A leadership take on GenX
-
Recent Posts
Archives
Categories
Meta
Should leaders be aware of problems?
Should leaders be aware of problems?
A twist on performance based work!
A twist on performance based work!
6Sigma Tools: FMEA
It’s that time again, so let’s delve into the world of FMEA. Often touted in 6Sigma circles but rarely used due to the perceived complexity, it is one of 6Sigma’s secret weapons. FMEA stands for Failure Models and Effects Analysis, that’s a big name so let’s find out what it is exactly.
What is it?
FMEA started as an engineering quality tool and it is basically used to recognize and isolate potential factors that could cause failures. Its most easily understood as a preventative measure, so here is the low down on FMEA.
There are 5 types of FMEA: system, design, process, service and software. Here’s how the breakdown.
- System FMEA focuses on universal system functions, think companywide processes like security protocol or project structures.
- Design FMEA focuses on apparatus and subsystems, think equipment and e-mail follow up responses based on protocol.
- Process FMEA focuses on your process, for example those e-mail protocols I mentioned in the Design FMEA portion.
- Service FMEA refers to service functions, like how you handle customer service or after service for your sales for example.
- Software FMEA refers to the functions of your software, the most relevant application of this is the automation of much of the software we use today.
What does it look like?
ASQ FMEA Template
What can I use it for?
FMEA has a wide range of applications and consulting your belt will give you a specific direction that aligns with your company goals. There are some universal applications of FMEA that you can use as a guideline to get started. You can use FMEA for:
- Reducing product/service failures.
- Assessing customer needs.
- Eliminating potentially harmful design settings.
- Helping to target possible risks
- Creating a way to identify failure that prevents them from affecting customers.
What doesn’t it do?
Like all 6Sigma tools, the effectiveness of FMEA lies in the practitioner. And while it has a lot of benefits, there are few things to remember when you implement it.
1. It only identifies failures, it does not eliminate them.
2. Staff implementing FMEA has to be aware of what to do with the failures once they have been identified.
3. The emphasis of this tool is on prevention, not reaction.
FMEA is a wonderful tool and creates many valuable opportunities in your organization. When properly utilized the savings that FMEA can create will lead to the type of quality environment that positions your organization as an industry leader.
6Sigma Tools: DMAIC
DMAIC is a staple of 6Sigma methodology and like all things 6Sigma, the better your understanding of the tool the greater its abilities. So just what is DMAIC? Basically it’s a problem solving tool, what is great about it is that it specifically works with unknowns and teaches your staff how to use a lack of information to their advantage.
What is it?
Define: This is where you will put in the most work, because at this stage you will be setting the ground work for all of your changes. You will need to define everything here, specifically critical to quality variables and identified process problems.
Measure: Collect information and review data. The catch to this step is to ensure that your measurement systems are substantiated. When using measurements you will need to ensure that they are measuring specific data and that the measured data aligns with your organization’s goals. Not sure how to do this? Have a conversation with your belt and your executive team; they will point you in the right direction.
Analyze: In this step you will be asking your staff to study the relationship between processes and qualify their impact on the quality of your products or services. Ideally you will want knowledgeable staff involved in this process, but how do you start and what do you do? Talk to your belt, they can guide you effectively and easily through this process.
Improve: This is the area that will allow you to humanize 6Sigma from your staff by focusing less on measurements and more on innovation. You should be looking for suggestions and then moving on to a process of elimination. This is an area where I like to implement ‘dry runs’ of the solution to show me where the process improvements are realistic and where they are not.
Control: This is one of the most important parts of the process, but it can only occur once the other steps have been completed. Failure to complete the previous steps guarantees that you will be perfecting the wrong change. In this step, the devil is very much in the details. You must be vigilant and flexible; your belt will help you put together the best control strategy for your organization.
DMAIC is all about making a change work for your organization. You don’t have to produce complicated charts and statistics for it to work for your organization, but you do have to understand how it works. Although this is a simple summary, there is enough information to get started. When you are ready to get down to detail and create a DMAIC strategy, SPC can help.
