For Six Sigma Students and Practioners

1. Apex Footwear Ltd.
(a 100% export oriented leather footwear manufacturing plant)
Project Management Office
Charter
Quality Improvement Team in the production of shoe uppers, Sewing Line- 1
I. Establishment
The purpose of this charter is to establish a Quality Improvement Team to reduce the
high level of rejections of shoe uppers in the Sewing Line 1 of Apex Footwear Ltd,. and
to find sustainable quality improvement ways
The Team will be led by Mahtab Siddiqui, General Manager of the company.
The team is charged with analyzing current level of rejections, identifying causes of
rejections of shoe uppers, developing control measures to reduce rejections and
implementing improvement measures to ensure that rejection levels remain at industry
average(benchmark) or above it.
II. Background
Apex Footwear Ltd. was established in 1990 with the technical support from Ciurli, Italy
to produce 4000 pairs of leather shoes purely for the export markets such as the Italy,
Germany, UK, and Japan.
It comprised of four production lines each with a capacity to produce 1000 pairs of
leather shoes per day.
Each production line consists of three process lines which are as follows :
Process Line Main Activities Output
Cutting Line Cutting Leather into different Cut Components
components of shoes
Sewing Line Sewing Cut Components Shoe Uppers
Lasting Line Lasting shoes as per their Finished shoes
Last (forma) sizes

2. All the process lines operate in a conveyor system.
But the company has a very high level of rejection rates in each process line.
Specially, in the sewing lines the rate of rejection of finished uppers is almost 6% in
addition to rejections in different stages of upper production. Taken all stages and
finished uppers, the effective rate of rejection was 12%. On top of that there are also
wastages of resources with respect to repair works.
On January 2, 2009 the Managing Director of the company issued the following task to
the General Manager:
“ Identify the causes for rejections of 12% of shoe uppers in the Sewing Line – 1 and find
ways to reduce it to the industry average of 1% and recommend ways to sustain and
improve the newly developed techniques and to replicate them in other Sewing Lines.”
III. The scope
The scope of this project will be confined to development of procedures that will reduce
the rate of rejections in the sewing line -1 and application of those procedures as
guidelines for replication of successes in other sewing lines and across the factory.
To kick-off the this project the activities described in the following table will be
followed:

3. Immediate task
Task Task Lead Start date End date
Identification of all sub- John Terry,
process where uppers or Production
components being rejected Manager
Examining the all past
rejection reports to
determine inconsistencies
and problems
Assess the impact of Mahtab
rejection at all levels on Siddiqui,
the next level General
Manager
Examining the overall
process and identify the
operational and control
weakness
Brief the Managing Director Mahtab 9/17/07 9/17/07
on preliminary findings and Siddiqui
recommendations to initiate
improvements
Define the Project Scope and Mahtab 9/17/07 9/21/07
Plan Siddiqui
The short term tasks outlined above will provide a basis for understanding and
defining the scope of this project. Once the scope is clearly understood, the core team
will be able to develop a more complete project plan and schedule.
I. AUTHORIZATION AND SUPPORT
The Process Improvement Team is given full authority to carry out the activities and
responsibilities described in this Charter. The Process Improvement Team is
sponsored by the Managing Director and Executive Committee of the company which
includes the Six Sigma Black Belt.
II. KEY WORK PRODUCTS OR DELIVERABLES
• Overall understanding of the process – SIPOC Diagram
• Project Plan using the Six Sigma DMAIC life cycle

4. • Critical to Quality Characteristics and related Operating Definitions
• Root Cause Analysis to identify source problems
• Proposed Solutions to source problems
• Tested Solutions to source problems
• Improvement Implementation Plan
• Measure and Monitor Progress
III. PROCESS IMPROVEMENT TEAM COMPOSITION
Name Title
Mahtab Siddiqui General Manager/Project Head
John Terry Production Manager/Deputy
Project Head
Lee Hobby Leather Manager
Linda Saunders Sewing Line Manager
All PIT Members have completed in-house Six Sigma. Out of them only Mahtab
Siddiqui is a Six Sigma Black Belt.
Authorizing Signature
___________________________________
Nasim Manzur
Managing Director
Project Charter Template
General Project Information
Project Name Reducing the rate of rejections
in the Sewing Line
Managing Director and Project
Project Sponsor Management Team
Project Manager Mahtab Siddiqui
Impacted Process Unit Sewing Line- 1
Expected Start Date
Expected Completion date
Expected savings
Estimated Cost
Green Belts assigned
Black Belt Assigned

