Lean Six Sigma is the combination of two different, but complimentary, approaches to business excellence -- Lean and Six Sigma. Organizations that use the tools and techniques of both methodologies to focus on accomplishing strategic goals can address a wider array of business issues and typically experience faster percentage gains in ROI. Lean Six Sigma provides a consistent and effective way to bridge the gap between strategy and execution.

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What is Lean Six Sigma?

Lean Six Sigma enables a business to improve both process cycle time (efficiency and timeliness) and process quality (defect reduction). Like Six Sigma, Lean Six Sigma leverages data and statistical analysis to uncover the root cause of variation that results in unsatisfactory process outputs. The result is a higher quality product or service, and typically financial savings from reducing scrap, defectives, labor costs, etc.

While Six Sigma concentrates on reducing process variation, Lean focuses on reducing process time by removing non-value-added steps and waste. Thus, Lean techniques tend to speed up processes by making them more efficient.

When these two methodologies are combined in the form of Lean Six Sigma, businesses increase customer satisfaction by delivering high quality products and services on time. They also experience greater financial savings and cost avoidance by making their processes as efficient and reliable as possible.

In practice, some organizations continue to use Six Sigma’s DMAIC project roadmap (see image below) but supplement it with Lean tools. Others leverage Lean Kaizen Events, and employ statistical analysis as needed. In either event, practitioners trained in both Lean and Six Sigma techniques are key to the success of any Lean Six Sigma initiative.

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Benefits of Lean Six Sigma

• Eliminates non-value-added activities and makes processes highly efficient.
• Reduces defects, resulting in higher quality products and services.
• Lowers operating costs by increasing process capability and yield.
• Decreases cycle time and lead time for both products and services.
• Leverages data to help the business make sound decisions.
• Improves customer satisfaction by providing high-quality offerings at the right time.
• Involves employees at all levels to institutionalize a culture of excellence.

History of Lean Six Sigma

Lean and Six Sigma have been used by countless organizations as a way to reduce costs without sacrificing customer service or quality. Traditionally, companies applied one or the other methodology. Even when both approaches were used, they were often viewed as rival programs.

In the late 1990s, AlliedSignal (now Honeywell) combined its existing Lean and Six Sigma programs in an approach dubbed “Six Sigma Plus.” The company’s practitioners specialized in one methodology but received cross training in the other. Eventually, AlliedSignal developed a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt program that enabled practitioners to focus on short-term projects with quicker ROI.

Around the same time, Maytag (now Whirlpool) developed its “Lean Sigma” program, which aimed to produce Black Belts that were masters of both methods. Maytag also coined the term “Lean Sigma Event,” a project roadmap that followed the Six Sigma phases of DMAIC in a compressed timeframe similar to a Lean Kaizen Event.

Other companies soon realized the benefits of Lean Six Sigma including 3M, GE Capital, Caterpillar Finance and Lockheed Martin.

Today, organizations in many different industries have adopted Lean Six Sigma including Allstate and DTCC (finance and insurance), Delphi and Dominion (utilities), Wal-Mart (retail), Cigna and BlueCross and BlueShield (healthcare), Mosaic (agriculture), Ecolab (chemicals) and NewPage Corporation (paper).

To learn how Lean Six Sigma can make your organization more competitive and help you achieve your strategic goals, email us or call +971 4 319 7645.

Additional Reading

Lean Six Sigma That Works: A Powerful Action Plan for Dramatically Improving Quality, Increasing Speed, and Reducing Waste - Bill Carreira and Bill Trudell

Best Practices in Lean Six Sigma Process Improvement - Richard J. Schonberger

Lean-Six Sigma for Healthcare: A Senior Leader Guide to Improving Cost and Throughput - Chip Caldwell, Jim Brexler, and Tom Gillem

Lean Six Sigma for Service: How to Use Lean Speed and Six Sigma Quality to Improve Services and Transactions - Michael L. George