Lean Six Sigma Black BeltTQM and PDCA

Total Quality Management (TQM) is a structured system focused on satisfying customers by involving all members of an organization in improving the quality of products, processes, and resources. Sustained customer satisfaction, its main objective, is accomplished through systematic methods for problem solving, breakthrough achievement, and standardization derived from teaching quality leaders such as Philip B. Crosby, W. Edwards Deming, Armand V. Feigenbaum, Kaoru Ishikawa, and Joseph M. Juran. There are no hard-line procedures for implementing TQM. The PDCA cycle, also known as the Shewhart Cycle or the Deming Cycle, is a popular TQM problem-solving tool.

PDCA (The Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle involves four basic steps for carrying out continuous improvement in a process. Four basic steps of PDCA:

• Plan recognize the opportunity for process improvement and identify the plan for improvement.
• Do the plan is implemented. Simultaneously, employees are trained, and activities such as scheduling and follow-up happen. If the desired process improvement is not achieved, the plan is abandoned and the improvement effort will start from the planning stage.
• Check the implementation of the action plan will yield results. These results are then compared with the planned results. Deviations are recorded and an improvement plan is proposed to achieve results.
• Act on the results of the check step, and a decision is made whether to restart PDCA or standardize on the results.

A value-added activity is any activity that increases the worth of a product or service. It directly contributes to meeting customer requirements, and customers are willing to pay for it. Value-added activities also generate a positive ROI for an organization. Without these activities, the process will be affected. A lean team should analyze if activities in a process actually add value to a product or service. They should also determine if activities in a process can be performed in parallel or be merged. This will help organizations deliver outputs more efficiently.

Example: In a manufacturing process, value-added activities can include: receiving a part request, preparing an internal request for a part from production, finding a relevant plant for issuing a request, finding production availability, updating part request information, and the manager processing the part request information and updating the request.

Non-value-added activities are activities that consume resources and time without adding any value to a service or product. Non-value-added activities do not contribute to customer satisfaction and, therefore, customers are not willing to pay for these activities. They are not important to the production and delivery of a product or service, and eliminating them will not affect a process. Because non-value-added activities do not generate any positive ROI but incur only expenditures, organizations should focus on eliminating them.

Example: In the manufacturing process, non-value-added activities can include: sorting and organizing requests, searching for relevant part production locations, checking locations for availability and delivery, generating production requests, and reviewing the status of requests.

DFSS and DMAIC are two of the methodologies commonly used by organizations to implement. Six Sigma. Organizations with well-developed Six Sigma programs also run DMAIC and DFSS projects concurrently.

Feature	Description
Focus	DMAIC: Improving the existing products and services or processes. DFSS: Developing new products and services or processes or redesigning them.
Nature of the project	DMAIC: Projects are easier and faster and provide early gains. DFSS: Projects take longer to implement and benefits are visible only in the long run.
Process	DMAIC: Projects are related to manufacturing, transactional processes, or enabling processes. DFSS: Projects also include product design.

The metrics of a Six Sigma project reflect customer needs and ensure that the internal metrics of the organization are achieved. The selection of project metrics is one of the crucial elements in the Define phase of the Six Sigma methodology.

Six Sigma project metrics can be categorized into primary metrics and secondary metrics.

Primary Metrics

A primary metric, also called a project CTQ, is a CTQ measure that is used to monitor project progression and success. It is the reference point throughout the Six Sigma project. Ideally, project CTQs should have direct impact on customers. For any Six Sigma project, the primary metrics should be:

• Tied to the problem statement and objective of the project.
• In possession of an operational definition.
• Measurable, simple, and expressed in the form of an equation.
• Aligned to business objectives.
• Tracked on hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly basis.
• Expressed graphically over time with a run chart, time series, or control chart.
• And, validated with a Measurement Systems Analysis (MSA).

Some of the primary metrics of a Six Sigma project include customer satisfaction, on-time delivery of products, final product quality, and less costly products.

A secondary metric, also known as a consequential metric, is a project metric that you do not want to sacrifice at the expense of primary improvements in a process. These metrics ensure that the process is improving and not shifting one metric at the expense of another. It means that the secondary metrics have a relationship with the primary metrics of a Six Sigma project. Therefore, the primary goal of a Six Sigma project will be to move the primary metrics, but ensure that secondary metrics do not deteriorate or stay constant. Some of the secondary metrics include cycle time, volume shipped, inspection data, and rework hours. These metrics should not be sacrificed to achieve the primary metrics such as customer satisfaction, on-time delivery of products, and final product quality.