SIX SIGMA IMPLEMENTATION PRACTICES IN INDIAN FOUNDRIES AND BENEFITS DERIVED: CRITICAL EXAMINATION

This paper describes benefits derived by application of Six Sigma in Indian Foundries. In the today’s 21st Century and in era of globalization, producing world class quality castings as per the international standards needs multidirectional competitiveness. Indian foundry industries are continuously tried to gain a competitive edge in cut throat competition environment. So for sustainable growth and operational excellence in current market condition, Indian foundries are needed to produce the products which provide high quality at the lowest possible cost. Six Sigma has been widely used project-driven management approach to produce high-quality products with the lowest possible cost Six Sigma is the methodology having statistical base focusing on removing causes of variations or defects in the product or core business processes. This quantitative approach aims at improving efficiency and effectiveness of the organization. The Indian foundry industry is the fourth largest in the world. There are more than 7,000 foundries in India and most foundries (nearly 95%) fall under small and medium scale category It seems newer quality approach like ‘Six Sigma’ is not fully explored among Indian industries. This paper discusses about tools and techniques of Six Sigma applied by different foundry, in order to achieve business excellence.