International Journal of Management Science and

Engineering Management

ISSN: 1750-9653 (Print) 1750-9661 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tmse20

Application of Lean Six-Sigma methodology

to reducing production costs: case study of a
Portuguese bolts manufacturer

Maria do Rosrio Cabrita, Joo Pedro Domingues & Jos Requeijo

To cite this article: Maria do Rosrio Cabrita, Joo Pedro Domingues & Jos Requeijo (2015):
Application of Lean Six-Sigma methodology to reducing production costs: case study of a
Portuguese bolts manufacturer, International Journal of Management Science and Engineering
Management, DOI: 10.1080/17509653.2015.1094755

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17509653.2015.1094755

Published online: 13 Nov 2015.

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 International Journal of Management Science and Engineering Management, 2015
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17509653.2015.1094755

Application of Lean Six-Sigma methodology to reducing production costs: case

study of a Portuguese bolts manufacturer
Maria do Rosrio Cabrita , Joo Pedro Domingues and Jos Requeijo
UNIDEMI, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology, FCT, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2829-516
Caparica, Portugal

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

This study describes a procedure that applies the Lean Six-Sigma approach to reducing the production Received 22 May 2015
costs of a Portuguese bolts manufacturer. The project was proposed by the products customer, Accepted 12 September 2015
who suggested improving some parameters of the processes associated with its manufacture. The KEYWORDS
customers expectations and requirements are called Voice Of the Customer (VOC) focusing on the DMAIC methodology; Lean
reduction of production costs. Bolts manufacturing has some particularities, such as the considerable Six Sigma; Portuguese bolts
lot-size and the high level of products produced. Some of the important Six-Sigma and Lean tools are manufacturing; process
discussed, which will be of help to Six-Sigma practitioners. The empirical study illustrates methods improvement; value; Voice Of
Downloaded by [University of Otago] at 07:50 15 December 2015

used to Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve and Control (DMAIC) the Six-Sigma approach. This study the Customer (VOC)
consolidates the efficiency and the excellence of the DMAIC methodology, providing arguments to JEL CLASSIFICATION
demonstrate its usefulness for the implementation of improvements, both in terms of quality and in L23; L60; D24; M20
terms of the effectiveness and efficiency of the processes. This case reveals that there exists an important
complementarity between the methodology used and the Lean Six-Sigma concepts when dealing
with a continuous improvement project in the context of bolts manufacturing. The findings reinforce
conclusions from other studies that the DMAIC methodology can be used in any improvement project,
and not just for Six-Sigma projects, whence the methodology emerged.

1.Introduction become more responsive to customer demand, while using

Implementation of the Lean management paradigm in man-
ufacturing is a way of allowing an organization to attain its
objectives and, consequently, better competitiveness in the
market. This paradigm, along with the various methodologies
associated with it, allows an organization to focus on rational-
ization of its resources and on the elimination of all activities
that do not aggregate value to the product. Thereby, with the
elimination of waste, it is possible to verify an increase in pro-
duction flexibility, as well as in product quality. The aim of Lean
is to create simplified, efficient value-adding processes while
sharing information. It can be assumed that the implementa-
tion of Lean on the manufacturing systems allows a company
to attend, in a competitive way, the demand of the clients,
reducing at the same time the production costs. Most of the
applications and case studies in this field are descriptions of
how companies have adopted, created, and implemented Lean
principles in their organizations or industry.
Lean manufacturing is a management philosophy derived
mostly from the Toyota Production System (TPS). Lean man-
ufacturing uses less of everything compared with mass produc-
tion. A Lean manufacturing system works with interconnected
processes. Improvement in one area will improve the system as
a whole. A widely accepted definition of Lean manufacturing
is a systematic approach to identify and eliminate waste (non
value-adding activities) through continuous improvement by
flowing the product at the pull of the customer in the pursuit
of perfection (Brue & Howes, 2006; Weigel, Suen, & Gupte,
2013). It focuses on reducing the business cycle time so as to
fewer resources and improving products and processes. These
materialize in lower costs, increased productivity and highly
profitable and flexible production capability i.e. overall, in
increased operational efficiency.
Lean production is a production system that aims at con-
tinuously reducing the time between client order and delivery,
and eliminating everything that adds unnecessary costs and
time to the production of the products. Broadly speaking, Lean
production aims to increase the organizations productivity,
maximizing the output and minimizing the input, so improv-
ing the efficiency and effectiveness of its processes (Bhasin &
Burcher, 2006; Corbett, 2007).
Six Sigma as a powerful business strategy has been well rec-
ognized as an imperative for achieving and sustaining oper-
ational and service excellence (Aghili, 2009; Kumar, Antony,
Madu, Montgomery, & Park, 2008). Lean Six Sigma is the
application of Lean techniques to increase speed and reduce
waste, while employing Six Sigma processes to improve quality
and focus on the Voice Of the Customer (VOC). Therefore,
both Lean and Six Sigma together are proven methodologies
that increase efficiency, effectiveness and quality, resulting in
continuous improvement to increase value for the customer
(Assarlind, Gremyr, & Bckman, 2013).
Existing literature explicitly identifies higher customer sat-
isfaction as a significant benefit from the integration of Lean
and Six Sigma concepts (Teresko, 2008; Thomas, Barton, &
Chuke-Okafor 2009) but it does not demonstrate a consensus
on how to create such integration. The purpose of this study is

