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Making the Case for Quality
by Janet Jacobsen
Just months before severe
business conditions
threatened the companys
economic future, Cummins
Inc. deployed an all-
encompassing Six Sigma
program.
Using three versions of Six
Sigma, (Technology
Development for Six Sigma,
DMAIC, and Design for Six
Sigma) Cummins has saved
nearly $1 billion through the
completion of nearly 5,000
improvement projects.
While Six Sigma is
commonly used to improve
internal production
processes, Cummins extends
this quality methodology to
every facet of its business
and beyond, to both
customers and suppliers.
At a Glance . . .
Six Sigma Saves Nearly $1 Billion,
Key Customers, and a Company
The year is 2001 and the perfect storm of adverse business factorstightening fuel emission stan-
dards, the September 11 attacks, Y2K expenses, and an oncoming recessionall converge and threaten
the future of Cummins Inc. The Columbus, Indiana, based diesel engine company was in jeopardy after
losing nearly 72% of its core business, heavy-duty trucks, in 2001.
Fortunately, under the direction of new CEO Tim Solso, Cummins had recently launched an all-
encompassing Six Sigma initiative in 2000, which ultimately, in Solsos words, saved the company.
And, in the following years, Six Sigma has saved much more, as 5,000 Six Sigma projects completed
in all parts of the business across the world have resulted in nearly $1 billion in savings.
About Cummins Inc.
Founded in 1919, Cummins is a global power leader that designs, manufactures, sells, and services
diesel engines and related technology. Cummins serves its customers through a network of 550
company-owned and independent distributor facilities and 5,000 dealer locations in more than 160
countries and territories. Due in part to its far-reaching Six Sigma program, Cummins enjoyed its
most profitable year in 2005 as it earned $550 million on sales of nearly $10 billion.
But the companys financial picture wasnt as positive when Solso took the reins as CEO in 2000. With
changing market conditions and tightening fuel emission standardsSolso knew that greater attention
to detail was needed to improve the business. After speaking to other CEOs about Six Sigma and
studying the stunning results at General Electric, Solso and his team, including George Strodtbeck,
executive director of corporate quality at Cummins, launched the companys first Six Sigma Black Belt
projects in January 2000.
What is Six Sigma?
This fact-based, data-driven philosophy of quality improvement values defect prevention over
defect detection.
Six Sigma quality performance means no more than 3.4 defects per million opportunities.
It drives customer satisfaction and bottom-line results by reducing variation and waste, thereby
promoting a competitive advantage.
Six Sigma applies anywhere that variation and waste exist, so employees at all levels of a business
can play important roles in Six Sigma projects.
Common Six Sigma Themes
Six Sigma places an emphasis on the DMAIC approach (define,
measure, analyze, improve, and control) to problem solving.
Organizations using Six Sigma often utilize teams that are
assigned well-defined projects with a direct impact on the
bottom line.
Upper management typically supports Six Sigma as a key
business strategy.
Cummins All-Encompassing Approach to Six Sigma
At Cummins, the scope of Six Sigma goes well beyond the manu-
facturing floorit extends to every facet of the companys business,
from the accounting and legal departments to manufacturing units to
human resources and now even to customers and suppliers. From
the beginning we decided to implement Six Sigma across the com-
pany and use it as the process improvement methodology. We took a
leap of faith that it would apply every place, notes Strodtbeck who
directs the companys Six Sigma efforts.
From day one, he explains, Cummins has adhered to a consistent
strategy with the direction for Six Sigma coming from the corpo-
rate level and execution of that strategy happening locally, whether
the site is in Indiana or Australia. To ensure consistency of its Six
Sigma methodology, Cummins uses the same training for both
Green Belts and Black Belts throughout its worldwide operations.
To date, the company has:
3,700 employees who have completed Six Sigma training,
500 Black Belts, and
65 Master Black Belts.
This cadre of belts, as they are referred to at Cummins, are assigned to
one of three versions of Six Sigma utilized by the company:
Technology Development for Six Sigma,
DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control), and
Design for Six Sigma.
Cummins purposefully views Six Sigma as a tool for business
success as opposed to a training program. Weve kept the train-
ing very specific; if you are going to receive training to be a belt,
then you are going to work on (Six Sigma) projects for the
business, emphasizes Strodtbeck.
A Six Sigma Culture Change
For a companywide initiative such as Six Sigma to take root and
flourish, a cultural change that persuades employees at all levels to
embrace that change is vital. Strodtbeck says that Cummins staff,
from senior leaders to line floor supervisors, use data for informed
daily decisions using Six Sigma methodology. Of course, in an
organization with more than 29,000 employees, some resistance
and skepticism is expected. After various continuous improvement
initiatives and training throughout the years, there was a high level
of skepticism that Six Sigma was just another quality program of
the month that would eventually fade.
