Lean Six Sigma Academy

As promised a few posts ago, I’d like to explain exactly how to go about completing a measurement systems analysis (MSA).

If the sound of this makes you want to yawn… well… stop it! It’s Monday and time to get focused (and some coffee). :-)  Seriously, this one tool has greatly benefited me over the years and I know it will you too.

The two pre-cursor articles to this one explained one such example of a variation story and how a simple MSA helped save millions of dollars in 60 minutes.

Now then, tonight I want to begin by explaining what a measurement system analysis is as well as two types of MSA that will serve you very well once you’ve mastered them.

MSA Defined (Job Interview Proof)

Right, so if you’re ever on a job interview and get asked to explain what an MSA is you would probably do well to rattle off something like this:

A Measurement System Analysis, abbreviated MSA, is a specially designed experiment that seeks to identify the components of variation in the measurement.

That would be the Wikipedia definition and I guess it sounds pretty nice… and chances are the guy interviewing won’t have a clue himself… so, yeah, this would be a great answer!

MSA Defined (Ron’s Take)

But listen, I’m a simple man. So rather than getting all text book like allow me to offer my explanation of what a MSA is. You see, anytime we measure something (e.g. the weight of a part) we’re actually dealing with two types of variation.

1. The variation within the parts/process we’re studying (P)
2. The variation within the measurement system itself (M)

In other words, the total variation we’re experiencing (T) can be explained by a formula that looks something like this: T = P + M.

In a perfect world the variation due to M (measurement system) would be zero meaning all we need to do is attack and defeat the variation within the process (P) and then ride off victorious.

Sadly, many times there is so much variation with the actual measurement system we have no earthly clue how much variation is due to the actual process.  Even worse, we may try and try and try to improve the process only to find out the problem wasn’t even the process… it was the dang measurement system!

And this is precisely why measurement systems analysis is so important. We must identify how much of the total variation is due to the process and how much is due to the actual measurement system.

Types of MSA

There are different types of MSA out there and the one you choose has a lot to do with the data you’re dealing with.

• When dealing with variable data (data we can measure like weight, distance, etc.) a Gage R&R study will serve you well. This stands for Gage Repeatability & Reproducibility.
• When dealing with attribute data (pass/fail, good/bad, etc.) an Attribute Gage study will do the trick nicely.

Up Next

Now that we know what a MSA is as well as two popular types of analysis it’s time to learn how to conduct the actual studies… and that’s precisely what we’ll discuss in the very near future!

If you have any experience, good or bad, with measurement systems analysis please share in the comments section below.  Also, if you have a specific question on the topic please share that as well.

I recently received the following question from Petri, a reader of LSS Academy.

The issue I wanted to contact you about was if LSSA has ever done work on measuring lean success? I am not sure if there are any tools which are used in this area, or if “Lean companies” have i.e. key KPI’s which are used to track this?

I know that there are auditing systems which measure the level of how far 5S is implemented etc, but I am interested in broader measures.

I find the topic of KPI’s with most successful companies fascinating, and was wondering if there is reference material one could learn from?

Your thoughts on this would be appreciated.

Best regards,
Petri
Finland

This is a great question and one I wanted to put some thought into. I am a believer that you must measure it to improve it. With this said, here are some of my personal thoughts on the matter.

The Wrong Measurements

First of all, I believe many companies get caught measuring the wrong things.

For example, some feel like they can measure the success of their continuous improvement initiative by tracking the number of people trained or certified.

Please don’t get me wrong, I think it’s good to measure these things. But to think that the number of people trained or certified equates to guaranteed success is a gigantic fallacy.

In fact, this type of behavior is the definition of an activity based program.

It’s about one thing: Results

The opposite of activity based programs are results driven programs whereby things like quick wins and bottom line impact rule the day.

But how can one go about measuring this? Is there a magic scorecard we can all download? Unfortunately, at least as far as I know, the answer is no.

With this said, here are some ideas I have for excellent indicators of the health and vitality of a lean or six sigma initiative.

1. Number of improvement initiatives complete (higher is better)

I’d track this monthly and count any documented (even a one page summary) improvement as an initiative.

2. Average time to complete improvement initiatives (lower is better)

I’d also track this monthly. I despise long, drawn out projects that take ages to complete. If an improvement initiative cannot be done is less than 4 months I say it’s over scoped.

