Sigma Project Research Articles

THE APPLICATION OF SIX SIGMA TO IMPROVE THE YIELD OF PLASTIC INJECTION MOLDING

Plastic injection molding has complex process parameters. The Six Sigma improvement method mainly uses quality control and statistical methods to improve product quality, so as to reduce the cost and waste caused by defective products. Taiwan is the world leader for original equipment manufacturing in the laptop industry, and related peripheral accessories are also a major concern of customers. The subject of this study was a professional supplier of laptop batteries. Through the collection of customer complaint data, it was found that battery case deformation was the most important problem for customers. Therefore, in order to remain competitive, the battery case deformation problem needed to be overcome first. Enterprises need to improve their existing processes to reduce the rate of product defects, improve output efficiency and product quality, and reduce production costs, so as to improve their competitiveness in the industry.This study took a Taiwanese company as an example to improve the plastic injection process through the improvement steps of Six Sigma. In this process, two key process factors, namely the injection speed and the cooling time, were identified by analytical tools. After calculating customers’ daily product demand, the most suitable parameters were found using the ‘design of experiments’ method. The results showed that the process capacity and product yield could be significantly improved. The key to the success of this Six Sigma project was the project implementer’s design of the experiment.

Creativity Drivers for Six Sigma Project Success

Creativity Drivers for Six Sigma Project Success

Characterization of Lean Six Sigma projects in healthcare settings: empirical research

PurposeThis paper aims to characterize a sample of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) projects in healthcare settings and discuss some specificities of operational excellence (OPEX) initiatives in hospitals and healthcare organizations in the USA.Design/methodology/approachA content analysis involving a sample of 23 documents shared by US hospitals was performed in order to achieve the research objectives. Such analysis was based on a conceptual framework developed from the literature review. It was also applied to a quantitative approach, including descriptive statistics, hypothesis testing and correspondence analysis that supported the research.FindingsMost LSSH projects were focused on business transformation and strategic improvements. Simple techniques and tools were predominant such as descriptive statistics, process mapping, 5S and spaghetti charts, usually implemented by Green Belts and Black Belts through the define, measure, analyze, improve and control (DMAIC) method. In addition to the expressive findings reported, these projects' results have been aligned with lead time and operational cost reduction, quality improvement and capacity increase.Research limitations/implicationsThe study adds knowledge to the OPEX literature by analyzing the Lean Six Sigma healthcare (LSSH) in hospitals and healthcare institutions in the USA. It also demonstrates that different approaches, such as the kaizen event and DMAIC project show different results according to some techniques and tools applied in the hospital environment.Originality/valueThe empirical evidence presented in this study provides scenery of the LSS practices in the healthcare settings, highlighting the implementation areas, outcomes, tools and techniques mostly used in the North American healthcare institutions.

Impact of Stakeholders on Lean Six Sigma Project Costs and Outcomes during Implementation in an Air-Conditioner Manufacturing Industry

Modern manufacturing operations always aim toward sustainable production through sustainable operations. Lean Six Sigma manufacturing is one of the leading models to increase operational efficiency and productivity and reduce product manufacturing costs. The lean Six Sigma problem-solving methodology DMAIC has been one of the several techniques organizations use to improve their productivity and the quality of their product and services. This paper aims to apply Lean Six Sigma and DMAIC to enhance production capacity and reduce per-unit cost. Furthermore, this research work has been carried out to analyze the impact of stakeholders on Lean Six Sigma projects. The research follows the DMAIC methodology to investigate and analyze the root cause of the problems and give possible solutions for eliminating or reducing the issues. Particularly, fishbone and 5-Whys techniques were used to determine whether the two key processes, AC Outdoor unit testing with the help of reusable power cords and the un-efficient use of expanding machine, had an impact on low productivity and high per-unit cost. The analysis indicated the importance of stakeholders in lean Six Sigma projects. It has been found that key stakeholders can affect the result of lean Six Sigma projects, e.g., in the power cord modification project, a total of USD 7738 has been lost, while in expanding machine modification project total of USD 1339 has been lost due to ignorance of key stakeholders in both projects. This paper provides practical guidance to lean Six Sigma project team leaders to develop and define the key stakeholders at the beginning of the project and clearly identify the stakeholders’ responsibilities. Furthermore, the project leader must analyze and identify internal and external stakeholders b/c stakeholders may be internal or external. This paper provides theoretical guidance to lean Six Sigma project team leaders since ignoring stakeholders could give a misleading picture in terms of project cost, savings, and duration of the project. The project leader must consider key stakeholders’ costs and future strategies before starting the project. Although some project managers and experts have conducted analyses of stakeholders’ impact on projects, lean Six Sigma literature lacks solid examples of stakeholders’ impact on LSS project results. This study tries to address this research gap by analyzing the impact of key stakeholders on LSS projects.

