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Table of Contents
Lean Overview

 Lean Today
 Early Developments
 The Ford System
 Lean Manufacturing
 Ideas for successful implementation of Lean
 Objectives of Lean

5 why

 Benefits of the 5 Whys

 When Is 5 Whys Most Useful?
 How to Complete the 5 Whys
 5 Whys Examples

7 Quality Tools

 Pareto chart
 Check sheet
 Cause-and-effect Analysis / Fishbone / Ishikawa diagram
 Control chart
 Histogram
 Scatter diagram
 Stratification (alternately, flow chart or run chart)

8 D- 8 Disciplines of Problem solving

8 Wastes of Lean

3 M – Muda, Muri, Mura

VSM- Value stream Mapping

 Present state flow chart

 Future state flow chart
 VSM Symbols
 Data boxes in VSM Map and meanings

Time & Motion studies-

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Gantt Chart-

Work Breakdown structure-

5S

Andon

Theory of Constraints

 Key assumption

Gemba

Heijunka

Jidoka

Kanban-

 Electronic Kanban
 Three-bin system

Voice of Customer

Yokoten

Chaku – Chaku

Hanedashi

Kaizen

KPI – Key Performance Indicator

JIT – Just in Time

Standard Work

Continuous Flow

SMART Goals

PDCA Cycle

Poka Yoke

SMED- Single Minute exchange of Die

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TPM – Total Productive Maintenance

 Objectives of Total productive maintenance

 WHAT IS OEE?
 TPM Vs TQM

CAPA- Corrective & Preventive Actions

COPQ- Cost of Poor Quality

CONC – Cost of Non Conformance

Critical to Customer – CTC

Critical To Quality – CTQ

Thought Map (TMAP)

 Why Should the TMAP Be Used?

 How to Create a Thought Process Map?
 Process Mapping

SIPOC –

FMEA- Failure mode effect analysis

 When to Use FMEA

Six Sigma

 DMAIC Vs DMADV

DOE – Design of Experiments

TAKT Time – “Time Acquired to Complete Activity”

RIE – Rapid Improvement Event

 Benefits of RIE

References

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Lean Overview
Although there are instances of rigorous process thinking in manufacturing all the way back to the Arsenal
in Venice in the 1450s, the first person to truly integrate an entire production process was Henry Ford. At
Highland Park, MI, in 1913 he married consistently interchangeable parts with standard work and moving
conveyance to create what he called flow production. The public grasped this in the dramatic form of the
moving assembly line, but from the standpoint of the manufacturing engineer the breakthroughs actually
went much further.
Ford lined up fabrication steps in process sequence wherever possible using special-purpose machines and
go/no-go gauges to fabricate and assemble the components going into the vehicle within a few minutes,
and deliver perfectly fitting components directly to line-side. This was a truly revolutionary break from the
shop practices of the American System that consisted of general-purpose machines grouped by process,
which made parts that eventually found their way into finished products after a good bit of tinkering (fitting)
in subassembly and final assembly.
The problem with Ford’s system was not the flow: He was able to turn the inventories of the entire company
every few days. Rather it was his inability to provide variety. The Model T was not just limited to one color. It
was also limited to one specification so that all Model T chassis were essentially identical up through the end
of production in 1926. (The customer did have a choice of four or five body styles, a drop-on feature from
outside suppliers added at the very end of the production line.) Indeed, it appears that practically every
machine in the Ford Motor Company worked on a single part number, and there were essentially no
changeovers.
When the world wanted variety, including model cycles shorter than the 19 years for the Model T, Ford
seemed to lose his way. Other automakers responded to the need for many models, each with many
options, but with production systems whose design and fabrication steps regressed toward process areas
with much longer throughput times. Over time they populated their fabrication shops with larger and larger
machines that ran faster and faster, apparently lowering costs per process step, but continually increasing
throughput times and inventories except in the rare case—like engine machining lines—where all of the
process steps could be linked and automated. Even worse, the time lags between process steps and the
complex part routings required ever more sophisticated information management systems culminating in
computerized Materials Requirements Planning (MRP) systems.
As Kiichiro Toyoda, Taiichi Ohno, and others at Toyota looked at this situation in the 1930s, and more
intensely just after World War II, it occurred to them that a series of simple innovations might make it more
possible to provide both continuity in process flow and a wide variety in product offerings. They therefore
revisited Ford’s original thinking, and invented the Toyota Production System.
This system in essence shifted the focus of the manufacturing engineer from individual machines and their
utilization, to the flow of the product through the total process. Toyota concluded that by right-sizing
machines for the actual volume needed, introducing self-monitoring machines to ensure quality,

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lining the machines up in process sequence, pioneering quick setups so each machine could make small
volumes of many part numbers, and having each process step notify the previous step of its current needs
for materials, it would be possible to obtain low cost, high variety, high quality, and very rapid throughput
times to respond to changing customer desires. Also, information management could be made much
simpler and more accurate.
The thought process of lean was thoroughly described in the book The Machine That Changed the
World(1990) by James P. Womack, Daniel Roos, and Daniel T. Jones. In a subsequent volume, Lean
Thinking(1996), James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones distilled these lean principles even further to five:
 Specify the value desired by the customer
 Identify the value stream for each product providing that value and challenge all of the wasted steps
(generally nine out of ten) currently necessary to provide it
 Make the product flow continuously through the remaining value-added steps
 Introduce pull between all steps where continuous flow is possible
 Manage toward perfection so that the number of steps and the amount of time and information
needed to serve the customer continually falls

Lean Today

As these words are written, Toyota, the leading lean exemplar in the world, stands poised to become the
largest automaker in the world in terms of overall sales. Its dominant success in everything from rising sales
and market shares in every global market, not to mention a clear lead in hybrid technology, stands as the
strongest proof of the power of lean enterprise.
This continued success has over the past two decades created an enormous demand for greater knowledge
about lean thinking. There are literally hundreds of books and papers, not to mention thousands of media
articles exploring the subject, and numerous other resources available to this growing audience.
As lean thinking continues to spread to every country in the world, leaders are also adapting the tools and
principles beyond manufacturing, to logistics and distribution, services, retail, healthcare, construction,
maintenance, and even government. Indeed, lean consciousness and methods are only beginning to take
root among senior managers and leaders in all sectors today.
Lean Manufacturing is not especially new. It derives from the Toyota Production System or Just In Time
Production, Henry Ford and other predecessors.
The lineage of Lean manufacturing and Just In Time (JIT) Production goes back to Eli Whitney and the
concept of interchangeable parts. This article traces the high points of that long history.

Early Developments

Eli Whitney is most famous as the inventor of the cotton gin. However, the gin was a minor accomplishment
compared to his perfection of interchangeable parts. Whitney developed this about 1799 when he

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took a contract from the U.S. Army for the manufacture of 10,000 muskets at the unbelievably low price
of $13.40 each.
For the next 100 years manufacturers primarily concerned themselves with individual technologies. During
this time our system of engineering drawings developed, modern machine tools were perfected and large
scale processes such as the Bessemer process for making steel held the center of attention.
As products moved from one discrete process to the next through the logistics system and within factories,
few people concerned themselves with:
 What happened between processes
 How multiple processes were arranged within the factory
 How the chain of processes functioned as a system.
 How each worker went about a task
This changed in the late 1890's with the work of early Industrial Engineers.
Frederick W. Taylor began to look at individual workers and work methods. The result was Time Study and
standardized work. He called his ideas Scientific Management. Taylor was a controversial figure. The
concept of applying science to management was sound but Taylor simply ignored the behavioral sciences.
In addition, he had a peculiar attitude towards factory workers.
Frank Gilbreth (Cheaper By The Dozen) added Motion Study and invented Process Charting. Process charts
focused attention on all work elements including those non-value added elements which normally occur
between the "official" elements.
Lillian Gilbreth brought psychology into the mix by studying the motivations of workers and how attitudes
affected the outcome of a process. There were, of course, many other contributors. These were the people
who originated the idea of "eliminating waste", a key tenet of JIT and Lean Manufacturing.

The Ford System

Starting about 1910, Ford and his right-hand-man, Charles E. Sorensen, fashioned the first comprehensive
Manufacturing Strategy. They took all the elements of a manufacturing system-- people, machines, tooling,
and products-- and arranged them in a continuous system for manufacturing the Model T automobile. Ford
was so incredibly successful he quickly became one of the world's richest men and put the world on wheels.
Ford is considered by many to be the first practitioner of Just In Time and Lean Manufacturing.
Ford's success inspired many others to copy his methods. But most of those who copied did not understand
the fundamentals. Ford assembly lines were often employed for products and processes that were
unsuitable for them.
It is even doubtful that Henry Ford himself fully understood what he had done and why it was so successful.
When the world began to change, the Ford system began to break down and Henry Ford refused to change
the system.

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For example, Ford production depended on a labor force that was so desperate for money and jobs
that workers would sacrifice their dignity and self esteem. (See Maslow & Motivation) The prosperity of the
1920's and the advent of labor unions produced conflict with the Ford system. Product proliferation also put
strains on the Ford system. Annual model changes, multiple colors, and options did not fit well in Ford
factories.
At General Motors, Alfred P. Sloan took a more pragmatic approach. He developed business and
manufacturing strategies for managing very large enterprises and dealing with variety. By the mid 1930's
General Motors had passed Ford in domination of the automotive market. Yet, many elements of Ford
production were sound, even in the new age. Ford methods were a deciding factor in the Allied victory of
World War II.
Ironically, Henry Ford hated war and refused to build armaments long after war was inevitable. However,
when Ford plants finally retooled for war production, they did so on a fantastic scale as epitomized by the
Willow Run Bomber plant that built "A bomber An Hour."
Toyota Production System
The Allied victory and the massive quantities of material behind it (see "A Bomber An Hour") caught the
attention of Japanese industrialists. They studied American production methods with particular attention to
Ford practices and the Statistical Quality Control practices of Ishikawa, Edwards Deming, and Joseph Juran.
At Toyota Motor Company, Taichii Ohno and Shigeo Shingo, began to incorporate Ford production and
other techniques into an approach called Toyota Production System or Just In Time . They recognized the
central role of inventory.
The Toyota people also recognized that the Ford system had contradictions and shortcomings, particularly
with respect to employees. With General Douglas MacAurthur actively promoting labor unions in the
occupation years, Ford's harsh attitudes and demeaning job structures were unworkable in post-war Japan.
They were also unworkable in the American context, but that would not be evident for some years. America's
"Greatest Generation" carried over attitudes from the Great Depression that made the system work in spite
of its defects.
Toyota soon discovered that factory workers had far more to contribute than just muscle power. This
discovery probably originated in the Quality Circle movement. Ishikawa, Deming, and Juran all made major
contributions to the quality movement. It culminated in team development and cellular manufacturing.
Another key discovery involved product variety. The Ford system was built around a single, never changing
product. It did not cope well with multiple or new products.
Shingo, at Ohno's suggestion, went to work on the setup and changeover problem. Reducing setups to
minutes and seconds allowed small batches and an almost continuous flow like the original Ford concept. It
introduced a flexibility that Henry Ford thought he did not need.
All of this took place between about 1949 and 1975. To some extent it spread to other Japanese companies.
When the productivity and quality gains became evident to the outside world, American

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executives traveled to Japan to study it.
They brought back, mostly, the superficial aspects like kanban cards and quality circles. Most early attempts
to emulate Toyota failed because they were not integrated into a complete system and because few
understood the underlying principles.
Norman Bodek first published the works of Shingo and Ohno in English. He did much to transfer this
knowledge and build awareness in the Western world. Robert Hall and Richard Schonberger also wrote
popular books.
World Class Manufacturing
By the 1980's some American manufacturers, such as Omark Industries, General Electric and Kawasaki
(Lincoln, Nebraska) were achieving success.
Consultants took up the campaign and acronyms sprouted like weeds: World Class Manufacturing
(WCM),Stockless Production, Continuous Flow Manufacturing (CFM), and many other names all referred to
systems that were, essentially, Toyota Production.
Gradually, a knowledge and experience base developed and success stories became more frequent.

