made. It begins with the DMAIC methodology in the definition phase of the problem with the data record of the productive part to apply tools such as the five whys, Ishikawa diagram, analysis of variances. The mixed experimental design of three factors is executed, taking into account the discharge speed of the curd, hardening time, and the operators who work in the process, where it is determined that 70.26% of the variability of the weight of the cheeses are caused by these three factors. In the part that corresponds to results in the improvement of the production process of the product detailed in this study, it is focused on these important points. Regarding the application of the improvement of the process, a 15 minutes increase is made in the hardening of the curd after having carried out the standardization in the unloading taking speed as a variable. In said improvement, all the personnel that work in the dosing machine, thus managing to reduce variability by 24.37% and likewise reduce the number of cuts and waste in the production line with a saving of 44,616 USD per year. Keywords: Six Sigma, DMAIC, variability of weights, standardization, dairy.