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Six Sigma DFSS Explored- An In-Depth Discussion of DFSS

By Craig Calvin
Nov 12, 2009
When businesses are looking to improve quality, and eliminate waste and inefficiencies, they often turn to Six Sigma as a methodology to help them reach these goals. The most popular use of Six Sigma is implementing the DMAIC method, which stands for define, measure, analyze, improve and control. This method is ideal when you have existing processes in place in your business, and you are looking to improve them. If you are going to be implementing a new product or service, there is an alternative to DMAIC, which is better suited to your needs. Design for Six Sigma, or DFSS, is geared towards the design of a new product or process, and will optimize the quality and efficiency of the product or process when it is initially implemented

If your organization is considering adding a new product or service, the decision to use DFSS should be made at the start of the design process. DFSS can be an instrumental part of your new design, however trying to implement DFSS in the middle of your design, or at the end, is not a very efficient use of the method. The purpose of DFSS is to eliminate defects in your new product or service from the very beginning, and its use requires the expertise of individuals who have had advanced Six Sigma training. DFSS may extend your design process, and it may create more work, but in the end the product or service you are implementing will be greatly improved for it.

DFSS is actually a group of different strategies, that all focus on the design of a new product or process. Based on the specific needs of your business, and the type of process or product you are designing, you can choose the DFSS strategy that is right for you. Here are some examples:

-IDOV: Identify, Design, Optimize, and Validate. This process allows for optimization of the process or product through modeling, simulation, and statistics. These Six Sigma Tools are used to predict and optimize the performance and design of the product or process.

-DAMDV: Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, and Verify. The need of customers is defined based on research, and then that need is measured and benchmarked based on the competition or other industries already meeting the same needs. The options are analyzed, and the design is created and its performance is verified.

The DCCDI strategy stands for Define, Customer Concept, Design, and Implement. The DCCDI strategy is comparable to the DAMDV strategy. The main difference between the two is the fact that DCCDI has an implementation phase, which is when the product or process is created and deployed.

If your company is looking to design a new product or process, and you are looking to optimize the quality and efficiency of this product from the very beginning, then you should strongly consider the use of DFSS. DFSS will optimize your product's quality, and there are many different DFSS strategies, which allows you to pick the strategy that best meets the needs of your business.
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