CONTACT Maria do Rosrio Cabrita m.cabrita@fct.unl.pt

2015 International Society of Management Science and Engineering Management
 2 M. D. R. Cabrita et al.

to explore the application of Lean Six Sigma tools aiming at the

reduction of production costs in bolts manufacturing via the
DefineMeasureAnalyseImproveControl (DMAIC) meth-
odology. In adressing this objective, each phase of the DMAIC
cycle follows the principles proposed in the literature. Beyond
the current section, the paper has been structured as follows:
Section 2 introduces the Lean Six-Sigma benefits; Section 3
explores the principles followed using the DMAIC methodol-
ogy; Section 4 describes the application of case study in PSF
company, and; Section 5 ends the article with the conclusion
and managerial implications.

2. Lean Six-Sigma benefits Figure 1. The benefits of using Lean Six Sigma.

Lean Six Sigma is a blend of two improvement methods: Lean

and Six Sigma. Lean and Six Sigma complement each other.
Lean accelerates Six Sigma, delivering greater results than
would typically be achieved by Lean or Six Sigma individually.
Combining these two methods we build a comprehensive tool
set to increase the speed and effectiveness of any process within
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your organization resulting in increased revenue, reduced

costs and improved collaboration. Pepper and Spedding (2010)
argue that Lean was the contributor of strategy and structure
that would drive improvements, while Six Sigma contained the
tools to leverage improvement to its full potential. Arnheiter
and Maleyeff (2005) referred to Lean Six Sigma as an inte-
grated entity that incorporates the benefits of both Lean and
Six Sigma.
In essence, the principles of Six Sigma have been derived
from Total Quality Management (TQM) theory. However,
its structured and systematic framework, combined with the
employment of statistical techniques, makes it an excellent
tool for process diagnostics. Central components of Lean Six
Sigmas two underlying concepts have been derived theoreti-
cally, which is one of several ways of deconstructing Six Sigma
and Lean.
We may say that Lean is anchored in four concepts: Lean
tools and techniques notably value stream mapping (Alukal,
2003; Womack, 2006), involvement of people (Holbeche, 1997),
continuous improvement (Ricondo & Viles, 2005) and removal
of waste (Alukal, 2003). Similarly, Six Sigma can be said to be
based on seven elements: DMAIC (Hoerl, 2004), the Six Sigma
toolbox (Magnusson, Kroslid, & Bergman, 2003), Six Sigma
organization (Hoerl, 2004; Magnusson et al., 2003), reduction
of variation (Nave, 2002), customer focus (Bergman & Klefsj,
2003), decisions based on facts (Goh & Xie, 2004) and bottom
line focus (Goh, 2002).
Organizations can utilize Lean Six Sigma for continuously
improving their business processes (Aguezzoul & Nyoungue,
2012; Snee, 2010). Lean is a philosophy that reduces or elim-
inates unnecessary time, materials and effort. Six-Sigma is
a concept designed to improve the overall effectiveness by
defining, measuring, analysing, improving and controlling pro-
cesses. Lean Six Sigma allows organizations to reduce expenses
and improve productivity, as defined in Figure 1.
Therefore, Lean Six Sigma refers to an analytical business
process that enables companies drastically to improve their
profitability by designing and monitoring everyday business
activities in ways that minimize waste and resources (Habidin
et al., 2012). The prime directive is continually to seek out and
eliminate waste and wasteful practices. Six Sigma is a concept
designed to improve the overall effectiveness by defining,
Figure 2.The DMAIC methodology.
measuring, analysing, improving and controlling processes
(Kwak & Anbari, 2006).
Six Sigma is a discipline with formal steps for improving
process performance. The sequential steps are called The Six
Sigma Improvement Model, or the Define, Measure, Analyse,
Improve and Control Methodology (DMAIC), as developed
in the following section.
3. DMAIC methodology
Existing literature explicitly identifies higher customer satis-
faction as a significant benefit from the integration of Lean
and Six Sigma concepts (Teresko, 2008; Thomas et al., 2009)
but it does not demonstrate consensus on how to create such
integration. The first step to implement Lean Six-Sigma is to
identify the critical elements of a process. Then the team anal-
yses its capability and tries to stabilize itself by reducing or
eliminating variations. The basic transfer function is applied,
which depends on a few vital factors. The foundation of Lean
Six Sigma is to look at products/services through the customers
eyes and determine how improvements can eliminate waste.
The Lean Six Sigma process is broken down into five inter-
connected stages: Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve and
Control (DMAIC), as depicted in Figure 2. This sequence of
events for any project makes the process systematic, scientific,
fact based and data driven. The DMAIC process is the centre-
piece of the Six-Sigma problem-solving methodology, and is
recommended for the systematic handling of any project. The
tools of Six Sigma and operational excellence are most often
applied within the framework of DMAIC. As such, DMAIC is
an integral part of a Six Sigma initiative. It is systematic and fact
 International Journal of Management Science and Engineering Management
based and provides a rigorous framework of results-oriented
project management.
At the definition step, a problem is identified and it is deter-
mined which aspect of a particular process is to be improved.
At the measurement step, a baseline is developed of how that
system, process or issue is functioning. At the Analyse step,
the root causes of the problem are analysed by using the data
