Applying Lean and Six Sigma to Process Industries
Posted by: meikah | 25 August 2008 | 9:47 pm
Undeniably, the two most popular process improvement methodologies in use today are lean manufacturing and Six Sigma. For every type of waste you encounter, you either use lean or Six Sigma.
Lean manufacturing, for example, has identified seven types of waste:
- Over-production: Producing too much, too soon.
- Inventory: Extra production required to buffer process variability.
- Transportation: Movement of materials without adding value.
- Waiting: Increasing production cycle time without adding value.
- Movement: Movement of operators without adding value.
- Defects: Product that does not conform to customer specifications.
- Over-processing: Processing a material more than is necessary to meet customer specifications.
Of these seven, the waiting, defects, and over-processing exist in process manufacturing. These wastes are fertile ground for the application of lean and Six Sigma methodologies.
Product changeovers, which in process manufacturing can sometimes take 18 hours or more, are an example of waiting waste. Defects are the result of production of material that does not meet the specifications of the downstream internal/external customer. Over-processing occurs when the material is processed to a greater extent than is required by the downstream customer. All of these add to costs and can be reduced and/or eliminated through the use of these methodologies.
Read more…
Source:
Reliable Plant
Filed under: Manufacturing, Lean Six Sigma, Processes, Lean Manufacturing, Lean, Six Sigma
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Correct Craft Implements Six Sigma
Posted by: meikah | 20 August 2008 | 9:23 pm
Correct Craft, manufacturer of the premium Nautique boat brand is going to implement AIMS Manufacturing Lifecycle Management (MLM) Framework Release 5. The move shows the company’s commitment to quality performance, thus, maintaining J.D. Power and Associates’ highest ranking.
According to Perry Smith, CEO of AIMS:
“AIMS MLM 5 goes well beyond simply enabling quality visibility. We’re empowering the quality function to positively impact a company’s risk management portfolio and improve processes that depend on manufacturing, from supply chain, to sales, to shipping and service. Correct Craft, with their laser focus on customer satisfaction, was ideally positioned to take advantage of new quality best practices provided through AIMS MLM to fuel their drive toward six sigma across the enterprise.”
Source:
iSixSigma News
Filed under: Benefits and Savings, Manufacturing, Six Sigma Organizations, Deployment, Six Sigma
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Ford Continues with Six Sigma
Posted by: meikah | 12 August 2008 | 10:34 pm
Despite economic crisis and dwindling sales, Ford Motor Co.’s VP for Global Quality, Bennie Fowler says, “we’re playing to win!”
How? By increasing their efforts on quality improvements.
Fowler said Ford was aiming for an average of 800 errors per 1,000 vehicles among its small cars launched in Europe, a rate better than Toyota’s in that class and 500 less than the industry average.
Fowler said each U.S. Ford plant will send 5 to 10 hourly workers to Wayne State University this fall to train for Six Sigma black belt certification.
In another story on Motor Trends, Ford plans to be global quality leader by 2010.
… to boost accountability, the automaker is implementing an intricate Early Claims Binning system that will help track quality issues straight to the source. Warranty claims are quickly sent to a car’s original assembly plant, where the problem is analyzed to see whether its cause is a manufacturing flaw or a problem with the overall design.
In addition Fowler says Dearborn is training an “army of problem solvers” throughout the company, using the Six Sigma management strategy originally pioneered by Motorola to improve quality. The automaker currently has 60,000 Six Sigma “green belts,” more than 7000 “black belts,” and 400 “master black belts working around the world,” and will also offer a course this fall through Wayne State University to help UAW workers get certified for Six Sigma black belt status.
If you see a company embarking on efforts like these, it’s hard not to take notice and give support. Way to go, Ford!
Filed under: Benefits and Savings, Manufacturing, Six Sigma Organizations, Training, Black Belt, Quality, Six Sigma, Ford Motor Co.
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Mark Piggot of PACCAR is Six Sigma CEO of the Year 2008
Posted by: meikah | 10 August 2008 | 8:13 pm
The Global Six Sigma & Business Improvement Awards, organized by WCBF, has announced that Mark Piggot of PACCAR is Six Sigma CEO of the Year.
PACCAR is a multinational technology company that manufactures premium commercial vehicles sold around the world. It has committed to its ambitious goal, among other goals, to achieve 30% improvement in vehicle fuel efficiency for selected medium-duty applications over the next seven years.
According to the PR email sent to me:
Six Sigma has played a major role in PACCAR’s worldwide growth and profitability since 1997. Revenues have increased from $6.5 billion in 1997 to $15.2 billion in 2007. 12,000 employees as well as dealers and suppliers are trained to use Six Sigma to evaluate engineering design, assembly procedures, sales ordering and financial transactions. PACCAR has implemented more than 7,600 Six Sigma projects which have delivered over $1.5 billion in cumulative savings since 1997.
