Six Sigma: quality

processing through
statistical analysis
Six Sigma is both a philosophy and a methodology that
improves quality by analyzing data with statistics to find the
root cause of quality problems and to implement controls.
Although Six Sigma is typically first implemented to improve
manufacturing, the method can also be used in other
business processes, such as product design and supply chain
management. Jennifer Markarian reports on how Six Sigma
can benefit companies - big and small - and how it is being
implemented by a number of companies in the plastics
industry.

Statistically, Six Sigma refers to a process in times the standard deviation of the process
which the range between the mean of a (see Figures 1 and 2). The statistical
process quality measurement and the objectives of Six Sigma are to centre the
nearest specification limit is at least six process on the target and reduce process
variation. A Six Sigma process will
approach 'zero defects' with only 3.4
defects per million opportunities (DPMO)
for a defect to occur. In comparison, the
Centered 3 Sigma goal of many quality initiatives throughout
Target
Lower spec Upper spec the 1980s and early 90s was to obtain a
process capability index (Cpk) of at least
1.0, which roughly translates to 3 Sigma.
However, this level of quality still produces
a defect rate of 66,810 DPMO.
400 425 450 475 500 525 550 575 600
Six Sigma differs from other quality
programmes in its 'top-down' drive and its
rigorous methodology that demands
detailed analysis, fact-based decisions, and
Six Sigma Process
a control plan to ensure ongoing quality
Lower spec
Target
Upper spec
control of a process.
"Six Sigma is a long-term commitment. It
won't work well without full commitment
from upper management. Six Sigma
changes the way a company thinks by
45 47 49 51 53 55 teaching fact-based decision making to all
levels. The programme changes the 'DNA'
of a company by changing the way the
Figure 1: Centred 3 Sigma and Six
leaders think and by improving the
Sigma Process charts
management pipeline by developing
(Source: Crompton Corporation).
management and communication skills in
people," says Karen Riding, Master
Consultant at Six Sigma Academy.
Implementing Six Sigma
Implementing a typical Six Sigma
programme begins at top management
level with training in fact-based decision-
making and evaluation of a company's
strategic goals, explains Ms. Riding,
describing a typical implementation
process facilitated by Six Sigma Academy.
The objective is to define what process
variables are critical to product quality and
to define the gaps between goals and
current performance that will become Six
Sigma projects. Black Belts and Master
Black Belts are chosen to become Six
Sigma experts and be dedicated full-time
to run Six Sigma projects. Green Belts,
who keep their regular jobs while they
work part-time on Six Sigma projects, are
also chosen.
A Six Sigma Project team typically includes
a Project Champion from management, a
Black Belt, Green Belts, and the Process
Owners such as engineers and operators
who are directly responsible for the
process. Teams may also include suppliers
and customers. The overall method used

Plastics Additives & Compounding July/August 2004 ISSN1464-391X/04 © 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
28

