Six Sigma and the Organization
The two primary goals of Six Sigma are to improve KPIV, KPOV Effectiveness and efficiency Profitability and ROI Shareholder's net worth
Effectiveness and efficiency
Which founding father of the Quality movement is associated with a trilogy consisting of 3 processes; quality planning, quality control, and quality improvement? Deming Ishikawa Juran Toyota
Juran is associated with Juran's Trilogy of quality planning, quality control, and quality improvement
The characteristics of a high-functioning organization DOES NOT include which of the following? Process focus Culture focus Profit focus Customer focus
Profit focus
Six Sigma is NOT comprised of which key element? Strategy Tactics Culture Profitability
Profitability
How would Juran NOT measure Quality? Profitability: the amount of positive return on the investment of a project or program. Effectiveness: How well the output meets the customer's needs. Efficiency: the ability to be effective at the least cost. Adaptability: How well you can be effective and efficient in the face of change.
Profitability: the amount of positive return on the investment of a project or program.
When using a Balanced Scorecard, which of the following is a financial performance indicator? KPIV KPOV ROI Cost of Quality
ROI
Which of the following statements is incorrect? Six sigma is best described as a quality program. You should not ONLY focus on cost savings when trying to implement a Six Sigma Initiative. A blackbelt should really (ideally) be a full-time job. A Green Belt should really (ideally) be a part-time job.
Six sigma is best described as a quality program.
Armand V. Feigenbaum
Stated that the quality professional has an opportunity to become a true businessman. Advocated for top management involvement in quality initiatives. Established the concept of Total Quality Control & Management (TQM) - Fiegenbaum and Ishikawa (1980s)
3 key elements of of Six Sigma
Strategy Tactics Culture
W. Edwards Deming
Studied under Shewhart. Taught Statistical Methods during WWII Famous in Japan Brought the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle into widespread usage. Maintained that senior management involvement was critical to a quality movement. 7 Deadly diseases of management. 14 Obligations of Top Management Concentrated on improving the system. Chain Reaction of Quality: "Improve Quality, Decrease Costs, Improve Productivity, Capture the market with better Quality and price, Stay in business, and Provide Jobs" Constancy of purpose.
Walter A Shewhart
'Father' of Statistical Quality Control - used statistics to make material improvement in processes. Invented Plan-Do-Study-Act as a design approach Reduce variation to improve quality Special variation vs Common cause variation Invented control charts
Common DFSS methodologies
1. DMADV (define, measure, analyze, design and validate) 2. DMADOV (define, measure, analyze, design, optimize and validate)
Philip B. Crosby
14 Step approach to Quality Improvements 4 Absolutes of Quality Management: Quality is conformance to requirements. Quality comes from prevention. Quality performance standard is zero defects. Quality measurement is the price of non-conformance. Created quality cost measurements
Theory of Constraints
A problem solving methodology that focuses on the weakest link in a chain of processes. Usually the constraint is the process that is slowest, and increasing flow rate is dependent on that process improving. 5 steps: 1. Identify - find the constraint 2. Exploit - improve the constraint 3. Subordinate - adjust the rates of other processes in the chain to match the constraint 4. Elevate - purse extensive revision (elevation) if necessary 5. Repeat - if the original constraint is no longer the constraint, repeat with the new constraint.