5. Current Problem :
The company has average rejection rate of 12% of shoe uppers in its sewing lines. It
produces 2000 pairs of shoe uppers per day and has a total rejection of 240 pairs of
uppers per day. However the total count of rejected uppers is poorly defined in terms of
full uppers and different components estimated to constitute a full upper.
Purpose of Project :
This project would identify root causes behind the rejection of shoe uppers and will
implement solution to fix the problem. The target is to reduce the level of rejection to the
industry average of 1%.
Business case :
Critical business decision regarding acceptance of a new long term order from an Italian
customer depends upon reliable and accurate achievement of the project goal. Currently
the company exports 2000 pairs of shoes to Italy and Germany. It is currently negotiating
with an Italian company to export another 1000 pairs per day. But the profit margin with
the Italian company is so tight that with 12% rejection rates it would not be possible for
the company to accept the order.
The main benefit with respect to the successful implementation of this project will be to
produce as per the customer requirement both in terms of quality and quantity.
Goal/Metrics
Design and development of a complete set of solutions to address the root causes behind
such a high rate of rejection. This involves two data streams ; rejection at complete upper
and rejection as components at different stages. Determination of causes behind rejection
as complete uppers and determination of causes behind rejection as components.

6. Identify the bottlenecks in the sewing process. Determine the root causes behind the
formation of the bottlenecks or constraints.
Determine the full extent of the problem through data analysis, focus group, brain
storming, interviews and other tests.
Develop solutions for improving the processes and monitor the results of the
implemented solutions.
Expected Deliverables :
Current technical situation :
Steps in the making of a dress shoe upper :
Sewing Line – 1
Sequence Of Operation
Article : Dress Shoe
S/L Operation
Description Machine Style
No, type
1 Inter Lining Fusing Rotary Press Machine
2 Marking Manual
3 Skiving Skiving Machine 3 Nos Machine
4 Input Table Manual
5 Heel Grip Joining Stitching Double needle Flatbed Machine
6 Lining Tongue Stitching Single needle Postbed Machine
7 Lining Vamp/Qtr Joining Stitching Single needle Postbed Machine
8 Quarter /Tongue Foam lamination Manual
9 Quarter Piece Seam Stitching Single needle Postbed Machine
10 Counter Back Seam Stitching Single needle Postbed Machine
11 Counter Seam Rubbing & Taping Manual
12 Latex Application on Quarter Piece Manual
13 Folding (Quarter ) and Divider Marking Hammering Machine Machine

7. 14 Decoration Stitching (1 M.M Thread ) Single needle postbed Machine
15 Eyelet Piece Glass Wool Setting Manual
16 Eyelet Piece & Qtr. Joining Manual
17 Eyelet Piece & Qtr. Stitching Double needle postbed Machine
18 Ornament Setting Manual
19 Latex Application on Eyelet Piece Manual
20 Eyelet piece Folding Manual
21 25 M.M Reinforcement Taping(Vamp) Manual
22 Vamp & Quarter Cementing and Setting Manual
23 Quarter Vamp Joining Stitching Double needle Postbed Machine
24 Back Counter Joining Setting Manual
25 Back Counter Stitching Double needle Postbed Machine
26 Vamp Toe T.C Attaching Manual
27 Toe-puff Pressing Toe-puff Machine Machine
28 Top line Collar T.C Setting Manual
29 Upper & Lining Seam Stitch Single needle Postbed Machine
30 Top line Folding Folding Machine Machine
31 Cementing Apply & Collar Foam Setting Manual
32 Cementing Application and Lining Setting Manual
33 Tongue Latex Application & Setting Manual
34 Collar Top-line Stitching Single needle postbed Machine
35 Tongue Stitching Single needle postbed Machine
36 Trimming Trimming Machine/Manual Machine
37 Edge Colouring Manual
38 Eyelet Piece Punching 30 Rotation Punch Machine Machine
39 Eyeleting (30 R) Eyeleting Machine Machine
40 Inter-Trap Stitching Double needle Machine- Machine
41 Thread Pulling & Pasting Manual
42 Upper & Counter Stiffener Cementing Manual
43 Counter Setting Manual
44 Counter Molding Molding Machine Machine
Vamp Lining Latex Application &
45 Lamination Manual
46 Lasting Margin Stitching S/N Postbed Machine
47 Socks Marking Flatbed S/N 1, Postbed S/N 01 Machine Machine
48 Upper Cleaning Manual