การลดของเสียในกระบวนการบรรจุ : กรณีศึกษาโรงงานผลิตยาแผนปัจจุบันสำหรับมนุษย์

The purposes of this study were to : 1) reduce the quantity of waste caused by errors in filling processes and 2) improve the quality in filling processes of ready-made medicines in the factory as a case of study by applying the operational approach of Six Sigma projects, including Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control (DMAIC) for five steps. First, the methods started from “Define” step by studying waste problem which occurred from errors of filling processes, defining the goal, setting scope of modification and building a team for brainstorming. Second, problem condition was measured in “Measure” step by collecting data about waste sorting. Third, “Analyze” step was brainstorming the causes of waste to make cause and effect diagram, coupled with analyzing Failure Mode and Effect Analyze process (FMEA) by estimating the severity of effect, the probabilities of effect and therefore the ability of error identification. Then Risk Priority Number was calculated to reduce score to less than 100. Fourth, “Improve” step was performed by adding examination process into filling processes and training how to work properly. Finally, “Control” step was performed by creating waste database as the history for solving problems in the future, making documents about controlling filling processes to make filling have the highest efficiency and comparing waste data before and after modification. The results of this study indicated that: 1) the quantity of waste occurrence was reduced from 71 boxes (0.033 percentage) to 2 boxes (0.002 percentage) moreover average quantity of waste was reduced from 6 boxes per month to 1 box per 3 months and 2) value of waste after filling-processes modification of ready-made medicines in the factory was reduced to 93.662 percentage.

The Effect of Medical Device Regulations on Deploying a Lean Six Sigma Project

This paper investigates the differences in timelines involved in Lean Six Sigma (LSS) project deployment in a regulated industry versus in an unregulated one. Two case studies utilising Lean Six Sigma methods—in order to compare the transfer of manual manufacturing lines within a medical device and electronics manufacturing site—are discussed and utilised. This research aims to show the effects of regulatory procedures on LSS project implementation and timelines. This study particularly highlights how a regulatory environment can be a barrier, or bottleneck, to project management, continuous improvement, and engineering changes in the MedTech or medical device manufacturing industry. The results of this study represent an important first step towards a full understanding of the influence of regulations on operations in medical devices and, by extension, on pharmaceutical manufacturing industries on a global scale. The research limitations are that the data collected were from two specific case study comparisons alone.

Sustainable Lean Six Sigma project selection in manufacturing environments using best-worst method

Manufacturing organizations have struggled with selecting right projects for sustainable LSS (SLSS) programs for operational excellence. This study is to propose a method for effective assessment of optimal SLSS projects. The importance weight of project selection criteria and prioritization of available projects are calculated using the novel best-worst-method (BWM) approach. The proposed methodology was authenticated through a real case example. The outcome reveals that out of five SLSS projects, P1 is the optimal project. Project P1 is the most significant production line for deploying the SLSS in case organization. The optimality in project ranking is tested through sensitivity analysis, the outcome noticed minimum sensitivity that claimed robust findings. This study is to be unique as there was very little evidence of prioritizing SLSS projects by utilizing a large set of criteria and applying the BWM approach. Further, BWM is the most suitable and reliable approach for prioritizing the alternatives when a large number of criteria are involved and it provides consistent outcomes with fewer inputs. The applied methodology will help top management to select the right project and opportunities in complex situations. Decision-makers and LSS consultants can also adopt the same approach for effective assessment of optimal SLSS projects for sustainable development.