Taguchi's Loss Function
According to Taguchi every time the process deviates from the target, even if it stays within the specifications, there is a loss to the society. In other words it states that increase in process variation leads to customer dissatisfaction even if the process is within specification limit
When we discuss metrics in Six Sigma, what context do we mean? Linear measures A unit of measurement An evaluation method The science of weights and measures
An evaluation method. When we discuss metrics in Six Sigma, we mean it as a way to measure the performance of processes
When to use DFSS versus DMAIC
Business outcome is showing 'stair shaped graphs.' New products / services / processes Exponential change Introduction of new technology
Robert Galvin
CEO of Motorola The 1st CEO to understand the need to control variation
DFSS Principal Activities
Concept Development - determine product functionality based upon customer requirements, technological capabilities, and economic realities Design development - focusing on product and process performance issues necessary to fulfill the product and service requirements in manufacturing or delivery Design optimization - seeking to minimize the impact of variation in production and use, creating a "robust" design Design verification - ensuring that the capability of the production system meets the appropriate sigma level
Mikel Harry
Considered the main architect of Six Sigma Along with Bill Smith, developed MAIC that evolved into DMAIC
Which of these statements is correct? Core processes feed into defect logs which then feed into dashboard measures. Dashboard measures are derived from key business concepts like ROI. Core processes feed into sub-processes that then feed into dashboard measures. Calculating dashboard measures mulitple times per year leads to confusion and lack of clarity.
Core processes feed into sub-processes that then feed into dashboard measures.
Which of the following is not one of the components of Six Sigma? Business Strategy Vision Robust Methodology Corporate Mission
Corporate Mission. The six major components of Six sigma are business strategy, vision, benchmark, goal, statistical measure and robust methodology. Hence, corporate mission is the correct option
dfmea vs pfmea
DFMEA is an application of FMEA especially for product design PFMEA is an application of FMEA especially for a process in an organization or business unit.
What is Design for Six Sigma (DFSS)
DFSS is a business/engineering strategic process that focuses on proactive design quality, rather than reactive design quality DFSS is a systematic process to create produce-able designs by reducing and managing variation in order to meet the customer's expectations of quality/performance
When to use DMADV vs DMAIC
DMADV -Use when designing a new process, product or service. -Creating exponential change for your business.Introduction of new technology. -Uses SIPOC DMAIC -Use to improve an existing process -Just focus on customer
What does Dr Deming's quote "Cease dependence upon inspection as a way to achieve quality" mean? Don't perform quality tests. Let the customer tell you what quality is. Quality should be baked into the delivery process. Quality measures are overrated.
Deming meant that quality should be baked into the delivery process, not just verified at the end of the line. The customer does inform what quality is through Critical to Quality measures.
Design for X (DFX)
Describe design constraints, including design for cost, design for manufacturability and producibility, design for test, design for maintainability, etc. (Understand)
Which of the following is NOT an example of a customer-driven organization? Development of new products based on a criteria of Return on Investment (ROI). Front line employees are empowered to resolve quality issues. Recognition that the Voice of the Customer (VOC) is critical to business success. Customer service quality is as important as product quality.
Development of new products based on a criteria of Return on Investment (ROI).
Which is not a technique or a tool that enables Business Process Management? SIPOC, KPIV, KPOV FEMA Benchmarking Critical to X
FEMA
Kaoru Ishikawa
Father of Japanese Quality Fishbone diagram (aka 4M/5M or cause and effect diagram) Invented CWQC - Company Wide Quality Control Sponsored the concept of "next operation (process step) as the client" to avoid workplace politics. TQM- Fiegenbaum and Ishikawa (1980s)
Bill Smith
First introduced the term Six Sigma Convinced Motorola CEO Robert W Galvin to adopt Six Sigma
Why use six sigma?
Higher quality leads to happier clients, better products, engaged employees, higher profits.
Primary goals of Six Sigma
How effective you are at meeting or exceeding your customer's needs and requirements. How efficiently you operate.
Design Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (DFMEA)
Identification of all the ways in which a failure can occur, to estimate the effect and seriousness of the failure, and to recommend corrective design actions
IDDOV
Identify Define Develop / Design Phase Optimize Verify and Validate
Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, and Verify (DMADV)
It requires a large scope and budget and requires exponential amounts of change. This kind of an event could be triggered by new research or technology breakthroughs, a mandate to leap frog the competition, radical new customer requirements, new regulations or legislation. Success depends on the involvement of senior management, the team retaining a customer-centric focus, fostering creative design, and executing sound project management.