Lean Manufacturing

In 1990 James Womack wrote a book called "The Machine That Changed The World". Womack's book was a
straightforward account of the history of automobile manufacturing combined with a comparative study of
Japanese, American, and European automotive assembly plants. What was new was a phrase-- "Lean
Manufacturing."
Lean Manufacturing caught the imagination of manufacturing people in many countries. Lean
implementations are now commonplace. The knowledge and experience base is expanding rapidly.
The essential elements of Lean Manufacturing are described at our page "Principles of Lean Manufacturing."
They do not substantially differ from the techniques developed by Ohno, Shingo and the people at Toyota.
The application in any specific factory does change. Just as many firms copied Ford techniques in slavish and
unthinking ways, many firms copy Toyota's techniques in slavish and unthinking ways and with poor results.
Our series of articles on implementation includes a "Mental Model" to assist the thinking process and
guidance on strategy and planning.

Ideas for successful implementation of Lean

You can’t PowerPoint your way to Lean

Ask for a definition of Lean management from 3 different people and you’ll likely get three different
answers. Experts tell us that lean organizations have better systems and experience improved profitability.
Customer satisfaction, of course, is considered the central focus in the lean approach and the idea
is to remove any activities that the customer will not be willing to pay for (i.e. does not add value to the

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customer). Some commonly stated goals of Lean are improving quality, increasing efficiency by
eliminating “waste” and decreasing costs. But beyond these goals, which most everyone would agree on, the
strategic elements of Lean can be quite complex, and comprise multiple elements.
The key is to have a plan and get started. The path to lean will not be straight and it never ends. Don't let
the pursuit of perfection get in the way of being “better” today.
But the biggest mistake that some people make is looking at Lean as only a set of tools or something that
you do and then are done with – a bit like a project. Instead, the real gains come when it becomes a way of
managing and is part of the fabric of your company.
Here are a few ideas on how you can successfully implement Lean management:

#1: Start with action in the technical system; follow quickly with cultural change
In order to make a strategic Lean approach work, process operators have to work in process related teams,
rather than their current functional ones. Teams need to become truly self-directed, allowing problems to
pick the people required to solve them from within the teams rather than management picking the
problems and assigning them to people to solve.
This means starting with the tools but quickly realizing that Lean requires a change in thinking and
managing. Most lean implementation failures are not due to failure to grasp the tools and techniques but a
failure of change management.
#2: Ensure that all members of staff are correctly coached

This avoids conflict and delivers a management group that can facilitate change with the teams working for
them and so remove waste efficiently. In practice, this means learn by doing first and training second.
Unfortunately, you cannot PowerPoint your way to Lean. The Toyota Way – often held up as the epitome of
Lean - is about learning by doing. In the early stages of lean transformation there should be at least 80%
doing and 20% training and informing.
The Toyota approach to training, for instance, is to put people in difficult situations and let them solve their
way out of the problems. The Oliver Wight Approach, on the other hand, is to run an action-based learning
event to both educate the team in Lean and its application to a process. This is achieved by facilitating the
team in creating value stream maps of the current process prior to goal setting and the team creating a new
Lean process, along with an implementation plan and budget.
#3: Start with value stream pilots to demonstrate lean as a system and provide a “go see” model

One of the key lean tools is that of “Value Stream Mapping”. This tool when used correctly enables us to
create a map of both value and waste in a given process. This map can then be used to understand the
waste and its causes before moving on to remove it so that value flows without interruption of waste
When developing the current state map, future state map, and action plan for implementation, use a cross-
functional group consisting of managers who can authorize resources and doers who are part of the process
being mapped. Value stream mapping should be applied only to specific product families that

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will be immediately transformed.
#4: Use Kaizen workshops to teach and make rapid changes

Use a talented and experienced facilitator who has a deep understanding of lean tools and philosophy but
keep training focused on a specific problem. This helps to keep the training relevant to real world situations
and ensures that there are tangible outcomes from training activity. The kaizen might have an objective to
reduce setup time from 80 minutes to 60 minutes in four days, for instance.
#5: Organize around value streams

In most organizations, management is organized by process or function. In other words, managers own
certain steps in a process but nobody is responsible for the entire value stream. In the second edition of
Lean Thinking (2003), the authors recommend a matrix organization where there are still heads of
departments but also value stream managers, similar to Toyota’s chief engineer system. Someone with real
leadership skills and a deep understanding of the product and process must be responsible for the process
of creating value for customers and must be accountable to the customer.
#6: Develop communication and feedback channels for everyone

This will aid in get support through involvement of people at various level by sharing their ideas to built
synergy to move positively ahead in the lean journey.
#7: Make it mandatory

If a company looks at Lean transformation as a “nice to do” in spare time or as a voluntary activity, it will
simply not happen. It needs to be mandatory and people need to be given the space to think about
improvements they can make.
#8: Keep leadership focused on long-term learning

A crisis may prompt a lean movement, but may not be enough to turn a company around. Once the crisis
has passed it can be all too tempting to go back to business as usual. Company leadership has to stay
focused on Lean for the long term – not just to solve one problem.
#9: Prepare for resistance from middle management during implementation

Middle management resistance to change is the number 1 obstacle to implementing lean production,
according to a survey conducted by the Lean Enterprise Institute (LEI), a nonprofit management research
centre.
Over 36 percent of respondents to LEI’s annual surveys about lean business system implementation cited
middle management as the top obstacle to lean implementation (the other top obstacles lack of
implementation know-how [31 percent], and employee resistance [27.7 percent]).
This was in contrast to last year's survey, which found backsliding to the old ways of working as the primary
obstacle to introducing lean management principles, followed by lack of implementation know-how and
middle management resistance. Backsliding dropped to sixth place in this year's survey.

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#10: Be opportunistic in identifying opportunities for big financial impact

When a company does not yet believe in the lean philosophy heart and soul, it is particularly important to
achieve some big wins. Make sure you have dedicated time to identifying those opportunities – they’ll be
important for convincing people that Lean really can make an important difference.
#11: Realign metrics from a value stream perspective

Eliminate non-lean metrics that are wreaking havoc with those seriously invested in improving operational
excellence. Next measure a variety of value stream metrics from lead time to inventory levels to first-pass
quality.
#12: Build on your company’s roots to develop your own “way”

Toyota has its way. You need to have your way. When Toyota works with companies to teach TPS, they insist
that the companies develop their own system. Someone did something right to get you to this point. Build
on that. Build on your company’s heritage to identify what you stand for.
Lean will cut across functional/departmental boundaries which will eventually lead to a restructuring of
responsibility for the major business processes rather than the current functional ownership of a
department’s activity.
#13: Hire or develop lean leaders and develop a succession system

The key here is not to take ownership of the plan but to provide conditions in which the team can
implement Lean. The aim of this approach is to create a nucleus of people who are trained in the Lean tools
and techniques, who have experienced Lean through hands-on application and who can then with some
external support move on to help others create lean processes by transferring their knowledge.
#14: Leaders must thoroughly understand, believe in, and live the company’s “way”

All leaders must understand the work in detail and know how to involve people. If the top is not driving the
transformation, it will not happen. Then, to keep the results sustainable you must have a system for both
result- based and process based performance measurement including measures for velocity of the overall
business process and the individual business processes.
#15: Create a positive atmosphere

Be tolerant towards mistakes committed in lean environment with a supportive and learning attitude. Have
patience with progress as this will be key to get results and also try to create a blame free supportive
environment. Have courage to take risks at crucial stages to push things and resources to meet the plan and
achieve results.
#16: Use experts for teaching and getting quick results

The word “sensei” is used in Japan with some reverence to refer to a teacher who has mastered the subject.
A company needs a sensei to provide technical assistance and change management advice when it is trying
something for the first time to help facilitate the transformation, get quick results, and keep the

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momentum building.
A good teacher will not do it all for you. You need to get lean knowledge into your company, either by
hiring experts or by hiring outside experts as consultants. To develop a lean learning enterprise you need to
build internal expertise—senior executives, improvement experts, and group leaders who believe in the
philosophy and will spread lean throughout the organization over time
We find that this approach is essential as education without application is so often a waste for all. Support at
this stage will come in the form of middle management facilitation to ensure that the team is able to deliver
on time against their implementation plan.
#17: Be Data Driven

Without data, you are left with opinions. Make sure that all decisions taken to optimize processes are based
on sound data. This assists in taking the emotion out of key decisions and promotes acceptance.
#18: Track performance and make results visible

Real time data tracking is best. Ensure all processes have key measures and review them regularly.
#19: Benchmark with other companies

Visit other companies that have successfully implemented lean to get ideas and understanding; other
companies are often delighted to present their lean implementation progress. Networking is key to ensure
global understanding with other companies implementing Lean.
#20: Set up a Lean Enterprise Steering Team

This team would be responsible to provide support in the planning, resourcing, implementation, and follow-
up accountability for implementation. The steering team is often identical to the normal line management
team. The internal resources and external consultants would provide consulting support to the team. This
infrastructure would resolve inter-departmental issues
#21 : Don't celebrate too early or give up too soon

Lean is a journey. When you've optimized your process - start again! The aim is to build a culture of
continuous improvement for sustainability.

