Combination of theory of constraints, root cause analysis and Six Sigma for quality improvement framework

Root cause analysis (RCA) could help understand better problems in maintenance with system viewpoint, discover the true root cause of failures, and other appropriate solutions to discard maintenance rework. Theory of constraints (TQC) could serve as the framework for continuous improvement, and Six Sigma could provide specific statistical tools and engineering techniques for implementing changes. But, the above three strategies have some limitations. Therefore, this paper studies the combination three distinct strategies, Six Sigma, TOC and RCA, for improving manufacturing system performance. We used the concepts of strength and weaknesses of theory of constraints, Six Sigma, for developing a Six Sigma quality improvement framework. A proposes integrated framework to illustrate how the three techniques can complement each other to improve performance.