To reach Six Sigma decisions, consideration must be given to the complete product manufacturing process and how proposed change impacts the total process.
In today's world where product design information is entirely
digital, it seems incomprehensible that the total product requirements-engineering definition plus manufacturing and quality assessment processes-are not digitally associated. Yet, in most cases, design and manufacturing personnel still work in silos with only a loose IT connection. There is often little or no connectivity between computer-based applications to enable truly seamless collaboration. Instead, many companies have complex and labor-intensive business processes that require manual transfer and reconciliation of information between departments and applications. Tasks are compartmentalized by department and performed serially.