Six Sigma in Design Engineering - A Case Study and Implementation of Typical Pile Cap Design

Abstract

This paper provides a brief background in Six Sigma and investigates the current status of Six Sigma implementation in the design engineering industry. This paper also provides a case study of the execution and implementation of a Six Sigma project in a design engineering firm. The scope of the Six Sigma project presented includes training, assembling a team, and working through the Six Sigma process. The Six Sigma project chosen for the case study is the application of the Six Sigma methodologies to the typical pile cap design process. A typical pile cap is defined as a reinforced concrete pile cap supporting one column centered on the cap (no eccentricity) supported by three or more piles. It was found through Six Sigma process improvement that the design process could be refined. A representative sample of past projects that used typical pile caps was reviewed and redesigned using the refined typical pile cap design process. It was found the new typical pile cap design process would have reduced the overall installed cost of the typical pile caps by 27%.