Relevance of Six Sigma Line of Attack in SMEs: A Case Study of a Die Casting Manufacturing Unit

Abstract

1.Six Sigma within small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is rapidly emerging as the new wave of change in Six Sigma. The methodology adopted is Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control (DMAIC) of Six Sigma which had been mostly successful so far in large-scale industries. The methodology has been applied to reduce the rejection rate of the engine mounting bracket (EMB) by reducing defects inherent in the processes. The application of Six Sigma project recommendation brought up the process sigma level to 5.24 from 1.64 by reduction in EMB hole diameter variation in the process of machining after die casting. This increase in the sigma level is equivalent to a monitory saving of Rs. 0.260 million per annum which is a noteworthy figure for an industry of such level. This paper provides documented evidence of Six Sigma implementation in a die casting manufacturing unit which has been taken as a representative of a small-and medium-size industry.

Statistics for industries: A sophisticated approach

“…As a requirement of being the vendor organization of such big giants, the firm has to curb the high rejection rate and maintain a sound productivity level in its premises. Six-Sigma has proven potential in such cases (Kaushik 2011). In our perspective, the implementation of Six-Sigma in a small company is easier as management support and commitment are readily available, as contrary to big firms (Biswas & Chowdhury, 2016).…”

“…This can be achieved by inputting the continuous effort in understanding the process and managing the system associated with the process (Kaushik & Mittal, 2017). In order to achieve customer satisfaction researchers and industrialists around the world have worked over various tools and techniques like Total Quality Management (TQM), Quality circles (Mittal and Prajapati 2014), APQP Kaushik et al, 2011), Shainin system , Quality Awards, Fuzzy logic (Mittal et al, 2016a), Total Preventive Maintenance (TPM), Business Process Reengineering (Mittal et al, 2016b), Lean and Six Sigma Kaushik et al, 2016). One of the most popular techniques named above is Six-Sigma.…”

Six Sigma methodology advantages for small- and medium-sized enterprises: A case study in the plumbing industry in the United States

“…The application of the Six Sigma methodology in SMEs is increasingly evolving and transforming through the adoption of the DMAIC cycle, which has so far been used in larger scale industries. 24 The current literature reveals a gap, with little research dedicated SMEs utilizing a sigma approach. SMEs may have difficulty in applying statistics because of the advance training required to utilize many of the tools.…”

“…The authors describe that the main elements of Six Sigma infrastructure is the creation of teams to execute projects that strongly contribute to the achievement of strategic goals from the company. [21][22][23] The development of these projects is carried out based on the socalled DMAIC process (define, measure, analyze, improve, and control): 14,24 Define: Develop the project scope and validate their importance, form the team responsible for the project, and identify the main needs of customers/consumers; Measure: Determine the location or focus of the problem, collect data, checking reliability of such data, identify priority problems, and establish the goal of these problems; Analyze: Determine the causes of each priority problem, analyze the generating process of these problems, identify and prioritize potential causes of the priority problem, and quantify the importance of the priority potential causes; Improve: Propose, evaluate, and implement solutions for each priority problem; identify solutions to this problem; test on a small scale the proposed solutions; and develop and implement a plan to implement priority solutions on a large scale; Control: Ensure that the scope of the long-term goal is maintained, assess the achievement of the goal on a large scale, implement a plan for monitoring performance and taking corrective action in case of emergence of anomalies, summarize the work, and make recommendations.…”

Impact of Six Sigma approach on SMEs of Northern India - an empirical investigation

“…Finally, there was no evidence that Six Sigma negatively impacts corporate performance. Kaushik (2012) adopted Six Sigma methodology to reduce the rejection rate of the engine mounting bracket by reducing defects inherent in the processes. The application of Six Sigma project recommendation brought up the process sigma level to 5.24 from 1.64 by reducing in EMB hole diameter variation in the process of machining after die casting.…”