The subject of master’s thesis "The study of the operating production management” is to rationalize production and distribution of compressed air. The thesis deals with the description of the current state, the analysis of compressed air production and the proposal for rationalization. The basis of this work is to implement lean manufacturing method in the company DI Industrial. The proposed steps are primarily designed for implementation in this firm but their principles and methods could be used in any company that uses compressed air technology. The study includes theoretical knowledge in the range of Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma tools and a pneumatics.

Description of present state of compressed air production in Motorpal a.s. Jihlava. Toll used for production procedure and output improvement, quality problems solving and improvement implemantation. Problem define, measure, analyse, iprovement proposals and improvement implementation, improved process control via Lean Six Sigma methodics.

The subject of this master´s thesis is the improvement of a quality management system in selected industrial company using the DMAIC methodology. For this purpose, current status of quality management system was analysed and compared with requirements of the ČSN EN ISO 9001 standard. Based on determined shortcomings, corrective measures were proposed. The measures related to process management and risk analysis were performed within the pactical part of this thesis.

As battery manufacturing is enclosed with multiple quality and safety requirements, the batteryindustry needs adequate Measurement Systems (MS) to provide high product quality and ensure a safe working environment. The study purpose was to improve the performance of an MS for battery production by utilizing MSA and Six Sigma methodology, and to make appropriate recommendations for improvement and future control. The study included 28 measurement instruments which were evaluated by the utilization of a framework consisting of five different errors identified in the literature, namely bias, linearity, stability, reproducibility and repeatability. This framework is considered as the theoretical contribution of this study. The improvement methodology DMAIC (Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control) was used to perform the case study. The results indicate an overall improved MS and generated improvement suggestions of three recurrent scenarios that arose in the analysis. Moreover, a company adopted control plan with an intention to serve as a basis for future work within MSA is presented and concerns the practical contribution of this work. The results provide helpful support as well as establish a foundation of how to maintain a well-performing MS for Northvolt. By implementing the suggested recommendations, the potential saving was estimated to 395 000 SEK annually. / En mätsystemanalys genomfördes hos batteritillverkaren Northvolt. Då batteriproduktionomgärdas av flera kvalitets- och säkerhetskrav behöver batteriindustrin tillförlitliga mätsystem för att generera hög produktkvalitet samt upprätthålla en säkerhet för användare. Studien syftade till att förbättra prestandan hos ett mätsystem inom batteriproduktion genom användandet av mätsystemanalys och Sex Sigma-metodik, samt att ge lämpliga rekommendationer för förbättringar och framtida kontroll. Studien inkluderade 28 mätinstrument som utvärderades genom användningen av ett ramverk bestående av fem olika mätsystemfel identifierade i litteraturen, nämligen bias, linearity, stability, reproducibility och repeatability. Detta ramverk betraktas som det teoretiska bidraget från denna studie. Förbättringmetodiken DMAIC (Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control) användes för att utföra fallstudien. Resultaten visar på ett övergripande förbättrat mätsystem och genererade förbättringsförslag på tre återkommande scenarier som uppstod i analysen. Dessutom presenteras en företagsanpassad kontrollplan med avsikt att utgöra en grund för framtida arbete inom mätsystemanalys och ses det praktiska bidraget från denna studie. Resultaten förblir ett användbartstöd samt skapar en grund för hur Northvolt upprätthåller ett högpresterande mätsystem. Genom att säkerställa prestandan av mätsystemet uppskattades den potentiella besparingen till 395 000 SEK årligen.

Detta projekt har genomförts under våren 2020 som ett examensarbete för högskoleingenjörsprogrammet i innovationsteknik och design vid Karlstads universitet. Examensarbetet gjordes i samarbete med ett högteknologiskt företag som är verksamt i hela världen. Syftet med arbetet var att hitta lämpliga metoder och verktyg, anpassade efter företaget, för att kunna föreslå förbättringar för att minska ledtiderna i stadie prototyp. För det genomfördes flertalet intervjuer med berörda parter på företaget, data samlades in och en omfattande litteraturstudie utfördes. Litteraturstudien låg till grund för det fortsatta arbetet och innefattade verktyg och metoder inom förbättringsprogrammen Lean och Sex Sigma. Arbetet resulterade i åtta identifierade problemområden. Dessa kan sammanfattas i tre områden som kräver fortsatt arbete av företaget. Dels krävs bättre data med högre kvalitet och mer detaljerad information, dels bör en förbättringsgrupp tillsättas där personalen är delaktig i förbättringsarbetet för flödet och underleverantörerna bör ses över. Antingen genom att ha särskilda leverantörer för prototypmateriel eller genom att återigen starta en egen prototypverkstad. / This project was implemented during the spring of 2020 as a bachelor thesis for the Bachelor Engineering Program in Innovation Technology and Design at Karlstad University. The bachelor thesis was made in collaboration with a high-tech company operating worldwide. The purpose of the project was to find suitable methods and tools, adapted to the company, in order to be able to purpose improvements to reduce the lead times in the prototype flow. To be able to fulfil the purpose, multiple interviews were conducted, data was collected, and a comprehensive literature study was made. The literature study included tools and methods within the improvement programs Lean and Six Sigma. The work resulted in eight identified problem areas. These can be summarized in three areas that requires continued word by the company. The first requires data with a higher quality and more detailed information, the second is that the company should include the coworkers in the improvement work and the subcontractors should be reviewed. Either the company should have special suppliers for prototype equipment or restarting their own prototype manufactory.

