Overview

Total Quality Methodologies in Engineering

INSE 6210

Zachary Patterson, Professor

Concordia Institute for Information Systems Engineering (CIISE)
6 September 2023
 Today’s Class

• Description of course outline

• Overview of the course
• Foundations of Six Sigma: Principles of Quality
Management
 Course Information

• Instructor: Zachary Patterson, CIISE

• Office: EV 3.109
• Lectures: Wednesdays 17:45 – 20:15, H 531
• Office hours: Wednesdays 2PM-3PM
• Email: [email protected]
 Teaching Assistant

• Name: Ornela Bregu

• Email: [email protected]
• Office Hours: Thursdays 4PM-6PM, EV 10.139
 What is INSE 6210?
• Course Calendar:
• This class is an introduction to quality
management. Students will comprehend
various concepts in quality management and
learn to apply them.
• Thematically:
• Understanding the Six Sigma quality
management and improvement philosophy
• How to use and implement Six Sigma
 Prerequisites

• No prerequisite for this course

• Good to have:
• Knowledge in probability/statistics
• Prior experience with statistical software
 Course Administration

• Course webpage
• Moodle
• Check it regularly
• Syllabus, slides, project description, etc.
• Moodle
 Moodle Groups
• Two Moodle groups
1. Announcements
• I’ll send information about the course
2. Discussion Group
• Send questions about the course
• Students, I and TA can reply
 Textbook
• Available:
• in bookstore
• as course reserve textbook at
library
• as e-book from Cengage
• Course follows textbook
• You’re expected to do assigned
weekly readings
 Other Useful Books
• Six Sigma for Technical Processes: An Overview for R&D Executives, Technical
Leaders, and Engineering Managers By Clyde M. Creveling , 2006.
• Six Sigma: Basic Tools and Techniques By Donna C. Summers , 2006.
• The Six Sigma Handbook, Revised and Expanded: The Complete Guide By for
Greenbelts, Blackbelts, and Managers at All Levels By Thomas Pyzdek , 2003.
 Evaluation
% of
Item
grade
Midterm Exam 35
Final Exam 45
Project Report (with peer evaluation adjustment*): 20
Total 100
* See explanation below.

Important Dates
• Project Proposal: 27 September 2023
• Midterm: 25 October 2023
• Project Report: 6 December 2023

Travel arrangements should not be made prior to

the posting of the final exam schedule.
 Term Project

• Project done in groups of up to 4

• Project report adjusted with a peer evaluation
adjustment
• Details on project posted on Moodle
 Term Project

• Purpose: acquire in-depth and integrated

knowledge in quality improvement
methodologies through working on real quality
problems with other team members

13
 Term Project

• Project Type A:
1. improvement of an existing process using
DMAIC methods and tools, or
2. design of a new product or process using
DMADV methods
3. Process you are familiar with and for which
you have data

14
 Term Project
• Project Type B:
• Proposal for improving a process for a
company with which you are not working
• Imagine your team works for a company and
that you’ve been asked to develop a proposal
for a Six Sigma project
• Need to convince your supervisor to fund the
project
• Need to provide justification for the problem:
at least DPMO/EPMO

15
 Term Project
• Project Type B continued:
• What steps would you take?
• What tools would you use in each of the steps?
• How would data be collected? What types of
data would you propose to collect? How many
samples? How many observations? How would
you analyze the data - what statistical methods
or tools, for example?

16
 Term Project
• Project Type B continued:
• If you propose Control charts, what kind of
Control Charts would you use?
• How many people would you expect to work
on the project?
• Where would they come from in the
organization?
• How long would the project take? How much
would be the budget of the project?

