Six Sigma in Automotive Industry
LEAN SIX SIGMA METHODOLOGY
Research Project
TEAM 14
DUE DATE: April 23th, 2013
About the Company
An Indian automotive company produces some of the engines it integrates inside its cars. However, some of the engines present overheating problems due to jammings in the water-jacket-passage. This instantly became a top priority for senior management. They realized this had a tremendous impact both in bottom-line revenue and customer satisfaction. Since this was already evident for them because customers had repeatedly reported the problem, this also became the most important cause of customer dissatisfaction.
A high-power engine of about 1525 HP is composed mainly of cylinder heads. Power is developed at the bottom surface of the cylinder head and is subjected to high heat and vibration during combustion of the engine. The grey cast-iron casting of the head has inlet passages, intricate water-jacket passages for coolant flow, and exhaust passages to discharge the burnt fuels. The water jacket is a complex passage for water circulation around the cylinder, the valve ports and seats, the combustion chamber, and any other hot part that requires cooling. The heat of combustion is conducted through metal walls to the water in the jacket. The cylinder head is cast by assembling the base core, the water-jacket core, the inlet core, and the exhaust core into one unit. (Antony, Kumar, & Tiwari, 2005)
Since the process presenting the problem was clearly complex and the root cause of the water-jacket-passage was unknown, the company decided to launch a Six Sigma project to address this issue.
Define
Based on the DMAIC methodology, the company looked for the definition of the scope and goals for the project presented below.
Research Project
TEAM 14
DUE DATE: April 23th, 2013
About the Company
An Indian automotive company produces some of the engines it integrates inside its cars. However, some of the engines present overheating problems due to jammings in the water-jacket-passage. This instantly became a top priority for senior management. They realized this had a tremendous impact both in bottom-line revenue and customer satisfaction. Since this was already evident for them because customers had repeatedly reported the problem, this also became the most important cause of customer dissatisfaction.
A high-power engine of about 1525 HP is composed mainly of cylinder heads. Power is developed at the bottom surface of the cylinder head and is subjected to high heat and vibration during combustion of the engine. The grey cast-iron casting of the head has inlet passages, intricate water-jacket passages for coolant flow, and exhaust passages to discharge the burnt fuels. The water jacket is a complex passage for water circulation around the cylinder, the valve ports and seats, the combustion chamber, and any other hot part that requires cooling. The heat of combustion is conducted through metal walls to the water in the jacket. The cylinder head is cast by assembling the base core, the water-jacket core, the inlet core, and the exhaust core into one unit. (Antony, Kumar, & Tiwari, 2005)
Since the process presenting the problem was clearly complex and the root cause of the water-jacket-passage was unknown, the company decided to launch a Six Sigma project to address this issue.
Define
Based on the DMAIC methodology, the company looked for the definition of the scope and goals for the project presented below.