SECTION A (Total 65 marks)

Background and Overview of Report

Many organisations are challenged operationally due to issues with their business processes. Lean Six Sigma provides the methods and tools to identify process issues and implement measures to improve the business process.

You are to examine the organisation you are currently working for or one which you are familiar with and identify a business process problem. Submit a report on how you would analyse the problem and recommend countermeasures to improve the business process using the Lean Six Sigma DMAIC approach. We shall thereafter call your selected organisation as the “subject organisation” and the selected business process the “subject business process”.
This ECA focuses on the process centric approach and qualitative analysis of the DMAIC model. Students are not expected to collect extensive data and perform data analysis for this ECA.

Question 1 – Define & Measure
(a) Introduce the subject organisation – describe the organisation’s name, nature of business, products or services, and types of customers served. Examine the subject organisation, develop the SIPOC diagram for the subject business process, one that is facing challenges in meeting customers’ expectation or internal performance targets. You may discuss with your manager or an experienced colleague to select the subject business process.
(5 marks)

(b) Define the problem, measure the current performance and recommend improvement goals. (5 marks)

Question 2 – Analyse
(a) Organise a brainstorming session with your colleagues. Examine and present a fishbone diagram on the causes of the subject process problem. Take and show a photo of your brainstorming session. (8 marks)

(b) Conduct a Gemba walk, identify, describe and show* at least three (3) wastes you observed in the process. Examine and explain the likely causes of each waste. (12 marks)

(c) Analyse and recommend the root causes of subject process problem. Explain how the root causes were selected and how would you validate the root causes. (5 marks)

Question 3 – Improve & Control
(a) Recommend and describe three (3) countermeasures to improve the subject business process. Please indicate if the countermeasure is to address a root cause or to remove waste in the process. (9 marks)

(b) Recommend and describe one (1) “mistake proofing” measure. (3 marks)

(c) Recommend and describe one (1) “standardise” measure for the improved process. (3 marks)

Question 4 – Lean Six Sigma Deployment
(a) Discuss with your manager or speak to someone familiar with process improvement methodology, evaluate and describe how the subject organisation currently drives process improvements with regards to: Approach, methodology, training program, people and roles, etc. Evaluate and describe the limitation or issues with the current approach. (Limit your answer to 350 words) (7 marks)

(b) Evaluate and recommend how your organisation can improve the effectiveness of its process improvements effort through the adoption of Lean Six Sigma management – organisation & roles, improvement project selection and methodology, etc. Compare with current practices, explain how adopting your recommendations will benefit the subject organisation. (Limit your answer to 350 words) (8 marks)

SECTION B (Total 25 marks)
Your Lean Six Sigma project has completed the DMAIC Improve phase, you are to prepare a presentation to update the Project Sponsor in the Tollgate 4 meeting with regards to the recommendation and implementation of the countermeasures. Address your presentation in a manner suited for the Project Sponsor.

Prepare a video recording of the presentation of at least 3 minutes but not exceeding 6 minutes. There are two methods for ECA video assignment submission; either Record Media or Upload Media. For Upload Media, please note that your file size should be no more than 500MB and the format is in .mp4. (25 marks)

SECTION C (Total 10 marks)
Prepare a set of PowerPoint presentation upon which the video presentation is based. Please note that the PowerPoint must be converted to PDF before submission to SUSS (Canvas). (10 marks)