8. 49 Thread Counter & Burning Manual
50 Upper Output Manual
51 Quality Checking Manual
Total Number of Machines
S/L
Remarks
No, Machine Style Qnty.
1 Rotary Press 1
2 Skiving Machine 3
3 Double needle Flatbed 1
4 Single needle Postbed 10
5 Double needle Postbed 6
6 High Postbed 2
7 Folding Machine 1
8 Toe-puff Machine 1
9 Trimming Machine 1
10 Eyeleting Machine 1
11 Molding Machine 1
12 Flatbed Machine 1
13 Hammering Machine 1
Type and Total number Components required to make a pair of shoes
S/L
Componeats Qnty. Remarks
No,
1 Upper Components 16 Pcs.
2 Lining Components 8 Pcs.
3 Heel/Greep 2 Pcs
4 Foam 8 pcs. 8 Pcs.
5 Glass Wool 4 Pcs.
6 Inter Lining (C.F.C) 12 Pcs.
7 T.C 4 Pcs.
8 Eva 2 Pcs

9. Total rejections in one week January 4 to January 8 2009 – 5 days
Production Total apparent Total quantity Total quantity Main reason(s)
stage rejections in repaired and finally rejected for rejection
numbers reused in
numbers
Interlining 1. Interlining
Fusing 22 18 4 damaged during
fusing
2. Leather
damaged during
fusing
Marking 10 10 0 Wrong Marking
Skiving 288 0 288 Over-skived
and not
stitchable
Heel Grip
Joining 68 62 6 Stitching
Stitching beyond the
marking
Lining tongue 22 22 0 Stitching
stitching outside the
marking
Lining
Vamp/Quarter 355 132 223 1. Loose
Joining Stitching
Leather
2. Wrinkled
leather
3. Defective
Leather
Quarter /Tongue 41 41 0 Wrong
Foam lamination lamination
Quarter Piece 332 111 221 Poor seam
Seam Stitching making
Counter Back 268 87 181 Poor seam
Seam Stitching making
111 17 94 Decoration
stitching
Decoration
outside the
Stitching (1 M.M designated
Thread ) areas
Eyelet Piece & 37 32 5 Joining not
Qtr. Joining straight

10. Eyelet Piece & 110 90 20 Stitching not
Qtr. Stitching straight
20 20 0 Ornament not st
Ornament on the right
Setting place
Quarter Vamp
Joining Stitching 189 70 119 Wrong stitching
Back Counter 41 30 11 Wrong stitching
Stitching
Upper & Lining 92 32 60 Wrong stitching
Seam Stitch
Top line Folding 38 30 8 Uneven folding
Collar Top-line 67 59 8 Wrong stitching
Stitching
Tongue Stitching 30 28 2 Wrong stitching
Eyelet Piece 7 7 Bigger holes
Punching
Inter-Trap 27 10 17 Wrong stitching
Stitching
27 7 20 Not properly
Counter Molding heated
Lasting Margin 23 20 3 Uneven
Stitching stitching
189 39 150 Loose Leather
Wrinkled
leather on vamp
Loose leather in
counter
Wrong stitching
Wrong counter
moulding
Quality Checking
Wrong
of complete eyeleting
uppers

11. Par et o Char t of Oper at i ons
900 100
800
700 80
600
Repair ed
Per cent
500 60
400
40
300
200 20
100
0 0
Operations g g s g g g g
in ti n er in in in vin
ch et pp ld us ld i
it s U Fo F ou Sk
St g, e M
in et
jo
in pl
g, C om
in
Tap
Repaired 701 79 39 30 18 7 0
Percent 80.2 9.0 4.5 3.4 2.1 0.8 0.0
Cum % 80.2 89.2 93.7 97.1 99.2 100.0 100.0

12. Par et o Char t of Oper at i ons
1600
1400 100
1200 80
Reject ed
1000
Per cent
800
60
600 40
400
20
200
0 0
Operations s
ng vi n
g
er t in
g ng ng in
g
hi ki pp t di di us
i tc S U se ul ol F
St e g, M
o F
et in
pl jo
in
m ,
Co ng
pi
Ta
Rejected 860 288 150 110 20 8 4
Percent 59.7 20.0 10.4 7.6 1.4 0.6 0.3
Cum % 59.7 79.7 90.1 97.8 99.2 99.7 100.0