Paul Wiczynski, a Master Black Belt for the Design for Six Sigma
program in the heavy-duty engine division of the company, says that
some employees jumped on board with Six Sigma right away, while
some decide to wait and watch before getting involved. Some wait
a little longer and some dont want to participate at all. Thats one of
the things that you learn to deal with as a belt; you cant slice out
the ones who dont want to participate, Wiczynski notes.
To encourage employees to support Six Sigma, Strodtbeck says that
beginning in 2008 Cummins employees working for promotions to
critical positions that are identified as level 10 or higher must have
earned Six Sigma certification at one of four classifications:
Sponsor
Green Belt
Black Belt
Master Black Belt
Six Sigma Project Solves Production Issue
As employees began to fully embrace the Six Sigma methodol-
ogy at Cummins, they saw the results of improvement projects
firsthand. At one Cummins manufacturing facility, management
detected that engine production was decreasing during shift
changes and before and after the production workers breaks, so
a Green Belt was assigned to address this issue.
The Green Belt, using various control charts, studied the production
decreases during shift times and before and after breaks, explains
Megan Henry, a Master Black Belt working in the companys
engine business for midrange products. Using hard data gathered
by the Green Belt on production numbers, management was able to
demonstrate to the union the real loss of engine production.
It made it easier to negotiate new policies by using data to
demonstrate areas of concern; using Six Sigma took a lot of the
politics out of the issue, explains Henry, who helped with the
data analysis. Once new break policies were implemented and
the Six Sigma project was completed, Henry says that production
at this facility increased by nine engines per day, an improvement
of nearly 1.4%.
Supporting Customers Through Six Sigma
After nearly three years of using Six Sigma methodology,
Strodtbeck and his team felt confident enough to start working
on projects for customers. He identifies the basic criteria for sup-
porting customers with a Six Sigma improvement project:
The customer must identify the problem; they come to
Cummins with the issue.
Ideally, the problem was caused by Cummins or is an issue
on which Cummins can have an impact.
The customer must be willing to share data concerning the
problem.
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Interestingly, one of the biggest customer projects completed at
Cummins was for the benefit of a customer who hadnt pur-
chased a single Cummins product. This company had recently
taken over a competitor that exclusively used Cummins engines.
When the customer brought an engine servicing issue to
Cummins attention, a Cummins Black Belt was sent in to work
through the issue. The company was so pleased with the proj-
ects results that it truly became a top customerplacing a large
order followed by a second shortly thereafter.
This is about making quality better for both customers and
suppliers and driving the total supply chain to a higher level of
performance. Well also be more competitive because we can do
things for customers that others wont do, says Strodtbeck of his
companys commitment to supporting customers through
Six Sigma.
Using the DMAIC Approach to Solving
Customer Issues
Cummins frequently uses the DMAIC problem-solving approach
to tackle customer-related problems. The company uses the cus-
tomers measures for a specific improvement and then holds the
belts accountable to deliver that for the customer, explains
Henry. With their traditional before and after measurements,
DMAIC projects are well suited for customers because they can
easily show the delivered improvement, she adds.
One Cummins Six Sigma success story involves a major cus-
tomer, Daimler Chrysler with its Dodge Ram pickup. Chrysler
and Cummins each monitor warranty failures monthly and both
companies detected a high number of warranty claims for faulty
fuel transfer pumps on this pickup model.
A Six Sigma belt was tasked
to investigate and ultimately
reduce the lift pump failures
in the Cummins diesel
engines supplied to Chrysler.
The belt determined that
vibrations were a key cause
for the failure of the pumps.
The belt set up vibration
measurements to test alterna-
tive locations for the fuel pump. Eventually, an alternative
location was determined, moving the fuel pump from the engine
to the fuel tank.
It was about a 17% failure rate over the entire warranty period
[before the Six Sigma project]. It has essentially dropped to
nothing with the new pump location, Henry reports. She says
that while total savings average $900,000 per year, its equally
important to note that the customers trucks are on the road more
and in the shop less. This improvement project reduced peak
transfer pump vibration on the vehicles from more than 8.0 Grms
to less than 1.0 Grms, shown in Figure 1, without impacting
vehicle-starting performance (Grms represents root-mean-square
acceleration).
Lessons Learned
While Cummins has enjoyed outstanding results from its Six
Sigma program, Strodtbeck identifies two areas in which the
company could have initially performed better.
1. Project SelectionWe underestimated the importance of
project selectionof having clear project selection processes
tied to the goals and objectives of the business unit,
Strodtbeck notes. He says that if he had to do it all again,
hed spend six months working with leaders around the com-
pany developing project ideas that were critical to what those
leaders were trying to achieve in their businesses and then
drive the Six Sigma projects from there. Strodtbeck laments
getting started with a brainstorming, random selection of the
problem-of-the-day approach, and wryly says hes been in the
process of stopping this ineffective approach for five years!
