COURSE SYLLABUS

Six Sigma Quality

Summer 2015

Instructor: Dr. Bruce Marsh Meeting Days: MTWR

Office Location: Rm 106 Meeting Times: 3:00-4:50 PM
Office Phone: 593-2872 Office Hours: M-R 1:00-3:00 pm
E-mail: drbmarsh@aol.com

Department of Industrial Management and Technology Texas A&M University Kingsville

Description: IMEN 5330 - Six Sigma Quality and Continuous Improvement - 3 credit hour course centering on an
examination of the various methods and approaches used to achieve, sustain, and improve quality of a product or
service. Also includes an exploration into the principles and techniques used to evaluate both continuous and attribute
data with an emphasis on the enhancement of skills in computer software that are used in quality assurance activities
and/or data analysis. Prerequisite: ITEN 4352 or ITEN 4362 or permission of instructor.

Textbook. There are two required textbooks for the class (both available in the university bookstore).
(1) Lean Six Sigma Pocket Toolbook, 2004, George, Maxey, Rowlands, and Price, McGraw-Hill Publishing,
ISBN 9780071441193, bookstore price new, $19.00, price used, $14.25;
(2) Excel for Dummies, Greg Harvey, 2010, Wiley Publishing, Inc., ISBN 978-0470489536, $25.00 new, $18.75 used.

Objectives and Outcomes: The purpose of this course is to help you develop knowledge and insight into the procedures
used in quality control and assurance activities. Objectives of this course include:

• examining various methods and approaches used to achieve, sustain and improve the quality of a product or service.
• exploring the principles and techniques used to evaluate both continuous and attribute data.
• enhancing skills in computer software that are used in quality assurance activities and data analysis.

Expected outcomes

• demonstrate the ability to use and apply quality analysis tools and techniques within the Microsoft Excel
spreadsheet program through the completion of lab activities.
• demonstrate the ability to complete individual and/or group projects through the successful completion of given
projects.
• demonstrate the use and application of quality analysis tools and concepts through successful completion of the
mid-term and final exams.

Activities and Requirements. Various activities will be integrated into this course. Through assigned readings, you will
be exposed to a wide range of quality assurance issues and practices. During in-class discussions, you will be given an
opportunity to contribute to and learn more about topics from your readings. Through in-class activities and out-of-
class assignments, you will apply and reflect on topics that have been discussed in class and are important issues and
concepts in quality assurance.

All submitted assignments must either be typed-written (word processed) or handwritten in a readable fashion. All
work submitted will be considered final and evaluated as such unless prior arrangements are made in advance.

Grading and Evaluation Criteria. Letter grades will be assigned based on the distribution of percentage points earned
throughout the semester. The percentage point distribution that will be used is as follows:

A 90 - 100.0%
B 80 - 89.9%
C 70 - 79.9%

Mid-term and final exams will be given during the weeks scheduled by the university. The chapters covered in these
exams are listed in the tentative schedule. Each of these exams will be worth 100 points and will be scored on a 10
percentage point scale (i.e., 90-100 = A, 80-89 = B, etc). Mid-term and final grades will be based on a weighted
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average of all assigned activities, and examinations. Final grades for the course will be based on the following points
and percentages:

Activities Activity Points Total Points Percentage

Lab Activities (10 req’d, 12 given) 10.0 100.0 25.0%
ASQ Research 20.0 20.0 5.0%
Exam 1 (open book C1-5) 40.0 40.0 10.0%
Exam 2 (C6-7) Excel 100.0 100.0 25.0%
Exam 3 (open book C9-11) 40.0 40.0 10.0%
Exam 4 (C8) Excel 100.0 100.0 25.0%
Total 400.0 100.0%

Lab and Submittals. It is your responsibility to submit all of your files on the proper due date to the appropriate location
on the ITEN Server. All lab and project file are due before class not after unless approved by myself. IMPORTANT:
To be scored for full credit, all submitted files must follow the following filename format:

Last name, first initial, course initials, activity name and number (no commas in actual filename)

Example: MarshB SS Lab 1

Assignment/Lab Submittal Policies. To get credit for a lab assignment you must be in attendance on the day/session the
lab assignment is given. Grade deductions of 50% for each session a given assignment is late beyond its scheduled due
date. Any assignments that are due prior to the mid-term exam will not be accepted for late credit after the mid-term
exam. Unless otherwise instructed, any assignment that is due on or before the last day of classes will not be accepted
for credit after the last class day. Any assignment for which there is no work submitted will receive a zero. As a final
note, since the number of quizzes and assignments given during the semester normally exceeds the number used for
final grade calculation, the lowest quiz and/or lab activity scores will be dropped. If the number of quizzes and/or
assignments taken equals the number required, all scores will be used.

Attendance Policy. Your attendance is expected at each scheduled class and/or lab activity. Individuals with three or
more consecutive absences during the semester may be dropped from the course.

