Voice of Customer (VOC) is a tool used to translate verbal statements from external customers into measurable core statements. This involves directly surveying the customer and/or the sales team if direct customer feedback is not feasible. A Voice of (external) Customer may or may not always be present.
Author: Alphadi Team
DMAIC vs. DMADV
If the outcome of a product or service from a process is not satisfactory, the process must be optimized or the product must be redeveloped. A DMADV project has the highest project potential compared to DMAIC projects in Lean Six Sigma. This means that for your next development, you should use the DMADV tools.
Value Add Time (VAT)
Value Add Time (VAT) refers to the portion of the cycle time for which the customer is willing to pay. Maximizing this time makes you more efficient.
Turtle Diagram
The Turtle Model, also known as the Turtle Diagram, is a tool from quality management used to visualize processes and illustrate relationships with the goal of identifying risks and improvement opportunities through analysis. The process is depicted as a turtle, with each part representing a process element. The head represents the input and the tail represents the output, while the legs serve as process supports. Details about material resources (What?), key performance indicators (Which?), work content (How?), and involved personnel (With whom?) are captured using W-questions. This allows for the identification of risks, which are located under the turtle, and the subsequent development of possible countermeasures.
Speed
Speed plays an important role in Lean Management: it is the result of streamlined, optimized processes, which are achieved by reducing waste. Particularly in production—though also in other areas such as marketing, sales, or administration—speed is a crucial factor for economic success. Improved efficiency of lean processes and faster throughput times allow for better fulfillment of customer needs and the achievement of goals in a shorter time frame than planned. This creates additional opportunities, such as increasing production capacity or initiating new projects.
TAKT TIME
Takt Time (also known as Cycle Time or Customer Takt) is the production speed aligned with customer demand. It helps to synchronize the production rate with the sales rate and ensures a continuous production flow. Takt Times are particularly relevant in value stream analysis. To calculate Takt Time, you need to determine customer demand and the available production time. It is derived from the formula: Available Production Time (TA) / Number of Units to be Produced (DR). Comparing Takt Time with Cycle Time allows for the assessment of equipment regarding over- and under-utilization, which can then be addressed in the next step.
The 8D Report refers to a document that can be requested in the event of a complaint between a customer and a supplier to permanently eliminate defects/errors and improve the supplier’s processes. Additionally, the Report can help restore the trust between the customer and the supplier. 8D stands for the eight disciplines used to address the complaint: (1) Forming the team (2) Describing the problem (3) Implementing immediate actions (4) Identifying the root causes (5) Selecting and implementing corrective actions (6) Verifying corrective actions (7) Taking preventive measures (8) Closing the problem-solving process.
Types of Data
The binomial distribution is a discrete distribution that represents the frequency of characteristics with two possible outcomes. For example, it can be used to model the number of defects in a production process.
The poisson distribution is a special case of the binomial distribution. It describes the number of errors per unit that occur within a given unit.
The hypergeometric distribution is used when samples are drawn from small populations without replacement. An example is lottery numbers.
The normal distribution is the most important distribution function for continuous data. Most statistical methods are based on normally distributed data.
The log-normal distribution is steep on the left and right-skewed, and it does not take values less than 0. It is often used to describe process times.
The Weibull distribution is very flexible in its shape. Through the parameter values, the curve can be adjusted to fit various patterns. Examples include lifetime analyses.
DPMO
DPMO stands for Defects per Million Opportunities, a metric from Six Sigma used to indicate the defect rate or the average number of defects per million opportunities.
DPMO is used when the number of opportunities for defects in a part is countable. The value is calculated by dividing the number of defects either by the number of defect opportunities or by the number of units produced times the opportunities per unit, and then multiplying the result by 1,000,000. DPMO, like PPM and DPU, is used for evaluating processes and enables a comparison of process capability with the aim of providing a basis for process optimization.
Data Collection Plan
In the Measure phase of a Six Sigma projects , data must be collected to illustrate the pain (Y), meaning that the current state (as-is) should be depicted over time and in terms of process capability. Depending on the Datentyp for Y, this can be represented as DPMO, ppm or Cp/CpK. The Data Collection Plan serves as a type of “work instruction” for the team, specifying how, in what quantity, when, and which data should be collected. This data is then compiled, analyzed, and presented. Collecting data to represent the large Y is a “must” in the Data Collection Plan, but also the influencing factors (x’s) from the Define phase can be collected and presented in the Measure phase to provide initial insights for the Analyze phase.