17
 Term Project

• Examples:
1. Manufacturing process
2. Service process
3. Information systems process
• e.g. system development process

18
 Term Project

• Deliverables:
1. Project proposal
2. Presentation
3. Project report

19
 Term Project
• Proposal:
• Project Charter
• Problem/Goal Statement
• Business Case
• Project Scope
• Plan
• Team Roles and Responsibilities
• Due on 27 September

20
Peer Evaluation Adj.
Peer Evaluation Adj.
 Overview and Principles of Six Sigma Course
Roadmap
Six Sigma Methodology

Define Measure Analyze Improve Control

How will you

What problem are Why is the What do you
What is the extent ensure that the
you trying to problem propose to do and
of the problem? problem stays
solve? occurring? why?
fixed?

1. Understand
4. Identify what to 7. Identify performance 9. Generate possible 11. Institutionalize
customer & business
measure gaps solutions solution(s)
requirements
2. Complete high-level, 10. Prioritize & select 12. Replicate & share
5. Plan and collect data 8. Validate root causes
as-is process map solution(s) best practices
3. Complete project 6. Determine baseline 13. Celebrate &
charter performance recognize success

Additional Topics

Drawn from the “The DMAIC Roadmap” Advanced Innovation Group Pro Excellence 2018
 Overview and Principles of Six Sigma Today!

Six Sigma Methodology

Define Measure Analyze Improve Control

How will you

What problem are Why is the What do you
What is the extent ensure that the
you trying to problem propose to do and
of the problem? problem stays
solve? occurring? why?
fixed?

1. Understand
4. Identify what to 7. Identify performance 9. Generate possible 11. Institutionalize
customer & business
measure gaps solutions solution(s)
requirements
2. Complete high-level, 10. Prioritize & select 12. Replicate & share
5. Plan and collect data 8. Validate root causes
as-is process map solution(s) best practices
3. Complete project 6. Determine baseline 13. Celebrate &
charter performance recognize success

Additional Topics

Drawn from the “The DMAIC Roadmap” Advanced Innovation Group Pro Excellence 2018
 Today’s Lecture
• Precedents and influences of Six Sigma
• Brief introduction to Six Sigma
• Quality & quality management
• Origins & evolution of quality management
• Quality management principles underlying
Six Sigma
Why is Quality Important?
• Important determinant of profitability
• Businesses offering premium-quality
products have higher market shares
• Often early market entrants
• Quality positively & significantly related to
ROI
• Quality improvement strategies -> higher
market share
• Premium prices for high-quality producers
Why is Quality Important?
Improved quality Improved quality
of design of conformance

Higher perceived Higher Lower

value prices manufacturing and
service costs
Increased market Increased
share revenues

Higher profitability

Figure 1.3 Evans & Lindsay

 Quality is Not Given

• While quality of product or service is

essential…
• …it’s not easy or obvious to get or to keep
 Improving Quality
• Improvement requires the right
methodologies and tools
• A structured approach
• Disciplined thinking
• Engagement of everyone in organization
 Why Six Sigma?
• This course is about improving
organizational processes using the Six
Sigma methodology
• Why?
• It has a proven track record for quality
improvement, savings and profitability
 Six Sigma Successes
• Some companies that have adopted Six Sigma
 Six Sigma Successes

• GE an enthusiastic adopter of Six Sigma

• Jack Welch, CEO of GE
• “I went nuts about Six Sigma and
launched it.”
 Six Sigma Successes
• First year of implementation at GE
• 30,000 employees trained ($200 m)
• Cost savings $150 m
• 1996-1997
• 3,000-6,000 projects
• 1998
• $750 m savings over and above
investment
• 1999
• $1.5 B in savings
 Six Sigma Successes
• Allied Signal
• 1995-1997
• Cost savings > $600 m
• Citibank late 1990s
• Reduced callbacks 80%
• Reduced credit processing time 50%
• Cycle time statement processing 28 à 15
days
• Six Sigma adopted into services, e.g. health
 What is Six Sigma?
1. Defect or error-based metric
• 3.4 or fewer Defects Per Million
Opportunities (DPMO)
2. A general quality management approach
and philosophy
• Philosophy gets its name from the defect
metric
• The defect metric is also at the core of
the philosophy and approach
 What is Six Sigma?
• Six Sigma seeks to:
• Find and eliminate causes of defects or
errors
• Reduce cycle times
• Reduce cost of operations
• Improve productivity
• Better meet customer expectations
• Achieve higher asset utilization
• Achieve higher ROI
 What is Six Sigma?

