Defining Lean and Six Sigma
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Based on Statistics. Powered by Financials.
Lean Manufacturing or Lean Production is a discipline that focuses on aggressively eliminating any resource whose goal is other than the creation of value, and therefore targeted for elimination. Value is defined as anything that the end-user, or customer, is willing to pay for. The process is to eliminate seven categories where there is waste; defined as Defects, Overproduction, Transportation, Waiting, Inventory, Motion and Processing (DOTWIMP). Results will be to dramatically increase customer satisfaction by reducing cost, rework and cycle time.
Six Sigma, in essence, is a statistical measure of the performance of a process or product characteristic compared to a specification level. The term, in future tense, is a discipline that is defined by a powerful set of statistical tools that seeks to improve the quality of process outputs by identifying and removing the causes of defects (errors) and variation in manufacturing and business processes. The process operates within a defined deployment structure, which involves the development of personnel at various levels (typically referred to as “Belts”) to operate and lead the implementation program. Crucial to the success of any six sigma project is a clearly-defined sequence of steps, called roadmaps, that directly associates initiatives and financial goals with specific tools.
Lean and Six Sigma may look and sound very different, but they can work in tandem to accomplish a combination of results including process excellence, improved quality, reduced costs, increased customer satisfaction and, most importantly, bringing significant profits back to the corporation. This combination is called Lean Sigma. Though it seems a selection of the better parts of the two, it is in its own right a clearly defined methodology.
Lean Sigma: A Practitioner’s Guide
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