Further, the reason I am such an advocate of kaizen events is the speed at which they are done. When done properly, these quick events become contagious and begin to spread throughout an organization like wild fire.

3. Number of improvement suggestions submitted (higher is better)

Tracked monthly, this metric simply allows an organization to measure how motivated the work force is to make improvements.

4. Number of improvement suggestions implemented (higher is better)

The reason most suggestion box initiatives fail is simple. The employees submit ideas and never hear back from management so they stop suggesting things! So, in order to combat this, management should make it clear how many suggestions – as well as what the suggestion was – were implemented. And for the suggestions that were not implemented a clear and honest explanation with the employee should occur.

5. Sales per Employee (higher is better)

In the end, finishing projects and offering suggestions are great… but if you are in a for profit business one thing is clear – cash is king.

We lean and six sigma bloggers can wax poetic about respecting people and all the rest of it… but if an organization is not profitable the doors will be shut… simple as that.

With this said, my favorite productivity metric is sales per employee. Of course some will think I’m advocating cutting heads in order to drive this metric up. I’m not. I am, however, interested in making sure all employees understand whether the business is making money and whether things are trending up or down.

What metrics do you use?

These are just a few ideas I have for how to measure the success of a lean of six sigma initiative. I’m sure I’ve missed a plethora of metrics so if you know of any I missed please share in the comments section below.

Last night I told you the story of a measurement system analysis gone bad. Tonight, as promised, I’ll explain exactly what the issue was and how we solved it in around 60 minutes.

The Part in Question

The plastic component in question measured approximately 4” by 2”. I’ve made a rough sketch of what it looked like (see picture).

The component was actually completely black in color but I’ve made it gray in order to point out some key characteristics.

Towards the corners of the part were two key features.

First, points “A” were a rounded black protrusion-like piece of plastic that stood up about 1/16 of an inch in three corners of the piece.

This is what the camera looked at when taking the actual measurements. The camera would first “zero itself” and then it would measure the distance of the three black protrusions from one other. From this the machine would calculate the X and Y dimensions of the part.

Next, points “B” were drilled out circles that were used the hold the part into the final product during assembly. These circles were ignored during the measurement process.

30 Minutes of Brainstorming

After we failed the MSA we all sat around a table and talked about what the issue could be. We felt sure that the actual measurement system was probably OK and that the problem had more to do with the measuring process itself.

So we started throwing out ideas… everything from the fixtures we used to the way the operator loaded the parts was discussed.

Then someone wondered if looking at the black protrusions was the best approach. This person’s theory was that the camera may be struggling to distinguish the difference between the black protrusion and the black frame.

After a few more minutes of pondering the idea of using the circles right next to the black protrusions was tossed out there.

The supplier’s engineer was skeptical. He didn’t think it would work. But after some old fashioned Texas hog wrestling (a figure of speech, no actual wrestling occurred) everyone agreed to give it a shot.

30 Minutes of Trystorming

Using the same 15 pieces and the same operators and a modified computer program we re-did the MSA in about 30 minutes. The difference this time was we used the drilled out circles instead of the black protrusions.

Once we had the data we re-did the analysis in our statistical software package. The result? We passed the MSA with flying colors.

Problem Solved

And that was that. Some simple experimentation coupled with both brainstorming and then trystorming solved a problem that had been plaguing this company for the better part of a year.  The best thing was we started in the morning and were done by lunch time.

We were also able to proceed with our DOE and optimize the injection molding process. Soon, the quality problems we were experiencing from this supplier completely vanished.  It was truly a win/win situation.

The key learning for me was that continuous improvement doesn’t have to take a long time. Problems can, and in my opinion should, be attacked and solved quickly.

It’s Time to Learn How to Conduct an MSA

Now then, in light of this story I thought it may be beneficial for me to explain exactly how to go about doing a measurement systems analysis. And that’s precisely what we’ll do over the next few posts.

So stay tuned and please forward this post to anyone who may benefit from this type of information by clicking the “Share This” button below.  From there you can email the article.

If you test or inspect (visual or automatic) a product of any kind I’m very confident I can show you how to save your company thousands, if not millions, of dollars (or Euros, Pounds, etc.).