Critical Parameter management (CPM)
Links product performance to system parameters and then to product developmental activities Defined downward flow of requirements that are directly linked to necessary engineering functions to fulfill the requirements
When using a balanced scorecard, which perspective helps the organization understand what the customer values? Quality Senior Mangement Society Customer
Only the customer's perspective helps you understand what they value
3 ways to categorize this waste for Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ)
Prevention costs - incurred on prevention activities. Appraisal costs - incurred by testing, measuring, and auditing. Failure costs a. Internal failure - prior to delivery of the product or service b. External failure - after delivery.
Which one of these is not part of the Demming Customer Model? Process inputs, controls, outputs are each interdependent. Statistical models can be used to control and guide these inputs. Quality is dictated by your tolerances. Process feedback can be used to redesign existing systems and make them better.
Quality is dictated by your tolerances. Quality is ultimately determined by your clients.
Juran's trilogy consisted of which of the following elements? Quality planning, Quality control, and Quality improvement Define & Measure, Analyze & Improve, Control Plan, Do, Check & Act Project development, Project Implementation, Project Closure
Quality planning, Quality control, and Quality improvement
Taguchi robustness - Signal factors
Signal factors are the signals used to get the desired response. Ex: pressure valve setting to get the required air pressure in the line
Joseph Juran
Six Sigma / quality projects must be "breakthrough" in nature. Believed that anyone is a customer of a product or service if that person is affected by it. Juran's Quality Trilogy. Quality Planning Quality Control Quality Improvements Pareto analysis Managing for Quality theory "It is most important that top management be quality-minded. In the absence of sincere manifestation of interest at the top, little will happen below."
Genichi Taguchi
Taguchi Loss Function: Quality is related to the financial loss to society caused by a product during its life cycle. Taguchi Robust Design Developed a product quality system that started by introducing quality in the conceptual phase, brought it through the design phase, and eventually into manufacturing operations.
Robust design and process
Taguchi robustness approach says that process or products are controlled by various factors to get the desired response. Signal factors: Signal factors are the signals used to get the desired response. Ex: pressure valve setting to get the required air pressure in the line Control factors: These factors produce the response based on noise in the process and also these are controlled by the designer. For example heat shrinks or thermo couples will respond based on the heat generation in the process. Sometimes these factors adds costs to the design hence these are also called tolerance factors. Noise factors: These are random events in the process, only mean and variance can be predicted but are not controllable by designer. Ex: voltage fluctuation, air pressure variation etc.
What are the four dimensions of a balanced scorecard? Input, Process, Output, Stakeholders Failure, Mode, Effect, Analysis Positional, Cyclical, Temporal, Longitudinal Financial, Customer, Internal process and Innovation
The Balanced Scorecard is a set of performance targets and results relating to four dimensions of performance—financial, customer, internal process and innovation
Which of the following is a set of procedures that controls tasks in order to produce consistent quality? Standard ordered design Standard time Calibration standard Standard work
The answer is Calibration standard. Standard work might seem like a viable answer, the details in the wording of the question put the toss up to having a calibration standard. Standard work can help you to limit or reduce waste. In cases where precision is needed, calibrated measurements are needed. Thus a calibrated standard is needed. That makes this the (slightly) better answer).
If you wanted to track market sales, what would you include in your metrics? ROI Customer retention Product creation cycle time Repeat business
The answer is customer retention. Since the customer dictates quality and a customer will leave if you do not provide quality, customer retention is the best answer.
Taguchi robustness - Noise factors
These are random events in the process, only mean and variance can be predicted but are not controllable by designer. Ex: voltage fluctuation, air pressure variation etc.
Taguchi robustness - Control factors
These factors produce the response based on noise in the process and also these are controlled by the designer. For example heat shrinks or thermo couples will respond based on the heat generation in the process. Sometimes these factors adds costs to the design hence these are also called tolerance factors.
