Perhaps one of the life-changing inventions that boggles the mind is the airplane. For man to actually being able to fly was the desperate wish of Icarus and Daedalus to escape from their island-prison. However, it was the genius of Wilbur and Orville Wright that sent man travelling through air. These two dreams, which may seem impossible at the start, had two things in common. Daedalus and the Wright Brothers initially made something that looks real but is not real, and made it as good as possible. In other words, to simulate and optimize gives you a glimpse of how your undertaking will go.
The same principle goes for a Six Sigma project. In a Six Sigma Interview with Jim Franklin, CEO, Decisioneering Inc., Jim emphasizes the vital role of simulation and optimization in a Six Sigma initiative.
Simulation for one can be applied throughout all the phases of Six Sigma, whether it be the DMAIC or various DFSS methodologies. Jim observes that many companies use simulation within the Define Phase to analyze the business cases. Doing this is a great help in choosing a project at the front end of the process. “Simulating the financial justification and business impact of projects dramatically increases the visibility of their project portfolio, through predicting the cost and benefits of each project on a stand-alone basis,” he said.
After the team has defined, measured and analyzed the optimization of tolerances, the Improve Phase is likely the second most common application of simulation to Six Sigma projects. According to Jim, this allows companies to select the right set of business decisions, avoiding assumptions and removing common politics, and to be able to proceed to the next step of the process improvement. Actually, a Six Sigma team can do simulation and optimization at any point where forecasting (for feasibility or success rate of the project) being carried out. As a result, the team can be ready for effects of variation and uncertainty.
Simulation and optimization are being done now by many countries all over the world: starting with the manufacturing and engineering markets in the US, followed by Europe, Asia, and the Pacific Rim, and not far behind are India and South Korea. Among the other industries that are going into it are services business, such as call centers, healthcare industries, and government associations.
