The Problem

The Six Sigma Analytical Resource Leaders (ARL) at The Dow Chemical Company were looking for a more effective method to connect to the more than seventeen different corporate databases containing production data and to distribute analytical reports to those responsible for managing the Six Sigma initiative. Operators and other employees also needed to use the information.

Additionally, the implementation of Six Sigma at Dow put increased demands on the company’s Excel-based SPC system. This system could not meet the needs of the new programs and a new solution was needed. The new solution needed to be easy to set up and implement so both Six Sigma black belts and production operators could complete their work. The solution also needed to be easy to learn and easy to maintain, with a low total cost of ownership.

The Solution

Dow Chemical chose NWA Quality Analyst^® SPC charting and analysis software in part because it was capable of retrieving data from a variety of different databases, including Excel spreadsheets. In addition, NWA has a strong presence in the chemical industry and partners with all major LIMS vendors. Dow Chemical’s numerous LIMS systems must interface with any analytical software selected.

The Six Sigma ARL group includes a few people at each plant who are responsible for correctly implementing the Six Sigma program and distributing information to everyone needing it. The ARL committee reviewed SPC software to replace the existing Excel based system and selected Quality Analyst technology to conduct a six-month pilot project. The project focused on database connection, SPC analysis, and distribution of results.

With the pilot’s success, the group purchased sufficient licenses to ultimately accommodate more than 5,000 users worldwide, including the chemists, lab analysts, technicians, and engineers responsible for implementing and managing the Six Sigma initiative.

The Resulting Benefits

The Dow Chemical ARL group has determined that they save approximately 2 days per person per month in analyzing and distributing data needed for this initiative. In addition, with Quality Analyst they can more effectively distribute the appropriate SPC charts to more people in a timelier manner.

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