Page 308 - Lean six sigma demystified

286 Lean Six Sigma DemystifieD

Critical to Quality Indicators

Process Goodness is uneventful. It does not flash, it glows.
indicators —David Grayson
Hand-offs
CTQs define specific ways to measure the customer’s
requirements and to predict your ability to deliver on those
requirements. All business problems invariably stem from
Decisions failing to meet or exceed a customer’s requirement. To
begin to define the problem, you need to identify your
customer’s CTQ needs and a way to measure them over
time—by hour, day, week, or month.
CTQs measure how well the product or service meets
the customer’s requirements. Process indicators, strategi-
cally positioned at critical hand-off points in the process
(Fig. 9-4), provide an early-warning system. For each CTQ
there should be one or more process indicators that can
Quality predict whether you will deliver what your customers
indicators
require.
FIgurE 9-4 • CTQ indicators
and handoffs.

Indicators
Requirement CTQ or Process Period

Better Number of defects: Percent defective Minute, hour, day,
(number of defects/total) week, month, shift,
batch
Faster # or % of commitments missed: time in
minutes, hours, days

Cheaper Cost: per-unit cost of waste or rework

There are usually only a few key customer requirements for any product or
service. What do your customers want? How can you measure it over time?
? still struggling

You don’t need a lot of measurements to manage quality. A few key ones will do.
Avoid becoming entangled in too many measurements. They confuse rather
than clarify.