Date of Award

1-2019

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Engineering Management (MSEM)

Department

Engineering Management

First Advisor

Diane Evans

Abstract

Six Sigma is a disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology developed by Motorola in the mid-1980’s to optimize processes. Six Sigma allows for a quantitative study of a process with the goal of improving the quality of the output of the process by removing the causes of defects and reducing variability in the process. The methodology has been applied in numerous industries, such as manufacturing, healthcare, and education. Statistically speaking, it drives a process towards six sigma by centering the process’s mean and decreasing its standard deviation so that the distance between its mean and nearest specification limit is six standard deviations.

In this project, we applied Six Sigma to the process of plastic straw reduction by customers at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology’s four campus cafes. Currently, there is an environmental movement afoot in this country to ban, or at least restrict, the use of plastic straws because of their negative ecological effects on our world. Plastic straws are not recyclable, so they are thrown away as trash. Unfortunately, these straws are ending up in our oceans and on our shores, causing significant harm to the environment. By using the tools and techniques of Six Sigma, we were able to quantitatively study the use of plastic straws at the four Rose-Hulman cafes and determine effective ways to reduce such usage.

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