Six Sigma: F(X) Cascade

5 Pages Posted: 30 May 2017

See all articles by Elliott N. Weiss

Elliott N. Weiss

University of Virginia - Darden School of Business

Andrew Gonce

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Abstract

This technical note describes a technique, F(X) Cascade, for determining the potential benefits of implementing a six-sigma improvement project. An integral part of the "define" stage in the DMAIC methodology is quantifying the sources of costs of defects and variability. The F(X) Cascade is one structured approach to this analysis.

Excerpt

UVA-OM-1206

Six Sigma: F(X) Cascade

What is Six Sigma? It is a business process that allows companies to drastically improve their bottom line by designing and monitoring everyday business activities in ways that minimize waste and resources while increasing customer satisfaction.… It provides specific methods to re-create the process so that defects and errors never arise in the first place.

Over the past 20 years, a host of top corporations—GE, Motorola, Sony, Ford, Lockheed Martin, Nokia, AlliedSignal, and Polaroid, among others—have adopted the Six Sigma approach to problem solving. Why? Because the methodology has established a track record of producing specific and measurable results that drive bottom-line performance—quickly. By linking quality and engineering improvements to cost-reduction efforts, Six Sigma has been tremendously appealing to companies with slow top-line growth, competitive cost pressures, and a mind-set for meeting customers' needs.

The underpinnings of the Six Sigma approach have been around for years, in the form of statistics, Kaizen, and total-quality management. But not until the 1980s, when Mikel Harry (whose quote above describes the overarching vision of Six Sigma) developed the methodology at Motorola, was there a formalized process for targeting the inputs to quality problems rather than the outputs of those problems. Outputs were easy to spot: broken products, rework, and customer complaints. Inputs to quality problems—from design faults and system malfunctions to gaps in employee training and other process issues—were notoriously more difficult to identify and correct.

Six Sigma focuses on the input side of the equation through two distinct ideas: a problem-solving methodology and a set of tools to manage the problem. Six Sigma practitioners who complete a course and a number of projects earn the title Black Belt. There is also a Master Black Belt title for those trained to teach the methodology and a Green Belt for those who have worked on a project but have not led their own project to completion. When practitioners speak about the Six Sigma process, they are usually referring to the problem-solving methodology.

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Keywords: communication process, communication strategy

Suggested Citation

Weiss, Elliott N. and Gonce, Andrew, Six Sigma: F(X) Cascade. Darden Case No. UVA-OM-1206, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2974895 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2974895

Elliott N. Weiss (Contact Author)

University of Virginia - Darden School of Business ( email )

P.O. Box 6550
Charlottesville, VA 22906-6550
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.darden.virginia.edu/html/direc_detail.aspx?styleid=2&id=4375

Andrew Gonce

affiliation not provided to SSRN

No Address Available

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