Incorporating an array of tools that allow evaluating the product from several aspects is essential in assuring quality at the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation. Since not only customer satisfaction but also the lives of end-users hinges on the efficacy of enhancing and supervising the process of QA, it is imperative to make sure that every factor is taken into account. For these purposes, several tools belonging to the second stage of DMAIC, including the Baseline Measurement, the Defects Per Unit (DPU), the Defects Per Opportunity (DPO), the Z-score, and the Scatter Plot, should be used so that the repeatability of the process could be facilitated (Kubiak & Benbow, 2009e).
Setting the Baseline Measurement can be viewed as marking the essential stages and setting the objectives that will have to be accomplished by the end of the project. The adoption of the identified tool to the QA processes at Sikorsky will help get the priorities straight and make sure that roles and responsibilities should be distributed evenly among the employees (Kubiak & Benbow, 2009a).
The DPU score, in its turn, creates prerequisites for a detailed assessment of the quality management approach adopted presently. Consequently, the trends in the staff’s performance are easily located. In the context of rapidly changing quality demands, which the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation works in, the identified framework can be deemed as crucial since the safety policies are enhanced consistently, and new concepts emerge regularly (Kubiak & Benbow, 2009f).
Similarly, the DPO tool can be considered an essential addition to the array of devices used at Sikorsky Aircraft as it provides a chance to analyze the factors that affect the quality levels in the organization, including both internal and external ones. It could be argued, though, that the concept of an opportunity would require an accurate definition in the context of the QA processes in the organization. Going into detail, one should mention the necessity to explore the types of defects that can be identified in the course of the QA process.
The set of defects isolated as a result of the operations mentioned above will be determined as opportunities (Kubiak & Benbow, 2009b).
The Z-scores, in their turn, will serve as the means of locating the average rates of defected items production. Although it provides rather basic information concerning the overall efficacy of the staff’s performance, it, nevertheless, determines the variance rates in a team rather precisely. Thus, the emerging problems can be spotted quickly and managed in a timely fashion (Measure, n. d.).
Finally, the application of the Scatter Plot to the Measurement Phase will help determine the current trends in the QA process. For example, the general propensity for omitting defects in a particular team of employees can be detected and addressed in a timely and efficient manner with the help of the Scatter Plot (Kubiak & Benbow, 2009c).
To make sure that the number of defects omitted in the course of the assessment should not increase and that the quality of the end product should remain consistently high at Sikorsky Aircraft, one should consider the application of the tools such as the Baseline Measurement, the Defects Per Unit (DPU), the Defects Per Opportunity (DPO), the Z-score, and the Scatter Plot. As a result, a rapid rise in the company’s performance level, as well as customer satisfaction rates, can be expected. Therefore, the Measure phase of the DMAIC framework is bound to become an essential tool for analyzing the company’s progress and meeting the standards of the customers (Kubiak & Benbow, 2009d).
Reference List
Kubiak, T. M., & Benbow, D. W. (2009a). Chapter 18: Process characteristics. In The Certified Six Sigma Black Belt handbook (2nd ed.) (pp. 80-89). Milwaukee, WI: ASQ Press.
Kubiak, T. M., & Benbow, D. W. (2009b). Chapter 19: Data collection. In The Certified Six Sigma Black Belt handbook (2nd ed.) (pp. 80-89). Milwaukee, WI: ASQ Press.
Kubiak, T. M., & Benbow, D. W. (2009c). Chapter 20: Measurement systems. In The Certified Six Sigma Black Belt handbook (2nd ed.) (pp. 90-94). Milwaukee, WI: ASQ Press.
Kubiak, T. M., & Benbow, D. W. (2009d). Chapter 21: Basic statistics. In The Certified Six Sigma Black Belt handbook (2nd ed.) (pp. 95-121). Milwaukee, WI: ASQ Press.
Kubiak, T. M., & Benbow, D. W. (2009e). Chapter 22: Probability. In The Certified Six Sigma Black Belt handbook (2nd ed.) (pp. 122-137). Milwaukee, WI: ASQ Press.
Kubiak, T. M., & Benbow, D. W. (2009f). Chapter 23: Process capability. In The Certified Six Sigma Black Belt handbook (2nd ed.) (pp. 138-166). Milwaukee, WI: ASQ Press.
Measure. (n. d.). Web.