Improving customer delivery commitments theSix Sigma way: case study of an Indian small scale industry

Author : Dr Darshak A. Desai Published in :Int. J. Six Sigma and

Competitive Advantage, Vol. 2, No. 1, 2006 Pages : 23 – 47 Presented by : Nikunj Rana (150110746014)

Abstract • Six Sigma has emerged as one of the most effective

business improvement strategies. After its conception at Motorola, many success stories were charted by a number of multinationals. Small scale concerns are still not fetching the real benefits from the same. Much is available regarding its techniques, but very few studies are reported regarding its implementation roadmap for small concerns. This paper is an attempt to introduce Six Sigma to small scale sectors. The paper discusses the real life case where Six Sigma has been successfully applied at one of the Indian small-scale units to improve one of the core processes

The case has been presented in the following sequence• Challenges and advantages of SSI sectors on Six

Sigma initiatives compared to large organizations.• Selection of Six Sigma over TQM and other business

improvement strategies .• Management approval on the Six Sigma project .• Case explanations • Lessons learned, things went great and difficulties

faced.• Next phase of the study .

Challenges and advantages of SSI sectors on Six Sigma initiatives compared to large organizations

Case explanations• 1)Define :The following techniques were adopted in

the subject project at Define stage :-a) creating the team charter .b) identifying the customers of the project,

their needs and requirements .c) creating a high-level process map for

the project.

Case explanation Contd…• Measure:a) relevant data collection .b) calculation of present sigma level

(Baseline Six Sigma).

• Analysis:a) data analysis.b) process analysis.

• Improve :a) setting improvement targets .b) designing improvement measures .c) drawing improved process.

• Contol:a) periodic review of the various solutions.b) continuous watch on the success rate of

meeting delivery commitments.

Benefits of the project to the company• The existing problem of poor performance in meeting customer

delivery commitments was quantified making the reflections of the efforts put in by the firm clear on meeting delivery commitments for the period of last five years

• The problem that existed at the back of the mind of the chief of operations was made crystal clear with multidimensional datum

• The major ‘culprits’ causing the problem of failing in meeting delivery commitments were discovered

• The approach of DMAIC methodology was applied successfully to the existing problem and even though the grounds were not conducive for the full utilization of different tools of the technique, effective improvements were drawn out compatible with the present operating system

• A wide-ranging system of effective planning of production, keeping the entire infrastructure in view, was set up leading to higher success rate of meeting delivery commitments

• Targets for the next year were set up for the overall success rate as well as for the urgent items.

Next phase of the study• The root causes fixed during this project can be

taken up separately one by one and their individual impact on the problem can be further analyzed with tools such as frequency distribution of occurrence of each root cause, correlation and regression analysis and design of experiments.

• • Application of tools involving more statistical analysis. Since this was the introductory initiative, rigorous statistical analysis was not adopted.

• • Application of DMAIC methodology at other areas such as, accounts receivable, shortening development time of the new products, reducing customer complaints etc. and ultimately deploying Six Sigma company-wide

Conclusion• SSI sectors are constantly on the alert to gain a competitive

edge, using the many tools and techniques that have long been flaunted as a way to beat the competitions. Yet, there remain one basic constraint, that is, organizations that produce better quality products and services, on time, than their rivals beat the competition time and again.

• Small industries are inherently capable of adopting Six Sigma as breakthrough strategy but they need to show the roadmap. The multiple gains achieved by this initial effort of Six Sigma on one of the problems of the company are attractive enough for them to deploy Six Sigma company-wide.

• Project by project application of Six Sigma in SSI sectors can strengthen their understanding about this strategy along with consolidating on the gains from it. Six Sigma among the small industries is a much-awaited movement, which can strengthen their bottom lines vis-à-vis contribute in uplifting global economy.

Implementing the Lean Sigma framework in an Indian SME: a case study Authors : M. KUMAR, J. ANTONY, R. K.

SINGH, M. K. TIWARI and D. PERRY Pages : 407-423 Published in : Production Planning and

ControlVol 17 June 2006.

Published by : Taylor and Francis Group Presented by : Nikunj Rana (15IEP57)

Introduction This paper presents a case study undertaken by implementing a

Lean Sigma framework into an Indian small- to medium-sized enterprise (SME) in order to reduce the defects which occur in the final product manufactured by the company and thus satisfy their customers.

The company was regularly receiving complaints from its customers on crack propagation in the automobile accessories manufactured by the company. This was the major cause of customer dissatisfaction and was putting customer loyalty at risk.

To retain its customers, the management realized the importance of removing operational inefficiencies and wastes from the organization. The goal of the organization was to reduce the defects in the product, work-in-process inventory, scrap and rework cost.

Frame work on lean sigma

DMAICDEFINE : 1)Management Initiatives .

2)Problem Definition.

3) Current State Map .

MEASURE :1) The team had been collecting data of defective

products for the last years and had identified the critical processes where maximum defects were occurring, but no action was taken.

2) The company was operating at a baseline capability of 0.12 with defects per unit (DPU) being 0.18. The desired specification limit of casting density was 2.73–2.78 g/cc and the casting produced before the implementation of Lean Sigma had an average density of 2.45 g/cc.

Analyze Phase : The Pareto chart shown in figure illustrates the percentage contributionof internal and external defects in the process. It can beconcluded that internal defects are the result of poor casting density and amounts to 67% of total defects in the process. Other defects occurin the de-burring, chamfering and threading operationsdue to tooling and clamping problems.

Improve Phase :

Design of Experiment Confirmatory Test 5s system TPM

Control Phase :Sustainability Mistake Proofing Exercise

Conclusion

The following conclusions are drawn from this case study:

1. The implementation of Lean Sigma framework provided an impetus for establishing best practice within the company. Moreover, it also provided the company with a performance benchmark on which they could base future performance enhancement programmers

2. The optimal settings of the process parameters have improved the casting density of the die casting process by over 12%.

3. A significant improvement was observed in the key performance metrics (e.g. DPU, process capability, first time yield, etc.) after implementation of the Lean Sigma strategy.

4. The implementation of the Lean Sigma strategy has resulted in savings of around $140 000 per year.

5. Successful implementation of the proposed integrated framework of Lean and Six Sigma provided an impetus for bringing a cultural change in the company with systematic implementation of the integrated approach throughout the organization.