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DFSS 2
Introduction
Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) is a distinct and relatively new methodology for managing business
processes (Jacowski, 2008). It is associated with the traditional Six Sigma methodology. In fact, Design
for Sigma Six stemmed out of the traditional Six Sigma methodology. DFSS has a few only slightly
different from the traditional Six Sigma. Whereas the traditional Six Sigma methodology is applicable to
Recommendation Plan
DFSS methodology’s approach entails defining, measuring, analyzing, designing, and then
verifying business processes. From this approach, DFSS is sometimes referred to as DMADV. DFSS
endeavors to initiate a new process to fill a gap where none existed. It is also applicable in situations
where existing products are not effective and need to be replaced. DFSS creates processes, which are
The first step in the plan for implementing DFSS in our organization will entail identification of
the scope of the program with respect to the type of product or service to be delivered by the organization.
Secondly, our organization will assess the possible impacts and/or outcomes that can arise from
implementing the program and the type of involvement that will be required. Third in the process will be
making decisions with respect to the type of implementation approach that should be adopted. Fourth, the
steering committee will be identified to guide the implementation process as well as giving them the
requisite training. Lastly, allocation of duties and responsibilities to successful candidates will begin in
Due to its universal acceptance, DFSS can be used to manage the business processes of any
organization. Within an organization as well, DFSS can be used in different divisions or departments to
achieve varied objectives (Krow, 2006). Often the company or division concerned will execute DFSS to
The production department is the primary area of our organization where DFSS will be used. This
department is divided into various divisions according to what they produce. One of our divisions
produces industrial products that are used in a number of industries including transportation, maintenance,
and equipment manufacturing industries. Though this is division is the strongest among our divisions, it
fairs poorly compared to its competitors. It ranks third among its competitors in terms of market share.
The market leader in this market segment has four times our market share. It is worrying to know that the
number one division to our company lags behind its competitors. To our company, it means that there is
more that could be done. DFSS can be used to improve the competitive edge of this division and the
Quality is very important to the industrial division. This is because most of the products of this
division are used in human safety applications. A slump in quality of goods produced by this division
would be catastrophic to the whole organization. Even though our division has an upper hand in terms of
quality compared to its competitors, there could be gains to be made from assuring customers that
additional steps have been taken to guarantee quality products. DFSS could be used in the production
departments in the ways mentioned above. This approach is applicable to the other two divisions, one
DFSS can also be applied to other operations of the organization. DFSS could be used in
marketing to develop efficient ways of promoting and distributing the company’s products. It would not
make much sense to tighten production systems while no effort is being made to sell these products.
DFSS 4
DFSS is also applicable in the Human Resources Department. This department is tasked with the
responsibility of ensuring that the organization is sufficiently staffed by qualified personnel. DFSS can
help to devise a procedure of selecting the best team for the organization.
DFSS would have the biggest impact in the production department. The production department
creates value embodied in the products that the company is known. The other departments merely add to
the value that the production department has created. Ultimately, the company will be made or destroyed
by its products. If the company produces poor quality products, no amount of efforts by the marketing
department or any other department would conceal this fact. This is the reason why DFSS would make
Our supply chain operations involve the movement of materials and services, finances and
information as they move from our suppliers to our various departments to our customers. The main aim
of our supply chain operations is to minimize inventories since we largely operate a just-it-time system.
Materials and finances in the form of cash balances are the two items that we will endeavor to manage
using DFSS.
For materials, the DMADV methodology will be used. The five elements of DMADV are Define
Measure, Analyze, Design, and Verify. In the first phase, the targets of the production process and the
requirements of customers will be defined. Measurement involves finding out what exactly customers
want. It also involves benchmarking to determine the relative standing of the company. In the third phase,
options are analyzed to determine what meets the expectations of customers and what does not. After an
analysis of the different options, processes are designed to meet customer needs. The final step is to verify
The list of companies that have employed the use of DFSS to improve their processes is a long
one. Some of these companies include Microsoft, Xerox, Pfizer, BP, Mercedes-Benz, Canon, and Ford
(Chowdhury, 2002). These companies used different elements of the DFSS methodology to achieve
different results.
Ford serves as a good example of what can be achieved when DFSS is used to manage business
processes. Ford mainly uses DFSS in its manufacturing segments. The specific areas where DFSS has
been applied in Ford Corporation include assembly, casting, grinding, and heat treatment.Ford started off
its application of DFSS with the design and production of its new V-6 engine. This was a hybrid engine
that was produced in response to the growing number of consumers going green. The DFSS program was
also applied to the design of a hybrid transaxle for Ford Cars. This was done in Ford’s new plant in Ohio.