Objectives of Lean

The objectives and drivers of implementing a lean production system are to achieve a competitive
advantage through cost reduction and efficient service of customer demands. Kaizen initiatives or blitzes are
an effective way of establishing improvement goals or gathering ideas for improvements. Many
organizations face challenges within their operations and supply chains in achieving this, and will find that
implementing a lean productive system is not only about cutting costs or improving customer satisfaction,
but also involve changing company culture and adopting a unified team approach. This is where
organizations sometimes fail in creating a sustainable lean organization.

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The organization that embarks on adopting a lean culture and lean manufacturing process can do so
with the aid of consultants and lean manufacturing training and education. The organization should have
among its goals the following:
 Eliminate waste within the organization; this refers to all types of waste including downtime,
sometimes referred to as the seven types of waste.
 Reduce costs within its operations, not only in production but also office and administrative
expenses.
 Improve Customer satisfaction; this should be the main driver of implementing lean, as
differentiation through customer service can be a powerful competitive advantage. This can be
achieved through reduction in lead times, increase in product and service quality and price
competitiveness.
 It is important to use the SMART goal setting framework to establish the goals of the organization
relating to the goals above as every business and operation will be different.

If an organization is able to achieve these three main goals it will truly have a competitive advantage in the
marketplace that will enable it to achieve above average industry returns. Achieving it is not easy and this
site aims to provide the knowledge and examples on how to achieve this.
In this article we will focus on many lean concepts, their use and benefits in the industries today. All those
concepts will help readers to enhance on focus on waste reduction, Efficiency improvement and making best
out of on hand resources. The concepts and tools will help to identify the problem and proper methodology
to have its solution.

5 why
5 Whys is an iterative interrogative technique used to explore the cause-and-effect relationships underlying
a particular problem. The primary goal of the technique is to determine the root cause of a defect or
problem by repeating the question "Why?" Each question forms the basis of the next question. The "5" in
the name derives from an empirical observation on the number of iterations typically required to resolve the
problem.
The technique was formally developed by Sakichi Toyoda and was used within the Toyota Motor
Corporation during the evolution of its manufacturing methodologies. In other companies, it appears in
other forms. Under Ricardo Semler, Semco practices "three whys" and broadens the practice to cover goal
setting and decision making

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Not all problems have a single root cause. If one wishes to uncover multiple root causes, the method
must be repeated asking a different sequence of questions each time.
The method provides no hard and fast rules about what lines of questions to explore, or how long to
continue the search for additional root causes. Thus, even when the method is closely followed, the outcome
still depends upon the knowledge and persistence of the people involved.
Asking “Why?” may be a favorite technique of your three year old child in driving you crazy, but it could
teach you a valuable Six Sigma quality lesson. The 5 Whys is a technique used in the Analyze phase of the
Six Sigma DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) methodology. It is a great Six Sigma tool that
does not involve data segmentation, hypothesis testing, regression or other advanced statistical tools, and in
many cases can be completed without a data collection plan.
By repeatedly asking the question “Why” (five is a good rule of thumb), you can peel away the layers of
symptoms which can lead to the root cause of a problem. Very often the ostensible reason for a problem
will lead you to another question. Although this technique is called “5 Whys,” you may find that you will
need to ask the question fewer or more times than five before you find the issue related to a problem.

Benefits of the 5 Whys

 Help identify the root cause of a problem.

 Determine the relationship between different root causes of a problem.
 One of the simplest tools; easy to complete without statistical analysis.

When Is 5 Whys Most Useful?

 When problems involve human factors or interactions.

 In day-to-day business life; can be used within or without a Six Sigma project.

How to Complete the 5 Whys

 Write down the specific problem. Writing the issue helps you formalize the problem and describe it
completely. It also helps a team focus on the same problem.
 Ask Why the problem happens and write the answer down below the problem.
 If the answer you just provided doesn’t identify the root cause of the problem that you wrote down
in Step 1, ask Why again and write that answer down.
 Loop back to step 3 until the team is in agreement that the problem’s root cause is identified. Again,
this may take fewer or more times than five Whys.

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5 Whys Examples

Problem Statement: Customers are unhappy because they are being shipped products that don’t meet
their specifications.
1. Why are customers being shipped bad products?
– Because manufacturing built the products to a specification that is different from what the customer and
the sales person agreed to.
2. Why did manufacturing build the products to a different specification than that of sales?
– Because the sales person expedites work on the shop floor by calling the head of manufacturing directly to
begin work. An error happened when the specifications were being communicated or written down.
3. Why does the sales person call the head of manufacturing directly to start work instead of following the
procedure established in the company?
– Because the “start work” form requires the sales director’s approval before work can begin and slows the
manufacturing process (or stops it when the director is out of the office).
4. Why does the form contain an approval for the sales director?
– Because the sales director needs to be continually updated on sales for discussions with the CEO.
In this case only four Whys were required to find out that a non-value added signature authority is helping
to cause a process breakdown.
Another Example of 5 Why

7 Quality Tools
The Seven Basic Tools of Quality is a designation given to a fixed set of graphical techniques identified as
being most helpful in troubleshooting issues related to quality They are called basic because they are
suitable for people with little formal training in statistics and because they can be used to solve

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the vast majority of quality-related issues.
The 7 QC Tools are simple statistical tools used for problem solving. These tools were either developed in
Japan or introduced to Japan by the Quality Gurus such as Deming and Juran. In terms of importance, these
are the most useful. Kaoru Ishikawa has stated that these 7 tools can be used to solve 95 percent of all
problems. These tools have been the foundation of Japan's era after the Second World War.
All this tools are important tools used widely at manufacturing field to monitor the overall operation and
continuous process improvement. This tools are used to find out root causes and eliminates them, thus the
manufacturing process can be improved. The modes of defects on production line are investigated through
direct observation on the production line and statistical tools
The seven tools are:

 Pareto chart
 Check sheet
 Cause-and-effect Analysis / Fishbone / Ishikawa diagram
 Control chart
 Histogram
 Scatter diagram
 Stratification (alternately, flow chart or run chart)

1. Pareto chart

Pareto Analysis is a statistical technique in decision-making used for the selection of a limited number of
tasks that produce significant overall effect. It uses the Pareto Principle (also known as the 80/20 rule) the
idea that by doing 20% of the work you can generate 80% of the benefit of doing the entire job. In terms of
quality improvement, a large majority of problems (80%) are produced by a few key causes (20%). This is
also known as the vital few and the trivial many.

In the late 1940s quality management guru, Joseph M. Juran, suggested the principle and named it after
Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who observed that 80% of income in Italy went to 20% of the population.
Pareto later carried out surveys on a number of other countries and found to his surprise that a similar
distribution applied.

The 80/20 rule can be applied to almost anything:

 80% of customer complaints arise from 20% of your products and services.

 80% of delays in the schedule result from 20% of the possible causes of the delays.

 20% of your products and services account for 80% of your profit.

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 20% of your sales-force produces 80% of your company revenues.

 20% of a systems defects cause 80% of its problems.

The Pareto Principle has many applications in quality control. It is the basis for the Pareto diagram, one of
the key tools used in total quality control and Six Sigma.
Pareto Analysis

Eight steps to identifying the principal causes you should focus on, using Pareto Analysis:

1. Create a vertical bar chart with causes on the x-axis and count (number of occurrences) on the y-axis.

2. Arrange the bar chart in descending order of cause importance, that is, the cause with the highest
count first.

3. Calculate the cumulative count for each cause in descending order.

4. Calculate the cumulative count percentage for each cause in descending order. (Percentage
calculation: {Individual Cause Count} / {Total Causes Count} *100)

5. Create a second y-axis with percentages descending in increments of 10 from 100% to 0%.

6. Plot the cumulative count percentage of each cause on the x-axis.

7. Join the points to form a curve.

8. Draw a line at 80% on the y-axis

running parallel to the x-axis.
Then drop the line at the point
of intersection with the curve
on the x-axis. This point on the
x-axis separates the important
causes on the left (vital few)
from the less important causes
on the right (trivial many).

This is a simple example of a Pareto diagram, using sample data

showing the relative frequency of causes for errors on websites. It
enables you to see what 20% of cases are causing 80% of the problems
and where efforts should be focused to achieve the greatest
improvement. In this case, we can see that broken links, spelling errors
and missing title tags should be the focus.

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2. Check Sheet

The check sheet is a form (document) used to collect data in real time at the location where the data is
generated. The data it captures can be quantitative or qualitative. When the information is quantitative, the
check sheet is sometimes called a tally sheet.
A check sheet is a structured, prepared form for collecting and analyzing data. This is a generic tool that can
be adapted for a wide variety of purposes.
When to Use a Check Sheet

 When data can be observed and collected repeatedly by the same person or at the same location.
 When collecting data on the frequency or patterns of events, problems, defects, defect location,
defect causes, etc.
 When collecting data from a production process.
Check Sheet Procedure

 Decide what event or problem will be observed. Develop operational definitions.

 Decide when data will be collected and for how long.
 Design the form. Set it up so that data can be recorded simply by making check marks or Xs or
similar symbols and so that data do not have to be recopied for analysis.
 Label all spaces on the form.
 Test the check sheet for a short trial period to be sure it collects the appropriate data and is easy to
use.
 Each time the targeted event or problem occurs, record data on the check sheet.

Check sheet example

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3. Cause and Effect Analysis / Fishbone diagram / Ishikawa Diagram

A Cause-and Effect Diagram is a tool that shows systematic relationship between a result or a symptom or
an effect and its possible causes. It is an effective tool to systematically generate ideas about causes for
problems and to present these in a structured form. This tool was devised by Dr. Kouro Ishikawa and as
mentioned earlier is also known as Ishikawa Diagram.
Common uses of the Ishikawa diagram are product design and quality defect prevention to identify
potential factors causing an overall effect. Each cause or reason for imperfection is a source of variation.
Causes are usually grouped into major categories to identify these sources of variation. The categories
typically include
 People: Anyone involved with the process
 Methods: How the process is performed and the specific requirements for doing it, such as policies,
procedures, rules, regulations and laws
 Machines: Any equipment, computers, tools, etc. required to accomplish the job
 Materials: Raw materials, parts, pens, paper, etc. used to produce the final product
 Measurements: Data generated from the process that are used to evaluate its quality
 Environment: The conditions, such as location, time, temperature, and culture in which the process
operates.
Small example of Fishbone diagram for High Turnaround time (TAT) of a process

Fishbone

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4. Control Chart

The control chart is a graph used to study how a process changes over time. Data are plotted in time order.
A control chart always has a central line for the average, an upper line for the upper control limit and a lower
line for the lower control limit.
Control charts, also known as Shewhart charts (after Walter A. Shewhart) or process-behavior charts, in
statistical process control are tools used to determine if a manufacturing or business process is in a state of
statistical control.
If analysis of the control chart indicates that the process is currently under control (i.e., is stable, with
variation only coming from sources common to the process), then no corrections or changes to process
control parameters are needed or desired. In addition, data from the process can be used to predict the
future performance of the process. If the chart indicates that the monitored process is not in control, analysis
of the chart can help determine the sources of variation, as this will result in degraded process performance.
A process that is stable but operating outside of desired (specification) limits (e.g., scrap rates may be in
statistical control but above desired limits) needs to be improved through a deliberate effort to understand
the causes of current performance and fundamentally improve the process.