2. Control PlansCummins, according to Strodtbeck, also
underemphasized the significance of the control plan follow-
ing the project and the need to audit control plans after the
belt completes the project. He recommends embedding
tighter long-term audit control plans into the system right
from the beginning.
Sustaining the Gains
Its these long-term control plans that are helping the company to
sustain the impressive gains made through thousands of Six
Sigma projects. As Henry explains, if it was important enough
for a Six Sigma project, then it must be tied to some sort of busi-
ness measure that should be monitored regularlyweekly,
monthly, or quarterly. We try to automate that business measure
as much as we can, not taking away time for other improve-
ments. Its not the belt, but the process owner who is charged
with this ongoing monitoring, Henry emphasizes.
As the Six Sigma program at Cummins has matured, the team
has learned more effective ways of engaging process owners.
Some facilities have a very formal signoff procedure after a Six
Sigma project is completed and the process owners commit to
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O
v
e
r
a
l
l

L
e
v
e
l

(
G
r
m
s
)
DCX Lift Pump Vibration Measurement
Truck #5989 Chassis Dyno, Full Load, Sweep Up
Overall Level Accel Z-axis
Engine speed (RPM)
500 1000
0.000
2.000
4.000
6.000
8.000
10.000
12.000
1500 2000 2500 3000 3500
On-Engine Lift Pump
In-Tank Lift Pump
On-Engine Lift Pump
In-Tank Lift Pump
Figure 1 Vibration Reduction Results for Dodge Ram
Pickup Project
For a detailed account of another Six
Sigma project for Daimler Chrysler,
see the case study Cummins Six
Sigma Project Results in a Smoother
Ride for Dodge Ram Pickup.
the ongoing monitoring required in the long-term control plan.
Others are more informal, where the belt and the process owner
simply sit down and discuss the control plan. According to
Henry, the more formal signoff process tends to enjoy the most
success at her organization.
The Future of Six Sigma at Cummins
In the next five years the goal at Cummins is to move into a
structure where one-third of the companys Six Sigma projects
are customer focused, one-third are internal projects, and the
final third are projects completed for suppliers. The real value
and infinite source of opportunity is working on projects for
suppliers and customers, Strodtbeck notes.
Noting that leading Cummins Six Sigma program is probably
the most challenging thing hes ever done from a large company
perspective, Strodtbeck advises other quality leaders to take on
Six Sigma only if they are genuinely serious about it. He says
that Cummins began Six Sigma just in time so that when the
critical events of 2001 converged, there was enough happening
with Six Sigma that it had an impact. We were making a bet
that this (Six Sigma) was the right thing to do, recalls
Strodtbeck. By all accounts, that bet was a winner!
For More Information
Learn more about Cummins Inc. by visiting the companys
Web site at www.cummins.com.
Read the companion case studies to this piece:
Cummins Six Sigma Project Results in a Smoother Ride
for Dodge Ram Pickup
Cummins Capitalizes on Six Sigma to Minimize Long-
Term Interest Rate Risk
See the ASQ Web site at www.asq.org for more information
on Six Sigma.
Contributing to This Article
Megan Henry is currently the Master Black Belt for Cummins
midrange engine business in southern Indiana supporting manu-
facturing, engineering, and marketing/sales. She has been a
Master Black Belt for two years. Previously she worked as a
Black Belt at the Cummins Columbus midrange engine plant,
completing seven projects. Henry joined Cummins in 1998 after
graduating from the University of Michigan with a masters
degree in industrial and operations engineering.
George Strodtbeck has served as the executive director of cor-
porate quality at Cummins since May 2004. Hes led the
worldwide implementation of Six Sigma from the companys
inception of the program in July 1999. A graduate of the U.S.
Military Academy at West Point, Strodtbeck served in the U.S.
Army for 10 years where he also earned a masters degree in
international relations. After six years at Pepsi as fleet mainte-
nance and distribution area manager, he joined Cummins in 1992
as a member of the corporate quality department.
Paul Wiczynski is a Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) Master Black
Belt in the heavy-duty quality organization at Cummins. He has
been trained as a DFSS Green Belt and a DMAIC (Define,
Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control) Black Belt. He is also
certified as an ASQ Black Belt. Wiczynski graduated from
Michigan Technological University in 1985 with his masters
degree in mechanical engineering. He joined Cummins in 1986
after working for General Motors.
About the Author
Janet Jacobsen is a freelance writer specializing in quality and
compliance topics. A graduate of Drake University, she resides
in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
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