gathered during the measurement phase. Step 4 is the improve-
ment process. Changes are identified and implemented during
this phase. The changes (or solutions) are designed collectively
to improve the process. Changes may include the complete
removal of some steps in a process or the introduction of tools
to improve those that remain. Finally, control is the handover
to the process owner who commissioned the project.
The DMAIC cycle provides an organized sequence of actions
that are used in the implementation of process improvements
and problem solving. Following a structured method like this,
the creation of hasty conclusions is avoided and an adequate
investigation of alternative solutions to a given problem is
ensured. Through frequent and continuous revisions at each
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stage of the DMAIC cycle, organizational leaders can monitor
and ensure the proper execution of each phase of project imple-
mentation (Schroeder, Linderman, Liedtke, & Choo, 2008).
4. Case study
The case study is developed with a Portuguese bolts manu-
facturer. For reasons of confidentiality, the company is called
PSF herein. By adoptin the Six-Sigma method, PSF was able to
understand fluctuations in a process that allowed it to pinpoint
the causes of the problem. This case study demonstrates that
there is a need for manufacturing companies to have a system-
atic methodology in carrying out the improvement processes
through the Six-Sigma concept. A suitable process improve-
ment methodology based on Six Sigma is needed to ensure
proper and systematic process flow to achieve the improvement
(Chakravorty, 2009; Goffnett, 2004; Schroeder et al., 2008).
Therefore, in order to demonstrate the applicability of the pro-
cess improvement methodology, the methodology was adopted
in a phase-by-phase approach as shown in Figure 2. Detailed
discussion of each phase is given as follows.
Define
Our study discusses the processes associated with a particular
product (the MSC screw), manufactured by the company PSF,
whose production is standard but not continuous. The project
was suggested by the products customer, who felt the need to
improve some parameters of the processes associated with its
manufacturing. Therefore, in this case, the project definition
was accomplished by a final customer, who is very important
for PSF, representing a quite significant percentage of its sales
(the product is the second most manufactured by PSF). Thus,
this project has automatically become a priority and sponsored
by the administration of both companies (PSF and the client
company). The needs and expectations of this products cus-
tomer were established, which served as the basis for delineat-
ing the projects goals. The mission of the project was to attain a
global improvement of several parameters associated with MCS
manufacture, namely the improvement of the effectiveness and
efficiency of the procedural processes through the implemen-
tation of Lean Six Sigma tools and methodologies. Basically, it
was expected that Lean Six Sigma would help to maximize the
3
Demand is expected to increase in the coming years.
For this reason, it is considered important to negotiate
VOC
a reduction of the purchase cost of the product
Characteristic Production Costs
Figure 3.Voice Of the Customer (VOC).
Figure 4.Critical-to-quality tree.
organizations efforts toward delivering a satisfactory product to
the customer, allowing the company to allocate resources/reve-
nue produced from newly improved processes towards growing
its business. More specifically, the client requested that PSFs
administration improve some parameters associated with the
manufacture of this product as shown in Figure 3, which repre-
sents the tool Voice Of the Customer (VOV). The importance
of this tool is considerable, since it consists in setting the data
that represent the needs and expectations of customers and
their perceptions regarding the products manufactured by the
company (Chakravorty, 2009).
Based on the improvement requirements provided by the
customer, it was possible to define the critical quality char-
acteristics, represented in the tool critical-to-quality tree in
Figure 4. Such characteristics compose the metrics that should
be monitored throughout the project in order to improve
them.
The characteristics to be improved that were identified
as having a direct influence on the production costs of the
company comprized the production downtime and the stock
level along the production flow. These two characteristics were
defined because both have had significant impact in the com-
panys performance. The aim of reducing the stock level by
10% was derived from the analysis of the companys histor-
ical reports. In line with the customers requirements, it was
intended that providing a better service to the customer would
require reduced stock levels, resulting in streamlined processes
with products being completed faster and more efficiently at
no cost to quality.
Focusing on those two characteristics, improvements in
the parameters requested by the customer were expected to
be obtained. Having defined the characteristics to be improved,
a statement of the project can then be reported (Table 1), based
on what the project is intended to achieve. This tool can be
considered the identity card of the entire project (Chakravorty,
2009).
Measure
Measure is the second step of the Six-Sigma methodology.
A baseline measure is taken using actual data. This measure
becomes the origin from which the team can gauge improve-
ment. It is within the Measure phase that a project begins to
take shape and much of the hands-on activity is performed. The
goal of Measure phase is to establish a clear understanding of
 4 M. D. R. Cabrita et al.