The control chart is one of the seven basic tools of quality control. Typically control charts are used for time-
series data, though they can be used for data that have logical comparability (i.e. you want to compare
samples that were taken all at the same time, or the performance of different individuals), however the type
of chart used to do this requires consideration.

A control chart consists of:

 Points representing a statistic (e.g., a mean, range, proportion) of measurements of a quality

characteristic in samples taken from the process at different times (i.e., the data)
 The mean of this statistic using all the samples is calculated (e.g., the mean of the means, mean of
the ranges, mean of the proportions)
 A centre line is drawn at the value of the mean of the statistic
 The standard error (e.g., standard deviation/sqrt(sample size) for the mean) of the statistic is also
calculated using all the samples
 Upper and lower control limits (sometimes called "natural process limits") that indicate the threshold
at which the process output is considered statistically 'unlikely' and are drawn typically at 3 standard
errors from the centre line.

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Control Chart

Control charts define two types of process variation:

 Common cause variation (Internal causes of process)
 Special cause variation (external sources that affect process performance )

5. Histogram

A histogram is a graphical representation of the distribution of numerical data. It is an estimate of the

probability distribution of a continuous variable (quantitative variable) and was first introduced by Karl
Pearson.
Histograms or Frequency Distribution Diagrams are bar charts showing the distribution pattern of
observations grouped in convenient class intervals and arranged in order of magnitude. Histograms are
useful in studying patterns of distribution and in drawing conclusions about the process based on the
pattern.
The Procedure to prepare a Histogram consists of the following steps

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 Collect data (preferably 50 or more observations of an item).
 Arrange all values in an ascending order.
 Divide the entire range of values into a convenient number of groups each representing an equal
class interval. It is customary to have number of groups equal to or less than the square root of the
number of observations. However one should not be too rigid about this. The reason for this
cautionary note will be obvious when we see some examples.
 Note the number of observations or frequency in each group.
 Draw X-axis and Y-axis and decide appropriate scales for the groups on X-axis and the number of
observations or the frequency on Y-axis.
 Draw bars representing the frequency for each of the groups.
 Provide a suitable title to the Histogram.
 Study the pattern of distribution and draw conclusion.

Histogram

6. Scatter Diagram

A scatter diagram, also called a scatterplot or a scatter plot, is a visualization of the relationship between two
variables measured on the same set of individuals.
The scatter diagram graphs pairs of numerical data, with one variable on each axis, to look for a relationship
between them. If the variables are correlated, the points will fall along a line or curve. The better the
correlation, the tighter the points will hug the line.
When to Use a Scatter Diagram

 When you have paired numerical data.

 When your dependent variable may have multiple values for each value of your independent
variable.
 When trying to determine whether the two variables are related, such as…
 When trying to identify potential root causes of problems.
 After brainstorming causes and effects using a fishbone diagram, to determine objectively

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whether a particular cause and effect are related.
 When determining whether two effects that appears to be related both occur with the same cause.
 When testing for autocorrelation before constructing a control chart.

Scatter Diagram

7. Stratification /Flow chart / Run chart

Stratification is the process of dividing members of the

population into homogeneous subgroups before sampling.
The strata should be mutually exclusive: every element in
the population must be assigned to only one stratum. The
strata should also be collectively exhaustive: no population
element can be excluded. Then simple random sampling or
systematic sampling is applied within each stratum. This
often improves the representativeness of the sample by
reducing sampling error. It can produce a weighted mean
that has less variability than the arithmetic mean of a simple
random sample of the population.
They are created to:

 Create a common understanding of the process flow

 Clarify steps in a process
 Uncover problems and misunderstanding in a
process
 Reveal how a process operates (good and bad) Process Flow chart

 Helps you ID places for improvement.

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Stratification is a technique used in combination with other data analysis tools. When data from a
variety of sources or categories have been lumped together, the meaning of the data can be impossible
to see. This technique separates the data so that patterns can be seen.

8 D- 8 Disciplines of Problem solving

Eight Disciplines (8Ds) Problem Solving is a method developed at Ford Motor Company used to approach
and to resolve problems, typically employed by engineers or other professionals. Focused on product and
process improvement, its purpose is to identify, correct, and eliminate recurring problems. It establishes a
permanent corrective action based on statistical analysis of the problem and on the origin of the problem by
determining the root causes. Although it originally comprised eight stages, or 'disciplines', it was later
augmented by an initial planning stage. 8D follows the logic of the PDCA cycle. The disciplines are:
D0: Plan: Plan for solving the problem and determine the prerequisites.
D1: Use a Team: Establish a team of people with product/process knowledge.
D2: Describe the Problem: Specify the problem by identifying in quantifiable terms the who, what, where,
when, why, how, and how many (5W2H) for the problem.
D3: Develop Interim Containment Plan: Define and implement containment actions to isolate the problem
from any customer.
D4: Determine, and Verify Root Causes and Escape Points: Identify all applicable causes that could
explain why the problem has occurred. Also identify why the problem was not noticed at the time it
occurred. All causes shall be verified or proved. One can use five whys or Ishikawa diagrams to map causes
against the effect or problem identified.
D5: Verify Permanent Corrections (PCs) for Problem will resolve problem for the customer: Using pre-
production programs, quantitatively confirm that the selected correction will resolve the problem. (Verify
that the correction will actually solve the problem.)
D6: Define and Implement Corrective Actions: Define and Implement the best corrective actions.
D7: Prevent Recurrence: Modify the management systems, operation systems, practices, and procedures to
prevent recurrence of this and all similar problems.
D8: Congratulate Your Team: Recognize the collective efforts of the team. The team needs to be formally
thanked by the organization.

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8D

8 Wastes of Lean
Anything that does not add value to the customer requirement is simply said as a waste. Waste only adds to
time and cost.
Kudos to Taichi Ohno, the father of Toyota Production System. His 8 wastes of Lean manufacturing have a
universal application. Despite what some practitioners may say or write, the 8 wastes of Lean are applicable
not just in a Lean manufacturing system but also in services. Take any context and you'll see for yourself the
applicability of those wastes or we can say those can be available in any of the organizations function.
Below are those 8 types of wastes.
 Defects – Products or services that are out of specification that require resources to correct.

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 Overproduction –
Producing too much of a
product before it is ready
to be sold.
 Waiting – Waiting for the
previous step in the
process to complete.
 Non-Utilized Talent –
Employees that are not
effectively engaged in the
process
 Transportation –
Transporting items or
information that is not
required to perform the
process from one location
to another. 8 wastes of Lean

 Inventory – Inventory or
information that is sitting idle (not being processed).
 Motion – People, information or equipment making unnecessary motion due to workspace layout,
ergonomic issues or searching for misplaced items.
 Extra Processing – Performing any activity that is not necessary to produce a functioning product or service.

To remember The 8 Wastes, you can use the acronym, “DOWNTIME.”

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Simplified approach of waste and realistic examples
Type of waste What is it?
Processing too soon or too
much than required
Waste of Over-production
Errors, mistakes
and rework
Waste of Defects
Holding inventory (material
Waste of Inventory and information) more than
required
Processing more than
Waste of Over-
required wherein a simple
Processing
approach would have done
Movement of items more
than required resulting in
Waste of Transportation
wasted efforts and energy
and adding to cost
Employees and customers
Waste of Waiting
waiting
Movement of people that
Waste of Motion
does not add value
Waste of Un-utilized Employees not leveraged to their
own potential
People
3 M – Muda, Muri, Mura
Muda - The Seven Wastes
Muda is any activity or process that does not add value; a physical waste of your time, resources and
ultimately your money. These wastes were categorized by Taiichi Ohno within the Toyota production system,
they are;
 Transport; the movement of product between
Examples
• Information sent automatically even when not required
• Printing documents before they are required
• Processing items before they are required by the next person in the process
• Rejections in sourcing applications
• Incorrect data entry
• Incorrect name printed on a credit card
• Surgical errors
• Files and documents awaiting to be processed
• Excess promotional material sent to the market
• Overstocked medicines in a hospital
• More servers than required
• Too much paperwork for a mortgage loan
• Same data required in number of places in an application form
• Follow-ups and costs associated with coordination
• Too many approvals
• Multiple MIS reports
• Movement of files and documents from one location to another
• Excessive e-mail attachments
• Multiple hand-offs
• Customers waiting to be served by a contact center
• Queue in a grocery store
• Patients waiting for a doctor at a clinic
• System downtime
• Looking for data and information
• Looking for surgical instruments
• Movement of people to and fro from filing, fax and Xerox machines
• Limited authority and responsibility
• Managers common
• Person put on a wrong job
operations, and locations.
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 Inventory; the work in progress (WIP) and stocks of finished goods and raw materials that a
company holds.
 Motion; the physical movement of a person or machine whilst conducting an operation.
 Waiting; the act of waiting for a machine to finish, for product to arrive, or any other cause.
 Overproduction; Over producing product beyond what the customer has ordered.
 Over-processing; conducting operations beyond those that customer requires.
 Defects; product rejects and rework within your processes.
To this list of the original seven wastes most people also add the following;
 Talent; failing to utilize the skills and knowledge of all of your employees
 Resources; failing to turn off lights and unused machines
 By-Products; not making use of by-products of your process
Many “lean” initiatives fail to see past the elimination of Muda and believe that the point of Lean is to just
eliminate waste. This leads to implementations that initially appear to save money but quickly fall apart and
revert as problems such as customer demand fluctuations and supplier problems occur. They have failed to
tackle the other forms of waste identified by Toyota;
Mura the Waste of Unevenness

Mura is the waste of unevenness or inconsistency, but what does this mean and how does it affect us?
Mura creates many of the seven wastes that we observe, Mura drives Muda! By failing to smooth our
demand we put unfair demands on our processes and people and cause the creation of inventory and other
wastes.
One obvious example is production processes where the manager is measured on monthly output, the
department rushes like mad in the final week of the month to meet targets, using up components and
producing parts not actually required. The first week of the month is then slow due to component shortages
and no focus on meeting targets. This gives us the hockey stick graph of production as we see here on the
right, far better to smooth out production and work at the demand of the customer.
Muri the waste of Overburden

Muri is to cause overburden, by this we mean to give unnecessary stress to our employees and our
processes. This is caused by Mura and a host of other failures in our system such as lack of training, unclear
or no defined ways of working, the wrong tools, and ill thought out measures of performance.
Again Mura causes Muda, the seven wastes are symptoms of our failure to tackle Mura and Muri within our
processes not the root cause!

