Page 40 - Six Sigma for electronics design and manufacturing

The Nature of Six Sigma and Its Connectivity to Other Quality Tools
11
The major tools of quality can be arrayed as to their use in achiev-
ing six sigma. Some tools can effect the numerator, denominator, or
both elements in Equation 1.4. However, a definition of each major
tool is given below, in order to examine its relationship with six sig-
ma.
1.8 Quality Function Deployment (QFD)
QFD is a structured process that provides a means for identifying and
carrying the customer’s voice through each stage of product develop-
ment and implementation. QFD is achieved by cross-functional teams
that collect, interpret, document, and prioritize customer require-
ments to identify bottlenecks and breakthrough opportunities.
QFD is a market-driven design and development process resulting
in products and services that meet or exceed customer needs and ex-
pectations. It is achieved by hearing the voice of the customer, direct-
ly stated in their own words, as well as analyzing the competitive po-
sition of the company’s products and services. Usually, a QFD team is
formed, consisting of marketing, design, and manufacturing engi-
neers, to help in designing new products, using customer inputs and
current product capabilities as well as competitive analysis of the
marketplace. QFD can be used alternately for new product design as
well as focusing the efforts of the QFD team on improving existing
products and processes. QFD combines tools from many traditional
disciplines, including engineering, management, and marketing.
1.8.1 Engineering
Tools such as structured analysis or process mapping, which is a top-
down division of requirements into multiple elements in several
charts, each related to a requirement in the higher chart, are em-
ployed. An example of two tiers of structured analysis is given in Fig-
ures 1.6 and 1.7 and will be discussed later in this chapter.

1.8.2 Management
Tools such as decision analysis (DA) or criteria rating (CR) are em-
ployed. This technique consists of breaking a complex decision into
distinct criteria, ranking each alternative decision versus each criteri-
on, then adding the total weighted criteria to determine the most ef-
fective overall decision. An example of criteria rating is the decision
on a soldering material for PCB assembly given in Table 1.1. There
are four alternatives being considered by the selection team, and the
criteria for the decision are listed on the left side of Table 1.1, each