Public Relations

NWACC Six Sigma benefits Clorox Plant

What’s NWACC Six Sigma?

            Six Sigma methods integrate principles of business, statistics, and engineering, to achieve tangible results.

            ROGERS (October 17, 2007) – Rotary Bag Machine downtime due to rotary fence jams was literally sacking profits at the Glad Manufacturing in Rogers, Ark., a subsidiary of the Clorox Company.

            The rotary fence mechanism counts bags, separates them in stacks before being placed into cartons.

            “The number of process variables leading to jams is seemingly complex,” explained Lisa Pitts, Improvement Method Resource, and 29-year veteran employee at the Glad facility in Rogers. “To control the variables we needed to understand them.”

            Not only were jams eating into the plant’s profitability, but the number of machine stops due to this failure was creating significant amount of scrap bags.

            “We produce a high volume of product,” Lisa said of the plant’s capacity.

            The NorthWest Arkansas Community College Corporate Learning Division’s Six Sigma Program helped Lisa and Six Sigma team members recognize, identify, and reduce several of the variables, she said.

            Six Sigma is a philosophy of doing business with a focus on eliminating defects through fundamental process knowledge.

            “The Six Sigma program is helping us decrease the variation within the rotary bag machine process,” she noted.  “By reducing process variation, on one machine, Six Sigma is freeing us to continue focusing on improving process capability in the plant.

            “The training was very beneficial, very rewarding and productive.”

            The 2-month program taught by Six Sigma Black Belt instructor Brett Scroggins led Lisa to earning a green belt certification. She will receive her certificate at an Oct. 23 program at the community college.

            The plant has 32 rotary bag machines that this methodology will be applied too.

            In addition to NWACC, Pitts also credited her training and her team with eliminating jams.

            “I’ve got a great team and our team goal is to reduce the jams by 40 percent,” she said. “I have the tools to get this project done; the team members have the process knowledge.”

For questions/comments on this content, please contact jhall@nwacc.edu