Table 1.Project charter.

Name of the project:

Improvement of the effectiveness and efficiency of the processes associated with MCS manufacturing.
End date of the project: September 2013
Mission of the project:
Global improvement of several parameters associated with MCS manufacturing, aiming at the improvement of the effectiveness and efficiency of the practice of
processes, through the implementation of Lean Six-Sigma tools and methodologies.
Scope of the project:
It is intended to meet the customers improvement requirements for the costs of production in order to achieve an expected decrease in purchase cost and
increase in future demand.
Description of the problem:
The customer wants to improve the parameters of MCS manufacturing processes in order to reduce production costs and, consequently, purchase cost.
Definition of goals:
The following target is proposed to be achieved by September 2013: 10% reduction in stock level.
History of problems:
History of stock levels see Appendix B;
Restrictions and assumptions:
Impossibility of monitoring all phases of the DMAIC cycle (specifically the Control phase), due to the short timeline of the project.Implementations will be done
on a small scale and on one particular product, so the improvements obtained do not involve global processes. The extrapolation of the improvements carried
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out shall be made in the future.

Team for the project:
Champion General managerMaster black belt Production managerBlack belt Two technicians for continuous improvement Pivot element One technician
for production operations
Preliminary schedule:
Proposed dates of completion for each phase: Define 1 February 2013; Measure 15 March 2013; Analyse 30 April 2013; Improve 31 July 2013; Control
31 December 2013