Since production of the V-6 engine began, Ford has applied DFSS to other components that it
produces. In all these applications, Ford has tried to link the different phases of the product development
process with the ultimate effectiveness of the outcome (Gerhost, Gromping, Lloyd-Thomas, and Khalaf,
2006). One of the new products that owes its existence to DFSS is the robust exhaust manifold. DFSS
was used in the production of robust exhaust manifolds to reduce iterations, improve production times,
DFSS has been beneficial to Ford Corporation. Unlike other process development methodologies,
DFSS does not leave out any of its components. Attention is given to all the six elements of DFSS. This
sort of comprehensiveness has given Ford improved customer responsiveness. This is evidenced by the
development of hybrid products. The benefits of improved customer responsiveness were reflected in
increased sales generally.The invention of new products and new techniques of production have also
DFSS 6
improved Ford’s image. Customers now view Ford as a progressive organization that one should
associates. The benefits of improved customer perception are evident from increased sales. In addition
Ford saved over a billion dollars in waste the around the period it implemented DFSS (Subbjar, 2005).
Other advantages that Ford has been able to achieve through the use of DFSS include but not
limited to statistical thinking in product development and control of quality by integrating strategies into
service and product performance, and focusing on the customer through offering personalized services
through the voice of the customer initiative (VOC). Additionally, the company has employed DFSS in
process alignment and product design whereby concepts such as product design and voice of the customer
initiatives have been merged together to aid the decision making process and solving problems that occur
Simply put, the adoption of the DFSS by Ford Corporation has improved the effectiveness of new
service and product development at the company in addition to integrating discipline, rigor, and creativity
in various production activities. In turn, the DFSS has ensured that production and development processes
have enabled the company to improve on the quality of products delivered by the company in addition to
ensuring that the company’s performance is achieved at the highest sigma levels. Coupled with the
company’s market experience in production and manufacturing activities, the adoption of DFSS has
accelerated service delivery in the company with particular performance being noted in the financial
segment. Conversely, the company has been able to enhance its competitive advantage through investing
Benchmarking
(Camp, 2006). It is used by organizations to evaluate different facets of their processes in comparison
with the processes of the company that has the best practice in a given field. For benchmarking to be
beneficial to an organization, that organization should compare its processes to the best performers’
DFSS 7
processes. Given that we rank third in terms of market share, we should benchmark against the firm that
There are many parameters that one can benchmark. Focus should however be on those
parameters that one can control and that are important in determining the success or failure of a company.
These parameters include sales, cost of sales, cycle times, and quality (Camp, 2006).
Competitors are unlikely to be willing to share information with each other especially if the
information could help their competitors to be more competitive. If the information required for
benchmarking is not publicly available, unorthodox means may have to be employed to get the
information.
The outcome of benchmarking may necessitate changes within our division. Reorganizations of
personnel and processes may have to be effected. It is unfortunate that most of the major decisions
affecting the division are made by the manager of the corporate North America Warehouse (NAW) who
reports to the vice president. Though the definition of changes to be made may originate from the Senior
Technical Officers of our division, the final say comes from the vice president. This could impede the
There are many parameters that can be used to measure the success of the division. These include
profitability, percentage of defective products and costs. There is competition in the industry in which our
division operates. For this reason, prices, costs, and quality of product are almost homogenous. The most
important measure of success in this situation is market share since the firm with the largest market share
will be the firm that has a winning mix of price, cost, quality, and effective marketing.
DFSS 8
References
Camp, C. R. (2006). Benchmarking: The Search for Industry Best Practices That Lead to Superior
Chowdhury, S. (2002). Design for Six Sigma: The Revolutionary Process for Achieving Extraordinary
Gerhost, F. Gromping, U. Lloyd-Thomas D. and Khalaf, F. (2006). Design for Six Sigma in product
development at Ford Motor Company in a case study on robust exhaust manifold design.
International Journal of Product Development. Issue: Volume 3, Number 3-4 / 2006. Pages: 278 -
291
http://www.articleslash.net/Business/Management/389682__What-Exactly-is-DFSS.html
Krow, K. (2006). Design for Six Sigma. Retrieved on April 4, 2011 from http://www.npd-
solutions.com/dfss.html
Subbujar. (2005) Total Quality Management. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill.