A program for reliability practitioners developed as a Six Sigma Black Belt project at the U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC) at Picatinny, Arsenal, NJ, presents a framework from which new development in the core competencies can grow. The framework consists of eight elements that has been illustrated with an example of car-repair process:
1) Business process: It establishes the tenor of the process in accordance with the guiding principles of business process management. It is defined as a logical organization of people, materials and equipment interacting to transform one or more inputs through a series of interrelated activities to create an output (information, production, or service) that is of value to the customer.
2) Process hierarchy: Breaks down the major processes into a logical grouping of subprocesses. In turn, each subprocess is broken down into a logical grouping of activities and each activitiy into a logical grouping of tasks. An example of process hierarchy for automotive repair process is as follows:
3) SIPOC: Provides a structure for analyzing the supplier-process-customer relationship by identifying key inputs and outputs to construct a high-level process map. The following figure illustrates an example when a supplier (in this case the customer) submits a car-repair request to trigger the start of the auto-repair process. The first output to the customer is a notification on estimated repair price. Toward the end of the process, the customer satisfaction feedback is an output to the service personnel.
4) IDEFO (Integrated Definition of Function Modeling): Provides the standard to develop a structured graphic of a system. IDEFO is a top-down modeling technique in which a single page can represent an entire system. The following figure presents an example of the entire executive automotive repair process.
Starting with this general view, it breaks down to more detailed pages that explain how the system subsections work in detail via parent-child diagrams.
5) Activity components: An activity is a discrete unit of work within the process that transforms inputs into outputs. It has definable components as described in the following table:
In the following figure activity 22 – determine repair requirements – establishes the relationship between the assigned auto mechanic and the desired output.
6) Operational Framework: The following figure shown an example of how to define the relationship between a process and its components.
7) Process Documentation: Describes the activities required within the process to produce outputs that conform to the standards in accordance with the policies of the organization. Each process descroption has a set of elements as shown in the following table:
8) Procedure: Describes the task to be completed as shown in the following example.
Source: Chang, N. S. Q., Gagliardi, F. A. 2011. Know more, do more: An effective learning program is key to organizational success. Quality Progress, January 2011, 32-39.