Page 366 - Design for Six Sigma for Service (Six SIGMA Operational Methods)

326 Chapter Ten

• Lot size too small or too large
• Poor equipment maintenance
• Poor inventory management and shop floor control
• Low equipment reliability
• Poor operator discipline and motivation
• Improper equipment
• Low flexibility
• Inadequate process capacity

A number of generic strategies are available for solving the range of manu-
facturing problems; however, each strategy must be matched to the appropriate
diagnosis. The precise manner in which a strategy is to be applied must also
be determined after careful study. Strategies to be considered include
1. Comprehensive operator training programs
2. Buffer management
3. Comprehensive preventive and predictive maintenance programs
4. Quick batch changeover
5. Process simplification
6. Plant layout reorganization
7. Statistical quality control
8. Operator wage and incentive programs
9. Production scheduling system
10. Comprehensive production planning
11. Continuous improvement programs
12. Flexible manufacturing
13. Cellular manufacturing
It is necessary, at this point, to emphasize that many of these strategies have
become buzzwords and have, as a result, been sometimes applied inappro-
priately. To avoid these expensive mistakes, each strategy should only be
chosen after a thorough process management.

10.3.3 Office or Transaction Process

In the office environment there is a wide variety of transaction processes for
handling the administrative activities of an organization. These include
computer data entry, copying documents, filing and retrieving documents,
attending meetings, performing analyses, decision making, and documenting
reports. Each type of activity requires certain types of equipment and may be
performed individually or in teams. The processes typically focus on
information, requiring information as input and value-added information as
output. The information that is processed may be stored on paper documents