Six Sigma: Total Quality Applications
Learn
how to effectively apply the elements and methods of Six Sigma. Understand
how more than 25 tools and methods relate to the DMAIC (define, measure,
analyze, improve, and control) model. Determine the relationship of basic
statistics to Six Sigma and learn about the Six Sigma business case
including strategic planning, the voice of the customer (VOC), quality
function deployment (QFD), benchmarking, and financial investment methods.
Discover how to use brainstorming, Pareto charts, and critical to quality
help define processes, problems, and opportunities. Master the use of other
key tools such as cause and effect diagrams, checksheets, scatter diagrams,
failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA), and force field analysis.
In this six-week online course, you will learn how to apply the DMAIC model
each step of the way. You'll learn how to define, plan, implement, and close
a Six Sigma project. You'll also know how to use process capability and how
to apply lean thinking. And you'll understand the basics of advanced Six
Sigma tools such as sampling, design of experiments (DOE), analysis of
variance (ANOVA), hypothesis testing, control charts, and probability
distributions.
This course will help you prepare for the internationally-recognized Six
Sigma Black Belt and Quality Manager exams offered by the American Society
for Quality® (ASQ®).
To enroll in this course, click the Enroll Now button below:
Requirements:
Completion of Tony Swaim's Total Quality Fundamentals. Internet access, e-mail, and the Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox Web browser.
Syllabus:
All courses run for six weeks, with a two-week grace period at the end.
Two lessons are released each week for the six-week duration of the course.
You do not have to be present when the lesson is released, but you must
complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.
A new section of each course starts on the second or third Wednesday of each
month. If enrolling in a series of two or more courses, please be sure to
space the start date for each course at least two months apart.
| Week One |
| Wednesday - Lesson 01 |
| In our first lesson, we'll start off by
investigating DMAIC, the most popular acronym within the Six Sigma
body of knowledge. It stands for define, measure, analyze, improve,
and control. Then, to set the stage for the remaining lessons, we'll
explore basic statistics. Since many of the Six Sigma methods and
tools that we'll be discussing require that you have a basic
knowledge of statistics, I want to make sure that you're
well-prepared. I'll show you how to apply the measures of
location—median, mode, mean—and the measures of dispersion—range,
mean absolute deviation (MAD), variance, and standard deviation
(SD). |
| Friday - Lesson 02 |
| In this lesson, we'll take a look at the business
side of Six Sigma. We'll start off by discussing strategic
planning—a concept that looks at internal strengths and weaknesses
and external opportunities and threats. We'll move onto two methods
of identifying customer requirements—the voice of the customer (VOC)
and quality function deployment (QFD). Next, we'll explore
benchmarking, a technique that helps you determine how your company
matches up to the competition and industry standards. Finally, we'll
look at a few financial methods to help you keep track of key
objectives. |
| Week Two |
| Wednesday - Lesson 03 |
| You can't improve something unless you first
define it. To help us identify what we're dealing with, we'll begin
this lesson by reviewing the first element of the DMAIC model:
define. We'll move on and cover the basic Six Sigma metrics—defects
per unit (DPU), defects per million opportunities (DPMO), yield, and
rolled throughput yield (RTY). Next, we'll investigate a few team
techniques to help define conditions and situations—brainstorming,
brainwriting, nominal group technique (NGT), and affinity diagrams.