One of the most successful and innovative Six Sigma initiatives at PACCAR is the High Impact Kaizen Event (HIKE). HIKE’s combine the power of Lean and Six Sigma to make significant improvements across multiple functions of an operation in just four weeks. HIKE’s have been successfully deployed throughout all PACCAR locations and businesses, many supplier facilities, and customer sites.
“PACCAR and its customers have benefited from Six Sigma and HIKE initiatives which have delivered world-class product quality, efficiency improvements and innovative customer service programs,” shared Mark Pigott, PACCAR Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Since the establishment of Six Sigma in 1998, the company has achieved improved operating efficiencies in its manufacturing facilities of 5-7 per cent per year. Six Sigma has also contributed towards improving logistics performance and the quality of components delivered by the company’s suppliers.”
The awards ceremony will take place at WCBF Global Lean, Six Sigma and Business Improvement Summit on October 15th in Orlando. Please visit www.gsssa.com to view the summit information, and www.tgssa.com to view the awards site.
Congratulations Mr. Piggot and PACCAR!
Filed under: Benefits and Savings, Manufacturing, Six Sigma Organizations, Awards, Software/Technology, Six Sigma, PACCAR
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GE: From Six Sigma to Lean Six Sigma
Posted by: meikah | 20 July 2008 | 9:10 pm
At GE, at the helm of their Six Sigma initiative is their CIO, Gary Reiner. Since GE’s massive Six Sigma initiative in 1996, Mr. Reiner has been at the forefront of GE’s Six Sigma deployment, and oversees the company’s $55 billion of annual sourcing.
The company started with Six Sigma, and it’s interesting to know that GE’s Six Sigma has morphed into Lean Six Sigma. In an interview with Geoff Colvin, senior editor at large for Fortune Magazine, Reiner shares some of his thoughts and plans for the Lean Six Sigma initiative at GE.
Here are some snippets.
What does Jeff Immelt want from you?
Three things. My responsibilities are information technology, Lean Six Sigma, and sourcing.You’ve been in charge of GE’s Six Sigma initiative since it started, in 1996. Are you still getting value out of it?
We’ve been aggressively trying to migrate away from talking about tools and instead to talking about outcomes. Six Sigma is a tool. It is a wonderful tool, but it is a tool. What we’re talking more about as a company is outcomes, and the two outcomes we really want are product reliability and customer responsiveness.So we start with that and work our way back to what tools are needed to make that happen. For product reliability, the Six Sigma tools are sensational. On the responsiveness side, it’s often less about using Six Sigma and more about getting the right people in the room to map out how long it takes for us to do something in front of customers and, using mostly common sense, take out those things that get in the way of meeting our customer needs responsibly.
For example?
In our GE Money business we offer private-label finance to retailers. We are the financing behind jewelry stores and pharmacies and the like. Sad to say, it was taking 63 days from when a retailer contacted us saying it wanted to consider using us as a private-label financier until it could conduct the first transaction with our financing. No one had calculated this before we went on this journey.We did a number of what we call lean workouts, where we get everybody in the room to map out the process, and they got it down from 63 days to one day. The leader of that business was able to go out and have as his marketing campaign, “Enroll today. Transact tomorrow.” When we did that, sales doubled. And there are 30 examples of that throughout the company.
No wonder GE has been successful in their Six Sigma initiatives. They have understood the role of Six Sigma or Lean Six Sigma, which is a tool, in their process improvement, and work around that premise. They have a goal, which is product reliability and customer responsiveness, and they have focused their Six Sigma initiative with that end goal in mind.
It’s always about a goal and a focus.
Update:
GE: The Heat on Immelt
Filed under: Manufacturing, Lean Six Sigma, Six Sigma Organizations, Deployment, GE, Technology, Six Sigma
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Can’t Six Sigma Save GM?
Posted by: meikah | 17 July 2008 | 2:27 am
General Motors (GM) was the company to beat: innovative, efficient, successful! Its growth and success was perhaps unprecedented.
About five years ago, an article on BNET shares how Six Sigma is driving quality at GM, and is enjoying great benefits and savings. Because of DFSS and Six Sigma, GM had increased vehicle quality while lowering costs and improving its products’ reliability and durability.
Fast forward to 2008, GM is set to sell assets, borrow money, and cut jobs to raise up to $15 billion. The company has been having huge problems for years now, and a silver lining is not in the offing.
It’s sad to hear successful companies going downhill. My question now is can’t Six Sigma save GM? Can’t they do a DMAIC?
Update:
GM Cuts: Time to Panic? Depends Who You Ask
Filed under: Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Brand Strategy, GM
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LAI’s Six Sigma Team Cuts Production Time by 20%
Posted by: meikah | 14 July 2008 | 9:54 pm
Early this month, LAI International reported that the company was able to cut its cycle time on a critical aerospace product by 25%.
Last week, Market Watch carried a story that LAI’s Six Sigma Team was able to cut production time for a critical structural aerospace component by 20%.