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VSM- Value stream Mapping

A value stream map illustrates the flow of materials and information from supplier to customer. Value stream
mapping (VSM) is a lean manufacturing technique used to analyze, design, and manage the flow of
materials and information required to bring a product to a customer. VSM helps identify waste and
streamline the production process.
The first step in value stream mapping is to create a current state map. This map can help identify waste
such as delays, restrictions, inefficiencies, and excess inventories. These are then eliminated in the ideal state
map, which gives the organization a working plan to achieve lean efficiency.
Present state flow chart

 A snapshot of what is happening in the shop today.

 Show how raw materials and products travel through the shop as they are processed.
 Reveal disorganization, waiting, excess inventory, and other forms of waste.

Future state flow chart

 A snapshot of how your value stream can look after lean strategies have been implemented to
reduce waste.
 Should show the best possible arrangement of your processes.
 Changes should also be something that you can actually implement very soon.

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VSM Symbols

Few Commonly used VSM Mapping symbols are as below

Data boxes in VSM Map and meanings

 Cycle time (C/T) is the time required for a manufacturing process. The total processing time, or total
cycle time, is the sum of cycle times in a value stream and is also called total value-adding time
(VA).
 Changeover time (C/O) is the non-value-added time required to convert a setup for one product
line to a setup for another product line. C/O is measured from the completion of the last good part
of the previous line to the first good part of the next line.
 Availability time is the time, measured in seconds, that a production line is available for production.
Availability time does not include planned downtime like lunch periods and breaks.
 Uptime is the ratio of the actual production time of a machine compared to the availability time.

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Time & Motion studies-

Time and motion studies is Method for establishing employee productivity standards in which a complex
task is broken into small, simple steps, the sequence of movements taken by the employee in performing
those steps is carefully observed to detect and eliminate redundant or wasteful motion, and precise time
taken for each correct movement is measured. From these measurements production and delivery times and
prices can be computed and incentive schemes can be devised.
Or in other words it is One of the major part of scientific management concept, where
 Time studies are designed to define standard time of work/activities &
 Motion studies are designed to improve work methods.
Time studies- Observation of task vs. time, where time is recorded for task completion. Usually stopwatch
or electronic devices are used to measure time.
Time study is a direct and continuous observation of a task, using a timekeeping device (e.g., decimal minute
stopwatch, computer-assisted electronic stopwatch, and videotape camera) to record the time taken to
accomplish a task and it is often used when:
 there are repetitive work cycles of short to long duration,
 wide variety of dissimilar work is performed, or
 process control elements constitute a part of the cycle.
Motion studies- Method that analyzes work motions/ motion of the workers while performing activities to
serve three major purposes as below
 To focus on areas of improvement.
 To train the workers to accomplish best work methods.
 Standardize best practices.

Gantt Chart-
Gantt chart is a tool used in project management; this was developed by Henry Gantt in 1910.
This chart is used to describe project schedules or activities of projects versus time.
On the left side of this chart it mentions activities or events of projects while on the right side it describes
time periods. Thus it is very important to define activities or events & their linkage to complete the project
(In Project Management it is also referred as work breakdown structure)

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Work Breakdown structure-

Process where complex project tasks are divided into simple & manageable tasks/events/activities.

5S
5S is short form for Japanese terms- Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seikutse and Shetsuke which means in English
words as Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize and Sustain respectively
5S represents 5 disciplines for maintaining a visual workplace (visual controls and information systems).
These are foundational to Kaizen (continuous improvement) and a manufacturing strategy based "Lean
Manufacturing" (waste removing) concepts.
5S is one of the activities that will help ensure our company’s survival.
The phrase "Safety" is sometimes added, there is debate over whether including this sixth "S" promotes
safety by stating this value explicitly, or if a comprehensive safety program is undermined when it is
relegated to a single item in an efficiency-focused business methodology.

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Below table will explain 5 S in systematic way.

Japanese Meaning Explained as

Term

Seiri Sort • Remove unnecessary items and dispose of them properly.

• Reduce unnecessary items not in use and obstacles.
• Don't put unnecessary items at the workplace & define a red-
tagged area to keep those unnecessary items (Waste Removal)
• Need experts to monitor work areas on frequent time lines.

Seiton Set in Order • Arrange all necessary items so they can be easily selected for use
Make it easy to find and pick up necessary items
• Ensure first-come-first-served basis
• Make workflow smooth and easy (Time saving & preventing loss)
• A Place for everything and everything in its place.

Seiso Shine • Clean your workplace completely

• Prevent machinery and equipment deterioration
• Keep workplace safe and easy to work
• When in place anyone not familiar to the environment must be able
to detect problems in 5 seconds within 50 feet.

Seiketsu Standar- • Standardize the best practices in the work area

dize • Maintain orderliness. Maintain everything in order and according to
its standard
• Everything in its right place, Make the rules follow and enforce
them.
• Every process has a standard

Shitsuke Sustain / • To keep in working order

Maintain • Training and Discipline
• Perform regular audits.
• Make it a habit

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Andon
Andon is a manufacturing term referring to a system to notify management, maintenance, and other
workers of a quality or process problem. The centerpiece is a signboard incorporating signal lights to
indicate which workstation has the problem. The alert can be activated manually by a worker using a pull
cord or button, or may be activated automatically by the production equipment itself. The system may
include a means to stop production so the issue can be corrected. Some modern alert systems incorporate
audio alarms, text, or other displays.
An Andon System is one of the principal elements of the Jidoka quality-control method pioneered by Toyota
as part of the Toyota Production System and therefore now part of the Lean approach. It gives the worker
the ability, and moreover the empowerment, to stop production when a defect is found, and immediately
call for assistance. Common reasons for manual activation of the Andon are part shortage, defect created or
found, tool malfunction, or the existence of a safety problem. Work is stopped until a solution has been
found. The alerts may be logged to a database so that they can be studied as part of a continuous-
improvement program.
The system typically indicates where the alert was generated, and may also provide a description of the
trouble. Modern Andon systems can include text, graphics, or audio elements. Audio alerts may be done
with coded tones, music with different tunes corresponding to the various alerts, or pre-recorded verbal
messages.
Usage of the word originated within Japanese manufacturing companies, and in English is a loanword from a
Japanese word for a paper lantern.
Andon means ‘Sign’ or ‘Signal’. It is a a visual aid which alerts and highlights where action is required. Think,
for example, a flashing light in
a manufacturing plant that
indicates the line has been
stopped by one of the
operators due to some
irregularity.
Andons are often
accompanied by audible
alarms to alert supervisors
when there is a change in
status.

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Theory of Constraints
The theory of constraints (TOC) is a management paradigm that views any manageable system as being
limited in achieving more of its goals by a very small number of constraints. There is always at least one
constraint, and TOC uses a focusing process to identify the constraint and restructure the rest of the
organization around it.
The Theory of Constraints is a methodology for identifying the most important limiting factor (i.e. constraint)
that stands in the way of achieving a goal and then systematically improving that constraint until it is no
longer the limiting factor. In manufacturing, the constraint is often referred to as a bottleneck.
The Theory of Constraints takes a scientific approach to improvement. It hypothesizes that every complex
system, including manufacturing processes, consists of multiple linked activities, one of which acts as a
constraint upon the entire system (i.e. the constraint activity is the “weakest link in the chain”).

Key assumption

The underlying premise of the theory of

constraints is that organizations can be measured
and controlled by variations on three measures:
throughput, operational expense, and inventory.
Inventory is all the money that the system has
invested in purchasing things which it intends to
sell. Operational expense is all the money the
system spends in order to turn inventory into
throughput. Throughput is the rate at which the
system generates money through sales.

Gemba
A gemba (and sometimes genba) walk is the term used to describe personal observation of work – where
the work is happening. The original Japanese term comes from gembutsu, which means “real thing. It also
sometimes refers to the “real place.”
Gemba is a Japanese term meaning "the real place." Japanese detectives call the crime scene gemba, and
Japanese TV reporters may refer to themselves as reporting from genba. In business, genba refers to the
place where value is created; in manufacturing the genba is the factory floor. It can be any "site" such as a
construction site, sales floor or where the service provider interacts directly with the customer.

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In lean manufacturing, the idea of genba is that the problems are visible, and the best improvement
ideas will come from going to the genba

Heijunka
Heijunka is a Japanese word that means “leveling.” When implemented correctly, heijunka elegantly – and
without haste – helps organizations meet demand while reducing while reducing wastes in production and
interpersonal processes.
It also can be defined as Leveling the type and quantity of production over a fixed period of time. This
enables production to efficiently meet customer demands while avoiding batching and results in minimum
inventories, capital costs, manpower, and production lead time through the whole value stream.

Jidoka
Jidoka is one of the pillars of the Toyota Production System along with just-in-time. Jidoka highlights the
causes of problems because work stops immediately when a problem first occurs. This leads to
improvements in the processes that build in quality by eliminating the root causes of defects.
Jidoka is knowln as Autonomation, which describes a feature of machine design used in the Toyota
Production System (TPS) and Lean manufacturing. It may be described as "intelligent automation" or
"automation with a human touch."[1] This type of automation implements some supervisory functions rather
than production functions. At Toyota this usually means that if an abnormal situation arises the machine
stops and the worker will stop the production line. It is a quality control process that applies the following
four principles
 Detect the abnormality.
 Stop.
 Fix or correct the immediate condition.
 Investigate the root cause and install a countermeasure.
Autonomation aims to prevent the production of defective products, eliminate overproduction and focus
attention on understanding the problems and ensuring that they do not reoccur.

Kanban-
Kanban is Japanese for "visual signal" or "card." In the late 1940s, Toyota line-workers pioneered the use of
physical kanban cards to signal steps in their manufacturing process.