We'll finish up by seeing how Pareto charts and critical to quality
(CTQ) relate to process and problem definition. |
| Friday - Lesson 04 |
| In our next two lessons, we'll tackle the
measuring aspect of DMAIC. Along with defining a process, problem,
or opportunity, if you don't measure something, you can't improve
it. You'll learn about different types of data and gain an
understanding of sampling by seeing how it's used to analyze and
observe populations. We'll conclude the lesson by examining three
graphical methods to measure a population: histograms, stem and leaf
diagrams, and box and whiskers plots. |
| Week Three |
| Wednesday - Lesson 05 |
| As we continue our discussion on the measure
component of DMAIC, we'll begin today by looking at probability
distributions, failure methods and effects analysis (FMEA), and
physical measurement. The probability distributions that we'll
review (binomial, Poisson, and chi-square) are discrete. We'll study
their formulas and see how their distributions compare to the normal
curve. FMEA is one of the most popular and effective Six Sigma
tools. I'll help you learn about FMEA's risk priority numbers (RPN)
and also provide a form to help you use FMEA. We'll wrap-up the
lesson by examining a few members of the physical measurement
family—metrology, tensile strength, micrometers, and optical
comparators. |
| Friday - Lesson 06 |
| In this lesson I'll present several tools that
relate to the third component of DMAIC: analyze. Our first order of
business today will be learning how to make sound decisions and
assess risk. After that, we'll look at tools to help you investigate
the processes, problems, and opportunities you defined and measured
in the earlier lessons. I'll share how to use regression analysis
and cause and effect diagrams. We'll also spend time on force field
analysis, storyboards, decision trees, why-why diagrams, and finish
up with checksheets and scatter diagrams. |
| Week Four |
| Wednesday - Lesson 07 |
| Are you familiar with the old saying, "A picture
is worth a thousand words?" Since we're going to be spending a large
portion of the lesson discussing flowcharting, I believe this
quotation is very relevant. Flowcharts are a fine tool to define
processes and analyze what's taking place. We'll look at the ins and
outs and the subtleties of creating and using flowcharts. After we
discuss flowcharting, we'll jump back into the world of statistics
and examine hypothesis testing and analysis of variance (ANOVA). |
| Friday - Lesson 08 |
| In this lesson and the next one, we'll discuss
project management as an essential vehicle to help you achieve your
Six Sigma plans. We'll begin by discussing the different phases of
the project life cycle. Then we'll move on and examine deliverables.
Since they represent what customers expect, you need to know how to
create and manage them. We'll also define stakeholders and talk
about what they expect. I'll give special emphasis to the words
"customers" and "stakeholders" to represent those inside and outside
your organization. |
| Week Five |
| Wednesday - Lesson 09 |
| Now that you have a good understanding of the
different phases of a project and know all about deliverables,
you're ready to learn how to "scope" and schedule a project. Scoping
refers to making sure that you set the original boundaries for your
project. When you understand all the variables of your project and
define the scope properly, your plan and the results that follow
have a much better chance of meeting stakeholder expectations. In
this lesson, we'll talk about what is arguably the most valuable
item in your project management toolbox—a work breakdown structure
(WBS). We'll discuss two different versions of WBS and then we'll
look at ways to schedule your project. |
| Friday - Lesson 10 |
| If you like playing games and solving puzzles,
you'll enjoy today's lesson. I'll address the "I element" (improve)
of DMAIC by introducing design of experiments (DOE). Although DOE
has been around since the 1920s, it's taken a while for
organizations to accept it. We'll begin with an overview and discuss
what a design and an experiment are. You'll learn about the history
of DOE and its nature. I'll identify the principles of sound
experimental design and help you work on three DOE problems: one
factor at a time (OFAT), full factorial, and fractional factorial
DOE. |
| Week Six |
| Wednesday - Lesson 11 |
| Today we'll finish our examination of DMAIC by
featuring the final letter—C for control. I'll share three tools to
help you control your operations: run charts, control charts, and
process capability. We'll discuss how to create run charts, go
through an overview of control charts, and create two different
types of control charts. I'll wrap things up by showing you how to
use process capability. |
| Friday - Lesson 12 |
| You've just about completed all course
requirements except for learning how to think lean—our topic this
lesson. Whenever I hear people talk about lean manufacturing or lean
thinking, for some reason I think about going on a diet. When I give
this notion some thought, it does make sense. Lean thinking means
doing more with less. I guess this is how companies succeed:
providing more satisfaction and more quality with less effort and
less frustration. Our focus on lean thinking will consist of
eliminating waste, reducing lead time, and minimizing the impact of
constraints. |
To enroll in this course, click the Enroll Now button below:
