Quality and productivity improvement through Six Sigma in foundry industry

Indian industries need overall operational excellence in today's era of global competitiveness. Especially, the basic manufacturing sectors such as foundries and other metal working/forming industries need breakthrough improvements in quality as well as in productivity. Six Sigma is one of the most effective breakthrough improvement strategies having direct impact on operational excellence of an organisation. It addresses efficiency and effectiveness of the industry thus improving quality and productivity, both simultaneously. From the researches and surveys published so far, it appears that Six Sigma is not being explored by the Indian foundry industries to its full potential. Very few literatures are reported regarding step‐by‐step implementation of Six Sigma in foundry industries. This paper illustrates a real‐life case study of practicing Six Sigma at a small‐scale foundry industry. This paper explains phase with application of define‐measure‐analyse‐improve‐control methodology and ultimately shows how breakthrough improvement can be brought in quality and productivity in a foundry industry.