Making the Case for Quality

Siemens VDO Optimizes Processes

Using Six Sigma
by Janet Jacobsen

To achieve lasting success in the competitive automotive industry, a supplier needs a winning quality
strategy with a sharp focus on process optimization. Just two years ago, Siemens VDO introduced its
vision for world-class improvement, and in the short time since, employees at its Guadalajara, Mexico,
facilities have accepted that strategy, particularly the Six Sigma component, earning accolades from
customers and competition judges alike.

About Siemens VDO Guadalajara

At a Glance . . .
Siemens VDO, with its Mexican headquarters located in Guadalajara, is a leading international
• Six Sigma is one of five supplier of automotive electronics and mechatronics. With approximately 2,500 employees staffing
pillars supporting the two manufacturing plants, Siemens VDO Guadalajara produces a wide variety of electronic devices,
Siemens VDO quality including central and lateral air bag activators, tire air pressure sensors, fuel injection systems, and
strategy for achieving more. The company exports 99% of its production to Ford, DaimlerChrysler, Honda, Nissan, BMW,
world-class leadership in and other customers in more than 15 countries around the world.
the competitive automotive
industry.
• Employees quickly
embraced Six Sigma for
process optimization,
deploying it in all facets
of the business to improve
customer satisfaction.
• A disciplined approach
for project selection has
led to better results for
Six Sigma teams.
• The company earned global
recognition for its use of
Six Sigma, with one project
improvement team winning
the Bronze Award in the
2006 International Team
Excellence Competition.
The Mexican headquarters of Siemens VDO is located in Guadalajara.

The American Society for Quality ■ www.asq.org Page 1 of 4

 Six Sigma Supports a Foundation for Quality
The Time Oriented Processes and World Class Improvement
Program (top+ WIP) is Siemens VDO’s corporate continuous
improvement methodology. Based on the premise that any
business striving for world-class status must focus on process
optimization, top+ WIP is linked to the Parthenon strategy (repre-
sented in Figure 1) implemented at Siemens VDO’s Guadalajara
facilities in 2004. Through this strategy, the company systemat-
ically and quickly seeks excellence in every business process,
activity, and workplace. The strategy represents a collective
commitment to achieving a higher customer orientation, team-
work, and the highest quality level, enabling the company to
offer the decisive added value needed to become a leader in
the automotive industry.
As Figure 1 shows, the five columns of Six Sigma, Lean manufac-
turing, project management, technology, and supplier development
provide support for the organizational culture.
Figure 1 The Parthenon Strategy
The Six Sigma column represents a philosophy of excellence
at Siemens VDO that extends from top management to every
person in the organization. The focus of the Six Sigma program
is satisfying customers through process improvement by con-
trolling variation, explains Jose Antonio Perez, Six Sigma
Master Black Belt at Siemens VDO. Depending on the type
of problem to be solved, the company’s Six Sigma strategy
incorporates various quality tools, including the following:
• DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve, and control)
• 8D (Eight Disciplines problem-solving process)
• Shainin
• Poka yoke
• FMEA (failure mode and effects analysis)
• Is/is not
• Cpk (capability during production)
The American Society for Quality ■ www.asq.org
• MSA (measurement system analysis)
• SPC (statistical process control)
Siemens VDO’s Six Sigma Journey
The Six Sigma culture is relatively new at the Guadalajara plants,
as the company launched its Six Sigma initiative in February 2004
with Champion training. The first wave of Black Belts completed
training in January 2005, followed by the initial class of Green
Belts one month later. Currently, the Guadalajara sites have one
Master Black Belt on staff, seven Black Belts, 151 Green Belts, and
six employees who are Lean coaches. These Six Sigma profes-
sionals have completed approximately 200 Six Sigma projects in
all facets of the business. In fact, two Black Belts are specifically
assigned to transactional projects involving human resources, logis-
tics, finance, accounting, and environmental health and security.
Company employees were quick to embrace Six Sigma concepts
and eager to benchmark their processes against the best quality
teams in the world. They promptly earned international recogni-
tion as one project team captured the Bronze Award in the 2006
ASQ Team Excellence Competition. The Mack Trucks Plant
Failures Reduction Six Sigma Team garnered both the Bronze
Award and the Mexico Partner Award for its work in dramatically
improving the quality focus on Mack Truck plant returns at the
Guadalajara facilities.
Competition judges were not the only ones taking notice of
Siemens’ Six Sigma activities; customers have also been impressed
with the company’s improvement projects. Perez says his company
involves its customers not only with the final phases of a Six
Sigma project, but also with periodic meetings throughout all
stages of improvement.
One major customer’s perceptions of the company changed thanks
to improvements gained from a Six Sigma project. Before the
project, the customer expressed disappointment in the quality of
a Siemens VDO product. Then, just seven months later, after a
Six Sigma project was completed, the same customer noted that
quality performance had improved dramatically.
Tight Focus on Project Selection Pays Dividends
Selecting Six Sigma projects with the greatest potential to
achieve significant results is a team effort for the organization.
A Continuous Improvement Steering Team (CIST), which
involves all top managers, is responsible for assigning projects
and for removing any roadblocks should the assigned Champion
be unable do so. The three project selection criteria used by
Siemens VDO are:
• Process performance
• Financial impact
• Strategic business objectives
Potential projects are numerically rated on the expected effect
on the three selection criteria, with the highest rated projects
Page 2 of 4
 assigned to Six Sigma team members according to the business
unit or department affected. The selection process leads to more
successful projects by:
• Assuring that projects are aligned and prioritized according
to the organization’s strategy
• Standardizing identification of improvement projects in the
organization to avoid decisions that aren’t made according
to data or that depend on people
• Helping avoid too many project assignments for one process
or area
• Creating a system that encourages the organization to identify
improvement opportunities in its processes periodically
Reducing Scrap and Defects Through Six Sigma
One of the company’s successful Six Sigma projects focused
on reducing scrap due to interlocking failures on modules that
measure and make the driver aware of the loss of tire pressure.
The interlocking system is used as a tracking record of all tests
performed for each unit produced. The system works by creating
an individual file that contains the test results, as recorded by
each test station. If, at the final process step, a unit does not
have an interlocking file, the unit is considered scrap since it
can’t be reworked. A Six Sigma team focused on reducing these
defects for DaimlerChrysler by implementing the following
improvements:
• Changed the information storage routes and programs in the
interlocking related programs
• Eliminated the rework flow “direct polyurethane” without
100% test control for passed units
• Standardized interlocking flows between production line one
and line two
• Standardized interlocking programs for a variety of tests
module. The process of soldering components at a printed circuit
board is the basic motor of the electronic evolution during the
past few years, explains Perez. He also says there are several
different methods of soldering, including the selective solder
method that consists of a single or multipoint wave soldering
of the components by a robot. Siemens uses this method in the
manufacturing process for Delphi ABS control modules.
A study completed by a Six Sigma project team uncovered solder
insufficiencies in coil pins, prompting team members to create an
action plan. Their Six Sigma improvement project resulted in the
following changes:
• Found the direct relation between solder height and chimney
gates height
• Implemented a new register of failures in the selective solder
process
• Redefined the process instructions to establish the correct
method to adjust the gates during maintenance operations
• Created new tooling to adjust the height of chimney gates
• Defined a better tool for measuring the chimney gates
Figure 3 illustrates the dramatic improvement in reducing defects
due to solder insufficiencies on coil pins.
Figure 3 Failures Due to Selective Solder Insufficiencies
on Coil Pins
PPM before and after Six Sigma improvement project
(Insufficiencies of solder on coil pins)
250
200
150
PPM