How you ask? Three words. Measurement Systems Analysis, or MSA for short. But first a true story.

Back in the Day

In a past life I was working with a supplier that provided my former company with some critical plastic components for the product we produced. I’m purposely being vague to protect the innocent!

Anyhow, we were having some problems with the aforementioned critical components so I went to the supplier to see if I could help.

After some investigation and discussion we decided to run a design of experiment (DOE) on the injection molding process that produced these parts.

A Simple Question

Being the good six sigma guy I try to be, the first thing I asked the engineer I was working with was if they had ever done a measurement systems analysis of the optical inspection machine used to measure the actual dimensions of the parts.

He went on to explain how this very expensive inspection machine had just recently been calibrated to the “gold standard.” I wasn’t quite sure what the gold standard was… nor did I care how calibrated it was.

I asked him again, “Have you ever done an MSA.” He was growing frustrated with me and finally admitted… no, they had never done an MSA.

Let’s do it!

Happy to finally hear this I asked him to collect 15 of the parts we were planning to measure.

About 8 minutes later he had the 15 parts.

We grabbed a couple of operators and proceeded to conduct a variable data measurement systems analysis. It took us about 30 minutes to complete the entire study.

I threw the data into some statistical software and did the analysis.

Houston, we have a problem

Guess what? We failed the test. And I don’t mean fail like we did sort of bad. I mean fail like this fancy optical inspection machine that had recently been calibrated to the gold standard couldn’t tell the difference between a good part and bad part if its life depended on it. Good thing it wasn’t alive!

In other words, this supplier had no earthly clue what the *true* dimensions of these components were.  Not good.

The Rest of the Story

Tomorrow night I’ll explain exactly how we solved the problem in less than 60 minutes. By the way, the cost of poor quality of this particular problem was resulting in millions of dollars of damage each year.

What can we learn about continuous improvement from the person Christian’s call the King of King’s, Lord of Lord’s, and The Great I AM?  Lots.  Let’s start in the book of Matthew.

And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying:
“A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and birds came and ate it up.

Yep. Been there, got the t-shirt. There are lots of people who seem to take great joy in seeing others struggle. As soon as you have an idea, they have 5 reasons it won’t work hoping you will just go away.

The answer? Don’t go away. Give it a try. If you fail, so what. Try again and fail better.

Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep,
and when the sun rose it was scorched,
and it withered for lack of roots.

Ah, yes. A manager reads the book Lean Thinking and decides James Womack is his ticket to stardom. So the manager sends a few of his guys (he is too busy of course) to a workshop and expects inventory turns to double the following week. It doesn’t quite work out. He’s frustrated.

He then reads The Goal and realizes that, of course, lean manufacturing stinks and that the old wily fox, Eli Goldratt, has all the answers.

The problem isn’t the “methodology” of choice. Lean works. TOC works. Six Sigma works. They all work when you work them. But don’t expect to read a book and think you’re ready to conquer Goliath. It doesn’t work that way. Toyota has been at it for 50+ years and is still fighting muda (waste) like never before.

Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.
But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit,
a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.

The thorns will always be there. Try to avoid them is the best advice I can offer.  It’s not always possible, but many times it is.

Finally, as with all aspect of life… when the right foundation is in place mighty and powerful things can result.

And as it relates to continuous improvement… laying this foundation is not easy, but it’s also well within reach.  I’ll share some of my thoughts as to how we might go about this foundation development throughout this week. Stay tuned.

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This is an abridged version of a presentation I recently gave at a manufacturing excellence conference.

For a clearer view click here. Also, if you’d like to download the video follow this link to Google Video and click on download video.

A can of soup falls if you drop it, your car tire blows out when a nail punctures it, and eventually my barbeque grill cools down after grilling steaks, even in the hot Texas air. Why is this? Allow me to explain.

While these things are all different, they do share a common denominator. They’re all explained by the second law of thermodynamics – entropy.

Defined, entropy is a measure of the disorder or randomness in a system. Put another way, entropy helps us measure the energy that disperses or spreads out in a process, any process.

Entropy, our foe

Here is where we begin to understand how this second law of thermodynamics describes a fierce foe to those of us trying to improve processes in our factories, hospitals, and office buildings.

It would seem that entropy never seizes. It never grows tired, frustrated, or bewildered. It’s never sick or complains about a sore back. It just relentlessly presses on.

