Case Study: Black & Decker, Kwikset, Price Pfister, Charlotte, North Carolina

May 20 - 28, 2004

Background: Mr. Panni Maddi, Six Sigma Black Belt, contacted The Institute for Manufacturing Productivity at York Technical College to inquire if a plastic button guard could be manufactured.  The custom plastic button guard would eliminate erroneous data entry made by packing associates while performing their job duties.  The custom plastic button guard is essentially an error-proofing device designed through the Six Sigma DMAIC process.

IMP Assistance:

York Technical College’s IET Dean Dr. Marc Tarplee received a prototype of the button guard on May 17, 2004.  Dr. Tarplee created an electronic CAD drawing of the prototype and then converted the CAD drawing to a part program using CAM software.   The part program was created for the IMP’s CNC Laser cutting machine.  After verifying the accuracy of the part program by making two button guards and comparing the actual dimensions to the CAD drawing, enough acrylic sheets were ordered to produce 1,500 button guards.  On May 20, 2004 Dr. Tarplee with the assistance of technician Sam Pigford began producing 500 button guards per day with the CNC Laser cutting machine.  On May 25, 2004, 1,500 button guards were delivered to the Black & Decker site. 

Button Guard produced by the IMP’s Dr. Marc Tarplee with assistance of technician Sam Pigford.  Note:  The button guard thickness is 0.375 inches:

Summary:

The Six Sigma method of improving manufacturing and business processes is achieving extraordinary results for American industries.  Highly skilled project managers, problems solvers, and statisticians called Six Sigma Black Belts and Master Black Belts use methods titled DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control), DFSS (Design For Six Sigma), and DMADV (Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, Verify) to improve customer service and products, while at the same time reducing costs and manufacturing cycle times.  Many times the Six Sigma teams need precision parts manufactured for jigs, fixtures, and error-proofing devices (also called Poka-Yoke) to ensure the new process is controlled.

The IMP is an excellent resource for assisting Six Sigma teams at the same time teaching our future work-force with real-world problems and solutions.

Economic Impact:

This information is confidential and not available for the general public.