Six Sigma Project - Control Phase

Six Sigma Project - Control Phase
Assembly and test capacity expansion.

Control Phase

The purpose of the control phase is to maintain the gains that have been achieved by standardizing work method and processes. The control process should make plans to preserve the lessons learned from the earlier phases to enhance continual improvement.

Six Sigma 6S manufacturing services procedure.

A manufacturing services procedure and checklist was developed to maintain a 6S culture. This will ensure the maintenance of a clean safe assembly and test environment which will inevitably lead to a reduction in non conformances. 

Clean room check list

To maintain the cleanliness and housekeeping in the assembly clean room a daily, weekly and monthly sign off sheet (Fig 20) was developed. The checks are carried out by the supervisor and the operators to ensure a good culture is developed.

Fig 20: Excerpt from the clean room cleanliness control sign off sheet. Click image to enlarge

Borescope Inspection.

To control the cleanliness of the manifolds and to verify that the de-burring process is completed correctly a new Borescope inspection camera (See Fig 21) was purchased. All manifold bores are inspected by the quality control inspection department and signed off before assembly.

Fig 21: Borescope for manifold bore inspection, Click image to enlarge.

 

Automatic washer for manifolds

After the de-burring process all manifolds are cleaned in a new automatic washer. (Fig 22) This removes all debris from the de-burring process which is also verified by QC inspection using the Borescope. Only items that have been passed and signed off by inspection can be issued to assembly, controlled by the SAP ERP system.

Fig 22: Automatic manifold washer,center. With 2 Manifolds. Click image to enlarge

Improvement to job routings

The routing have been revised to reflect the savings realized by the improvements made in the improve phase. This has resulted in a reduction in assembly and test time of 7 hours which equates to an annual saving of €102,000. The new routings will now be the new standard work method going forward.

Fig 23: Old and new routing layouts. Click image to enlarge.

Increase in production output.

All the improvements done to date have significantly reduced production time and waste. The introduction of the new flow rig to test bay C while maintaining test bay A and the automation of the test processes will ensure that production will increase from 12 units per month to 18 units per month, an increase of 50%. 

Training and control of the new calibration flow rig.

A training program has been developed by the manufacturer of the new calibration flow rig. The training will be carried out on an ongoing basis by the R+D engineering group who developed the software. All personnel who receive training will have their training records updated accordingly. Only trained personnel will have the authority to log on to the control HMI interface and operate the flow rig. A preventative maintenance (PM) schedule has been drawn up for the upkeep and servicing of the new rig.

Next Steps

The team have now completed the all five phases of the DMAIC process. (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control), This does not mean by any means that all work is complete, the control phase is a continuing process that can be further developed and modified to make continual improvement going forward.