on a Six Sigma project is DMAIC (define,
measure, analyze, improve and control) for
improving existing processes. The Six
Sigma methods for developing new
products or processes are DMADV
(define, measure, analyze, design and
verify) or IDOV (identify, design,
optimize and validate). The first step in
any project is to define customer
expectations and specifications. Customer
input using a tool called 'Voice of the
Customer' is key to identifying the factors
that are critical to quality and defining the
appropriate targets. The next step is to
measure the frequency of defects and
determine baseline process capability.
Critical variables in the process are defined
and the output (y) that the customer sees is
defined as a function of the process
variables (x). Being able to measure
variables and outputs accurately is
important. Statistical tools such as Design
of Experiments (DOE) are used to
determine how to control the variables
better. The last step is to implement a
control plan to ensure that the process
remains in control in the long-term,
improving quality for the customer.
Lean Manufacturing
Many companies are now combining
implementation of Six Sigma and Lean
Manufacturing programmes. Lean
Manufacturing is a method for reducing
lead-time across the value chain, which
improves cash flow, eliminates waste,
reduces inventory and increases on-time
delivery. In process industries, such as the
chemical and plastics industries, key Lean
Manufacturing tools are reduction in set-
up time and Total Productive Maintenance
(TPM), comments Bonnie Smith,
managing director at the Time Based
Management Consulting Group (TBM).
Reducing set-up time allows a company to
run smaller batches cost-effectively or
make more frequent transitions, which is
necessary for reducing inventory. TPM
focuses on improving machine
maintenance to decrease downtime.
"While Six Sigma alone improves first-
time yield and eliminates some waste in a
manufacturing process, Lean
Manufacturing tools allow more
Tax Advice
1000000
100000
Defects per Million (PPM)
10000
1000
100
10
1
0 1
Figure 2:What might Six Sigma mean in your daily life
(Source: Crompton Corporation).
significant, breakthrough waste
elimination," says Ms. Smith. Applying
both Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma
tool sets results in far better improvements
than can be obtained with either method
alone, she adds.
Some consulting companies, such as TBM,
implement Lean Sigma using Kaizen
methods that use a cross-functional team
to complete a project with set objectives in
a short time period. "Using Kaizen, a Six
Sigma project can take one or two months
to complete, rather than six to nine
months needed without Kaizen," says Ms.
Smith. While the same number of people
and the same tools are used, the team
operates in a more concentrated, focused
time. "Using Kaizen events gets buy-in
from the operators and engineers because
it is focused. You see the change now, not
later. Studies have even shown improved
employee satisfaction correlated with more
frequent Kaizen events because the
employees are more involved," explains
Ms. Smith.
Small companies
Although Six Sigma has its roots in large
corporations, it can be used in small to
medium sized companies as well. Small
companies are typically more agile and
may have an easier time getting
29
Six Sigma
Prescription Writing
Restaurant Bills
Payroll Processing
Baggage Handling
Airline
Safety Rate
2 3 4 5 6 7
Sigma Level
management team commitment, but may
have more difficulty with committing
employee time and funds for training,
comments Charles Waxer, staff writer for
iSixSigma in an article published on
iSixSigma.com (see Table 1). Smaller
companies have several options to manage
training costs, including hiring an expert
to do in-house training, enrolling in public
training classes, or bringing in consultants
to provide expertise for specific projects.
Larger companies may also allow others,
such as their suppliers or customers, to
participate in their in-house training. In
the U.S., state funding is often available to
small businesses for training and
continuous improvement to help them
compete with larger companies. In some
cases, small businesses can find grants
specifically for Six Sigma and Lean
Manufacturing, notes Ms. Smith. Smaller
companies may use a scaled-down version
of the Six Sigma programmes
implemented at large companies.
Traditional Six Sigma involves training
Black Belts and Master Black Belts as
experts who will commit all their time to
Six Sigma projects. Other variations, such
as TBM's Lean Sigma, may be a good
choice for small to medium sized
companies because the method focuses less
on individual expert training and does not
require dedicated Black Belts.
Plastics Additives & Compounding July/August 2004
 Six Sigma
Three Phases of Implementation
Growth
Business Process
Operations
$ Benefits
Years
Figure 3:Three phases of implementation (Source: Crompton Corporation).
At work in the plastics
industry
Companies generally view Six Sigma as a
tool to reduce bottom-line costs, improve
top-line growth, and increase value for
customers by improving quality. When
implementing Six Sigma, companies
typically first focus on bottom-line
improvement projects in the
manufacturing operations, such as reduced
variation for improved quality, higher
yields and lower costs. As the Six Sigma
process becomes part of the company
culture, it can be expanded to improve
business processes such as purchasing,
logistics, legal and human resources
management. In a mature and successful
implementation, Six Sigma will eventually
go beyond a cost savings programme to
become a driver for profitable growth, says
Marshall Moore, vice president for Six
Sigma at Crompton Corporation.
Examples are in the use of Design for Six
Sigma (DFSS) methodology and, as a
value-added service offering, "at the
customer, for the customer" (see Figure 3).
Companies that have adopted Six Sigma
have had a strong commitment from
management to implement a real culture
change, and those that have embraced the
Plastics Additives & Compounding July/August 2004