A team of LAI employees in engineering, quality control and production formed a team to complete a comprehensive Six Sigma study that includes intensive workflow assessment, process analysis, value streaming and control planning of a manufacturing process for a precision-manufactured structural panel for a jet fighter.
“We also took every step off of our flowchart and measured the time to do each and every step of the process,” John Rogers, vice president of operations, said. “The team examined key process input variables and studied methods to do each step more efficiently.” An evaluation seven months after the Six Sigma project was completed revealed savings of $196,000 in the program, related to a reduction in cycle times, more efficient inspections and an overall reduction in production time by 20 percent.
Filed under: Benefits and Savings, Manufacturing, Six Sigma Organizations, Processes, Six Sigma
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Six Sigma Helps Cessna Make Good of Its Promise
Posted by: meikah | 14 July 2008 | 8:41 pm
Despite the fuel crisis and other problems faced by airlines, it’s business as usual for Cessna Aircraft Company.
According to an article on Jobwerx, Cessna is set to deliver 150 Model 350 and 400 aircraft this year. The company is right on schedule because of Textron Six Sigma initiative.
By transitioning its Cessna 350 and 400 composite aircraft facilities to the Textron Production System, Cessna Aircraft has experienced improved workplace safety, rising productivity and higher customer satisfaction.
“By implementing Textron Six Sigma and using lean operating tools, our team in Bend is making great progress on streamlining production while maintaining the high quality and reliability of the aircraft,” Mark Withrow, general manager of the Bend facility. “We’ve seen a significant reduction in labor hours per aircraft, and Bend is on track to cut the number of factory related safety incidents in half this year. And, most importantly, I’m happy to report that along with a flawless on-time delivery record this year, our employees’ work has received the top score for quality on all post-delivery customer surveys,” he added.
Related story:
Textron’s Six Sigma Way
Filed under: Benefits and Savings, Manufacturing, Six Sigma Organizations, Aviation, Six Sigma
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VTech Attributes Success to Six Sigma
Posted by: meikah | 14 July 2008 | 8:00 pm
In a press release, VTech announces its record revenue and profit despite difficult economic conditions.
VTech Holdings Ltd. is one of the world’s largest suppliers of corded and cordless telephones and a leading supplier of electronic learning products. Being a mother of two play-age kids, I know the value of VTech electronic toys. I can really vouch for their durability and learning utility.
Now, I know why they continue to produce high-quality products. First, when they started in 1976, their mission is to be the most cost effective designer and manufacturer of innovative, high quality consumer electronics products, and to distribute them to markets worldwide in the most efficient manner. Second, they have adopted Six Sigma and have been benefitted by it ever since.
The prospects for the CMS (Contract Manufacturing Services) business looks promising and further sales increases from both existing and new customers are anticipated. The business will continue to focus on medium sized customers and maintain our edge in quality and cost.
In mid 2007, the CMS business set up a six sigma team to improve operational efficiency and this is beginning to yield results. Work processes are being streamlined and automation increased in order to reduce the dependence on labour, raise productivity and improve product quality. The business is also consolidating the supplier base and strengthening relationships with fewer suppliers to ensure it achieves the most favourable pricing.
“We should not underestimate the challenges that lie ahead, but with leadership in our markets, a strong balance sheet and a highly efficient manufacturing capability, VTech should benefit in the longer term from the industry consolidation that will ensue,” concluded Mr. Allan Wong, Chairman and Group CEO of VTech Holdings Limited.
Filed under: Benefits and Savings, Manufacturing, Six Sigma Organizations, Six Sigma, VTech Holdings Ltd.
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Six Sigma, DMAIC and Lean Maintenance
Posted by: meikah | 25 June 2008 | 9:51 pm
The other day, I heard in the news that an emergency took place in a manufacturing plant, and that the bricks that were holding their kettle scattered.
Because of what happened, their production would be delayed a bit. Although the problem has been contained and they’re now ready to run again, they had just experienced a downtime. Downtime translated in terms of cost and time is expensive, especially in a manufacturing company.
I am sure they have regular TPM or total production maintenance, but I think they would do well with Lean or Six Sigma, too.
I found this article on Feed Forward and it has a good view of how Six Sigma, its tool DMAIC can help in doing a lean maintenance.
Define the problem - Unscheduled equipment malfunctions and the resulting rework, scrap parts, downtime and lost production. Why is this a problem? Because now days the machines and computers do all our work.
Monitor & Measure the problem - Monitor your downtime and measure or calculate what it is really costing… then estimate the potential savings and increased profits that should come from addressing this “problem.”
Analyze how to solve or eliminate the problem - Your maintenance engineer, or an experienced consultant or contract engineer should analyze and identify, for each computer, each machine and each control system how to, in the most cost-effective way, protect or harden the equipment form the above stresses.
Install and Implement - Installation instructions from above should be specific enough that your own maintenance personnel can easily and quickly install the needed protective devices, methods, or changes.
Controlling the project - Controlling Lean Maintenance ™ in the future should require little to no effort.