Course Content and Tentative Schedule. The schedule on the following page identifies the topics and activities that will
be covered during particular class dates. It also includes the assignments and readings that you will be expected to
complete prior to class. Any revisions to this schedule will be given at the earliest possible date but not less than one
week.

Books on Reserve in Library.

Besterfield, D. (1998). Quality Control 6th ed. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.
Berk, K. and Carey, P. (1998). Data Analysis with Microsoft Excel. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing.
Middleton, M. (1997). Data Analysis using Microsoft Excel. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing Co.
Harry, Mann, Hodgins, Hulbert, and Lacke. (2010). Statistics and Lean Six Sigma for Process Improvement. New
York: Wiley Publishing.

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 Tentative Schedule
Six Sigma Quality, Summer 2015

Week Session Topics/Activities Assignments

Week 1 1 Course Syllabus Read: Chapters 6

Six Sigma Overview (Notes 1) Review Notes 1 & 2
ASQ Research Assignment

2 Descriptive Statistics (Notes 2, Chapter 6) ASSIGN: Lab 1

Overview of Normal Distributions (Notes 2)
Lab 1 Demo / Overview

3 Exam 1 (OPEN BOOK, Chapters 1-5) Review Notes 3

Continuation of Session 2 (if needed)
Open lab for Lab 1

4 Six Sigma Measurement (DPMO) (Notes 3) DUE: Lab 1

Lab 2 Demo / Overview ASSIGN: Lab 2
Review Notes 4

Week 2 1 Basic Control Charts (Notes 4, Chapter 7) DUE: Lab 2

Emphasis: Variable Control Charts ASSIGN: Lab 3
Lab 3 Demo / Overview Review Notes 5

2 Assessing Process Capability (Notes 5, Chap 7) DUE: Lab 3

Long- and Short-Term ASSIGN: Lab 4
Lab 4 Demo / Overview

3 Review / Open Lab DUE: Lab 4

4 Exam 2: Written (closed book/notes) Prepare for Lab Exam

Open Lab after exam

Week 3 1 Exam 2: Excel Lab (open book/notes) Review Notes 6

DUE: ASQ Research

2 Control Charts (Notes 6, Chapter 7) Review Notes 7

Emphasis: Short Run and Target SPC ASSIGN: Lab 5
Lab 5

3 Control Charts (Notes 7, Chapter 7) DUE: Lab 5

Emphasis: Attribute Control Charts ASSIGN: Lab 6
Lab 6 Review Notes 8

4 Visualization of Data, Confidence Level DUE: Lab 6

and Hypothesis Tests (Notes 8, Chapter 8) Review Notes 9

Week 4 1 Simple Regression (Notes 9, Chapter 8) ASSIGN: Lab 7

Lab 7

2 Simple Regression (Notes 9, Chapter 8) DUE: Lab 7

Lab 8 ASSIGN: Lab 8
Review Notes 10
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 3 Multiple/Categorical Regression DUE: Lab 8
(Notes 10, Chapter 8)
Lab 9 ASSIGN: Lab 9

4 Exam 3 (OPEN BOOK, Chapters 9-11) DUE: Lab 9

Continuation of Session 3 (if needed) Review Notes 11
Open lab for Lab 9

Week 5 1 t-statistics Comparison Testing (Notes 11, Chapter 8) ASSIGN: Lab 10

Lab 10 Review Notes 12

2 Analysis of Variance DUE: Lab 10

SFA & TFA (Notes 12A & 12B, Chapter 8) ASSIGN: Lab 11
Lab 11 Review Notes 13

3 Chi-Squared Analysis (Notes 13, Chapter 8) DUE: Lab 11

Lab 12 DUE: Lab 12
Last Class Day

4 EXAM 4, Lecture and Lab Assessment

Thursday, July 2nd

Disability statement:
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination statute that provides comprehensive civil
rights protection for persons with disabilities. Among other things, this legislation requires that all students with
disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of their disability. If you
believe you have a disability requiring an accommodation please contact the Disability Resource Center (DRC) as early
as possible in the term. DRC is located in the Student Health and Wellness building at 1210 Retama Drive, or call (361)
593-3024.

Academic misconduct statement:

You are expected to adhere to the highest academic standards of behavior and personal conduct in this course and all
other courses. Students who engage in academic misconduct are subject to university disciplinary procedures. Make
sure you are familiar with your Student Handbook, especially the section on academic misconduct, which discusses
conduct expectations and academic dishonesty rules.

