5 Steps to getting started on your Lean Six Sigma Journey

Much of the fear of Lean Six Sigma is simply shrouded in the ‘Not knowing’ how to get started and this is a question I’m often asked by prospective clients, “How do we go about the whole Lean Six

Sigma Thing?”

Here are some steps in the LSS process to consider for your business if you are contemplating taking a hard, real look at how you operate, function and plan to get better using Lean Six Sigma tools:

Step 1: Leadership and Commitment

Buy-in, championing and supporting the effort from the top is essential. Decision-makers have to back up what is being planned and visibly support the improvement efforts and projects. Without this support, companies will often, quickly and soon revert back to old habits and sustained change will not be possible or feasible.
Vision and direction has to come from senior management as well.

Step 2: Educate and Empower: Gather Knowledge, know how and practice Lean Six Sigma

Training, fundamentals and even books, consulting and advice from other businesses that are implementing and experimenting with Lean can all help you get on your way. Formal training and certification are available at http://www.beyondlean6sigma.com .

There are training programs offered by MEP's (Manufacturing Extension Partnerships) around the world such as http://www.beyondlean6sigma.com Green Belt or Black Belt'
It is a priority to educate and empower, giving people the tools they need, raising awareness of lean,  introducing and using a couple of the tools at a time, over a period of a couple of weeks or months, or a whole coordinated deployment or roll-out effort with resources and project plans. These are all feasible, depending on the needs of your organization and the depth you want to or feel like you have to get into.

Step 3: Making Things Visible To All and Accountability

Understanding processes, cause and effect, root-cause analysis and even being aware of waste, goes a long way to get to low-hanging fruit, win and reward right away. Any improvement for your business, saved dollar and lower costs are good right? Why not use lean to help you and your employees SEE and DO something about it. Try to see if you can trace the source of waste. Just walk around your operation and try to spot where ‘waste’ is occurring (recycle bins), discarded, defective product, things on the floor, cluttered areas etc. This can be A great first step. Tracing and mapping out how it got there, how severe the problem is (pages per day, waste removed or scrapped, defective unit # versus yield). Any metrics and active tracking heightens awareness of potential problems and sources, creative solutions and harnessed resources working to save money. All wonderful, without necessarily even having implemented any formal LEAN SIX SIGMA TOOLS as yet! See the promise and potential here?

This can very easily then form a quite powerful technique and general base or platform for identifying bottlenecks, excess inventory and even discontinuous flow, more advanced Lean tools to cope with and address these issues are at hand. Getting all the staff involved in these processes give you the great opportunity to motivate and mobilize your entire workforce. Imagine everyone working to saving and making money, which is why we all work and got hired in the first place … or started our own business, right?

Step 4: NOW THE TIME HAS COME! Focused Improvement Activities and Advanced Lean Six Sigma Tools

Map out the major processes in your business.  Identify all the sources of waste, prioritize the areas you want to focus on first, where the maximum gain is with minimum effort. Always a good place to start. Take the area, process or problem apart, analyze it and see how you can make it better. Put the improvements in place and ensure that it does not happen again and stays in control should be a priority as well. Plan for the sustainability, by having a project or process champion and getting employees to take the lead and responsibility as well.

Some of the most wonderful stories, opportunities and promise lies in the fact that LSS effectively brings together a motivated group of individuals/people involved in work and/or a typical process, maybe even also from other areas of an operation, combines their talents and focus on a particular issue or topic, area or problem. Next, defines and maps the current situation, cost and waste, (baseline and diagnose), set some clear objectives to change and make things better. These can be metrics or stated smart goals, measured in terms of wait or lead-time, process steps, cycle time, floor-space, inventory, and other metrics) Time-frame for improvements are set and the group celebrates the successes, outcomes and results together.

Step 5: Looking Further Ahead and Beyond

LSS enables you individually, collectively and as an organization/business to get renewed momentum, continued effort and on-going improvement (what lean often refers to as Kaizen – the pursuit of continual improvement and perfection, a standard of sorts).

 Lean and speedy processes and how they affect business

Some of the Lean Six Sigma tools that might be able to help you in your processes are:

 5S
 Cellular Manufacturing
 Mistake Proofing
 Set-Up Reduction

A basic,  fundamental tool in Lean Six Sigma that can help any business the ‘5S’ approach is an organizing, structuring technique to get rid of clutter and waste.  Cleanliness and having a set place for everything is key.