• Six Sigma particularly concerned with:

• outputs critical to customers
• justifying improvements by
demonstrating financial return
 What is Six Sigma?
• It is based on the DMAIC problem solving
methodology
• Define
• Measure
• Analyze
• Improve
• Control
 What is Six Sigma?
• It focuses on improving four basic business
metrics
1. Quality
2. Productivity
3. Cost
4. Profitability
 Six Sigma Model
Existing Manufacturing
Business Suppliers Inputs and service Outputs Customers
Processes processes

Define
Measure
Six Sigma
Methodology DMAIC
Control
Analyze

Improve

Improved
Business Quality Productivity Cost Profitability 40
Performance
Where does it Come from?
• Pioneered by Motorola
• Developed by Bill Smith in 1980s
• System failure rates higher than
predicted by final product tests
• Caused by high system complexity
• Fundamental flaw in traditional quality
thinking
• Higher quality (3.4 DPMO) required
• Robert Galvin (CEO) adopted it
Six Sigma Key Concepts
1. Think in terms of key organizational
processes and customer requirements
2. Focus on high-level executive champions
3. Emphasize quantifiable measures applied
to all parts of organization
4. Ensure appropriate metrics are used that
focus on business results
5. Extensive training in Six Sigma
6. Create improvement experts to apply
improvement tools and lead teams
7. Set objectives
 Long Roots of 6σ

• While Six Sigma was pioneered in the

1980s…
• …it has roots and precedents across time…
• …and the world
 Historical Precedents
• Ancient Egypt
• Extremely precise requirements for
pyramids
• Wall paintings (1450 BC) show evidence
of measurement and inspection
 Historical Precedents
• China: Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BC)
• Government departments responsible for:
• Production, inventory and product
distribution
• early supply chain management
• Production and manufacturing
• Formulating and executing quality
standards
• Supervision and inspection
European Craftsmanship
• Middle ages
• Skilled craftsmen were manufacturers
and inspectors
• Pride in workmanship
• Craft guilds developed to train and
apprentice craftsmen
• Quality assurance was informal
 Era of Specialization
• Combination of
• Scientific Revolution
• the Enlightenment
• The idea of specialization emerges and
gains ground
 Era of Specialization
• Adam Smith (1723-1790)
• Famously describes gains from
specialization
• Asserts:
• Absent the division of labor, a worker
would be lucky to produce even one pin
per day
• Ten workers could produce 48,000 pins
per day if each of eighteen specialized
tasks was assigned to different workers
 Craftmanship to
Specialization
• Transition from craftsmanship to
specialization
• Example: Musket production in US
• Honoré Leblanc:
• System for manufacturing muskets
• Standard pattern
• Using interchangeable parts
 Craftmanship to
Specialization
• Eli Whitney contract for 10,000 muskets based on
Leblanc’s idea in US
• Recall: with craftsmen, quality of entire product was
controlled
• Interchangeable parts required careful quality control
• Despite specialized tools and training, many problems
and delays
• Exemplifies origin of modern quality assurance
Eli Whitney Model 1812 Contract
Musket.
 Early 20 th Century
• Early 20th century quality assurance (in US)
• Tasks of managers and workers were
separated
• Thereby greater specialization and
improved efficiency
• Quality assurance in hands of inspectors of
final products
• Very costly with many defects
• Inspection primary means of quality
control
 Bell Labs
• Early 1900s Bell System becomes leader of
early modern history of quality control
• Founded an inspection department
• 1920s Bell Labs founded
• Develops new theories and techniques for
“quality assurance”
• W. Edwards Deming works here
 SQC
• Western Electric Group
• Walter Shewhart
• Applies and develops statistical techniques
for quality control
• Statistical Quality Control (SQC)
• e.g. Control Charts
WWII and SQC

