The Measurement System Analysis as a Performance Improvement Catalyst:A Case Study

Abstract

The capability to manage and control the Business Performances (BPs) of a company is nowadays a leveraging factor for the own competitiveness. One of the most important factors to improve business performance indicators is the development of a structured Quality Management system. Among a plethora of various methodologies, Six Sigma is one of the most important methodologies to improve product and process quality, reduce wastes and costs and achieve higher efficiency and effectiveness, strongly influencing the performance indicators of manufacturing companies. The Six Sigma measurement phase in the DMAIC sequence, as well as all kinds of the measurement activities, should be strictly controlled in terms of effectiveness, precision, variation from the actual values, etc. In respecting these restrictive requirements, the Measurement System Analysis (MSA) is becoming necessary to evaluate the test method, measuring instruments, and the entire process of obtaining measurements in order to ensure the integrity of data used for analysis and to understand the implications of measurement error for decisions making about a product or process. The article presents the MSA action implemented in a manufacturing company, as a case study. Preliminary qualitative and quantitative analysis follow and the main result are presented. The measurement system capability is analyzed. The MSA action strongly influences the company’s general business performance as revealed by the final analysis in the article.