Case study in Six Sigma methodology: manufacturing quality improvement and guidance for managers

Abstract

This version is available at https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/32805/ Strathprints is designed to allow users to access the research output of the University of Strathclyde. Unless otherwise explicitly stated on the manuscript, Copyright © and Moral Rights for the papers on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. Please check the manuscript for details of any other licences that may have been applied. You may not engage in further distribution of the material for any profitmaking activities or any commercial gain. You may freely distribute both the url (https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/) and the content of this paper for research or private study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge.Any correspondence concerning this service should be sent to the This article discusses the successful implementation of Six Sigma methodology in a high precision and critical process in the manufacture of automotive products. The Six Sigma define-measure-analyse-improve-control 10 approach resulted in a reduction of tolerance-related problems and improved the first pass yield from 85% to 99.4%. Data were collected on all possible causes and regression analysis, hypothesis testing, Taguchi methods, classification and regression tree, etc. were used to analyse the data and draw conclusions. Implementation of Six Sigma methodology had a significant financial impact on the profitability of the company. An approximate saving of US$70,000 per annum was reported, which is in addition to the customer-facing benefits of improved 15 quality on returns and sales. The project also had the benefit of allowing the company to learn useful messages that will guide future Six Sigma activities.

Quality improvement in manufacturing process through six sigma: A case study of Indian MSME firm

“…This study focuses on quality improvement in the final fitting stage of the manufacturing process following DMAIC Six Sigma approach. Several tools and [3,8,16,32] to execute the improvement efforts.…”

Successful and Effective Six Sigma Implementation in the Manufacturing Industry

“…Not surprisingly, large enterprises that are beginning to enter closely contested markets have to be careful while making investments. While the six-sigma program is time consuming in terms of achieving results in its entirety, it is essential to report some form of visible cost saved in the initial years for the management to seriously consider it (Antony, Gijo & Childe 2012). While SMEs largely seem uninterested, the authors who chose to remain neutral seemed to agree with the importance of visible cost savings (Hahn, Doganaksoy & Hoerl 2000).…”

Quality Assurance through Process Improvement - A Concise Review

“…In order to sustain the fierce competition, the firms started the cost-cutting measures by improving the related process. This leaded to change in thinking of managers from, after the defect "detecting" ideology to before the defect "preventive" ideology, which is the life-line of six-sigma DMAIC philosophy [52].…”