And while I realize entropy is a measure and not really a thing… I’m pretending, if you’ll allow me, that it is a thing… a relentless thing in fact.

This thing explains why my garage looks great for a week or two after our annual spring cleaning and then falls to pieces a few months later. It’s why the fifth S (sustain) is so darn hard. It’s why control charts were invented (to determine when the disorder is getting out of hand).

And its why, as I’ve stated many times before, I personally believe “controlling” or even “sustaining” gains is next to an impossible task, long-term. Why? Because entropy works harder than you and me and all our friends combined. It’s just a fact of life.

What to do?

Right, so entropy is relentless and never tires and controlling gains are next to impossible. That’s just great. Let’s all just pack our bags and quit, right? Wrong.

Have you ever watched salmon swim upstream? It’s really one of the most amazing things you’ll ever watch.

I can only imagine how hard it is for these fish to battle the current. I wonder how tired they get? I wonder what motivates them? I wonder if they realize many of them will die on the journey?

I can’t answer these questions. But I do know these salmon may be the perfect role models for how we should approach our battle with entropy.

Swim Like Hell

You see these salmon aren’t satisfied with maintaining their present position (i.e. controlling gains). Chinook salmon, for example, swim more than 900 miles and climb 7,000 feet from the Pacific Ocean as they return to spawn each year. So with massive odds facing them they set off against a mighty foe and swim.

And so it is with us, we too must swim (i.e. continuously improve). In fact, we must swim like hell with full knowledge that entropy is waiting for us to relax… so it can do what it does best… bring disorder back to the system.

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These 8 things could prove deadly to your lean and/or six sigma initiative.  How many do you recognize?

1. The number of people trained is a key performance metric. While this may be something worth tracking when first starting out on the continuous improvement journey, I’d say this metric is next to useless as a long-term performance measurement. You can train hundreds, even thousands, and bring zero value to the organization.
2. The number of people certified is a key performance metric. Similarly, if the number of belts or lean gurus certified is a key measure, I’d say you are in it for the wrong reason. Badges and certifications are nice, and rewarding, but handing out marble plaques and T-Shirts should not be the driving force of your efforts.
3. Tools are used for the sake of a checklist. This is a real problem in the six sigma world. In some cases, a magical checklist listing all the tools a green or black belt must use in order to certify exists. Often times this list forces the belt down a path they may not need to travel as far as what tools they use. If, for example, simple linear regression is not needed to solve a problem stop forcing the belt to use it.
4. You spend more time quantifying savings than working on the actual project. I’ve seen people complete a project in a month, yet they spend 2 months battling with their controller over how much the project saved. This is pure waste! Before you start the project make sure you and your controller are in agreement as to what the savings will be if the objective is met.
5. Boiling the ocean. Instead of attempting to improve the on time delivery across your entire plant with a single green belt project, why not focus in on one product variant after some Pareto analysis? You may actually succeed.
6. It’s a program and not a philosophy. Programs, by definition, end. Conversely, the ancient origin of the word philosophy (philosophía) means “love of knowledge” or “love of wisdom.” And true love, as the good book tells us, never ends. So, make sure your lean and/or six sigma activities are part of an overall business philosophy and not a flavor of the month program.
7. It’s all about their resume. If the sole reason an individual is interested in learning new lean and six sigma skills is to pad their resume you have a big issue. Do your best to understand an individual’s true motivation for wanting to learn new skills. This is a tricky one, since we want all employees to learn. If this problem is rampant there may be larger, more systemic organizational issues that need to be addressed.
8. You attempt to control gains. If I had invented the DMAIC roadmap I would have made one major change. I wouldn’t have called the last phase control. Instead, I would have called it continue! You see, I am of the opinion that no gain can be controlled long-term. You are either improving or digressing. So, stop trying to control things… instead never stop improving them!

Do you agree with this list? Can you think of anything I’ve missed?

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By Chris Akins of Trident-Consulting LLC

The definition of quality is often a hotly debated topic. While it may seem intuitive, when we get right down to it, “quality” is a difficult concept to define with any precision.

The most fundamental definition of a quality product is one that meets the expectations of the customer. However, even this definition is too high level to be considered adequate.

