In this case study, DEMO was applied in a real lean six sigma project. The study was conducted in the Merck organisation, a worldwide pharmaceutical company with a research lab and plant for the production of birth control pills in the Netherlands. The case study was conducted at this site and was intended to solve “order reliability” problems. While the general cause of low order reliability w...

This article is analyzing three methodologies used for identification and resolving of large and complex quality problems: Six Sigma, Shainin and KepnerTregoe problem management. To compare these three methodologies the general quality improvement roadmap was defined consisting of 5 phases: Problem definition, Diagnosis, Generation and selection of solutions, Enhancement and New routines. The a...

In today’s competitive market, businesses are adopting new practices like Design for Six Sigma (DFSS), a customer driven, structured methodology for faster-to-market, higher quality, and less costly new products and services. Monte Carlo simulation and stochastic optimization can help DFSS practitioners understand the variation inherent in a new technology, process, or product, and can be used ...

It has been widely investigated that the application of operations management techniques is not only based on technical factors, but it is mainly associated with organizational factors such as culture, previous policies and procedures, etc. A very good example of promisng operations practices is Lean Six Sigma (L6σ). The main research question for L6σ is related to its liabilities regarding its...

Enterprise Modeling (EM) is currently in operation either as a technique to represent and understand the structure and behavior of the enterprise, or as a technique to analyze business processes, and in many cases as support technique for business process reengineering. However, EM architectures and methods for Enterprise Engineering can also used to support new management techniques like SIX S...

This work is about Six Sigma (SS) implementation in Mexico by using an empirical study. Main goals are to analyze the degree of importance of the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) of SS and to examine if these factors are grouped in some way. A literature research and a survey were conducted to capture SS practitioner’s viewpoint about CSFs in SS implementation and their impact on the performance...

This paper develops and illustrates a case in manufacturing management, using the instance of justifying quality improvement of ball bearings—a common precision product whose correct manufacture and assembly greatly affects their efficiency, utility and life. Mass-produced at high speed, bearings extend a fertile domain for benefiting from QA apparatus including Gage R&R, ISO standards, samplin...

Despite the pervasiveness of Six Sigma program implementations, there is increasing concern about implementation failures. One reason many Six Sigma programs fail is because an implementation model on how to effectively guide the implementation of these programs is lacking. Using a successful Six Sigma program in a Network Technology company, the purpose of this research is to develop an effect...