13. Par et o Char t of Sew i ng Oper at i ons
700 100
600
80
500
Repair ed
Per cent
400 60
300 40
200
100
20
0 0
Sewing Operations g
in ng ng ng ng ng ng
ch hi hi hi hi hi hi
it itc it c it c it c i tc it c
St St St .S
t St St St
her i ng am tr a m ing ing
Q
Ot Jo
in Se & Se Jo
in
Jo
in
tr e e k
Q ie
c
ie
c ac m
p
ee
p
p/ r .P tP e rB Va Gr
m Qt el
e nt tr. el
Va Ey ou Q He
ng C
ni
Li
Repaired 149 132 111 90 87 70 62
Percent 21.3 18.8 15.8 12.8 12.4 10.0 8.8
Cum % 21.3 40.1 55.9 68.8 81.2 91.2 100.0

14. Par et o Char t of Sew i ng Oper at i ons
900
100
800
700 80
600
Reject ed
Percen t
500 60
400
300
40
200 20
100
0 0
Sew ing Operat ions er
ing hi
ng
hi
ng
hi
ng ch
hi
ng
h t it th
it c it c it c it c S it c O
St St St St m St
g am eam nin g ea r
in
in S he
Jo Se S Jo
i
in
g Ot
ce k n
tr ac p Li
/Q Pie rB am r
&
p .
am tr nt
e r. V pe
V Q
ou Qt Up
ng C
ni
Li
Reject ed 223 221 181 119 60 36 20
Percent 25.9 25.7 21.0 13.8 7.0 4.2 2.3
Cum % 25.9 51.6 72.7 86.5 93.5 97.7 100.0
4.0 - Current and Projected Business and Technical Environment
Current business situation
How do we achieve what this project aims at improving/automating/… today, without the
project in place?
Projected business situation
How will we do it tomorrow with this project implemented?
Detail who will benefit from the project.
Current technical situation
Include drawings/Pictures of current architecture and process flowchart in place at
present.

16. SIPOC Diagram
Supplier Input Process Output Customer
Cutting Cut Stitching and Stitched and Sewing Line
Depart compo joining joined 1
ment nents uppers uppers
– in in
upper differe differe
materi nt nt
als and stages stages
lining
Insole Toe puff and Toe puff and Moulded Sewing Line -
Depart Counte counte uppers 1
ment r r
mouldi
ng
Accessories Cut foam, Lamination, Laminated Sewing Line
Depart eyelet, eye Vamp, –1
ment ornam letting, Quarte
ent ornam r
ent
setting
Sewing Line Complete Quality Accepted Quality
-1 upper checki uppers control
ng lers
Projected technical situation
Include drawings/Pictures of proposed future architecture and process flowchart.

18. 5.0 - Business and Technical Objectives
Link the project objectives back to the organizations and compnies objectives.
6.0 - Critical Success Factors
List critical success factors (technical, business, human, communications, quality…).
7.0 - Business Needs
Detail the business needs. One paragraph per major business need that the project will fulfill.
8.0 - Summary of Business Scope
Within the scope of this project are:
• List what’s in the scope of the project
OUT OF SCOPE:
• List what’s OUT of the scope of this project.
9.0 - Solution Approach
Describe the overall approach of the project. E.g. build new software, acquire packaged
software, duplicate existing data/infrastructure, buy new equipment, deploy a new
process…
10.0 - Resource Requirements
Expense/Capital Funding Requirements (Where possible/applicable, split the
investments by project phase):
• Hardware
• Software licenses

19. • Consulting
• Internal resources (IS and Business)
Staffing Requirements:
Specify Internal and External, Business and IS Resources.
External Training Requirements:
Determine all external training required to implement and profitably execute the project
throughout its life. Assess the cost of obtaining desired levels of training, and factor them
into economic analysis.
11.0 - Financial Analysis
Benefits: Explain how the estimates have been calculated.
Distinguish tangible and intangible benefits.
12.0 - Success Measurement Criteria
Define the criteria that will be used to measure without uncertainty the project’s level of success.
13.0 - Impacts on Current Operation
Expose major changes that the project will introduce in the current operations. Look at it
from both an IT and customer viewpoint.
14.0 - Change Management Summary
Expose the change management approach and plan. How will change requests to the
project’s scope and specifications be tracked, controlled and decided upon throughout the
lifecycle of the project.
15.0 - Risk Management Summary
Expose the risk management approach and plan. How will issues be tracked, mitigated
and controlled throughout the lifecycle of the project.
16.0 - Conclusions and Recommendation
Present the proposal that constitutes the project.