To study the comparison and effect of Six Sigma and Red Bin Analysis in Indian manufacturing industries

PurposeContinued quest for business improvement in terms of enhanced productivity and cost cuts is the most valued strategic function in an organization. Towards this endeavor, there have been evolutions of many problem-solving techniques like Lean, quality control (QC) tools, Six Sigma, total productive maintenance (TPM), etc. This paper introduces a different problem-solving methodology for quality improvement – prepare, measure, define, establish, control and stabilize (PMDECS) approach of Red Bin Analysis (RBA) – and presents empirical evidence of its effectiveness in eliminating the defectives at source (parts per million [PPM]) and improving the process capability (Cp).Design/Methodology/ApproachAn attempt has been made to compare RBA with the Six Sigma methodology in terms of number of defects, defectives, process capabilities, project duration, etc. Data validation with more than 2000 data points was conducted based on empirical data collected over multiple problem-solving projects conducted in six manufacturing industries of India to compare the effectiveness of both the methods. Finally, fuzzy AHP (analytical hierarchy process) model was proposed to identify the Quality Improvement Index for both the methods to address the manager’s dilemma in selecting an appropriate problem-solving method.FindingsThe paper provides empirical insights in establishing that the PMDECS approach of RBA is at par and sometimes better for problem-solving if the problem is not chronic and is at the initial stages, it requires less duration than Six Sigma projects and except casting process and it can yield better results in case of PPM rejection or Cp/Cpk improvement in other processes.Research limitations/implicationsBecause of the chosen research approach, the research results may lack generalizability. This research has been specifically conducted in automotive manufacturing industries. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed propositions further.Practical implicationsThe paper includes implications for the usage of alternative problem-solving methods, like PMDECS approach of RBA.Originality/valueThis paper intends to compare how the results of six sigma projects in manufacturing industries are effective against a different methodology, PMDECS approach of RBA.

Implementing Lean Six Sigma Concepts in Audiology Practices

Implementing Lean Six Sigma Concepts in Audiology Practices

A toolset for complex decision-making in analyze phase of Lean Six Sigma project: a case validation

PurposeThe analyze phase of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) project is an important phase where the project heads and organizational directors need to select the critical issues for further improvements. The present work is primarily focused on analyze phase of LSS project to prioritize the critical to quality (CTQ) in a particular case industry.Design/methodology/approachThe CTQ prioritization is being done based on the five evaluation criteria found from the literature. The weights of the criteria are determined through the modified digital logic (MDL) method. The identified CTQs in assembly section of case industry have been ranked through the gray relational analysis (GRA) under fuzzy environment. The results of the study have been validated using fuzzy VlseKriterijumska Optimisacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR).FindingsIt is found that the “cost” criterion is the most significant among other criteria with MDL weight of 0.3. Through fuzzy-GRA, out of ten identified CTQs, non-availability of rack system is found to be the most critical issue in assembly section of case industry. The perceptions of industrial manager and production head of case industry are strongly in favor of the obtained results and have implemented the suggested solutions.Originality/valueTo sustain in the competitive environment and produce quality product at right time, organizations need to control their CTQs as per their criticality. For this, the decision-making becomes quite complex to select the most critical factors because of the fascinating nature of various criteria and sub-criteria. The present study is the first attempt that has implemented the multi-criteria decision-making approach in analyze phase of LSS project.

Green Lean Six Sigma sustainability – oriented project selection and implementation framework for manufacturing industry

PurposeThis paper aims to deal with the selection of the sustainability-oriented Green Lean Six Sigma (GLS) project for the manufacturing industry in the complex decision-making environment. Moreover, the study also proposes a GLS implementation framework for improved organizational performance.Design/methodology/approachGLS project selection has been done based on the six sustainability-oriented criteria formed from 17 sub-criteria (found from the literature and developed by authors). The weights of the criteria have been determined through the entropy method. The projects have been ranked based on the criteria through the advanced decision-making approach: grey relation analysis (GRA). The results of the study were validated using best worst method and sensitivity analysis.FindingsIt has been found that the productivity-related criterion is the most significant among other criteria with entropy weight of 0.2721. GRA has been used in this research work to rank the potential GLS projects in a manufacturing industry based on six sustainability criteria, to select a project that exhibits the maximum potential for sustainable improvement. The machine shop has been found as the most significant GLS project with grey relation grade of 0.4742.Practical implicationsThe present study facilitates practitioners and industrial managers to implement an inclusive GLS approach for improved sustainability dynamics through effective GLS project selection and implementation framework.Originality/valueWith increased globalized competition in recent times, new projects are being considered as the foundation stone for organizational success. The decision-making becomes quite complex to select an effective project due to the intriguing nature of various criteria, sub-criteria and different aspects of sustainability. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the present study is the first of its kind that provides ways for the selection of sustainability-oriented GLS projects.

