Design for Six Sigma (DfSS)

Introduction

Design for Six Sigma (DfSS) is a four-day programme that helps organisations design products, services and processes right first time. Delegates gain a practical understanding of the DfSS approach and learn how to apply the tools most relevant to their own design process. By identifying customer requirements early and building quality into the design stage, organisations can reduce development costs, accelerate delivery and minimise rework after launch. The programme is tailored to your business and is suitable for design teams, continuous improvement practitioners, and Green and Black Belts in both product and service organisations.

Participants will be able to:

• Apply the Design for Six Sigma approach to products, services and processes
• Combine Design for Six Sigma with iterative development and design thinking
• Align DfSS tools with an existing design process where one is in place
• Capture voice of the customer and flow down requirements into design
• Apply key design tools including FMEA, Poka Yoke and Design for X
• Assess robustness, reliability, process stability and capability
• Eliminate waste and variation from the design stage onwards

Why practitioners choose this programme

Organisations invest in Design for Six Sigma to build quality, reliability and customer value into products, services and processes from the outset and achieve the following outcomes:

• Reduced design rework, delays and development costs
• Building customer requirements into designs from the start
• Improved robustness, reliability and process capability
• Minimised complaints, failures and recalls
• Accelerated development and speed up time to market
• Practical tools that can be applied immediately
• Learning by using examples tailored to your organisation’s own products, services and processes

Delivery Information / Options

Design for Six Sigma is delivered in-company, either face-to-face or virtually. The content is customised for your own products, services and processes, including the tools most relevant to your design process. Objectives are discussed beforehand so the course can be tailored appropriately, making it a focused and directly applicable programme for your design and improvement teams.

Course Overview

Introduction to Design for Six Sigma: The programme opens by introducing the Design for Six Sigma approach and its benefits, then expores how it combines with Design Thinking and iterative, Agile-style development. This sets the framework for designing products, services and processes that are right first time.

Aligning with your design process: Where an organisation already has a design process, this part of the programme is customised to align DfSS approaches with it. The aim is to create a coherent way of working that strengthens existing practice rather than replacing it.

Waste, variation and managing change: Delegates explore an overview of waste and variation, including the different types of work, building an understanding of where design effort is lost. The programme also covers managing change and team working, using the E = Q x A equation and the Elements of Change model to support successful adoption.

Key design tools: The core of the programme builds a practical toolkit. You work with voice of the customer and requirements flowdown, an introduction to lean design, boundary diagrams and P-diagrams. You apply FMEA for both design and process, Poka Yoke, and techniques for robustness and reliability.

Verification, capability and creativity: The closing tools extend into Design for X and measurement systems analysis across verification, validation and production measurement systems. You will also address process stability and capability, and creativity, ensuring innovation is built into the design process.