The topic of this diploma thesis is Process innovation for a national branch of se-lected multinational IS/ICT company. The aim of the thesis is to improve corporate process based on the process analysis methodologies and evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed change. The theoretical part is devoted to the basic terms such as process management, modeling and process improvement. The practical part is de-voted to the description of the original process, its analysis and proposed process improvement. The process is analyzed by DMAIC method in conjunction with model SIPOC. The proposed solution is to implement a system of interactive voice re-sponse, which has a positive effect on the productivity of the team during the pro-cess of providing credit limit. The remaining part of the thesis is devoted to evalua-tion of the effectiveness of the proposed change and the possibility of its implemen-tation also to other branches with similar business goals.

Due to changes in customer demands, companies often need to improve their processes and approach them in different ways. Waste elimination is very important for every company in their quest to reduce costs and use resources efficiently. Variation reduction helps keep processes steady and more accurate. Two powerful tools for process improvement are Lean and Six Sigma, when combined can bring many benefits to organizations that decide to implement them. The amount of continuous improvement tools that each methodology possesses brings the team a great variety of resources to attack and reduce variation in any process. Lean and Six Sigma methodologies have gain a lot of popularity in recent years. The improvements they bring to companies not only in an economical but as a way to develop professionals are impressive. These methodologies are changing mindsets worldwide and giving quality a new meaning. Lean Six Sigma certifications are a must for every professional looking to improve processes in their organization. Philip Morris International subsidiary in San Jose, Costa Rica has a great challenge on trying to improve processes in their production facilities to keep with goals and demands from headquarters in Laussane, Switzerland. This project is involved with the use of Lean and Six Sigma tools to improve the cigarette reject rate in the Marlboro line at Philip Morris. The project is divided in three parts. First an introduction to Lean and Six Sigma and why they are so important for companies now a days. Second, explain the DMAIC methodology used for the realization of the project. Third, explain the implementations made to improve the process and reduce cigarette reject rate.

El texto completo de este trabajo no está disponible en el Repositorio Académico UPC por restricciones de la casa editorial donde ha sido publicado. / The present research work has as objective the application of Six Sigma DMAIC methodology in the production’s processes, the results will be manifested in increasing the efficiency of the production system and in reducing the delay in order delivery. In a metal mechanic company dedicated to the manufacture of electrical boards which focus is the terraced boards there was presented a fulfillment rate failure to deliver on time 46%. On the other hand, the delivery delay is generated because the current productivity does not supply what is required by the customer, therefore a minimum 394 units per month is needed to meet the requirements but currently only produce 226 units per month. For solve this problem it was proposed that Production model that merges the painting and baking areas and that generates an impact on the entire painting operation.

