Lean Six Sigma and Design for Six Sigma methodologies are being used in the motorcycle manufacturing and parts industry. We’ll take a look at two cases from Thailand and Italy. Finally, we’ll showcase a video of the making of the Ducati SuperBike.

 

Lean Six Sigma Applied to Rear Combination Lighting Process: Thailand

 

In a paper titled “Lean Six Sigma Application in Rear Combination Automotive Lighting Process,” authors Thanwarhat Sodkomkham and Parames Chutima discuss the application of Lean Six Sigma to reduce the defects and reduce the inventory for a rear combination lighting process.

The case study company produces various front and rear lightings for automobiles and motorcycles. The project focused on the production of the T9 model of the rear combination automotive and lighting since its defect rate was the highest. In particular, the injection process had a defect rate of 36,361 DPPM.

The project applied the seven wastes of Lean and the DMAIC phases of Six Sigma. After mapping the manufacturing process, a cause and effect matrix and a Pareto analysis of the causes identified seven top defect causes.

These seven defect causes were further analyzed through the application of an FMEA. This further limited the focus to five defect causes.

A fractional factorial experiment was conducted to determine the key factors and their interactions. The results showed that speed and pressure of injection and their interaction were the most significant. As a result, optimal settings were determined.

After applying the new process settings, the defect rate was reduced to 3.029 DPPM.

Another problem the company faced was high inventory. The company moved from a push to a pull system and with the implementation of a Kanban system the company saw a 44% reduction in lead time, a 42% reduction in in-process inventory, a finished goods inventory reduction by 50%.

You can read the project details here.

[NOTE: Required Article Citation:  Thanwarhat Sodkomkham and Parames Chutima 2016 IOP Conf. Ser.: Mater. Sci. Eng. 131 012022 ]

 

Using Design For Six Sigma for a New Motorbike: Italy

 

In a case study titled “Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) Applied to a New Eco-Motorbike,” authors Leonardo Frizziero, Alfredo Liverani, and Lorenzo Nannini cover the use of Design For Six Sigma in the design of a new motorbike.

Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) is a methodology for developing new products and processes.

The case study concerns the application of DFSS to a new low-polluting electric motorcycle.  There are many versions of DFSS. The case study uses DMADV (Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, and Verify).

The case covers:

  • Documentation on the Environment of Use
  • Customer Needs
  • Matrix of Relative Importance
  • The Independence Matrix
  • Benchmarking
  • Top-Flop Analysis
  • What/How Relationship Matrix
  • Technical Specifications
    • Weight
    • Battery
    • Autonomy
    • Power
    • Price
  • Design
  • Validate/Verify

You can access the comprehensive case study here.

 

Making the Ducati Super Bike from Automotive Garage

 

Lean Six Sigma and Design for Six Sigma methodologies are being used in the motorcycle manufacturing and parts industry. We’ll take a look at two cases from Thailand and Italy. Finally, we’ll showcase a video of the making of the Ducati Super Bike.

Lean Six Sigma Applied to Rear Combination Lighting Process: Thailand

In a paper titled “Lean Six Sigma Application in Rear Combination Automotive Lighting Process,” authors Thanwarhat Sodkomkham and Parames Chutima discuss the application of Lean Six Sigma to reduce the defects and reduce the inventory for a rear combination lighting process.

The case study company produces various front and rear lightings for automobiles
and motorcycles. The project focused on the production of the T9 model of the rear combination automotive and lighting since its defect rate was the highest. In particular, the injection process had a defect rate of 36,361 DPPM.

The project applied the seven wastes of Lean and the DMAIC phases of Six Sigma. After mapping the manufacturing process, a cause and effect matrix and a Pareto analysis of the causes identified seven top defect causes.

These seven defect causes were further analyzed through the application of an FMEA. This further limited the focus to five defect causes.

A fractional factorial experiment was conducted to determine the key factors and their interactions. The results showed that speed and pressure of injection and their interaction were the most significant. As a result, optimal settings were determined.

After applying the new process settings, the defect rate was reduced to 3.029 DPPM.

Another problem the company faced was high inventory. The company moved from a push to a pull system and with the implementation of a Kanban system the company saw a 44% reduction in lead time, a 42% reduction in in-process inventory, a finished goods inventory reduction by 50%.

You can read the project details here.

[NOTE: Required Article Citation: Thanwarhat Sodkomkham and Parames Chutima 2016 IOP Conf. Ser.: Mater. Sci. Eng. 131 012022 ]

 

Using Design For Six Sigma for a New Motorbike: Italy

 

In a case study titled “Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) Applied to a New Eco-Motorbike,” authors Leonardo Frizziero, Alfredo Liverani, and Lorenzo Nannini cover the use of Design For Six Sigma in the design of a new motorbike.

Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) is a methodology for developing new products and processes.

The case study concerns the application of DFSS to a new low-polluting electric motorcycle. There are many versions of DFSS. The case study uses DMADV (Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, and Verify).

The case covers:
· Documentation on the Environment of Use
· Customer Needs
· Matrix of Relative Importance
· The Independence Matrix
· Benchmarking
· Top-Flop Analysis
· What/How Relationship Matrix
· Technical Specifications
o Weight
o Battery
o Autonomy
o Power
o Price
· Design
· Validate/Verify

You can access the comprehensive case study here.

Making the Ducati Super Bike from Automotive Garage

You can access the video here.


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