100
Figure 2 Reduction of Scrap Due to Interlocking
Failures 50
18
TG DCX Scrap code 34-9 (Oct 04 - May 05 estimated)
0.80% 0
0.60% Apr-05 May-05 Jun-05 Feb-06
0.60%
% Scrap

0.40% PPM before improvement PPM after improvement

0.19% 0.21% 0.24% 0.05% 0.13% 0.08% 0.10% 0.12% 0.14% 0.04% 0.07%
0.20%
0.00%
05

05
04

04

05

05
05

5
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-0

l-0

Looking to the Future

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Month
Month Baseline Goal While Siemens VDO Guadalajara has enjoyed increased customer
satisfaction and international recognition from its Six Sigma ini-
tiative, company leaders are not content to rest on their laurels.
As shown in Figure 2, the percentage of scrap was quickly “We are working with new continuous improvement methodolo-
reduced and has remained close to the project goal in subsequent gies such as Design for Six Sigma and TRIZ. We think the blend
months. between innovation and continuous improvement is the key to
success,” explains Perez.
A separate Six Sigma project involved insufficient soldering on
coil pins for a Delphi antilock braking system (ABS) control

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 For More Information: About the Author

• To learn more about Siemens VDO, visit Janet Jacobsen is a freelance writer specializing in quality and
http://www.siemensvdo.com. compliance topics. A graduate of Drake University, she resides
• For further information on Six Sigma activities at Siemens VDO in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Guadalajara, contact Jose Antonio Perez, Six Sigma Master
Black Belt, via e-mail at jose.perez-mercado@siemens.com.
• See the ASQ Web site at www.asq.org to learn more about
Six Sigma.

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