Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) has improved the way senior executives at Masco Builder Cabinet Group (Masco BCG) view and manage their business. DFSS is a proven methodology that designs a product or service right the first time, in a timely, cost-effective manner. Masco BCG is a leading designer and manufacturer of kitchen cabinets with brands including Merillat and Quality Cabinets. Steve Wittig, vice president of Six Sigma at Masco BCG, is in charge of Six Sigma deployment and overseeing the DFSS initiatives.
One DFSS (DMADV) project implemented at Masco BCG revolutionized the way executives at corporate headquarters and managers at 10 of its plants and distribution centers across the country, report, review and manage financial, business and operational metrics.
“The focus of this Design for Six Sigma project was to design a user-friendly and user-useful executive information system that provided one set of numbers with individualized views that are relevant to each specific executive or manager,” says Wittig.
Different executives and managers are now able to drill down performance data from the company, plant, department and product line levels. They can access relevant and accurate information very quickly and with fewer key strokes. More importantly, these different views come from the same “one set of numbers” – there are no discrepancies in how numbers are reported, recorded and viewed across the entire company.
“Juran’s Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) is very applicable to designing or redesigning our business, transactional and service processes including financial accounting systems, product and service quality, procurement, design, engineering and customer service,” says Wittig. “DFSS enables us to design or redesign based on disparate needs and requirements of internal and external customers.”
Masco BCG is an excellent advocate for how organizations around the world are quickly moving from a corrective operational mind-set to a proactive preventative one in terms of meeting customer needs.
Juran was founded in 1979 by Dr. Joseph M. Juran, the internationally recognized pioneer and visionary of the quality management field. Juran is a global leader of research, consulting and education in managing operational excellence. With offices spanning the