SKEDSOFT

Six Sigma

Introduction:

Six sigma is a purely management based tool, which implies on the scheduling and planning strategies by which we can improve our profit.

Purpose:

A main purpose of these generic-seeming definitions is to emphasize the diversity of problems that the material in this book can address. It applicable to all of the following:

(1)Reducing errors in administering medications to hospital patients

(2)Improving the welds generated by a robotic welding cell

(3)Reducing the number of errors in accounting statements

 (4)Improving the taste of food

(5)Helping to increase the effectiveness of pharmaceutical medications.

 

a)      Another purpose of the above definitions is to clarify on choices about the settings of factors that we can control, i.e., key input variables (KIVs).

b)      While it makes common sense to focus on controllable factors, students often have difficulty clarifying what variables they might reasonably be able to control directly in relation to a given system.

c)       Commonly, there is confusion between inputs and outputs because, in part, system inputs can be regarded as outputs. The opposite is generally not true.

d)      The examples that follow further illustrate the diversity of relevant application systems and job descriptions. These examples also clarify the potential difficulty associated with identifying KIVs and KOVs.

Example Bar-Coding Hospital System

A hospital is trying to increase the quality of drug administration. To do this, it is considering providing patients with bar-coded wristbands and labeling unit dose medications with barcodes to make it easier to identify errors in patient and medication names, doses, routes, and times. Your team is charged with studying the effects of bar-coding by carefully watching 250 episodes in which drugs are given to patients without bar-coding and 250 episodes with bar-coding. Every time a drug is administered, you will check the amount, if any, of discrepancy between what was supposed to be given and what was given. List KIVs and KOVs and their units.

Solution:  Possible KIVs and KOVs are listed in Table below, Note also that the table is written implying that there is only one type of drug being administered. If there were a need to check the administration of multiple drugs, more output variables would be measured and documented. Then, it might be reasonable to assign a KOV as a weighted sum of the mistake amounts associated with different drugs. Simultaneously more inputs that can be adjusted.