The name stems from the Japanese meanings and equivalent words for…

 Sorting things (seiri)
 Setting things in a particular order (Seiton)
 Shining, daily maintenance (Seiso)
 Standardization (Seiketsu)
 Sustainability (shitsuke)

Cut costs and reduce waste by applying these simple techniques to your business today.

Cellular manufacturing has to do with organizing not the workplace only but the work as well. Work-cells and designated work- areas, certain spaces for certain activities, minimizes movement of people and things,  therefore costing less. In an operational sense this means no batching, no waiting, no delays, no queuing, just smooth operation and easy flow.

Mistake-proofing (Poka-Yoke)
Built-in safeguards, reducing defects to zero is at the center of this approach. Highlighting problems as they occur, not letting mistakes, oversights and errors slip through is key. Processes are designed around this principle to be more efficient and will help you business cut down on cost, scrap and waste.

(SMED or single minute exchange of dies ) Quick and speedy change-over in business processes, manufacturing and operations are essential. Remember time and quality matters, means money! Process thinking is the key here. Getting rid of unnecessary steps, actions or movement are key. Reducing time on any line, saves money.

There is more to Lean Six Sigma that just these couple of tools. They just serve as an introduction to some of the major business enablers that LSS can bring to your business and organization.

"Two key rewards for your business to capitalise on: Breakthrough profit and competitive advantage."

Improving quality and speedy delivery rates are any company’s priority. Making and keeping customers happy is what it is all about. LSS offer you the tools to do that practically, quickly, easily and consistently.

You can not change what you do not acknowledge or know about. Lean Six Sigma brings with the appeal and awareness to ‘take note’ and notice things around you (cost, waste, movement, clutter, scrap etc.) and then DO something real, meaningful and constructive about it!

What improvements should and could be made are both important questions to ask, prioritize and act upon. Customer priorities, things that affect your incoming revenue should get attention quickly and first. Things like quality, lead and waiting, cycle time, cost, inventory and other internal processes that affect the customer and are ‘internal’ and controllable, should be dealt with expediently.

In order to get you started asking the right type of questions could provide you with hints as to a strategy and starting point/priority:

 Which process or step should get the bulk of our immediate attention –where is the biggest WIN-WIN for both the customer and the company?

 What are all the priorities that we need to pay attention to in this organization/business and operation, map the processes and make the list. Then ask in what order you should tackle the priorities?

 How do we get the BEST improvements the quickest way? How do/can we tap into the benefits of LSS right away?

If reducing overhead, quality costs and inventory to save money, reduce weight and be a smooth operating,  streamlined and cost-efficient provider are keys to your business success, LSS can help your business in all aspects and areas.




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/



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lean six sigma, lean six sigma training, lean six sigma certification, lean six sigma

15 things Lean Six Sigma will bring to my Business

Another favourite question that I was asked this week by an employee working in my client’s organization was the one above. He asked me for one thing, so I gave him 15 !

Optimizing opportunity is the name of the game with lean six sigma. Moving faster and with quality in mind, lowering cost and waste in the process, will have you reaping rewards in no time. Make the most of the fact that some of your competitors are rather ‘slow pokes’

You might be having all sorts of questions at this point, like: What does Lean Six Sigma bring to business? What is the value propositions really? Why do it?

Many have defines Lean Six Sigma as the streamlining of manufacturing processes to get the most out of equipment, inventory, and people.

To keep things really simple, Lean Six Sigma (or LSS), has a base premise and overall goal ‘to get more done with less’ This is effectively done, by

(i) minimizing inventory
(ii) at and through all stages of production
(iii) eliminating waste,
(iv) reducing wait times, queues
(v) shortening product cycle times from raw materials to finished goods.
(vi) Improving quality and reducing variation

LSS processes involves some real positive, productive changes in businesses that will have a measurable impact on the bottom line.

Benefits of LSS could include

o Reduced lead time, wait time and cycle time
o Liberated capital
o Increased profit margins
o Increased productivity
o Improved product quality
o Just-in-time, affordable, streamlined, cost-efficient processes, products and services
o Improved on-time shipments
o Customer satisfaction and loyalty
o Employee retention

As a business, regardless of the scope, range, condition, small, large, start-up, growing or expanding, improvement, quality and time, cost and waste all matter. LSS affords you the opportunity to ensure your business grows stronger, quicker, consistently, getting higher value and improving competitiveness. Effectively positioning yourself above the masses and mediocrity.

