Teaching six sigma concepts in an engineering college

Abstract

Six Sigma is a process improvement methodology currently being employed across various types of business and industry. DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) has been developed more recently with the goal to apply the Six Sigma principles for the improvement of existing products and processes. The Six Sigma approaches provide a disciplined way of solving problems, eliminating defects and improving business results. In order to increase students' creative ability, college should provide them with the Six Sigma. Learning about such a well-structured approach and developing related skills would enable today's students to become tomorrow's more effective employees. In this program, fifty-three students in the class are divided into 13 groups. As project, each group finds college facilities and services to be improved and tries to solve these problems with DMAIC. The curriculum in this class furnishes instant feedback to the students by solving the problems directly associated with them. The students' creative thinking and power of expressing are also improved by learning various creative skills and teamwork. As the results of this class, 52 out of 53 students have acquired the honor of receiving Green belt. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2008.