the current state of the process the company wants to improve.
In this phase, a detailed study of the MCS product production
flow was developed. For that, the Value Stream Map (VSM) is
a very useful tool, which gathers all information for the exe-
cution of the tasks to be performed at this stage of the meth-
odology (Rother & Shook, 2009). A simplified VSM includes
all the metrics identified at the Define stage, as well as others
that can be relevant for the projects scope. Theoretically, many
authors consider that there will be a lack of reliability of existing
company data, so there will be a need to verify this reliability.
To accomplish this requirement, the company uses an infor-
mation system that aims at continuous data updating, which
entails the assumption that its collection is reliable and feasible.
The production flow in the VSM is detailed in the following
steps.
(1)Supply. The raw material used in the manufacturing
of this product is bought from one supplier, being
steel coils of 80 meters length. The delivery lead time
of this raw material, after placement of the order, is
about eight weeks. However, the delivery frequency
is usually three months. The coils are kept outside the
factory, in a park specifically for that purpose.
(2)Fabrication. Each coil of raw material is first sub-
jected to a pickling treatment in order to remove
inorganic impurities and rusting. The target of the
wiredrawing process is to reduce its cross section.
The material is continuously and automatically cut,
then introduced into the stamping machine where
the part undergoes plastic deformation in two stages.
Finally, the part is subjected to a process of thread-
ing, where it undergoes a process of deformation by
combs. Each coil enables the production of about
200,000 bolts.
(3)Heat treatment buffer. The part is taken to an inter-
mediate output buffer for heat treatment. This buffer
is supplied by production teams and emptied by the
team responsible for heat treatment.
(4)Heat treatment. At this stage, the part is introduced
into quenching and tempering furnaces, which have
a processing capacity of, respectively, 1000 kg/h and
2000 kg/h. Tempering is one of the processes used
in the heat treatment of metals for increasing hard-
ness and endurance by heating to high temperature
and then fast cooling. Quenching is a heat treatment
that aims to correct flaws resulting from tempering,
which can make the steel overly rigid and fragile and
cause internal stress in the material.
(5)Intermediate buffer. The part is placed in an inter-
mediate buffer and is not yet in its final shape.
This buffer has the function of supplying the team
responsible for surface treatment, which is under
subcontract.
(6)Surface treatment. In this phase, the part is shipped
for the company responsible for this process, in
which the part is the target of zinc and nickel bathing.
(7)Sorting and packaging. The part returns to a buffer
in the factory and is taken for quality control. The
parts are unitarily verified and all the relevant meas-
ures already specified by the customer are ana-
lysed. The control is made automatically. Parts that
lie outside specifications are replaced at the input of
the machine, because good part rejection is possible.
This kind of error is due to inadequate positioning
of the product while being analysed by the machine,
resulting in a high rate of rework (in order of 30%).
Good parts are automatically placed in packages that
 International Journal of Management Science and Engineering Management
have previously been positioned in the machine for
that purpose.
(8)Final storage and shipping. The final product is
placed in the warehouse, ready for shipping to the
final customer. Each lot is composed of 48,000
bolts and deliveries are usually made twice a week,
depending on the number of lots ordered. Stock is
controlled by computer and supermarket principles
are followed, whereby maximum and minimum lev-
els of stock are established. This implies that the sort-
ing process supplies the supermarket depending on
the existing stock of final products.
Analyse
The previous steps evidence that a desynchronized process
exists concerning the supply of raw material to the stamping
machine, together with the occurrence of downtimes of that
machine. This finding was obtained through the analysis of
data available on the companys computer system, whence it
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is possible to determine the causes of losses related to machine
availability. Table 2 lists the itemized causes that led to stop-
page of the stamping machine throughout 2012, as well as the
respective downtime. It can be seen that the major cause of
machine stoppage is due to the lack of raw material, with a
relative percentage of occurrence of about 29.5%, this being
the failure on which improvement actions will be taken. At the
same time, high and unbalanced stock levels were recorded,
taking into account the existence of various types of raw mate-
rial according to their composition.
To meet the goals outlined for this project, in particular
the reduction of production costs, it is important to adopt
measures to improve the productions synchronization and
to avoid production stoppages, which only entail costs and
no benefits. The main cause for the occurrence of these two
problems is related to the difficulty of communication between
the worker responsible for the supply of stamping machines,
the workers responsible for stamping and the workers respon-
sible for pickling. Taking into account the fact that the buffer
of pickled material is located in a different building from the
one where the stamping process takes place, communication
between these two workstations and the supply are irregular
and desynchronized. The failures associated with this section
of the production flow, as well as their effects and their causes,
are shown in Table 3, which sets forth the application of the tool
Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (Stamatis, 2003). Based on
these problems, the implementation of a system driven by two
Kanban cards between these two workstations can be a viable
solution to the problems found.
Improve
Recently the organization adopted a pull system instead of
push system, which was the basis of the old production system.
Currently, with this system yet to be totally implemented in the
mindset of the entire organization, production is carried out on
the basis of orders from customers, with a well-organized flow
of information going through the whole production flow in the
downstream direction. For the cementation of this type of pro-
duction system, the use of Kanban is fundamental and there-
fore should be implemented (Cimorelli, 2006; Panneerslevam
& Kumar, 2007). Taking into account the high level of stock
5
registered, the raw material buffer and the occurrence of some
desynchronization in its supply to the stamping machines, the
implementation of a two Kanban cards system was devloped,
linking the processes related to pickling and stamping with
a supermarket principle regulating the production. Thus, the
methodology consists on the following sequence of operations:
when an operator (A) has only one coil of feedstock in the
stamping machine, he should make a request for a new coil, by
completing a transport Kanban and placing it on the Kanban
board. An operator responsible (B) for the transport of material
in the factory, which has a set route, collects the card filled out
by operator A when he passes by the Kanban board. Operator B
carries the collected card to the supermarket where the pickled
material is, placing the card on another Kanban board in the
inlet section (this board has an input section and an output
section) and removing the desired item from the supermar-
ket, which is taken to the stamping machine that requested
it. The operator responsible for the pickling (C), depending
on the material removed from the supermarket, initiates the
processing of a coil with the same kind of material as the one
that was removed, after collecting the transport Kanban that,
at that moment, was converted to a production Kanban. After
pickling, the coil is replaced by operator C in the supermarket.
Theoretically, it is a supply system driven by two Kanban cards
with different functions, but in practice the system is coordi-
nated by only one card that has different functions depending
on its position.
The Kanban system used is associated with two col-
ours green and red. Each column of the Kanban boards
corresponds to a different stamping machine. Each machine
is programmed to take two coils of pickled material, with
one being processed and another in the input buffer. When
the coil in processing is fully processed, the coil at the input
buffer comes to processing and a Kanban card is issued to
order a new pickled coil for placement in the input buffer.
This Kanban card is placed in the column of the respective
machine in the green zone. If the pickled coil that has been
placed in processing is fully consumed without a new coil hav-
ing reached the input buffer, a new Kanban card is issued and
placed in the red zone, meaning that the machine is stopped
for lack of pickled material.
It is important to determine the route to be taken by the
forklift in the supply of pickled materials. For this, the con-
sumption of raw material by the stamping machines was cal-
culated, considering the maximum possible cadence. In this
case, the calculation was based on the following data, belonging
to a machine that manufactures product other than MCS, yet
belonging to the same section of stamping machines where the
Kanban system is being implemented.
Maximum cadence of the machine: 160parts/minute;
Number of machines: 5 stamping machines;
Maximum daily output:
160 parts/minute 60 minutes 16 hours = 153,600
parts/day;
Number of parts per coil: 65,574 parts/coil;
Number of coils needed per day:
(153,600parts/day)/(65,574parts/coil)=2.34coils/day;
Consumption time of one coil:
(65,574 parts/coil)/(160 parts/minute) = 6 hours and
50minutes;
Maximum number of coils per day: 2.34 coils/day 5
machines = 12coils/day;
 6 M. D. R. Cabrita et al.

