Six Sigma Quality At Flyrock Tyres
KEL028
SUNIL CHOPRA
Six Sigma Quality at Flyrock Tires
Susan Douglas, vice president of quality at Flyrock Tires, was wondering how to explain the value of Six Sigma quality to the people within her organization. Flyrock, a major manufacturer of tires in the United States, had five manufacturing facilities where tires were made and another
20 facilities for various components and material used in tires. Quality had always been emphasized at Flyrock, but lately quality was a bigger issue because of recent fatal accidents involving tires made by other manufacturers due to tread separation. These tire problems had received significant coverage in the popular press and all manufacturers were under pressure to show they were working to ensure that problems did not arise in the future. Several lawsuits had been filed on behalf of the families of victims in these accidents and much of the discussion in these lawsuits was likely to involve the way these tires were built. Douglas wanted to push through a Six Sigma program and significantly improve the level of quality at Flyrock, and she needed to build a solid case for it first.
Manufacturing Tires
While tire technology had made many advances over the decades from old-fashioned, inexpensive, bias-ply tires to today’s steel-belted radials, the basic process of making tires had essentially remained unchanged and was shared by all manufacturers.
Rubber, the major component of tires, arrived in bales at the tire factory where it was mixed with chemicals and other ingredients. Each manufacturer had its own recipe for this process.
Large blades in a machine broke down the raw rubber and mixed the chemicals, much like a kitchen mixer would. The rubber compound was then rolled into a milling machine where it was forced back and forth through a series of rollers to more thoroughly mix the chemicals added earlier. Tread referred to the part of the tire that touched the road, while sidewall referred to the sides of the tire. Tread
SUNIL CHOPRA
Six Sigma Quality at Flyrock Tires
Susan Douglas, vice president of quality at Flyrock Tires, was wondering how to explain the value of Six Sigma quality to the people within her organization. Flyrock, a major manufacturer of tires in the United States, had five manufacturing facilities where tires were made and another
20 facilities for various components and material used in tires. Quality had always been emphasized at Flyrock, but lately quality was a bigger issue because of recent fatal accidents involving tires made by other manufacturers due to tread separation. These tire problems had received significant coverage in the popular press and all manufacturers were under pressure to show they were working to ensure that problems did not arise in the future. Several lawsuits had been filed on behalf of the families of victims in these accidents and much of the discussion in these lawsuits was likely to involve the way these tires were built. Douglas wanted to push through a Six Sigma program and significantly improve the level of quality at Flyrock, and she needed to build a solid case for it first.
Manufacturing Tires
While tire technology had made many advances over the decades from old-fashioned, inexpensive, bias-ply tires to today’s steel-belted radials, the basic process of making tires had essentially remained unchanged and was shared by all manufacturers.
Rubber, the major component of tires, arrived in bales at the tire factory where it was mixed with chemicals and other ingredients. Each manufacturer had its own recipe for this process.
Large blades in a machine broke down the raw rubber and mixed the chemicals, much like a kitchen mixer would. The rubber compound was then rolled into a milling machine where it was forced back and forth through a series of rollers to more thoroughly mix the chemicals added earlier. Tread referred to the part of the tire that touched the road, while sidewall referred to the sides of the tire. Tread