Rectification of Defects Occurring in the Gate Valve Manufacturing Process by Implementing Six Sigma Methodology

Six Sigma is a methodology containing various tools and techniques to make improvement in a process. The purpose of this research is to reduce the defects, maximize the profit, and make small scale industries more efficient. This Six Sigma Project was conducted at a valve manufacturing industry located in Maharashtra. The industry was performing at Sigma Level 3.0 and the newly achieved Sigma Level is 3.5. It is predicted that if the solutions are continuously applied for 6 months then the industry can achieve Sigma Level up to 4.0. A control plan was also provided to the industry which will help them to keep implementing the solutions for a longer period of time. A lot of energy and material wastage is prevented by reducing the defects which is a huge benefit for the environment in the long run.

Success factors for lean six sigma projects in healthcare

Identifying critical success factors (CSFs) of continuous improvement projects is crucial for management control and operations management domains. Despite the availability of manufacturing-related literature, studies on CSFs in more dynamic and complex healthcare-related operations are scarce. This study, based at a large public tertiary healthcare organization, identifies CSFs in implementing Lean Six Sigma (LSS). 62 LSS projects completed by Green Belts in consultation with Black Belts were analyzed for project success by a review team of practitioners (Black Belters) and academics. Using a grounded theory approach, numerous success factors were initially identified. A series of brainstorming sessions and workshops helped to narrow down and revise all the CSFs present in each of the 62 LSS projects to eight CSFs. The success of the 62 completed projects was assessed against each of the eight CSFs on a five-point Likert scale. Success was measured against whether the project met its stated aim and achieved the Key Performance Indicators that had initially been identified. Finally, the correlations of each factor rating against project success were analyzed to validate the relationship between each success factor and project success. The findings confirm that all eight CSFs identified are significantly correlated to project success. This study contributes to the management control, operations management, and healthcare literature by identifying CSFs of continuous improvement projects and introducing a relatively unique, rigorous, and practically proven evaluation method applied via an industry and academic partnership. Specified CSFs and the method used to identify these will benefit managers of continuous improvement projects.

Assessment of the interactions between the European Foot‐and‐Mouth Disease Spread model (EuFMDiS) and the SIGMA project

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) launched the project SIGMA to improve data collection, data quality and EFSAs ability to perform epidemiological analyses. SIGMA also aims to provide the member states with an epidemiological tool to use with the data they submitted to SIGMA. This work assesses the feasibility of integrating the European Foot-and-Mouth Disease Spread model (EuFMDiS) as the epidemiological tool and the EFSA Scientific Data Warehouse where the SIGMA data will be stored. In the assessment it is investigated how and which data in SIGMA could be used in EuFMDiS, possible IT solutions and possible user cases. The results show that an integration could be possible from a technical perspective but would require more investigation on legal aspects. The majority of the data needed for EuFMDiS do not exist in SIGMA and it is important to consider the purpose of an integration and if the same benefits could be achieved without an integration.

Data submission from European countries to EFSA: the SIGMA project approach

The Framework Working Contract (FWC) number OC/EFSA/ALPHA/2018/01 between the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA, the contracting authority), and the SIGMA consortium (the contractor), is in force from 23 May 2018 until 22 November 2021. The subject matter of the FWC is the provision of technical support to improve and automatize the collection and reporting of data on animal disease outbreaks and surveillance to EFSA by the European Union (EU) Member States and pre-accession countries. The EFSA project is named SIGMA. The contracting authority, among other tasks, asked the contractor the preparation of a Summary Report, describing the novelties and the benefits introduced by the implementation of the SIGMA framework.

A new way of environmentally sustainable manufacturing with assessing transformation through the green deployment of Lean Six Sigma projects

Green deployment of Continuous Improvement (CI) projects such as Lean Six Sigma (LSS) is unknown among scholars and practitioners in contrast with green outcomes of LSS. Therefore, the aim of this study is to identify top factors to transform towards the green deployment of LSS projects as an untapped phenomenon for scholars and practitioners. A survey questionnaire was distributed globally to collect the data from LSS practitioners and consultants followed by the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) as a statistical dimension reduction method via Statistical Package for Social sciences (SPSS) software. New dimensions for critical success factors (CSFs), critical failure factors (CFFs) and barriers, and motivators were revealed to recommend top factors for green LSS project deployment. In addition to some factors similar to green LSS integration for green outcomes, we found some new factors suggested for green deployment of LSS projects. However, scarcity was also found in green LSS deployment for practitioners and scholars. Further in-depth studies including case studies could be conducted to assess the negative environmental impact of LSS projects. This study serves as an initial call for managers, consultants and research scholars to favour the sustainable deployment of LSS projects in manufacturing alongside the use of traditional approaches with a focus on costs, quality and delivery. This is the first study exposing the possibility of a paradigm shift in environmental sustainability integration with LSS project deployment in manufacturing operations.

