Application of Lean Six Sigma and Theory of Inventive Problem Solving to Reduce Waste and Improve the Quality Motorcycle Rear Arm

In a competitive global market, the need of high quality product and high efficiency production are increasing. An automotive spare part company is facing this problem because the production is not efficient and the defect ratio is still above the target. The company develops and makes an aluminum rear frame arm for motorcycle spare part. The purpose of this study is to improve production quality and efficiency by applying lean six sigma. The lean six sigma objectives are to reduce waste, non-value added work and cycle time. Based on the initial analysis, the sigma level of the company was at 3.8 sigma. The waste from the production process was 26.29%, unnecessary inventory was 20, 45%, and over production was 16.85%. The lean six sigma methodology of DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve, and control) is used for this study. The value stream mapping (VSM) is used to identify the waste while theory of inventive problem solving (known as TRIZ) is used at analysis and improvement stage to overcome the production defect problems in the production line. The result of this study shows that the sigma level is increased to 4,8 sigma with defect ratio of 0,51%.