What is Lean Six Sigma and which tools can I use in my business?

LSS is an on-going process. This approach and paradigm focusing on time and quality, cost and waste reduction, streamlining operations can assist you in reducing inventories, work-in-process (often referred to as WIP), required floor space, cycle times and lead times.

LSS (even when combined with business improvement efforts such as Six Sigma methods and discipline), can lead to meaningful and measurable improvements, quality. Most of the tools focus on really simple concepts and are easy to use and implement. It focuses on the visible, what you can see, change and control. It does connect steps, processes and people. It spots waste, problems and allows us all to identify, spot and deal with errors quicker and more effectively, saving more money in the process!

There is nothing really complex or mysterious about it. Everyone can apply it to your business, no matter what industry you are in. It does not have to be intricate and only set aside for a chosen few. It can be a great tool to mobilize your organization.

The basic toolkit of LSS has basic tools (which we will get to), that will consistently and constantly enable you to change ineffective processes to smoothly operating and flowing production lines. It provides everyone the opportunity to ‘take control’ and pride in the work that they do. It is a hands-on enabler. When people understand how and what affects process and outcome and take a cause-effect, analytical approach to things around them, like work-processes for example, a whole new world of understanding, accountability and change erupts! It reenergizes your business and when the rewards start trickling in, everyone partakes and shares in the success and results.

On myth that needs dispelling right off the bat is that LSS is ONLY for high-volume or standardized processes. This is simply misleading and far from the truth. LSS is versatile and robust enough to be applied in any context on any process in numerous forms. Batch operations, mixed model production systems, shift-by-shift changes, switching of dyes etc. all qualify! Whether you are making appliances, light bulbs, providing a service or niche product, LSS can help you in all aspects of your business, even financial, transactional, ordering, inventory and HR processes (payroll, hiring etc.)

You pick your priority, streamlining operations, improving productivity, eliminating waste, LSS has a tool for that!




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/



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lean six sigma, lean six sigma training, lean six sigma certification, lean six sigma

Why isn’t Everybody Doing Lean Six Sigma – It’s a No Brainer, after all !

This is the question many of my clients have asked me once they've seen the benefits of LSS and

forget how difficult it was to simply get started.

Getting on board with Lean Six Sigma is no easy task, but the initiative will soon deliver rewards to your business. Fostering its growth and filtering through all levels of the organization will definitely pay off in the long run.

Many of our organizations are so busy getting ‘work’ done, dealing with problems, fires and urgencies,  meeting goals and objectives, and initiating business strategies, that they do not take or have the time to even consider ‘looking’ for waste.

WE all should pause and take a minute to consider how LSS principles, rules, tools and thinking can help us eliminating waste and variation. Getting to root-causes make problem-solving easier and more permanent! This process is on-going and will reveal things about your business you did not even know at all! You might be surprised by what you find, unearth and reveal when using LSS thinking and tools.

Looking at processes to see how to BEST eliminate the different forms of MUDA or waste, requires new, counterintuitive thinking at times, a true non-traditionalist point of view.

HERE IS AN AMAZING TRUTH (and in our opinion another key to really understanding the power and potential of LSS) for business, regardless of their size, industry, challenges and the like:
The ability to recognise and understand the systems that create results is not a natural ability.

We DO NOT HAVE THAT PROCESS-FOCUS AUTOMATICALLY. WE have to discover, hone, harness, develop and refine it as we go along!

See value through the eyes and requirements of your customers and take a real, long hard look at what and how you are doing things to get them what they need and want. Look for opportunities to improve it and cut down on cost, waste and expenses. and remember – keep it simple:
Everything that does not add value = waste

We wish you all the best on your LSS journey. If you like to learn more see additional sources provided here.



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/



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lean six sigma, lean six sigma training, lean six sigma certification, lean six sigma

Which is better, Lean or Six Sigma?

This is a question I get asked constantly by my clients, along with the other question – "So what’s the difference between Lean and Six Sigma?". I figure, if so many people are asking these questions, then they obviously haven’t been answered fully in the past. Here is the quite condensed version of how Lean and Six Sigma came about in the first place (Obviously, they were developed in order to solve a specific problem) and how they developed into what we see today.