Forms of Academic Dishonesty:

1. Cheating: Using unauthorized notes or study aids, allowing another party to do one’s work/exam and turning in that
work/exam as one’s own; submitting the same or similar work in more than one course without permission from the
course instructors; deception in which a student misrepresents that he/she has mastered information on an academic
exercise that he/she has not mastered; giving or receiving aid unauthorized by the instructor on assignments or
examinations.
2. Aid of academic dishonesty: Intentionally facilitating any act of academic dishonesty. Tampering with grades or
taking part in obtaining or distributing any part of a scheduled test.
3. Fabrication: Falsification or creation of data, research or resources, or altering a graded work without the prior
consent of the course instructor.
4. Plagiarism: Portrayal of another’s work or ideas as one’s own. Examples include unacknowledged quotation and/or
paraphrase of someone else’s words, ideas, or data as one’s own in work submitted for credit. Failure to identify
information or essays from the Internet and submitting them as one’s own work also constitutes plagiarism.
5. Lying: Deliberate falsification with the intent to deceive in written or verbal form as it applies to an academic
submission.
6. Bribery: Providing, offering or taking rewards in exchange for a grade, an assignment, or the aid of academic
dishonesty.
7. Threat: An attempt to intimidate a student, staff or faculty member for the purpose of receiving an unearned grade
or in an effort to prevent reporting of an Honor Code violation.
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8. Please be aware that the University subscribes to the Turnitin plagiarism detection service. Your paper may be
submitted to this service at the discretion of the instructor.

Other Forms of Academic Misconduct:

1. Failure to follow published departmental guidelines, professor‘s syllabi, and other posted academic policies in place
for the orderly and efficient instruction of classes, including laboratories, and use of academic resources or
equipment.
2. Unauthorized possession of examinations, reserved library materials, laboratory materials or other course related
materials.
3. Failure to follow the instructor or proctor‘s test-taking instructions, including but not limited to not setting aside
notes, books or study guides while the test is in progress, failing to sit in designated locations and/or leaving the
classroom/ test site without permission during a test.
4. Prevention of the convening, continuation or orderly conduct of any class, lab or class activity. Engaging in conduct
that interferes with or disrupts university teaching, research or class activities such as making loud and distracting
noises, repeatedly answering cell phones/text messaging or allowing pagers to beep, exhibiting erratic or irrational
behavior, persisting in speaking without being recognized, repeatedly leaving and entering the classroom or test site
without authorization, and making physical threats or verbal insults to the faculty member, or other students and
staff.
5. Falsification of student transcript or other academic records; or unauthorized access to academic computer.
6. Nondisclosure or misrepresentation in filling out applications or other university records.
7. Any action which may be deemed as unprofessional or inappropriate in the professional community of the
discipline being studied.

Non-Academic Misconduct:
The university respects the rights of instructors to teach and of students to learn. Maintenance of these rights requires
campus conditions that do not impede their exercise. Campus behavior that interferes with these rights will not be
tolerated; examples include
1. interfering with the instructor's ability to conduct the class,
2. causing inability of other students to profit from the instructional program, or
3. any interference with the rights of others.
An individual engaging in such disruptive behavior may be subject to disciplinary action. Such incidents will be
adjudicated by the Dean of Students under non-academic procedures.

Ongoing behaviors or single behaviors considered distracting (e.g., coming late to class, performing a repetitive act that
is annoying, sleeping or reading a newspaper in class, etc.) will be addressed by the faculty member initially either
generally or individually. Cases in which such annoying behavior becomes excessive and the student refuses to respond
to the faculty member’s efforts can be referred to the Dean of Students. In the case of serious disruptive behavior in a
classroom the instructor may first request compliance from the student and if it is not received, an instructor has the
authority to ask the student to leave the classroom. If the student fails to leave after being directed to do so, assistance
may be obtained from other university personnel, including University Police Department. An individual engaging in
such disruptive behavior is subject to disciplinary action. Such incidents will be adjudicated by the Dean of Students
under non-academic procedures to determine if the student should be allowed to return to the classroom.

Harassment /Discrimination:
Texas A&M University-Kingsville will investigate all complaints that indicate sexual harassment, harassment, or
discrimination may have occurred by the facts given by the complainant. Sexual harassment of anyone at Texas A&M
University-Kingsville is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Any member of the university community violating this
policy will be subject to disciplinary action. A person who believes he/she has been the victim of sexual harassment,
harassment, or discrimination may pursue either the informal or the formal complaint resolution procedure. A complaint
may be initially made to the complainant’s immediate supervisor, a department head, any supervisory employee, the
Dean of Students (593-3606), or the Office of Compliance (593-4758). Regardless of who the complaint is filed with,
the Compliance Office will be notified of the complaint so it can be investigated.

Six-drop policy:
The following provision (new in Fall 2007) does not apply to students with Texas public college or university credits
prior to Fall 2007. The Texas legislature has enacted a limit to the number of course drops allowed to a student without

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penalty. After a student has dropped six courses, a grade of QF will normally be recorded for each subsequent drop. If
you need additional information on Senate Bill 1231 and how it affects you, please contact the Registrar’s Office.