Quality Management and Lean Systems
In Quality Management there are five concepts. The third is Six Sigma which is a route for the development and allocation of close to perfect products. It is a level of how much a process differs from exactness (Russell & Taylor, 2013). The goal for Six Sigma is equal to or less than 3.4 defects (anything outside of a customer’s specifications) per million opportunities (Russell & Taylor, 2013). Six Sigma has two sub-methodologies (practices, procedures and rules) DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve, control) which is a system for improvement of existing processes which fall below standards and looks for improvement, and DMADV (define, measure, analyze, design, verify) which is used to develop new products or procedures at the most highest quality levels (Russell & Taylor, 2013). Both of these processes are achieved by project team members (green belts) and project leaders (black belts) and overseen by supervisors (mater black belts).

In Lean Systems there are five concepts. The fifth is Poka-yoke, in short it is the prevention of defects from occurring, also known as “fool-proofing” (Russell & Taylor, 2015, Chap. 16). Poka-yokes create correct conditions prior to executing step, preventing defects from happening in the first place. Any item, action, or worker involved in production can have a defect causing failure of a product, so it is vital to reach a defect free zone. There are two methods for prevention based poka-yokes. First is the Control Method which senses a problem and stops production hopefully before production begins. An example is if there are missing parts of a bicycle, production would not start or shut down immediately. The second is the Warning Method which sounds alarms through buzzers , lights or other devices. This method does not shut production down all the time. An example of this is if an air hose springs a leak. An alarm will tell the worker to fix it immediately. Detection based poka-yokes are the contact method which detects problems of mechanisms which are in direct contact with the production items, such as a glass bottle that has not completely formed properly and is overweight. An alarm would alert the worker to remove it. Next is the fixed value method which is the process in which optical or counter devices detects the movement speed, length of a movement and the rate at which it moves. An example would be if a machine stamped a product more than once causing a double label. Lastly, the motion step method is what guarantees that all steps are followed in proper sequence. An example of this method would be marking parts alphabetically to ensure proper step building, or printing brochures with product information and how to instructions. Continually preventing, detecting, and removing defects is not always fool proof but with assertiveness a virtual perfect environment can be achieved. (Velaction, 2003).

References

Russell, R., & Taylor, B. (2013). Quality Management. In Operations and supply chain management (Eighth Ed.). VA: John Wiley and Sons.
Velaction (2003). Poka yoke (+8-page lean pdf, +video). Velaction Continuous Improvement, LLC Retrieved from http://www.velaction.com/definition-poka-yoke/