What is Design For Six Sigma (DFSS)?
The customer-oriented design is a development process of transforming customers wants into design solutions that are useful to the customer. This process is carried over several phases starting from a conceptual phase. In this phase, conceiving, evaluating and selecting good design solutions are difficult tasks with enormous consequences. It is usually the case that these organizations operate in two modes 'fire prevention', i.e. conceiving feasible and healthy conceptual entities, and 'fire fighting', i.e. problem solving such that the design entity can live to its committed potentials. Unfortunately, the later mode consumes the largest portion of the organization human and non-human resources. The Six Sigma Professionals, Inc. Design For Six Sigma methodology is designed to target both modes of operations in product, process and service development environments.
Our Design For Six Sigma (DFSS) methodology is a scientific approach comprised of fundamental knowledge areas in different design, quality and reliability fields as well as the relationship between these fundamental areas. DFSS fundamental knowledge areas include a mix of principles, tools, ideation and conception methods such as Axiomatic Design and Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ), and a spectrum of empirical statistical and mathematical models.
The major objective of DFSS is to 'design it right the first time' to avoid painful down stream experiences. The term 'six Sigma' in the context of DFSS can be defined as the level at which design vulnerabilities are not effective or minimal. There are many weaknesses exhibited in current engineering practices. These weaknesses often lead to problematic quality issues in the designed entity. This situation is an urgent call for a new engineering approach. These weaknesses can be categorized as follows:
- 'Conceptual Weaknesses' leading to lack of functional robustness of the fundamental system concepts (or technologies). This category is associated with the system deign (hierarchical level) and results from violation of design principles.
- 'Operational Weaknesses' leading to lack of robustness at the operational level, i.e. associated with the usage environment of the system occurring over the system's life cycle. This results when the system is subjected to noise factors such as customer use/abuse, material degradation, and piece-to-piece variation.
The objective of the DFSS when adopted upfront is to 'design it right the first time' by anticipating the effect of both sources of design vulnerabilities. This requires that companies should be provided by the analytical means to achieve this noble objective and to sustain it.