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Lean Six Sigma methodologies are a combination of standard 6-Sigma quality improvement techniques and lean manufacturing principles that are used for speeding up business processes. 6-Sigma methodologies focus on reducing defects in business processes, whereas Lean 6 Sigma does not only eliminate defects but also improves the speed of a process and reduces waste by eliminating non-value added steps in a business process. Combining 6-Sigma and lean manufacturing principles is like combining the contents of two different toolboxes that help companies to improve quality and efficiency.

Compatibility

Depending on the type of methodologies used by an organization, Lean Six Sigma is often referred to as Lean Service, Lean Manufacturing, and Lean Enterprise. These concepts are compatible with standard Six Sigma methodologies and can be applied to every type of business processes. Both the concepts use similar strategies and methods and focus on improving business processes that serve customer needs. Both focus on identifying and eliminating sources of waste and processes that do not add value for maximizing output, efficiency, and throughput. They emphasize providing requisite training for enabling employees of an organization to understand the tools and processes of the methodology. Both concepts encourage the involvement of senior managers and key mentors within an organization for ensuring that quality improvement projects are executed without affecting the day-to-day operations.

Lean 6 Sigma uses different techniques for reducing costs, reducing production cycle times, expanding capacity, and improving productivity. It uses “value stream mapping” for identifying improvement opportunities. However, Lean Six Sigma concepts may sometimes prove inadequate in solving some of the more complex problems that call for advanced analysis.

Benefits

Standard 6-Sigma methodologies follow a disciplined, data driven approach and use statistical tools for analyzing quality at every stage of the production process. When combined with Lean manufacturing principles, it helps in identifying and resolving quality issues. Its successful implementation is important in reaping quick results and enabling employees and plant managers to harness better work patterns on plant floors. Lean Six Sigma programs are executed under the guidance of 6-Sigma Champions and Black Belts for enhancing the efficacy of quality improvement initiatives. It is necessary to deploy lean manufacturing techniques during the Six Sigma implementation process for ensuring that the improvement process includes a standard problem-solving approach.

Lean Six Sigma focuses on adding value to manufactured goods or services rendered by eliminating defects in every business process. This helps in building customer loyalty, as customers often prefer products and services that offer consistent quality. The matrices used in Six Sigma help in identifying customer needs, manufacturing quality products and rendering quality services.

Lean Six Sigma concepts and methodologies are based on a highly sustainable approach that gets easily integrated with the existing work processes within an organization. It requires the involvement of employees at all levels within an organization. The deployment of 6-Sigma programs can initiate a culture shift within an organization that helps in eliminating waste within the production process.

Lean Six Sigma helps in ensuring future success of an organization by radically improving quality and reducing waste. It also allows employees within an organization to design and develop new business processes that will help in making drastic improvements to the organization’s performance.

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Even though the implementation techniques and tools put into practice by Black Belts could differ, Kaizen is by far the basic methodology used for such purposes. Additionally, it has been observed that principles of Lean Six Sigma are time and again merged with Kaizen concepts for providing faster and much better results.

Kaizen Basics

Six Sigma and Kaizen are said to be alike as they both are based on the principle that every organization is composed of a series of business processes, which have to be changed occasionally to accomplish better quality and efficiency.

The following are some basic Kaizen procedures Black Belts put into practice for identifying problem areas and looking for operational results.

Identifying Key Problem Areas

During this procedure, the Black Belt and their team members focus their strengths on recording the various features of the business process for making the identification process considerably faster and easier. After the various elements of the given process are recorded, it turns out to be very easy for the implementation team to identify problem areas and advise corrective measures to solve them.

Mapping of the process is useful in recording the aspects of a complex business process that has many sub-processes or sub-parts.

Getting the Timing Right

Analysis of the time value is conducted whenever the efficiency of a particular business process relies on the time spent for completing various sub-processes within the main one. This helps the Black Belts in weighing the actual time taken for the process against the standards that have been set. When the less efficient sub-process is identified, the Black Belts use the previous process maps for identifying the problem areas causing the slowdown, contained by the sub-process.

Focusing On Key Processes

There are instances where, due to limited time, it is impossible to evaluate every business process. In times like these, Black Belts employ value stream mapping for recognizing processes that offer maximum value and the ones that offer minimum value. Value stream mapping is very helpful whenever there is some improvement in quality that has to be carried out in a diminutive time for making it easier for Black Belts to focus their quality improvement programs only on maximum value providing processes.

This procedure is usually used in organizations where the real number of low value processes is considerably larger than the high value processes. This procedure may not be necessary in organizations with fewer processes or in organizations with high value processes.

Every Kaizen procedure illustrated above can be independently or simultaneously used on the basis of the type of business process in question. The Black Belts can always put their innovative skills and experience to use in conjunction with the given procedures to easy identify and solve critical issues with regard to Six Sigma implementation projects.