The Swedish railway is an important part of the country's infrastructure, but it is also a part that requires large amounts of maintenance to maintain safety and functionality. A central part of the railway is switches that enable the interconnection of different tracks. Switches include many moving parts located in tiring positions that are affected by weather and temperature. As a result, these systems often suffer from problems that can lead to downtime. To reduce these problems, The Swedish Transport Administration is constantly working to develop an understanding of how switches are affected in different situations. That work is ongoing, but there are unfortunately few guidelines and tested methodologies for experimental studies. A usually powerful method for experimentally investigating and developing knowledge of processes or systems is design of experiments. Design of experiments has historically been used few times to investigate effects within railways and their systems but has recently been shown to be very useful in that area as well. A large portion of the problems that occur on railway systems is in switches. Often the maintenance of switches is more expensive than the actual procurement. To reduce the problems in exposed switches, sometimes called problem switches, various systems are used to extend the service life and reduce the need for maintenance. One such system is Ekoslides, which is intended to facilitate shifts by reducing the amount of energy required during a shift. The system lifts the switchblade in a switch to reduce friction during movement. Exactly how much effect Ekoslides have on the switches in Sweden is unknown and optimization of Ekoslides could lead to longer service life and more opportunity to plan maintenance, which results in fewer errors. The thesis, therefore, aims to use experimental planning in a practical experiment on switches to evaluate on the methodology and to increase understanding of how Ekoslides affects a switch. The master’s project has been conducted as a six sigma project according to the problem-solving method DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analysis, Improve, and Control) in combination with design of experiments. Two practical experiments were performed on switch 661 located in the vicinity of the Boden central station. During the experiments, Ekoslide settings were used as experimental factors, while energy use and conversion time in the switch was measured as responses. On Ekoslides there are wheels that lift the switchblade. The inner wheels were varied between 0 and 1 millimeters and the outer wheels between 0 and 3 millimeters. This way, the effect of Ekoslides in switch 661 was examined at varying settings. The results from the experiment showed that Ekoslides significantly affected energy use when a switch performs a shift. Ekoslides resulted in small but significant energy savings. It was found that the best results were achieved when Ekoslides were mounted in new positions and had the settings at the highest level, which means 3 millimeters for the outer wheel and 1 millimeter for the inner wheel. Furthermore, experimental planning was also a time-efficient and good method for performing experiments on switches. Despite challenges, two short experiments resulted in increased knowledge and reduced energy usage in switch 661. Based on the evaluation of the conducted switch experiments, it was found that pilot trials, separate preparations, and detailed feasibility studies were important if design of experiments should be used to investigate cause and effect in a switch. / Den svenska järnvägen är en viktig del av landets infrastruktur men det är också en del som kräver stora mängder underhåll för att bibehålla säkerhet och funktionalitet. En central del av järnvägen är spårväxlar som möjliggör sammanlänkning av olika spår. Spårväxlar innefattar många rörliga delar som ligger i slitsamma positioner och påverkas av väder samt temperatur. Därmed drabbas ofta dessa system av problem som kan leda till driftstopp. I ett försök att minska dessa problem jobbar Trafikverket ständigt med att utveckla förståelsen för hur spårväxlar påverkas i olika situationer. Det förbättringsarbetet är pågående men det finns dessvärre få riktlinjer och testade metodiker för experimentella studier. En vanligtvis kraftfull metod för att experimentellt utreda och utveckla kunskapen om processer eller system är försöksplanering. Försöksplanering har historiskt sett använts i liten utsträckning för att undersöka effekter inom järnvägar och dess system men har på senare tid visats vara användbar även i det området.  En stor andel av problemen som sker på järnvägen sker i spårväxlar. Ofta är underhållet av spårväxlar dyrare än själva införskaffningen. För att minska problemen i utsatta spårväxlar, ibland kallat för problemväxlar, används olika system för att förlänga livslängden och minska behovet av underhåll. Ett sådant system är Ekoslides som ska underlätta växlingar genom att minska energianvändningen när en växling sker. Systemet lyfter växeltungan i en spårväxel för att minska friktionen vid rörelse. Exakt hur stor effekt Ekoslides har på spårväxlarna i Sverige är okänt och en optimering av Ekoslides kan leda till längre livslängder och mer möjlighet att planera in underhåll. Något som skulle resultera i färre fel. Examensarbetet ämnar därför till att använda försöksplanering i ett praktiskt experiment på spårväxlar för att dels utvärdera metodiken, dels för att utöka förståelsen över hur Ekoslides påverkar en spårväxel. Examensarbetet har bedrivits som ett sex sigma-projekt enligt problemlösningsmetoden DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve och Control) i samband med försöksplanering. Det utfördes två praktiska experiment på spårväxel 661 lokaliserad i närområdet av Boden centralstation. Under experimenten användes Ekoslides inställningar som försöksfaktorer medan energianvändning och omläggningstid i spårväxeln mättes som respons. På Ekoslides finns det hjul som lyfter växeltungan. Där varierades de inre hjulen mellan 0 och 1 millimeter och de yttre mellan 0 och 3 millimeter. På så sätt undersöktes effekten från Ekoslides i spårväxel 661 vid varierande inställningar.  Resultaten från experimentet visade att Ekoslides signifikant påverkade energianvändningen när en spårväxel utför en växling. Ekoslides resulterade i små men signifikanta energibesparingar. Det konstaterades att bäst resultat uppnåddes när Ekoslides monterades i nya positioner samt hade inställningarna i högsta nivå, vilket innebär 3 millimeter för det yttre hjulet och 1 millimeter för det inre hjulet. Vidare var även försöksplanering en tidseffektiv och bra metod för att utföra experiment på spårväxlar. Trots utmaningar resulterade de två korta experimenteten i väldigt mycket kunskap. Baserat på utvärderingen av de utförda spårväxelexperimenten konstaterades det att pilotförsök, separata förberedelser och utförligare förstudier var av vikt när försöksplanering skulle användas för att utreda orsak och verkan i en spårväxel.

The topic of the thesis Process Innovation for the Selected Company is to analyze the process of setup new customer/entity into the company’s database system. The main aim of the thesis is to analyze the process of setup with all steps related, evaluate the process and propose the improvement of the process weaknesses. Practical part describes the current processes the company is operating on, this process is mapped by the process map and analyze using the DMAIC analysis with application of SIPOC and FMEA. The result of the thesis is proposal of the new process with changes of owners and its responsibilities of the individual process steps. The implementation of the new process improves the efficiency and decrease the idle time between the individual steps, what would shortage the overall time of the process. The remaining part of the thesis evaluate of the effectiveness of the proposed process changes and the possibility of its implementation in similar FSSC on the global market.