Lean and Six Sigma Don't work.

I wish I had a crisp £20 note for every time I've heard that one in my career. Although, the doubters and naysayers don't realise just how close they are to the truth.

Now there's no doubt that many companies have tried either Lean or Six Sigma, or even both and not had much, if any success. So from their point of view, the statement at the top is very true ? this is their perception of these methodologies and to that degree, it is true for them.

So, this inevitably begs the question, why does Lean and Six Sigma work for some companies and not for others?

The answer to this is also closely linked to the age old question around? How do we make the improvements sustainable?? and if you're a senior manager asking this question, the answer is very simple? Look in the mirror.

Anyway back to the original question and why some companies get it right and some just don't.

The answer has been staring everyone in the face for years but very few ever heard the message as it was delivered:

"Without Standardisation, there can be no Kaizen" - Taichi Ohno

But how does this seemingly simple quote answer the question above?

Think wider than just the process standardisation, think about the basics of Operations Management. This standardisation that Ohno spoke about was something the Japanese at Toyota took for granted? their culture, the inherent discipline of good basic management and adherence to processes (whether this was the manufacturing processes or the daily management routines and processes).

They already had a very solid foundation upon which to build before they started to look at the many "Lean" tools that they later developed over half a century.

Simply put, lay the foundations, then begin to build the house.


Until Next Time,



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Its not the tool, but how you use it that counts.

I recently ran a short ½ day training course for a local council’s supplier development program, which had attendees from a wide range of industries in the local area.

Now these training courses are very much an introduction to Lean Six Sigma and the improvement methodologies that go with them but many of the attendees come with the idea that this ½ day course (That the local council provides for free) is going to solve all their business problems and equip them with the knowledge they need to increase their profits exponentially.

One of the attendees asked what Lean Six Sigma tools she could use to improve quality in her business, as this was her main concern and a major source of customer dissatisfaction. I asked if they had standard operating procedures in place, to which she said ‘yes’. The next question didn't really need asking, or so I thought! “So, how do you ensure these are followed?”, I asked. “We don’t actually follow them, as everyone has their own way of doing things, don’t they? We only put them in place to pass some kind of audit a couple of years ago.”

My heart slowly sank as she uttered these words as I realised she had come along to find a ‘magic’ tool in the LSS tool kit that would take all her quality issues away. I spent 10 minutes with the lady after the course explaining that the standard operating procedures in themselves weren't going to solve her problem but if she introduced a robust adherence procedure around them along with a stringent quality assurance process, then this would raise her quality levels very quickly and make an instant impact on her customer satisfaction levels.

The look on her face when she realised she had been half way to solving her problems without recognising it was priceless. It just goes to show, it’s not the tools that get the results but the intelligence in knowing how and when to use them, along with some basic management discipline to ensure the application is adhered to.

If you enjoy reading my blogs, please take a look at my many other on-line resources,

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/leansixsigmacert

Follow me on twitter, https://twitter.com/DrLeanSigma

I have also recently launched a new range of Lean Six Sigma on-line training courses which you can read about here, http://www.beyondlean6sigma.com/


#leansixsigma, #beyondlean, #leansixsigmacertification, #leansixsigmatraining