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In the late 1940s, Toyota started studying supermarkets with the idea of applying shelf-stocking
techniques to the factory floor. In a supermarket, customers generally retrieve what they need at the
required time—no more, no less. Furthermore, the supermarket stocks only what it expects to sell in a given
time, and customers take only what they need, since future supply is assured. This observation led Toyota to
view a process as being a customer of one or more preceding processes, and to view the preceding
processes as a kind of store. The "customer" process goes to the store to get required components, which in
turn causes the store to restock. Originally, as in supermarkets, signboards guided "shopping" processes to
specific shopping locations within the store.
Kanban cards are a key component of kanban and they signal the need to move materials within a
production facility or to move materials from an outside supplier into the production facility. The kanban
card is a message that signals depletion of product, parts, or inventory. When received, the kanban triggers
replenishment of that product, part, or inventory. Consumption, therefore, drives demand for more
production, and the kanban card signals demand for more products—so kanban cards help create a
demand-driven system.
Three-bin system

An example of a simple kanban system implementation is a "three-bin system" for the supplied parts, where
there is no in-house manufacturing. One bin is on the factory floor (the initial demand point), one bin is in
the factory store (the inventory control point), and one bin is at the supplier. The bins usually have a
removable card containing the product details and other relevant information—the classic kanban card.
When the bin on the factory floor is empty (because the parts in it were used up in a manufacturing
process), the empty bin and its kanban card are returned to the factory store (the inventory control point).
The factory store replaces the empty bin on the factory floor with the full bin from the factory store, which
also contains a kanban card. The factory store sends the empty bin with its kanban card to the supplier. The
supplier's full product bin, with its kanban card, is delivered to the factory store; the supplier keeps the
empty bin. This is the final step in the process. Thus, the process never runs out of product—and could be
described as a closed loop, in that it provides the exact amount required, with only one spare bin so there is
never oversupply. This 'spare' bin allows for uncertainties in supply, use, and transport in the inventory
system. A good kanban system calculates just enough kanban cards for each product. Most factories that
use kanban use the colored board system (heijunka box).
Electronic Kanban

Many manufacturers have implemented Electronic kanban (sometimes referred to as E-kanban

systems. These help to eliminate common problems such as manual entry errors and lost cards.
E-kanban systems can be integrated into enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, enabling real-time
demand signaling across the supply chain and improved visibility. Data pulled from e-kanban systems can
be used to optimize inventory levels by better tracking supplier lead and replenishment times
E-kanban is a signaling system that uses a mix of technology to trigger the movement of materials within a
manufacturing or production facility. Electronic kanban differs from traditional kanban in that it uses
technology to replace traditional elements such as kanban cards with barcodes and electronic messages.

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A typical electronic kanban system marks inventory with barcodes, which workers scan at various stages
of the manufacturing process to signal usage. The scans relay messages to internal/external stores to ensure
restocking of products. Electronic kanban often uses the internet as a method of routing messages to
external suppliers and as a means to allow a real time view of inventory, via a portal, throughout the supply
chain.

Typical Kanban Card

Voice of Customer
Voice of the customer (VOC) is a term used in business to describe the in-depth process of capturing a
customer's expectations, preferences and aversions. Specifically, the Voice of the Customer is a market
research technique that produces a detailed set of customer wants and needs, organized into a hierarchical
structure, and then prioritized in terms of relative importance and satisfaction with current alternatives.
Voice of the Customer studies typically consist of both qualitative and quantitative research steps. They are
generally conducted at the start of any new product, process, or service design initiative in order to better
understand the customer's wants and needs, and as the key input for new product definition, Quality
Function Deployment (QFD), and the setting of detailed design specifications.

Yokoten
Yokoten is a Japanese term that can be roughly translated as "across everywhere." In the Japanese lean
system, it is used to mean "best practice sharing." In short, Yokoten is used to talk about the transfer of lean
manufacturing knowledge and practices from one operation to another.
These best practices can be shared between departments of one plant or sister departments of multiple
plants of a company. Operations of a lean plant can be shared with a sister plant that is not so lean or
struggling with lean. Although there is little literature to support this, Yokoten could also involve
sharing among divisions of the same large company. More importantly, it can also be used to reach

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out to closely-linked suppliers to make the supply chain leaner.
Practicing Yokoten is a key activity if you are to continually improve both your own operations and those of
your supply chain. We must point out here that Yokoten is more than "technology transfer." It is the transfer
of actions, practices, Kaizen results, and technology applications.

Chaku – Chaku
Japanese term for “load load”, Chaku Chaku is an efficient style of production in which all the machines
needed to make a part are situated in the correct sequence very close together.
The operator simply loads a part and moves on to the next operation. Each machine performs a different
stage of production, such as turning, drilling, cleaning, testing or sandblasting.

Hanedashi
A hanedashi device is an automatic part ejector. It reduces waste when an operator approaches a machine
to load the next part. In a machine without ahanedashi device, the operator would have to set down the new
part that he would be carrying to the machine, pull out the completed part and set it down, pick up the new
part, load it, and then pick up the completed part again.
With hanedashi, the operator will walk up to an empty machine, and would be able to immediately load the
new part, pick up the completed part, and move on.
Auto-eject devices that unload the part from the machine once the cycle is complete. This allows the
operators to go from one machine to the next, picking up and loading. A key component of Chaku-Chaku
lines.

Kaizen
Kaizen is the practice of continuous improvement. Kaizen was originally introduced to the West by Masaaki
Imai in his book Kaizen: The Key to Japan’s Competitive Success in 1986. Today Kaizen is recognized
worldwide as an important pillar of an organization’s long-term competitive strategy. Kaizen is continuous
improvement that is based on certain guiding principles:
 Good processes bring good results
 Go see for yourself to grasp the current situation
 Speak with data, manage by facts
 Take action to contain and correct root causes of problems
 Work as a team
 Kaizen is everybody’s business
 And much more!

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One of the most notable features of kaizen is that big results come from many small changes
accumulated over time. However this has been misunderstood to mean that kaizen equals small changes. In
fact, kaizen means everyone involved in making improvements. While the majority of changes may be small,
the greatest impact may be kaizens that are led by senior management as transformational projects, or by
cross-functional teams as kaizen events.
"CHANGE FOR THE BETTER"
Kaizen = Continuous Improvement

KPI – Key Performance Indicator

Metrics designed to track and encourage progress towards critical goals of the organization. Strongly
promoted KPIs can be extremely powerful drivers of behavior – so it is important to carefully select KPIs that
will drive desired behavior.
A Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is a measurable value that demonstrates how effectively a company is
achieving key business objectives. Organizations use KPIs to evaluate their success at reaching targets.
In strategic planning it is important to discuss key performance indicators (KPI). Key business indicators are a
type of measurement. They are essential for business leaders to understand what is happening in their
business. The first step to determining your KPI is to understand the difference between lagging and leading
indicators. The second step is to define and monitor your business indicators.
KPI are of generally 2 types as leading and lagging KPI

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Lead indicators are always more difficult to determine than lag indicators. They are predictive and
therefore do not provide a guarantee of success. This not only makes it difficult to decide which lead
indicators to use, it also tends to cause heated debate as to the validity of the measure at all. To fuel the
debate further, lead indicators frequently require an investment to implement an initiative prior to a result
being seen by a lag indicator.
On other way, Lag indicators are an after-the-event measurement, essential for charting progress but useless
when attempting to influence the future.

JIT – Just in Time

Pull' (demand) driven inventory system in which materials, parts, sub-assemblies, and support items are
delivered just when needed and neither sooner nor later. Its objective is to eliminate product inventories
from the supply chain. As much a managerial philosophy as an inventory system, JIT encompasses all
activities required to make a final product from design engineering onwards to the last manufacturing
operation. JIT systems are fundamental to time based competition and rely on waste reduction, process
simplification, setup time and batch size reduction, parallel (instead of sequential) processing, and shop floor
layout redesign.

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Standard Work
Standardized work is one of the most powerful but least used lean tools. By documenting the current best
practice, standardized work forms the baseline for kaizen or continuous improvement. As the standard is
improved, the new standard becomes the baseline for further improvements, and so on.
Basically, standardized work consists of three elements:
 Takt time, which is the rate at which products must be made in a process to meet customer demand.
 The precise work sequence in which an operator performs tasks within takt time.
 The standard inventory, including units in machines, required to keep the process operating
smoothly.
Establishing standardized work relies on collecting and recording data on a few forms. These forms are used
by engineers and front-line supervisors to design the process and by operators to make improvements in
their own jobs. In this workshop, you'll learn how to use these forms and why it will be difficult to make your
lean implementations "stick" without standardized work.

Continuous Flow
A continuous flow process is a method of manufacturing that aims to move a single unit in each step of a
process, rather than treating units as batches for each step. The diagram below helps illustrate how this
works. In the left column, you can see a standard batch process. Each step is completed for several units at
once, which comprises a batch. In the right column we see a single unit go through the flow, and the
process is repeated as many times as necessary. This may seem to take longer, but it can actually be much
more time efficient, as long as the next unit is introduced to the process as soon as the first unit has
completed step one.
The process is called “continuous flow” because you are continuously producing new products. It’s
advantageous in many industries, such as vehicle manufacturing, where you need to keep up with high
demand from consumers. Batch production is useful in other scenarios as well, such as completing one-time
work for a client.

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SMART Goals
Goals that are: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Specific.

PDCA Cycle
PDCA (plan–do–check–act or plan–do–check–adjust) an iterative four-step management method used in
business for the control and continuous improvement of processes and products. It is also known as the
Deming circle/cycle/wheel, Shewhart cycle, control circle/cycle, or plan–do–study–act (PDSA). Another
version of this PDCA cycle is OPDCA. The added "O" stands for observation or as some versions say "Grasp
the current condition.

PLAN

Establish the objectives and processes necessary to deliver results in accordance with the expected output
(the target or goals). By establishing output expectations, the completeness and accuracy of the spec is also
a part of the targeted improvement. When possible start on a small scale to test possible effects.

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DO

Implement the plan, execute the process, make the product. Collect data for charting and analysis in the
following "CHECK" and "ACT" steps.
CHECK

Study the actual results (measured and collected in "DO" above) and compare against the expected results
(targets or goals from the "PLAN") to ascertain any differences. Look for deviation in implementation from
the plan and also look for the appropriateness and completeness of the plan to enable the execution, i.e.,
"Do". Charting data can make this much easier to see trends over several
PDCA cycles and in order to convert the collected data into information.
Information is what you need for the next step "ACT".
ACT

If the CHECK shows that the PLAN that was implemented in DO is

an improvement to the prior standard (baseline), then that
becomes the new standard (baseline) for how the organization
should ACT going forward (new standards are enACTed). If the CHECK shows that the
PLAN that was implemented in DO is not an improvement, then the existing standard (baseline) will remain
in place. In either case, if the CHECK showed something different than expected (whether better or worse),
then there is some more learning to be done... and that will suggest potential future PDCA cycles. Note that
some who teach PDCA assert that the ACT involves making adjustments or corrective actions... but generally
it would be counter to PDCA thinking to propose and decide upon alternative changes without using a
proper PLAN phase, or to make them the new standard (baseline) without going through DO and CHECK
steps.