Driving Growth

Customer Process Oriented

Design For Six Sigma

At-The-Customer DMAIC

Improve Product Performance

Business Processes

Transactional Processes

Reduce Base Costs

Improve Business Performance

Operational

Manufacturing Focus

Reduce Manufacturing Costs

Improve Product Conformance
Six Sigma philosophy sing its praises. "The
benefits of Six Sigma to both Dow and its
customers have exceeded our expectations.
Six Sigma has proven to be extremely
valuable by reducing cycle time, providing
new problem solving tools, providing
improved functional and customer
alignment, and by allowing calculations of
the value of R&D," comments Kurt
Swogger, vice-president of plastics R&D at
the Dow Chemical Company. Within
Dow R&D, Six Sigma has been integrated
into Dow's Speed-Based Development
philosophy, which was created in the early
1990s to expedite commercialization.
"Speed requires the right leadership to
choose the right people who use the right
skills to do the right execution,"
summarizes Mr. Swogger. Six Sigma and
Speed together can be credited for aiding
new product successes at Dow, he adds.
"Six Sigma incorporates the best practice
of quality and scientific method tools that
have been around a long time. If followed
rigorously, Six Sigma gives better answers
more quickly and cost-efficiently than
other methods for solving quality
problems or designing new products. We
have hundreds of examples of solving
problems well using powerful Six Sigma
tools," claims Todd Cleary, Master Black
30
Belt for DuPont Packaging and Industrial
Polymers Division. The Polymer
Modifiers group recently launched its first
product designed using the Design for Six
Sigma (DFSS) process. DuPont™
Fusabond® AEB560D is an impact
modifier in the intermediate toughening
range for nylons. The product has both
acrylate and maleic anhydride
functionality and offers improved mould
flow and surface appearance. In designing
the product, the design team first did
probing interviews with several customers,
asking many questions to try to get to the
real customer needs and define what the
customer considered critical to quality for
them. "This step is not easy or trivial.
Customer surveys are both a science and
an art," comments Mr. Cleary. The rigour
of the Six Sigma process, which uses
statistical analysis of results from customer
interviews, helped the team to obtain
good results from the customer
information they gathered. For example,
the team used fishbone diagrams as one
way to analyze customer comments. This
tool indicated that very different
comments from different customers
actually led back to the same root need for
improved mould flow. After defining
customer needs, the team selected the best
technology to meet those needs and used
design of experiments (DOE) to optimize
it. "The rigour in the design process kept
us focused on what customers really
wanted as opposed to getting off track
with different aspects of what our product
could do," notes Penny Perry, PhD,
DuPont global market director for
Industrial Goods.
A key to Six Sigma is truly knowing what
the customer wants rather than relying on
what you think they want. "As you are
improving manufacturing quality, you
need to focus on areas your customer cares
about. When driving top-line growth, you
need to collaborate with customers to
make sure you are delivering products that
they want and that differentiate you from
your competitors," explains Mr. Moore.
The 'Voice of the Customer' tools from the
Six Sigma toolkit, such as the KJ Method,
take qualitative customer interviews and
translate them into quantitative targets.
"The Six Sigma philosophy broadens
 Six Sigma

communication with the customer beyond
sales and purchasing to other personnel. It
opens the dialogue so we can get a better
understanding of their requirements and
improve customer satisfaction," says Mr.
Moore.
“At the customer, for the customer” allows
companies to offer value to the customer
beyond the product being sold and to
increase the value of the customer-supplier
relationship. Crompton used Six Sigma at
a customer's facility to help them increase
compounding production rates, for
example. Crompton personnel helped the
customer design an experiment to
understand the variables of both the
product formulation and the extrusion
process in order to optimize the system,
explains Mr. Moore. "Six Sigma allows us,
in a meaningful way, to demonstrate our
commitment to helping customers and to
gain better overall alignment and 'shared
purpose' with them. Specifically, Six Sigma
allows better definition of the 'problem',
allows for the use of data rather than
emotions in critical decision-making, and
provides a platform from which to manage
consistent improvements. Examples of
projects working with customers include
development of new products and
improved line speeds," says Dow's Mr.
Swogger. At DuPont, an increasing
number of Six Sigma projects are done
with customers. "We work closely with
customer teams to improve business results
in ways that reward both the customers
and DuPont. These project successes most
often result in strengthened customer
relations and preference for DuPont
products and services," comments John
Stowell, corporate communications
consultant for Six Sigma at DuPont. For
example, DuPont formed a Six Sigma team
with a customer to improve a liquid
packaging application in which the end-
users were having difficulty opening the
bottle. A DuPont Black Belt led the
process to define the problem, measure
and set specifications and pilot test
designs. The customer then chose the
solution that fit them best, explains Mr.
Cleary. "The truly successful [Six Sigma]
efforts evolve with a focus on providing
value to customers and making them more
successful. This clearly provides the
strongest foundation for profit
enhancement," concludes Myles Odaniell,
executive vice president at Crompton
Corporation's Specialty Chemicals
division.
Contacts:
Crompton Corporation
Website: www.crompton.com
The Dow Chemical Company
Tel: +1 800 441 4369
Website: www.dowpolyolefins.com
DuPont Packaging and Industrial Polymers
Tel: +1 800 438 7225 (USA)
Tel: +41 22 717 5111 (Europe)
Website: www.polymermodifiers.dupont.com
Website: www.dupont.com
iSixSigma.com
Website: www.iSixSigma.com
Six Sigma Academy
Website: www.6-sigma.com
Time Based Management Consulting Group
Website: www.tbmcg.com

Table 1:Training your business or organization

Copyright © 2000-2004 iSixSigma LLC - All Rights Reserved

Reproduced with permission of iSixSigma.com

Group Major topics Approximate cost per person Duration

Management team and
champions
Selected Six Sigma leaders
(Black Belts and Master
Black Belts)
All Employees
Six Sigma overview $1,000-$2,500 1-5days
Benefits and case studies
How to implement Six Sigma
Tools and resources
Six Sigma overview $12,000-$50,000 4 weeks delivered over a
Six Sigma methodology and tools period of 2-6 months
Statistics training
Computer application training
Project selection and execution
Six Sigma overview Variable, depending on if taught 0.5-1day
Benefits in-house or if consultant
What to expect going forward (approximately $2,000 per day
Simple case study and exercise plus expenses) is used

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