Working hours of the stacker = 8hours/day
Transport capacity of the forklift: one coil
Thus, the route of the stacker was set to check Kanban board
40 in 40minutes, so there is no risk of delay in supplies (8hours
per day/12coils per day=0.67hours/coil). Besides the route,
it is also necessary to calculate the value of stock that must
exist in the supermarket without having the risk of stock rup-
ture or having an excessive amount of stock. To do this, it is
necessary to take into account the daily consumption of each
type of raw material, as well as the productive capacity of the
pickling process, so that production levelling can be assured.
In this project, it is intended to analyse only improvements in
MCS production flow, which is manufactured on only one of
the stamping Machines, and as such this study will focus on
that product and on its type of material. For this, the compa-
nys information system data were used; more specifically, the
values of weekly consumptions of pickled steel coils recorded
in 2012.
Regarding MCS product stamping, being as the machines
maximum cadence is 160parts per minute and that it is pos-
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of one steel coil in the supermarket of the supply system used
to manufacture the MCS product. Analysing the weekly con-
sumption of the previous year, excluding the special causes
mentioned above, it appears that only four times during the
year were more than three coils consumed in a week. With
the implementation of the supermarket, even if there is a
need to use more than three coils, the pickling process has
sufficient production capacity to meet this need quickly and
without any risk of stock rupture. In periods when the pro-
duction of MCS is not performed, to avoid immobilization
of stock, the pickled material for the manufacture of this
product may be used in the manufacture of other products
with the same type of material, until there are forecasts of
new MCS production.
With the implementation of this tool, it was possible to
obtain the differences shown in Figure 5.
The benefits achieved are as follows.
Improvement in transparency of processes and in the
ease of its visual management, as well as in the system
of communication between the workstations. There is