Poka Yoke
Poka Yoke is a Japanese term that means "mistake-proofing". A poka-yoke is any mechanism in a lean
manufacturing process that helps an equipment operator avoid (yokeru) mistakes (poka). Its purpose is to
eliminate product defects by preventing, correcting, or drawing attention to human errors as they occur. The
concept was formalised, and the term adopted, by Shigeo Shingo as part of the Toyota Production System.
It was originally described as baka-yoke, but as this means "fool-proofing" (or "idiot-proofing") the name
was changed to the milder poka-yoke.

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Or “mistake-proofing,” – a means of providing a visual or other signal to indicate a characteristic state.
Often referred to as “error-proofing,” poka-yoke is actually the first step in truly error-proofing a system.
Error-proofing is a manufacturing technique of preventing errors by designing the manufacturing process,
equipment, and tools so that an operation literally cannot be performed incorrectly.

SMED- Single Minute exchange of Die

Single-Minute Exchange of Die (SMED) is one of the many lean production methods for reducing waste in a
manufacturing process. It provides a rapid and efficient way of converting a manufacturing process from
running the current product to running the next product. This rapid changeover is key to reducing
production lot sizes and thereby improving flow (Mura).
The phrase "single minute" does not mean that all changeovers and startups should take only one minute,
but that they should take less than 10 minutes (in other words, "single-digit minute").[1] Closely associated is
a yet more difficult concept, One-Touch Exchange of Die, (OTED), which says changeovers can and should
take less than 100 seconds. A die is a tool used in manufacturing. However SMED's utility of is not limited to
manufacturing (see value stream mapping).
SMED (Single-Minute Exchange of Dies) is a system for dramatically reducing the time it takes The Big Idea –
Changeover times can be dramatically reduced – in many cases to less than 10 minutes. Each element of the
changeover is analyzed to see if it can be eliminated, moved, simplified, or streamlined.to complete
equipment changeovers. The essence of the SMED system is to convert as many changeover steps as
possible to “external” (performed while the equipment is running), and to simplify and streamline the
remaining steps. The name Single-Minute Exchange of Dies comes from the goal of reducing changeover
times to the “single” digits (i.e. less than 10 minutes).
A successful SMED program will have the following benefits:
 Lower manufacturing cost (faster changeovers mean less equipment down time)
 Smaller lot sizes (faster changeovers enable more frequent product changes)
 Improved responsiveness to customer demand (smaller lot sizes enable more flexible scheduling)
 Lower inventory levels (smaller lot sizes result in lower inventory levels)
 Smoother startups (standardized changeover processes improve consistency and quality)

TPM – Total Productive Maintenance

In industry, total productive maintenance (TPM) is a system of maintaining and improving the integrity of
production and quality systems through the machines, equipment, processes, and employees that add
business value to an organization.

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TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) is a holistic approach to equipment maintenance that strives to
achieve perfect production:
 No Breakdowns
 No Small Stops or Slow Running
 No Defects

Objectives of Total productive maintenance

The main objective of TPM is to increase the Overall Equipment Effectiveness of plant equipment. TPM
addresses the causes for accelerated deterioration while creating the correct environment between
operators and equipment to create ownership.
OEE has three factors which are multiplied to give one measure called OEE
Performance x Availability x Quality = OEE
Each factor has two associated losses making 6 in total , these 6 losses are as follows:
 Performance = (1) running at reduced speed - (2) Minor Stops
 Availability = (3) Breakdowns - (4) Product changeover
 Quality = (5) Startup rejects - (6) Running rejects

WHAT IS OEE?

OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) is a “best practices” metric The Big Idea – OEE measures the
percentage of planned production time that is truly productive. Many manufacturing lines are only 60%
productive, meaning there are tremendous opportunities for improvement that identifies the percentage of
planned production time that is truly productive. An OEE score of 100% represents perfect production:
manufacturing only good parts, as fast as possible, with no down time.
OEE is useful as both a benchmark and a baseline:
As a benchmark it can be used to compare the performance of a given production asset to industry
standards, to similar in-house assets, or to results for different shifts working on the same asset.
As a baseline it can be used to track progress over time in eliminating waste from a given production asset.
The objective finally is to identify then prioritize and eliminate the causes of the losses. This is done by self-
managing teams that problem solve. Employing consultants to create this culture is common practice.

TPM Vs TQM

Total quality management and total productive maintenance are often used interchangeably. However, TQM
and TPM share a lot of similarities, but are considered as two different approaches in the official literature.
TQM attempts to increase the quality of goods, services and concomitant customer satisfaction

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by raising awareness of quality concerns across the organization.
TPM is based on five cornerstones: The product, the process that allows the product to be produced, the
organization that provides the proper environment needed for the process to work, the leadership that
guides the organization, and commitment to excellence throughout the organization.
In other words, TQM focuses on the quality of the product, while TPM focuses on the equipment used to
produce the products. By preventing equipment break-down, improving the quality of the equipment and
by standardizing the equipment (results in less variance, so better quality), the quality of the products
increases. TQM and TPM can both result in an increase of quality. However, the way of going there is
different. TPM can be seen as a way to help achieving the goal of TQM

CAPA- Corrective & Preventive Actions

Corrective and preventive action (CAPA, also called corrective action / preventive action, or simply corrective
action) are improvements to an organization's processes taken to eliminate causes of non-conformities or
other undesirable situations. CAPA is a concept within good manufacturing practice (GMP), and numerous
ISO business standards. It focuses on the systematic investigation of the root causes of identified problems
or identified risks in an attempt to prevent their recurrence (for corrective action) or to prevent occurrence
(for preventive action).

Corrective actions are implemented in response to customer complaints, unacceptable levels of product
non-conformance, issues identified during an internal audit, or adverse or unstable trends in product and
process monitoring such as would be identified by statistical process control (SPC). Preventive actions are
implemented in response to the identification of potential sources of non-conformity.
To ensure that corrective and preventive actions are effective, the systematic investigation of the root causes
of failure is pivotal. CAPA is part of the overall quality management system (QMS).

COPQ- Cost of Poor Quality

Cost of poor quality (COPQ) or poor quality costs (PQC), are costs that would disappear if systems,
processes, and products were perfect.
COPQ consists of those costs which are generated as a result of producing defective material.
This cost includes the cost involved in fulfilling the gap between the desired and actual product/service
quality. It also includes the cost of lost opportunity due to the loss of resources used in rectifying the defect.
This cost includes all the labor cost, rework cost, disposition costs, and material costs that have been added
to the unit up to the point of rejection. COPQ does not include detection and prevention cost.

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CONC – Cost of Non Conformance

CONC stands for cost of non conformance, The element of the *Cost Of Quality* representing the total cost
to the organisation of failure to achieve a good *Quality* product.
CONC includes both in-process costs generated by quality failures, particularly the cost of *Rework*; and
post-delivery costs including further *Rework*, re-performance of lost work (for products used internally),
possible loss of business, possible legal redress, and other potential costs.

Critical to Customer – CTC

This is the input to the Quality Function Deployment activity, for the customer requirements side of the
analysis. Not same as CTQ.
CTQ’s are the internal critical quality parameters that RELATE to these customer-critical parameters. QFD
relates the two, and leads to the DFMEA efforts which quantify the severity and frequency of occurrence of
failure to meet the CTQ’s and thus the CTC’s by relationship. Car door sound when closing might be a CTC,
while the dimensional tolerances and cushioning that produce those conditions are CTQ’s for the auto
maker.

Critical To Quality – CTQ

Critical to quality is an attribute of a part, assembly, sub-assembly, product, or process that is literally critical
to quality or more precisely, has a direct and significant impact on its actual or perceived quality.
CTQs are the internal critical quality parameters that relate to the wants and needs of the customer. They are
not the same as CTCs (Critical to Customer), and the two are often confused.
CTCs are what is important to the customer; CTQs are what’s important to the quality of the process or
service to ensure the things that are important to the customer.
A quality function deployment (QFD) or CTQ tree relates the CTQs to the CTCs. For instance, car door sound
when closing might be a CTC, while the dimensional tolerances and cushioning needed to produce those
conditions are CTQs for the auto maker.

Thought Map (TMAP)

For a Six Sigma project to be successful, it must begin with a solid foundation. One tool that can ensure a
firm foundation is the thought process map, sometimes referred to as a TMAP or TPM.
A TMAP is a visual representation of a Black Belt’s, team leader’s or an entire team’s thoughts, ideas and
questions relative to accomplishing the project goal. It should be one of the first tools employed when
starting any Six Sigma or process improvement project. A TMAP presents a structure of information and

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helps a team progress through the DMAIC process. It is a living document that will change throughout
the project and has no set format. A TMAP can be used to drive specific actions and select the Six Sigma
tools that should be employed.
A TMAP should include, but is not limited to:
 The project goal(s) or problem statement(s)
 Specific areas/parts of a process to be analyzed
 Any issues or questions to address
 What is known about those issues or questions
 What is not known about those issues or questions
 Initial assumptions about each issue or question.
 What data or information is needed
 Potential barriers reaching the project goal
 Interconnections between each part/issue/question
 Potential Six Sigma tools to be used
When creating a TMAP, the only wrong piece of information is the one left out.

Why Should the TMAP Be Used?

The single, most important benefit of using a TMAP early in a project is it ensures that nothing is left out or
missed. It is an effective tool for ensuring all potential questions and issues of a project have been both
identified and addressed from the beginning of a project to completion.
It also provides an effective way to brainstorm, take notes, gather and view information and even summarize
data. It reminds the team what assumptions were made, the actions that followed, and the latest status of
the project. It is an effective way of communicating, as well as consolidating information from a single
person or among various teams.
Finally, it provides a visual map that tracks the development of ideas and issues, as well as the extent of
inquisition. Like all maps, it shows where the team or individual has been, where they are at, and where they
need to go in pursuit of resolution to particular issues.

How to Create a Thought Process Map?

There are various ways to create a TMAP, but the easiest and most effective way is following these five steps.
 Define the project goal(s)
 List the knowns and unknowns
 Ask DMAIC questions and “grouped” questions
 Sequence and link the questions
 Identify possible tools to be used

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Process Mapping
Process - A process is a structured set of activities that transform inputs into outputs.
Process mapping is a workflow diagram to bring forth a clearer understanding of a process or series of
parallel processes.
The main purpose behind business process mapping is to assist organizations in becoming more efficient. A
clear and detailed business process map or diagram allows outside firms to come in and look at whether or
not improvements can be made to the current process.
Business process mapping takes a specific objective and helps to measure and compare that objective
alongside the entire organization's objectives to make sure that all processes are aligned with the company's
values and capabilities.
A “process map” visually describes the flow of activities of a process. A process flow can be defined as the
sequence and interactions of related process steps, activities or tasks that make up an individual process,
from beginning to end. A process map is read from left to right or from top to bottom. In other words
Process Map is Structural analysis of a process flow (such as an order-to-delivery cycle), by distinguishing
how work is actually done from how it should be done, and what functions a system should perform from
how the system is built to perform those functions. In this technique, main activities, information flows,
interconnections, and measures are depicted as a collage on a large sheet of (commonly brown) paper, with
different colored 'Post-it' notes or slips of paper. This graphic representation allows an observer to 'walk-
through' the whole process and see it in its entirety.

