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Process Improvement: The Six Sigma Approach

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Abstract

This chapter presents information for both practitioners and academicians about Six Sigma (SS) methodology. Main goal is to provide an overview of Six Sigma, from its beginning until nowadays, giving a description of its phases. A literature research was conducted to determine the Critical Success Factors (CSF) and Tools and Techniques (T&T) more frequently used by practitioners around the world. In order to illustrate the five phases development, a case study of six sigma implementation in an electronic manufacturing company is presented, obtaining a successful implementation taking into account defects rates and their impact on saving and customer satisfaction. Findings support congruence between theory and practice through the use of some CSFs and T&T. It is important to remark that the use of correct T&T plus a consideration of CSFs may considerable increase chances to obtain benefits implementing SS. Finally, is also mentioned the relevance of integrate methodologies for process improvement like six sigma and lean manufacturing, named Lean Six Sigma (LSS) in order to obtain optimal results.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Design, Autonomous University of Baja California, Campus Ensenada, Km. 103 Carretera Tijuana–Ensenada, C.P. 22860, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico

    Diego Tlapa-Mendoza, Jorge Limón-Romero, Yolanda Báez-López & Jesús Salinas-Coronado

Authors
  1. Diego Tlapa-Mendoza
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  2. Jorge Limón-Romero
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  3. Yolanda Báez-López
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  4. Jesús Salinas-Coronado
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Diego Tlapa-Mendoza .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Ingeniería Industrial y Manufactura, Instituto de Ingeniería y Tecnología Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico

    Jorge Luis García-Alcaraz

  2. Avenue Del Charro, Autonomous University of Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico

    Aidé Aracely Maldonado-Macías

  3. Institute of Technology of Orizaba Av. Instituto Tecnologico, Orizaba, Mexico

    Guillermo Cortes-Robles

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Tlapa-Mendoza, D., Limón-Romero, J., Báez-López, Y., Salinas-Coronado, J. (2014). Process Improvement: The Six Sigma Approach. In: García-Alcaraz, J., Maldonado-Macías, A., Cortes-Robles, G. (eds) Lean Manufacturing in the Developing World. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-04951-9_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-04951-9_5

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-04950-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-04951-9

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