sible to manufacture 200,000 parts from one coil, it may be
deduced that the maximum production in a normal working
week (16hours a day, 5days a week) is 3.84 coils or 768,000
parts, under perfect operating conditions. It must be noted
that, in weeks 20 and 28, the consumption of pickled mate-
rials was, respectively, 5 and 4.43 coils. These values exceed
the theoretical maximum due to the execution of overtime
hours during those weeks, thus representing a special cause
of variation. Excluding the null values due to stoppages in
manufacturing the product, it is estimated that the average
weekly consumption of coils in the stamping machine is 2.37.
As such, taking into consideration that there are always two
coils in the stamping machine (one in processing and another
in the input buffer), it is suggested to maintain the existence
a greater independence of each workstation, since they
can manage their work depending on the level of mate-
rial in the supermarket.
Increased delivery capacity, with reduced possibility of
production downtime due to lack of raw material in the
stamping machine.
Increased control in the amount of existing stock and a
reduction of its level a previous average of 1 million
parts to a current average of 500,000 parts and of the
respective storage space required.
This supply system also contributes to increasing the
value of the stamping machines availability, as it elim-
inates the possibility the machine having to be stopped
for lack of raw material.

Table 2.Detail of losses related to stamping machine downtime (in hours).

Others
Month (2012) Lack of raw material End of shift Changeover time Lack of tool Exchange of consumable Damaged tool (<5%)
January 52.77
February
March 34.33 7.83 0.57
April 170.37 36.73 0.95 28.25 31.28 19.57
May 2.38 41.07 3.3 0.4 2.23 43.53 6.25
June 41.25
July 1.15 19.45 13.33 28.67 19.95
August 1.8 5.3 4.35
September 22.9 6.4 7.83
October
November 1.25 0.75 63.78 9.2 40.85
December 3.45 0.02 0.83
Total 227.92 112.13 96.43 82.77 80.07 74.82 100.2
Percentage 29.5 14.51 12.48 10.71 10.36 9.68 12.97

Table 3.Failure modes and effects analysis (FEMA) for coil supply for stamping.
FMEA Possible failures Product Process
Current
Process Function Mode (s) Effect (s) Cause (s) control S O D NPR
Supply of Raw material Delay in Production Communica- Non-existent 9 7 7 441
coils to the supplying stoppage tion failures
stamping stamping
machine machine
High level of Higher Lack of Non-existent 5 7 7 245
stock production control in
costs the existing
stock level
Notes: S severity level; O frequency of occurrence; D detection probability; NPR Number of Priority Risk (=SOD), e.g. 977=441.
 International Journal of Management Science and Engineering Management 7

Figure 5.Improvement in parametres.

Control Measurement and

quantification of Key Do the values exhibit a
This phase is the longest stage of the DMAIC cycle, which Performance Indicators considerable variation?
requires considerable levels of commitment and involvement
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(monthly average)
No
by the team responsible for the project and for the workers. At Yes
this stage, the implementation of control measures regarding
the new parameters of the processes is required, ensuring that
they continue to be practiced. As such, continuous monitoring Solve the problems by
Determine the causes of eliminating the causes Control
of the processes is necessary, focusing on the observation of variation (using Lean of variation and performed
the performance of the production flows new parameters. In Six Sigma tools) generating prevention successfully
measures
this sense, several members from the PSF team were respon-
sible for ensuring that the schedule of action items sustained Figure 6.Diagram representing the control tasks to be performed.
the improvement(s) that had been achieved. Moreover, to
this selected group were allocated the role of monitoring the
performance of this process. Their role was to maintain close Table 4. Comparison between the main target of the project and the results
supervision and training of operatives to achieve further obtained.
improvements. SPC charts were used to analyse the down- Characteristic Established goal Result obtained
time of the stamping machine by plotting data points, control Stock level -10% -10.75%
limits and a centreline. The objective was to monitor process
performance and maintain control with adjustments only when
necessary. SPC charts are used as predictive tools and are part calculating the average of the measurements recorded in the
of a mature predictive maintenance program. Special cause companys computer system.
variation, as distinct from common cause variation, refers to When such measurements are made, it is suggested that the
changes in process performance due to sporadic or rare events tasks shown in the diagram represented in Figure 6 be applied.
indicating that a process is not in control. To sustain improve- The last phase of the methodology used in this case study
ments, the PSF team monitored the level of stocks with the is of the utmost importance and is vital to ensuring the main-
charts developed in the Measure and Analyse phases of the tenance of the improvements made. Since this phase is an
improvement process. A review of these charts indicated that untimed step, because it can only be considered concluded
there had been noticeable improvements in most of the activ- when the new methods are totally intrinsic to the organization
ities specifically, less variability in activity durations. and when the improved metrics demonstrate a strong stability,
In this case study, the implemented Kanban system requires it was not possible to follow up on this phase for the purposes
a strong component of education and continuous training to of this paper. However, the proposals related to the tasks that
pass on to the workers, so that they can learn and interiorize must be performed in the future ensure the correct execution
the new working methods. It is important to maintain control of this phase.
over the amount of stock between these processes, that being
the main goal of the implemented improvement. Therefore,
5.Conclusions
for the control of this improvement, it is only necessary to fol-
low up the registration of the amounts of stock, which is quite This paper expands the theoretical foundation for combining
affordable and trivial by consulting the computer system that Lean and Six Sigma by studying and analysing a practical appli-
the company provides. Thus, it is possible to control its evo- cation of the concept. As a result, it provides new factors of
lution over time and, if there is any irregularity, to explore the importance for successful Lean Six-Sigma applications, such
possible causes of this decline and take steps to reverse them. as having a clear structure that guides the company in terms
To ensure the monitoring and maintenance of the improve- of what components of Lean Six Sigma to apply. Detailing
ments made, it is essential to measure regularly the parameters the practices of the five phases of the DMAIC, the Six-Sigma
of the processes that have been improved, so the improved empirical study describes and studies the functions and the
Key Performance Indicators must be measured monthly by efficiency of the bolts manufacturing processes and the same
 8 M. D. R. Cabrita et al.
methodology can be extended to numerous other examples
in the industry.
Lean Six Sigma possesses a vast array of tools to improve
productivity and reduce variability in manufacturing compa-
nies. Without a systematic model, such as the one proposed
based on the DMAIC process, companies begin to implement
these philosophies with the misplaced belief that it does not
matter where they start. The proposed model described in this
paper allows companies to adopt a systems approach to the
implementation of Lean Six Sigma.
This case study emphasizes the importance and the rele-
vant impact that the implementation of Lean Six-Sigma phi-
losophy can have on improving the processes of a company.
Thus, the implementation of this management paradigm is a
way that aims at achieving considerable improvements in the
effectiveness and efficiency of the processes carried out by an
organization and it can be an important contribution to the
companys growth and to establishing a distinguished position
in the market. It was also demonstrated that the DMAIC cycle
is an organized and effective methodology for defining and
Downloaded by [University of Otago] at 07:50 15 December 2015
implementing improvement opportunities, creating at the same
time a global mentality of continuous improvement.
In this project, we analysed the main causes responsible for
the downtime of the stamping machine. For that, the histori-
cal records of the machines downtime in 2012 were analysed,
leading to the identification of a lack of raw material as the
main factor responsible for production stoppages (representing
29.5% of total stoppage time in 2012). Simultaneously, by ana-
lysing the VSM a high average level of stock was found between
the processes of pickling and stamping. The existence of a high
level of stock and the occurrence of line stoppages due to lack
of raw material can only be due to the occurrence of irregu-
larities in communication between the two workstations. As
such, a Kanban supply system was implemented driven by two
cards, which allowed all the problems identified to be solved.
The application of this system resulted in a reduction of 50%
in the average stock level between the two workstations men-
tioned, as well as an increase of 10% in the level of availability
of the stamping machine by eliminating the possibility of lack
of material. This increase resulted in an improvement in the
hourly production capacity of 15%.
It can be argued that the goals initially set for this project
were completed successfully. Implementation of the Lean Six-
Sigma framework in PSF provided an impetus for establishing
best practice within the company. Moreover, it also provided the
company with a performance benchmark on which it could base
future performance enhancement programmes. The proposed
framework for Lean Six-Sigma implementation needs to be val-
idated in different scenarios to establish its validity. This can be
considered as one of the limitations of the proposed framework.
Six Sigma placed a clear focus on getting bottom-line
results. With this project, the company was able to increase
the production capacity of the stamping machine and reduce
production costs while meeting customer requirements. By
reducing the costs of production, it was possible to negoti-
ate the purchase cost of the MCS product with the customer,
implying benefits for both parties. In short, Table 4 summarizes
a comparison between the main target of this project and the
results obtained.
Finally, successful implementation of the proposed inte-
grated framework of Lean and Six Sigma provided an impetus
for bringing a cultural change in the company with systematic
implementation of the integrated approach throughout the
organization.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Funding
We gratefully acknowledge the support given by UNIDEMI, R&D
unit, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Science and
Technology, FCT, New University of Lisbon, Portugal.
ORCID
Maria do Rosrio Cabrita http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8394-2260
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