Effect of ISO (9001) Certification and Article Type Produced on Lean Six Sigma Application Successes: a Case Study Within Textile Companies

Abstract This study focused on how the ISO 9001:2008 standard has influenced organisational Lean Six Sigma (LSS) implementation success. Data were collected through a survey, followed by interviews with the quality managers/representatives of 85 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the textile industry. Additionally, case studies on four of the textile SMEs were carried out to validate the results. Our analysis revealed that the main benefits of LSS, among others, are problem solving improvement, reduction of the quality problem, waste reduction, and increase of productivity. However, certified companies are aware of continuous improvements to tools, which ensures the continuity of improvements made by the LSS project and facilitates the integration of Lean Six Sigma tools, which can help to make better use of the Lean Six Sigma project. The type of article produced was also found to have a considerable effect on the success of the Lean Six Sigma project.

Multivariate Six Sigma: A case study in an outpatient pharmaceutical care unit

KEY POINT Six Sigma strategies for process improvement are widely used in industry and manufacturing. The spreading tendency to gather process data about hospital activity is leading to an increase of process improvement projects in the healthcare context. The complexity of these databases requires upgrading the classical statistical Six Sigma toolkit. In this paper we present a Six Sigma project carried out in an Outpatient Pharmaceutical Care Unit at Hospital Universitario Doctor Peset in Valencia (Spain), where we illustrate the benefits of using latent variables-based models, specifically Partial Least Squares Regression (PLS), integrating them into the DMAIC phases of the project.

Integrating mixture experiments and six sigma methodology to improve fibre‐reinforced polymer composites

AbstractThis article illustrates a Six Sigma project aimed at reducing manufacturing‐induced visual deviations for fibre‐reinforced polymer (FRP) composites. For a European composites manufacturer, such visual deviations lead to scrapping of cylindrical composite bodies and subsequent environmental impact. The composite bodies are manufactured through vacuum infusion, where a resin mixture impregnates a fibreglass preform and cures, transforming from liquid to solid state. We illustrate the define‐measure‐analyse‐improve‐control (DMAIC) steps of the Six Sigma project. Specific emphasis is placed on the measure and analyse steps featuring a 36‐run computer‐generated mixture experiment with six resin mixture components and six responses. Experimental analysis establishes causal relationships between mixture components and correlated resin characteristics, which can be used to control resin characteristics. Two new resin mixtures were developed and tested in the improve step using the understanding developed in previous steps. Manufacturing‐induced visual deviations were greatly reduced by adjusting the resin mixture to induce a slower curing process. Further refinement of the mixture was made in the control step. A production scrap rate of 5% due to visual deviations was measured during a monitoring period of 5 months after the resin mixture change. The scrap rate was substantially improved compared to the historical level (60%). The successful experimental investigation integrated in this Six Sigma project is expected to generate increased quality, competitiveness, and substantial savings.

Management of crisis of COVID-19 by the council for regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) Benin City, using six sigma project management approach

Effective project management style is extremely important for managing crisis and this strongly contributes to the success of an organization such as COREN. The objective of this study is to assess the management crisis of COVID- 19 by the council for regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) Benin City, Nigeria using six sigma project management approach with the triangulation design of two phases, Phase 1 using quantitative analysis, descriptive statistics while phase 2 used the qualitative analysis. Final results collected from the merger of phase 1 and phase 2 showed a T-test value of -37.523 at P value significant of 0.000 obtained for understanding project management as it relates to crisis management during times of extraordinary crisis in the model and was less than 5% level of significance indicating that there is a significant relationship between Understanding project management as it relates to crisis management to aid organizations in working effectively during times of extraordinary crisis. Process performance was improved to address the root cause of poor crisis management using six sigma styles with 68 % strongly agreeing that proper planning will provide an efficient medium. A one sample T test result of -42.547, with a 95% confidence interval of the difference at a lower value of -1.99 and an upper value of -1.81, showed that the model is reliable with absence of serial auto correlation. A standard deviation of 0.309 showed that 1% increase in proper understanding of project management styles (six sigma) activities results in 30.9% decrease in crisis such as COVID19. Hence using the six sigma style of managing extraordinary crisis has proved to sustain managing crisis and strongly contributes to the success of organizations such as COREN.