LEAN SIX SIGMA OVERVIEW

In 1910 Charles Sorensen and Henry Ford created the first moving assembly line as a way of reducing wasted motion and handling complexity in automotive assembly. Without question, the Lean system pioneered by the Toyota Motor Company has a common beginning with these early “work flow” improvements. However, this common heritage led to two very different manufacturing systems: mass production and Lean production.

The objective of mass production is to maximise economies of scale through high capital utilisation. At Ford, the emphasis on flow was limited almost exclusively to the final assembly line, while subassembly processes, suppliers and distribution operated on almost independent production schedules, resulting in large batch sizes and high inventory levels. Inventory at all points was accepted as a necessary buffer to survive schedule and output instability. Quality was inspected and projected into the system through mass inspection and inventory buffers. Capital was a solution to the relentless push for capacity. Finally, production was driven from forecasts, pushing material through the plant in anticipation of actual customer demand. The mass production system flourished in the high growth, boom phase of the automotive industry and was widely copied in other sectors.

The objective of Lean production is the elimination of waste through the efficient use of all resources. In 1945 the president of Toyota Motor Company issued an edict to the company to catch up with America in three years otherwise the automotive industry of Japan would not survive. At the time, labour productivity in Japanese factories was 1/10 that of US automotive manufacturers. Scarce capital and small, highly diverse “island” market did not support large-scale, mass production. Finding a solution to the challenge led to a fundamentally different “Lean Production” system, which ultimately triumphed over mass production during the 1973-4 oil crisis. At a time of global recession and slow growth, Toyota sustained profits and grew US market share while US companies lost on both counts.

A new paradigm

The lean production system pioneered at Toyota created a new paradigm for excellence in manufacturing. This paradigm is founded on the belief that cost reduction is sometimes the only viable mechanism for a corporation to increase profit; price is not always an effective lever. Today, some organisations are fortunate enough to determine their selling price by first taking the product cost and adding on a sufficient profit margin:

Profit + Cost = Price

A company can therefore increase profit by raising the price of its product. However, in a diverse marketplace, most companies do not have this advantage as consumers and market conditions largely determine price. In these markets, companies face the following equation:

Profit = Price - Cost

This is often referred to as the “cost-minus” principle because the company can only increase profit through cost reduction. Cost reduction in a manufacturing environment occurs through the elimination of waste. Waste can be defined as something for which the customer is not willing to pay; it is a non-value adding activity. The elimination of such activities shortens the lead time, so value is delivered to the customer faster and with less effort.

So that’s the ‘Lean’ part of the equation covered, now let’s get into the Six Sigma side of the coin……  

Six Sigma

The goals of six sigma:

• Improved Customer Satisfaction
• Defect Reduction
• Reduction in Variation
• Yield Improvement
• Higher Operating Income
• Improved Process Capability
• Target 6 sigma standards
• Constant measurement
• Defeat the Competition
• Breakthrough improvements

Six-Sigma Objectives Are Directly and Quantifiably Connected to the Objectives of the Business.

The many facets of Six Sigma:

• Sigma is a letter in the Greek alphabet.
• The term "sigma" is used to designate the distribution or spread about the mean (average) of any process or product characteristic.
• For a business or manufacturing process, the sigma value 6 is a metric that indicates how well that process is performing. The higher the sigma value, the better. Sigma measures the capability of the process to perform defect-free-work. A defect is anything that may result in customer dissatisfaction.
• With six sigma, the common measurement index is “defects per unit”, where a unit can be virtually anything -- a component, piece of material, line of code, administrative form, time frame, distance, etc.
• The sigma value indicates how often defects are likely to occur. The higher the sigma value, the less likely a process will produce defects. As sigma increases, costs go down, cycle time goes down, and customer satisfaction goes up.

So where did Six Sigma start and who else uses it?

• Motorola (1987 First coined the phrase ‘Six Sigma’)
• Texas Instruments - (1988)
• ABB (ASEA Brown Boveri) - (1993)
• AlliedSignal - (1994)
• General Electric - (1995)

Why is this NOT a past tense statement?

Because this is a continuous process

We are not pioneers, we can learn from what others have done and the mistakes they have made.

The biggest lesson we can learn is that individually ‘Lean’ and ‘Six Sigma’ are very powerful tools – However, when they are used effectively, together, that power is exponentially increased.




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
lean six sigma, lean six sigma training, lean six sigma certification, lean six sigma