The world’s leading disc drive company, Seagate Technology, earns the Six Sigma Excellence Award for the Best Design For Six Sigma Project. The award is given annually by sixsigmaIQ to reward best practices and highlight exceptional innovation.
Besting other finalists such as Ford Motor Company and Raytheon, Seagate received the award for its project, “Deployment of Design for Six Sigma in Seagate’s U Series Disc Drive.”
Steve Genheimer, Seagate vice president of Six Sigma, said, “Seagate’s continuous focus on process, design and manufacturing improvements are helping us deliver what our customers want. Our continued investment in Six Sigma design, supply chain and manufacturing flexibility, and customer-focused business processes have solidified Seagate’s position as a storage category leader. Seagate’s greatest strength is its ability to respond quickly and intelligently to the change that is inherent across the industry.”
For the project, Seagate’s team used the DFSS to change the design review process to focus on key customer requirements. This was also known as CTQ (Critical to Quality) requirements. It provided the impetus to create the most cost-efficient design, with features customers would expect from a more expensive drive. Seagate SP used CTQs to drive product specifications, component tolerances and process measures throughout the development cycle. The project gave the organization a very high market-share.
When Chip Huber,Seagate’s Executive Director of Design for Six Sigma, was asked why the project won, he said, “Good use of tools, persistence over time, impact on our business. In the consumer goods market a relatively new market for Seagate, this product enabled us to take a leading share.”
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Seagate Earns Six Sigma Excellence Award From sixsigmaIQ
Interview with Chip Huber, Executive Director of Design for Six Sigma, Seagate
