Quality Management Tools for Each Step in Six Sigmas DMAIC

Snapshot of Easy, Intermediate and Advanced Approaches

Prepared by: Duncan Prahl, IBACOS Denis Leonard, Business Excellence Consulting October 2010

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IBACOS, Inc. 2010 The information contained within this report is the property of IBACOS and may not be reproduced or used without written permission.


Quality Management Tools and Six Sigma DMAIC

Overview
One of the key difficulties any builder has in managing quality is deciding which quality tools to use at which point in time and, more broadly, how to manage an improvement team and project. A key tool to help coordinate an improvement team/project is the Six Sigma DMAIC or Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control cycle. These steps will systematically guide you through an improvement project. There are of course a wide range of quality tools that can be used. The table that follows lists specific tools against each DMAIC step, which are ranked in terms of ease of use and/or implementation: Easy, Intermediate, Advanced. This table allows a builder to consider which tool to use at each step, starting with the basic tools and advancing into new tools as their comfort levels grow.

Quality Management Tools for Six Sigma DMAIC Cycle

EASY INTERMEDIATE Project charters ACORN A3 Project selection tables Decision making tools Value Stream Mapping ADVANCED Strategic planning SWOT Environmental scans 5Ps Boston box Scenario Planning PESTL Succession planning Tiger teams

DEFINE

PDCA Internal & external customers Kano model Process mapping Mind mapping SIPOC Problem statements SMART KISS

MEASURE

Check sheets Run charts Basic charts Pareto diagrams Cycle times

VOC Customer satisfaction surveys Employee satisfaction surveys Partner satisfaction surveys Supplier scorecards Benchmarking best in class Spread of product service portfolio

360 leadership evaluations FMEA COQ Organizational evaluation Balanced scorecard dashboards Benchmarking metrics and best practices Evaluation of competitors


Quality Management Tools and Six Sigma DMAIC

EASY INTERMEDIATE Focus groups 5S+1 (sort, straighten, shine, standardize, sustain, safety) LEAN (waste, MUDA) Over production, motion, inventory, transportation, waiting, underutilized people, defects, over processing Quality circles Kaizen blitz Supplier assessment feedback Preventative action Mentoring Reward and recognition Conferences TRIZ Value engineering DOE Integrated systems Idea programs ADVANCED Correlation Regression Repeatability & reproducibility

ANALYZE

Cause and effect diagrams Force field analysis Tree diagram Effective and efficient Voting scoring tools Matrix tools

IMPROVE

Employee ideas generation Teams Corrective action OFIs Change concepts Innovation Theory of constraints Simulation-pilot testing

CONTROL

Control plans Procedures Specs/scopes Incoming inspection In process and final inspection Equipment calibration

Kan Ban Poke Yoke mistake proofing Internal audits Preventive maintenance 8D Traceability Acceptance sampling Scheduling systems

Durability and life testing (HALT - highly accelerated life testing) Supplier certification Zero defects

Other Resources
Here are several good websites that provide more information regarding quality management and some of the specific tools referenced in the table above. Association for Quality Management (http://asq.org) - In particular, check out the following article and Select another topic under the Quality Tools buttons http://asq.org/learn-aboutquality/seven-basic-quality-tools/overview/overview.html iSixSigma (www.isixsigma.com) In particular, this page has a list of tools/templates with links http://www.isixsigma.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=205&Itemid=48


Quality Management Tools and Six Sigma DMAIC

For more quality management information and other resources, visit www.ibacos.com/resources.

About IBACOS
IBACOS enables production homebuilders to improve the quality and performance of their homes by providing whole house expert services, e-tools and information. IBACOS provides technical and business management expertise in the areas of Quality Assurance (implementing a comprehensive quality program), Risk Management (solving immediate construction defect issues), and Performance Coaching (taking steps to achieve higher standards). To catalyze tomorrows best practices and expand on its efforts as a team leader for the U.S. Department of Energys Building America program, IBACOS has assembled its Best Practices Research Alliance, a collaborative innovation community of leading builders and suppliers. To learn more, visit www.ibacos.com and www.theresearchalliance.org.