ME 156C (4 units): Measurement and Control of Defects. Continuation of ME 156B topics. Introduces modern evaluation of processes leading to improved products and services. Students will use the tools of Six Sigma Process Control including Pareta Charts, Flow Charts, Histograms, Cause and Effect Diagrams, Design of Experiments and Control Charts. Includes analysis of current processes and new hardware design projects. (Prerequisites: ME 156A-B; open to ME majors only.)
David WoodfordVisiting ProfessorDepartment of Mechanical and Environmental EngineeringPresident, Materials Performance analysis, Inc. |
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Regular office:MPa, Inc Phone: 569 0524 Email: woodfordd@aol.comCampus Office:Office Hours: MWF 11:00am-12:00 noon |
The procedures and tools developed during the last twenty years to reduce the number of defects in processes, from the perspective of customers of the processes, have been consolidated into a methodology known as Six Sigma. This approach to enhance quality and reduce defects has been quantified using simple statistical concepts based on the normal distribution curve. Six sigma refers to the objective of reducing the spread in performance of a process so that the limits include plus or minus six standard deviations, with the additional provision that the process mean is expected to shift in the long term by one and a half standard deviations. The statistical result is that an objective of fewer than 3.4 defects per million opportunities is established for all processes.
Since a process is defined as everything that works together to produce an operation, a service, or a product, this concept is very powerful and may be applied to most human activities. The implementation of Six Sigma in industry has resulted in a new mindset for optimizing quality that has had profound impact on the efficiency and effectiveness of large and small corporations. Not only has quality improved tremendously in established processes but also many corporations have shown enormous cost savings.
A formal approach to improve current processes within the Six Sigma framework uses the acronym DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control). Each step uses available tools and procedures that are drawn from recent insight into quality improvement. Projects are selected based on evaluation of those likely to have the biggest impact on customer satisfaction. A systematic approach to quantify the current sigma performance, identify how that performance can be improved and ensure that the improvement is maintained is then implemented. Some of these tools are listed in a DMAIC summary. To learn how to use these tools, student teams will select from among a number of UCSB operations,or will propose alternative operations or services, for rigorous evaluation and improvement.
In the past few years several corporations have recognized the potential advantages of using some of these concepts at the design stage. New tools are being developed to apply to Design for Six Sigma and the procedures are still being developed. One proposed format is described in the DFSS summary. After becoming familiar with the formal measuring and controling tools, termed traditional Six Sigma, student teams will select from the products list or propose alternative projects to apply the DFSS concepts to ensure an approach to six sigma quality in the initial design.
George Eckes, The Six Sigma Revolution, (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2001) plus selected references.
Design teams will consist of 5 people with a team leader. Detailed guidelines will be provided on organization, responsibilities and scheduling; and, of course, on grading.
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Page revised March 28, 2002