• US military starts using

statistical sampling
techniques for quality
control
• Trains many people for
this who enter workforce
after the war
• SQC became known and
adopted more broadly
• In industry, quality the
concern of specialists but
not management
• Led to overall decrease in
quality of US
manufacturing
 Quality in Japan
• After the war, SQC introduced to Japan
from US
• Educational effort on managers
• Quality becomes integrated throughout
Japanese organizations
• Executives, managers and workers
participate in quality improvements
 Quality in Japan

• Becomes known as culture of continuous

improvement - Kaizen
• By the 1970s Japanese quality better than
in the US
• Japanese companies gaining market share
US Quality Revolution
• By the 1980s US corporations confronted
worrying quality levels and shrinking
market shares
• Interest in quality grew quickly
• Eventually quality and competitiveness
gaps between US and Japanese companies
narrows
• Quality practices (many from Japan)
adopted in non-manufacturing as well
Total Quality Management
• First, TQM became an important
managerial philosophy
1. Customer focus
2. Continuous improvement
3. Employee participation and
empowerment
 TQM Disadvantages
• Top managers had trouble implementing it
• Didn’t understand it
• Didn’t see the value of it
TQM vs. Six Sigma
TQM Six Sigma
 TQM vs. Six Sigma
TQM Six Sigma
“Owned” by workers and
management
 TQM vs. Six Sigma
TQM Six Sigma
“Owned” by workers and “Owned” by Executive
management Champions
 TQM vs. Six Sigma
TQM Six Sigma
“Owned” by workers and “Owned” by Executive
management Champions
Narrow Scope (one process)
 TQM vs. Six Sigma
TQM Six Sigma
“Owned” by workers and “Owned” by Executive
management Champions
Narrow Scope (one process) Cross functional
 TQM vs. Six Sigma
TQM Six Sigma
“Owned” by workers and “Owned” by Executive
management Champions
Narrow Scope (one process) Cross functional
Training: less rigorous
 TQM vs. Six Sigma
TQM Six Sigma
“Owned” by workers and “Owned” by Executive
management Champions
Narrow Scope (one process) Cross functional
Training: less rigorous Training: rigorous, statistical
 TQM vs. Six Sigma
TQM Six Sigma
“Owned” by workers and “Owned” by Executive
management Champions
Narrow Scope (one process) Cross functional
Training: less rigorous Training: rigorous, statistical
Little financial accountability
 TQM vs. Six Sigma
TQM Six Sigma
“Owned” by workers and “Owned” by Executive
management Champions
Narrow Scope (one process) Cross functional
Training: less rigorous Training: rigorous, statistical
Little financial accountability Requires verifiable ROI
 Growth of Six Sigma

• As a result, and subsequently, Six Sigma

adopted in:
• many institutions
• multiple sectors
 What is Quality?
• Quest for improved quality drives Six Sigma
• But what is quality?
• Definition depends upon role in an
organization
• Can have many meanings
 Design Perspective

• Function of specific, measurable variables

• Differences in quality reflect differences in
quantity of some attribute
• e.g. number of stitches per inch
Operations Perspective
• Manufacturing-based
• Quality: conformance to specifications
• Specifications: targets and tolerances
determined by designers
• 0.236 ± 0.003cm
• On-time arrival
• within 15 minutes of arrival time
Customer Perspective
• What customer wants determines quality
• Quality: fitness for intended use
• Example: US fridges in Japan
• Quality: value
• What you get for what you pay for
• Quality: Meeting or exceeding customer
expectations
 Readings

• Chapter 1 Evans & Lindsay