In order to develop a more complete definition of quality, we must consider some of the key dimensions of a quality product or service.

Dimension 1: Performance

Does the product or service do what it is supposed to do, within its defined tolerances?

Performance is often a source of contention between customers and suppliers, particularly when deliverables are not adequately defined within specifications.

The performance of a product often influences profitability or reputation of the end-user. As such, many contracts or specifications include damages related to inadequate performance.

Dimension 2: Features

Does the product or services possess all of the features specified, or required for its intended purpose?

While this dimension may seem obvious, performance specifications rarely define the features required in a product. Thus, it’s important that suppliers designing product or services from performance specifications are familiar with its intended uses, and maintain close relationships with the end-users.

Dimension 3: Reliability

Will the product consistently perform within specifications?

Reliability may be closely related to performance. For instance, a product specification may define parameters for up-time, or acceptable failure rates.

Reliability is a major contributor to brand or company image, and is considered a fundamental dimension of quality by most end-users.

Dimension 4: Conformance

Does the product or service conform to the specification?

If it’s developed based on a performance specification, does it perform as specified? If it’s developed based on a design specification, does it possess all of the features defined?

Dimension 5: Durability

How long will the product perform or last, and under what conditions?

Durability is closely related to warranty. Requirements for product durability are often included within procurement contracts and specifications.

For instance, fighter aircraft procured to operate from aircraft carriers include design criteria intended to improve their durability in the demanding naval environment.

Dimension 6: Serviceability

Is the product relatively easy to maintain and repair?

As end users become more focused on Total Cost of Ownership than simple procurement costs, serviceability (as well as reliability) is becoming an increasingly important dimension of quality and criteria for product selection.

Dimension 7: Aesthetics

The way a product looks is important to end-users. The aesthetic properties of a product contribute to a company’s or brand’s identity. Faults or defects in a product that diminish its aesthetic properties, even those that do not reduce or alter other dimensions of quality, are often cause for rejection.

Dimension 8: Perception

Perception is reality. The product or service may possess adequate or even superior dimensions of quality, but still fall victim to negative customer or public perceptions.

As an example, a high quality product may get the reputation for being low quality based on poor service by installation or field technicians. If the product is not installed or maintained properly, and fails as a result, the failure is often associated with the product’s quality rather than the quality of the service it receives.

Summary

It should be obvious from the discussion above that the individual dimensions of quality are not necessarily distinct. Depending on the industry, situation, and type of contract or specification several or all of the above dimensions may be interdependent.

When designing, developing or manufacturing a product (or delivering a service) the interactions between the dimensions of quality must be understood and taken into account.

While these dimensions may not constitute a complete list of relevant dimensions, taking them into consideration should provide us with a better understanding of the slippery concept of quality.

What other dimensions can you think of?

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Today, Roman Catholics around the world read about Doubting Thomas.

No matter what your personal belief system is, I think there is much to learn from this story, especially for those of us attempting to drive change in our organizations.

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,
was not with them when Jesus came.
So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”
But he said to them,
“Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands
and put my finger into the nailmarks
and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

Since Thomas did not see the resurrected Jesus with his own eyes, he just couldn’t bring himself to believe that He had in fact rose from the dead (even though his friends told him this was the case).

Beating my head against a wall

When I hear these verses, I am reminded of the times I have attempted to get people to try new ways of working only to face massive opposition (e.g. that won’t work here… we’re different… you just don’t understand).

The most frustrating part is, like the “other disciples,” I have seen the things I am promoting work with my own eyes!

Now a week later his disciples were again inside
and Thomas was with them.
Jesus came, although the doors were locked,
and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”

Go to Gemba

In many cases, in order to get people to believe in what we are saying (e.g. one piece flow is best, 5S is critical, variation is the enemy, etc.) we must show them.

We could make a half goofy video, shoot a statapult in a green belt course, or make paper airplanes. Or we can bypass the games and head straight for the gemba, or the place the work is done, and just do it.

However, no matter how much evidence we provide, the only way a true and lasting transformation will occur is when these doubting Thomases develop a blind faith and trust in what we are preaching.

Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

Let’s face it, in the end we cannot show the skeptics of world everything. Eventually, they must begin to believe in what we are saying.

The good news is, once this new found faith takes root (and it will if we persevere), great and powerful change will result.

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