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SIPOC –
In a simple form we can read it as Supplier who gives input to your process & process which gives output t
your customer.
In process improvement, a SIPOC (sometimes COPIS) is a tool that summarizes the inputs and outputs of
one or more processes in table form. The acronym SIPOC stands for suppliers, inputs, process, outputs, and
customers which form the columns of the table. It was in use at least as early as the Total Quality
Management programs of the late 1980s and continues to be used today in Six Sigma, Lean manufacturing,
and business process management.
To emphasize putting the needs of the customer foremost, the tool is sometimes called COPIS and the
process information is filled in starting with the customer and working upstream to the supplier.
The SIPOC is often presented at the outset of process improvement efforts such as Kaizen events or during
the "define" phase of the DMAIC process. It has three typical uses depending on the audience:
 To give people who are unfamiliar with a process a high-level overview
 To reacquaint people whose familiarity with a process has faded or become out-of-date due to
process changes
 To help people in defining a new process
Several aspects of the SIPOC that may not be readily apparent are:

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Suppliers and customers may be internal or external to the organization that performs the process.
Inputs and outputs may be materials, services, or information.
The focus is on capturing the set of inputs and outputs rather than the individual steps in the process

FMEA- Failure mode effect analysis

Failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) is a step-by-step approach for identifying all possible failures in a
design, a manufacturing or assembly process, or a product or service.
“Failure modes” means the ways, or modes, in which something might fail. Failures are any errors or defects,
especially ones that affect the customer, and can be potential or actual.
“Effects analysis” refers to studying the consequences of those failures.
Failures are prioritized according to how serious their consequences are, how frequently they occur and how
easily they can be detected. The purpose of the FMEA is to take actions to eliminate or reduce failures,
starting with the highest-priority ones.
Failure modes and effects analysis also documents current knowledge and actions about the risks of failures,
for use in continuous improvement. FMEA is used during design to prevent failures. Later it’s used for
control, before and during ongoing operation of the process. Ideally, FMEA begins during the earliest
conceptual stages of design and continues throughout the life of the product or service.
Begun in the 1940s by the U.S. military, FMEA was further developed by the aerospace and automotive
industries. Several industries maintain formal FMEA standards.

What follows is an overview and reference. Before undertaking an FMEA process, learn more about

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standards and specific methods in your organization and industry through other references and
training.
A successful FMEA activity helps to identify potential failure modes based on experience with similar
products and processes - or based on common physics of failure logic. It is widely used in development and
manufacturing industries in various phases of the product life cycle. Effects analysis refers to studying the
consequences of those failures on different system levels.
Functional analyses are needed as an input to determine correct failure modes, at all system levels, both for
functional FMEA or Piece-Part (hardware) FMEA. A FMEA is used to structure Mitigation for Risk reduction
based on either failure (mode) effect severity reduction or based on lowering the probability of failure or
both. The FMEA is in principle a full inductive (forward logic) analysis, however the failure probability can
only be estimated or reduced by understanding the failure mechanism. Ideally this probability shall be
lowered to "impossible to occur" by eliminating the (root) causes. It is therefore important to include in the
FMEA an appropriate depth of information on the causes of failure (deductive analysis).
Detection –

The means of detection of the failure mode by maintainer, operator or built in detection system, including
estimated dormancy period (if applicable)
Risk Priority Number (RPN)-

Severity (of the event) * Probability (of the event occurring) * Detection (Probability that the event would not
be detected before the user was aware of it)
Severity –

The consequences of a failure mode. Severity considers the worst potential consequence of a failure,
determined by the degree of injury, property damage, system damage and/or time lost to repair the failure.
Probability / Occurrence –

It is necessary to look at the cause of a failure mode and the likelihood of occurrence.

When to Use FMEA

 When a process, product or service is being designed or redesigned, after quality function
deployment.
 When an existing process, product or service is being applied in a new way.
 Before developing control plans for a new or modified process.
 When improvement goals are planned for an existing process, product or service.
 When analyzing failures of an existing process, product or service.
 Periodically throughout the life of the process, product or service

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Sample FMEA Template

Six Sigma
Six Sigma is a disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects (driving
toward six standard deviations between the mean and the nearest specification limit) in any process – from
manufacturing to transactional and from product to service.
Six Sigma is a set of techniques and tools for process improvement. It was introduced by engineer Bill Smith
while working at Motorola in 1986.Jack Welch made it central to his business strategy at General Electric in
1995. Today, it is used in many industrial sectors.
Six Sigma seeks to improve the quality of the output of a process by identifying and removing the causes of
defects and minimizing variability in manufacturing and business processes. It uses a set of quality
management methods, mainly empirical, statistical methods, and creates a special infrastructure of people
within the organization, who are experts in these methods. Each Six Sigma project carried out within an
organization follows a defined sequence of steps and has specific value targets, for example: reduce

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process cycle time, reduce pollution, reduce costs, increase customer satisfaction, and increase profits.

The term Six Sigma originated from terminology associated with statistical modeling of manufacturing
processes. The maturity of a manufacturing process can be described by a sigma rating indicating its yield or
the percentage of defect-free products it creates. A six sigma process is one in which 99.99966% of all
opportunities to produce some feature of a part are statistically expected to be free of defects (3.4 defective
features per million opportunities), although this defect level corresponds to only a 4.5 sigma level. Motorola
set a goal of "six sigma" for all of its manufacturing operations, and this goal became a by-word for the
management and engineering practices used to achieve it.
Methodology –

Six Sigma is following 2 project methodologies - DMAIC & DMADV

The DMAIC project methodology has five phases:
 Define the system, the voice of the customer and their requirements, and the project goals,
specifically.
 Measure key aspects of the current process and collect relevant data; calculate the 'as-is' Process
Capability.
 Analyze the data to investigate and verify cause-and-effect relationships. Determine what the
relationships are, and attempt to ensure that all factors have been considered. Seek out root cause of
the defect under investigation.
 Improve or optimize the current process based upon data analysis using techniques such as design
of experiments, poka yoke or mistake proofing, and standard work to create a new, future state
process. Set up pilot runs to establish process capability.
 Control the future state process to ensure that any deviations from the target are corrected before
they result in defects. Implement control systems such as statistical process control, production
boards, visual workplaces, and continuously monitor the process.
The DMADV project methodology, known as DFSS ("Design for Six Sigma) features five phases:
 Define design goals that are consistent with customer demands and the enterprise strategy.
 Measure and identify CTQs (characteristics that are Critical to Quality), measure product capabilities,
production process capability, and measure risks.
 Analyze to develop and design alternatives
 Design an improved alternative, best suited per analysis in the previous step
 Verify the design, set up pilot runs, implement the production process and hand it over to the
process owner(s).

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DMAIC Vs DMADV

The DMAIC methodology, instead of the DMADV methodology, should be used when a product or process
is in existence at your company but is not meeting customer specification or is not performing adequately.
The DMADV methodology, instead of the DMAIC methodology, should be used when:
A product or process is not in existence at your company and one needs to be developed
The existing product or process exists and has been optimized (using either DMAIC or not) and still does not
meet the level of customer specification or Six Sigma level.

DOE – Design of Experiments

Design of experiments (DOE) is a systematic method to determine the relationship between factors affecting
a process and the output of that process. In other words, it is used to find cause-and-effect relationships.
This information is needed to manage process inputs in order to optimize the output.
An understanding of DOE first requires knowledge of some statistical tools and experimentation concepts.
Although a DOE can be analyzed in many software programs, it is important for practitioners to understand
basic DOE concepts for proper application.
Common DOE Terms and Concepts
The most commonly used terms in the DOE methodology include: controllable and uncontrollable input
factors, responses, hypothesis testing, blocking, replication and interaction.
 Controllable input factors, or x factors, are those input parameters that can be modified in an
experiment or process. For example, in cooking rice, these factors include the quantity and quality of
the rice and the quantity of water used for boiling.
 Uncontrollable input factors are those parameters that cannot be changed. In the rice-cooking
example, this may be the temperature in the kitchen. These factors need to be recognized to
understand how they may affect the response.
 Responses, or output measures, are the elements of the process outcome that gage the desired
effect. In the cooking example, the taste and texture of the rice are the responses.
The controllable input factors can be modified to optimize the output.

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TAKT Time – “Time Acquired to Complete

Activity”
Takt is the German word for the baton that an orchestra conductor uses to regulate the tempo of the music.
Takt time may be thought of as a measurable “beat time,” “rate time” or “heartbeat.” In Lean, takt time is the
rate at which a finished product needs to be completed in order to meet customer demand. If a company
has a takt time of five minutes, that means every five minutes a complete product, assembly or machine is
produced off the line because on average a customer is buying a finished product every five minutes. The
sell rate – every two hours, two days or two weeks – is the takt time.
Described mathematically, takt time is: Available time for production / required units of production
It is important to note that the time available for production should reflect the total number of hours (or
whatever units of time is used) employees work minus time spent on any breaks or meetings. Required units
of production is a measure of customer demand – how many products a company expects its customer to
buy in a given period of time. That period of time should be consistent between the two variables in the takt
time equation (e.g., per day).
For example, a factory operates 1,000 minutes per day. Customer demand is 500 widgets units per day. The
takt time, then, is: 1,000 / 500 = 2 minutes

RIE – Rapid Improvement Event

Rapid improvement events are part of the Lean toolkit and provide a mechanism for making radical changes
to current processes and activities within very short timescales.

Benefits of RIE

With careful planning, all these benefits can be yours!

 Cost savings
 Energized workforce
 Immediate payback for improvements
 Relatively inexpensive to conduct

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References
http://www.lean.org/
http://www.strategosinc.com/
http://www.processexcellencenetwork.com/
http://www.leanmanufacture.net/
https://en.wikipedia.org
http://www.isixsigma.com
www.sixsigma-institute.org
www.asq.org
www.sixsigmatrainingconsulting.com
http://leanmanufacturingtools.org/
www.sme.org
http://www.velaction.com/
www.intrafocus.com

The lesson content has been compiled from various sources in public domain including but not limited to the internet for the convenience of the
users. The SITMI has no proprietary right on the same.

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