Reducing operation defect using Six Sigma Tools

To be competitive, Malaysian companies need to reduce their operation losses and increase their profitability. This can be achieved by deploying an effective quality improvement methodology for resolving their quality and operation issues. One proven and widely used method that can assist to achieve the objective is Six Sigma. Six Sigma deployments in Malaysia are comparatively low compared to other countries partly due to the lack of understanding about the methodology. Therefore, there is a need to spread the understanding and deployment of this powerful methodology among local companies to enhance their competitiveness. One of the key factors determining the success of Six Sigma projects in reducing quality issues is the proper selection of tools utilized in each of the Six Sigma improvement phases. By applying the right tools, the actual root causes of a problem can be clearly identified and totally eliminated. Furthermore, this will shorten the time taken to resolve the issues since the effort will only focus on the real causes and effective solutions to the problem. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how Six Sigma tools are selected and applied to effectively reduce the operation defects. This paper presents a case study that describes how Six Sigma tools were used to reduce Recording Head pole defects in a semiconductor process. The objective of the project was to reduce the defect from 1.38% to 1%. The project followed Six Sigma DMAIC phases to achieve the objective where in each of the phase, appropriate tools were used. The project had achieved its objective by reducing the defect to 0.96%. This reduction yielded an accumulated savings of $US9000. The improvement and savings achieved through this project proved that Six Sigma tools when selected and used effectively could substantially reduce the operation defects and bring saving to the company.