Project Control Phase

Control Phase

 

Tools used in the final Control Stage

Realized CBA
Control Chart (Primary Measure)
Sustaining Results
Process Training (key to sustaining results)
Learning’s & Future plans

Realized Cost & Benefit Analysis

Calculation for the CBA at this point is awaiting verification from Pizza group accountant which will happen week 17 (next week).  At this point results look very positive and as a team we are expecting verification of exceeding target set and coming very close to our strength target which is an excellent result for the team and this project.

Control Chart (Primary Measure)

When something visual was required this was the tool that filled the slot, it tells the complete story of the impact from  15 weeks of norming, lots of storming, forming and most important of all the PERFORMING. As Project leader and with my learning’s over the last two years in six sigma, Control Charts was one tool I really wanted the team to get a strong understanding off. The step change in the performance provided the perfect outcome as it shows how improving the stability will reduce significantly the variation in a process.  Below is a screen shot taken of the Control Chart.

Sustaining Results & Process Training

The following are the control measures we as a team agreed to ensure the benefits are maintained in the Bakery process going forward for the foreseeable future.

Ø  Review of Bakery Waste weekly at site Management meeting

Ø  Scheduled review of Engineers machine ownership program on a bi-weekly basis by site GM (General Manager) & EM (Engineering Manager)

Ø  Scheduled review of Cell Leaders shift performance on a bi-weekly basis by Bakery Production Manager and site GM

Ø  Complete scheduled training on Dough Process with Smiths as per plan (plan attached as the importance of this cannot be highlighted enough)

Learning’s

Ø  Focusing in on a particular part of the process allowed us to get underneath the on-going weaknesses

Ø  Once we understood the difficulties we were able to implement a plan which had no capital cost but delivered results that exceeded our expectations

Future Plans

Ø   Break down waste information to enable shift performance analysis.

Ø  Use waste analysis to implement further six sigma projects.

Ø  Continue to use these tools to reduce waste further and make further improvements to Bakery Process.

Conclusion

The experience of leading this project has been one of my most challenging tasks undertaken in my career to date yet I feel that we as a team have learned how to diagnose a problem (VOC), understood the causes and implement s a fix which is sustainable.

The one stumbling block which sticks out was the number of team members included but as the project went on, it was the team and having the right people on the team delivered the final result. Also the fact that some of these members had experience of six sigma helped significantly.      

Finally the benefits of this project will improve the sustainability of our production site going forward as we are facing a constant challenge to reduce costs in a low margin business affected heavily by the current economic climate.



 

Improve Phase

Improve Phase

 

Tools the Team focused on in the Improve Phase

• Potential Solution Identification + Selection of Preferred Solution
• Risk Analysis on Preferred Solution
• Process Map on Solution
• Force Field Analysis
• Force Field Analysis Action Plan
• Revised Gantt Chart

Potential Solution Identification

This was really a brain storming session where the team identified a number of solutions to the key problems identified in the Analyse phase.

Risk Analysis on Preferred Solution

Out of the solutions the top 3 were selected and we then moved on to complete a Risk Analysis for the Preferred Solution for which I have shown a screen shot of below.

This is one of two tools used in this stage of the project which I would like to describe as not only useful but fundamental decision making tools to insure there is real fact to back up the decision of the project team. It clearly identified how each possible solution could satisfy the customers” musts”. On its second area of scoring the” wants” the output score insured the team were moving in the right direction in what we planned  to implement.

Process Map on Solution

This did not contain a new Process Map but instead laid out the process showing an owner to each piece of key process equipment who would  develop through the ownership program improved performance, increased reliability and greater knowledge

 

Force Field Analysis                                                                                                                                                        

(Force Field Analysis Action Plan)

This is the second of the tools in the Improve phase which was of real benefit. Once the driving forces were identified the real debate then started in working on the restraining forces. This led to the development of an action plan so force could be applied to drive the changes while also reducing the restraining issues.

Some key information for reference in understanding the Force Field Analyses can be found on the following website, http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_06.htm , I have also included an image from this site which shows how both the driving and restraining forces relate back to the Proposed Change.

Example reference “http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_06.htm”

 

Revised Gantt Chart

This is the final tool used in this phase of the project. It was used to evaluate at which point we had reached as a team in delivering against the initial timeframe agreed.  Understanding it was not

Analyse Phase

Tools used in the Analyse Phase

       ·         AS IS Process Map Analysis

·       Brainstorming
Initial Brainstorm ( On Seven Wastes)

Brainstorm Action Plan
Pareto Chart Analysis
Cause & Effect Analysis
Cause & Effect Action Plan

·         5 Why’s Analysis

AS IS Process Map

In our Process Map Analysis our process has not changed, but more important at this point is the supporting process data which is key to enable accurate analysis of the process/performance. Shift reports now showing key information on Process, efficiency & waste data are giving the full picture.

Brainstorming

Brainstorming is the basis behind the tools used which has identified the areas where this project needs to work on to succeed. Our first session was an open brainstorm with a focus on the 7 wastes, the post it ideas were put into the following 4 groupings, most likely to impact, possible impact, no impact and finally not possible. Out of these we got our action plan where actions were given owners and timescales for completion.

 

 

Image Ref http://wongwowai.wordpress.com/2008/09/15/7-wastes-introduction/ also on this site you will find a simple but straightforward description of each of the seven forms of waste.

 

Then it was a cause & effect diagram which along with the pareto analysis already put together in our measure phase created our second series of actions. The pictures below shows the C&E from the initial session and also the edited version where all information was grouped, screened and prioritized into actual causes of waste which could be addresses by the team.

                         

These causes using the screening of “how likely” and “how easy” allowed the team to focus on causes that would impact this project in achieving its target and it is from here we developed the Cause & Effect action plan.

5 Why Analysis

This was the final tool used in the analyse step. It was used with what the team termed a grey area “this is a problem we all know and about but nobody knows how we can fix”

In using the 5 whys this forced the question so far that we discovered we had a resource (ingredient supplier) right under our noses which would be at no cost the plant and was available to deliver exactly what we needed.



Next Stage we have moved on to the Measure Phase

 

Tools used in the Measure Phase

Critical To Customer Tree (CTC)
Metric Table
Before Performance (Control Charts)
Quality Score Dashboard
Before Mechanical Performance (Control Chart)
Top Six Pareto Analysis
Estimated CBA

 Critical To Customer Tree (CTC)

 

Firstly the Team objective was to create a Critical to Customer Tree, in completing this we got a good understanding of the customer needs and we could identify what measures would show us clearly those needs.
We also identified and agreed what measures we could use from start to finish of the project to show if we were making progress on achieving the customer needs
From some of the project team members previous experience the following three needs were put forward to get the ball rolling. Perfect, Free & Now

Metric Table

Next the Metric Table so we could keep a record of all current and potential measures of the process. This helped insure we had had a good quality countermeasure so product quality would not suffer if we focused only on the waste metrics.

Before Performance (Control Charts)

On to the Control Charts, this I personally put a huge focus on and you will see this as these are the main measures of the before performance. I wanted to improve my knowledge and also the rest of the teams understanding of how these show where a process is at and how wide apart the UCL and LCL can be when a process is struggling.

 

Quality Score Dashboard

Quality Base score card showed us a good visual countermeasure to help maintain a balanced focus of the process to maintain the standards of the Product. This measure was also key to balance the project as we have no member from the quality department.

Before Mechanical Performance (Control Chart)/ Top Six Pareto Analysis

 Our second control chart was on mechanical downtime which along with the Pareto analysis showed what we were dealing with in terms of unreliable performance. We may have went a step too far at this point is pulling out our six worst weeks performance and graphing these into Pareto analysis charts  but this will be beneficial when we move to the analyse stage.

             

 

Estimated Cost and Benefits Analysis

Finally the Cost benefit analysis was completed and this I would have to say was an excellent way for the team to finish the measure phase of the project. To see the potential savings and have these validated by a member of Group Finance was a real eye opener. It has also proven that this project is well worth doing and will impact the business in a very positive way going forward by reducing material variance.

This is a Blog for my 6 Sigma project which I am completing as part of the course I have taken through IT Sligo in Manufacturing Management

Project Overview

The aim with this project is to use the six sigma process design and improvement tools to drive waste down in the production of pizza bases. We hope to identify areas where we can implement improvements or tighter control which will in turn reduce the overall waste in the process.

The Team

Putting a team together to work on any project, be it capital project or improvement always provides some interesting outputs and this team is proving no different. We have met the challenge of having team members from different shifts where communication and inputs are sometimes not always in synchronisation (this have been a real challenge). On the other hand the unknown strengths of some members have come to light and these are what have put the energy into this project

In the define stage of the project we used the following tools,

Project Charter – This included the scope of the project and all team members

Problem Statement and why this project was selected

Related Projects and Customers Impacted

Benchmarking Activity

COPIS

Flow Diagram

Gantt Chart

The one tool that stands out in the define process is the Problem Statement and why this project was selected. This really provided the debate but in the end left us with a clear idea of what the problem was and what we needed to focus on.

On the other hand the COPIS was not so clear and until we put together the Process Flow Map I think we were a little unclear of who and what the suppliers really were to our process

Below is a picture of some of the team members working on about the third COPIS we developed.