Which Processes should I target with my Lean Six Sigma Deployment ?

Any and all processes within your business are fair game! No exceptions. It does not only have to be

manufacturing processes. Other examples could easily include: product development, order entries, design, customer service, HR and financial processes as well.

By taking this ‘overall’ holistic approach to improving your business in all areas and aspects, means you are in effect adding value to your business, growing your profits and bottom line, while streamlining and becoming a smooth, low-cost, predictable partner and provider of choice!

Taking an analytical approach to business in this fashion opens your eyes to new channels and ways to grow and expand, strengthen and position your business for success and results.

Ask the following questions to ascertain if Lean Six Sigma is right and holds potential for you and your business:

 Where is the real ‘time’ in our business spent? How much of this adds value to our customers? Is it worth it? Where can we make some changes?

 Is there any benefit in our business trying to establish a competitive edge getting goods and services to customers quicker?

 What kind of payback can we expect from these Lean Six Sigma efforts? What are the financial gains and potential here?

 If we cut operating expenses, manufacturing cost, overhead, inventory, lead, wait and cycle times, how would it affect the bottom line? What would the $ impact be weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually? Again these metrics will help you gage your progress, raise awareness and give you a whole new outlook on what your business is doing well and where the areas for improvement would/could be!

 If we reduce our goods in waiting (WIP) and finished goods inventory what will that mean in $ and cents to our business? What would be able to do with the cash at hand (investment, debt reduction, new machinery, marketing etc.) How can these changes and dollars save BEST benefit and grow the business?

In any Lean Six Sigma deployment and change management, improvement initiative in your organization / business, there are enabling aspects to pay attention to:

Some of the operational and economic benefits or metrics to look out for to help you answer some/any of the above are:

 Operating margin
 ROIC (return on investment capital)
 EBITDA
 Capital Turnover
 WIP
 On-time delivery rates and ratios
 Cost of poor quality
 Quality performance, customer satisfaction data

If you have your eyes set on the top-spot in your industry, expanding your markets and horizons and increasing your market share, this is the way to go about it quickly, reliably and with sustainable gains.

There is a simple rule of thumb here, central to all Lean Six Sigma as well - any improvements made within your business should benefit the customer and add value.



If you enjoy reading my blogs, please take a look at my many other on-line resources,
Website, http://www.beyondlean6sigma.com/
Blog, http://leansixsigmauk.blogspot.co.uk/
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/programmes/



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How will Lean Six Sigma benefit my workforce as well as my customers?

Lean Six Sigma succeeds in making the time, quality and cost issues within and between processes, start to finish, steps etc. visible and tangible. It gives eyes and ears to these processes, outcomes and allows you to do something meaningful and intervene to make things better, to the benefit for company and customer! It provides, purpose, direction, baseline and practical means to get your results and effect changes for good.

Seamless operation, less bureaucratic, ’lean six sigma’ streamlines and effective processes make business successful. This overall business methodology and thinking will help you re-make, energize and shape your business better. You are now pro-active and hands-on in your operation, NOT LEAVING SUCCESS UP TO RANDOM CHANCE, BUT RATHER PLANNING AND EXECUTING FOR IT.

REMEMBER A GOLDEN RULE OF LEAN SIX SIGMA: SLOW PROCESSES ARE EXPENSIVE! LSS HELPS YOU SPEED THINGS UP, WITHOUT HAVING TO SACRIFICE QUALITY!

Agility, adaptability, low cost and responsiveness are all qualities that business should have and desperately need almost as prerequisites and entry-requirements for doing business in the new economy.

One of the great contribution that Lean Six Sigma can/does make to your business is what we will call ‘shared purpose, direction and goals’. This individual and mutual ‘orientation’ and ‘coordinated effort, gives common direction to all, fosters commitment and camaraderie. It strengthens and builds the organization, links the leaders to the shop-floor employees and engages everyone at all levels to achieve better performance consistently. It is a unifying and motivational principle that will underpin and build your efforts, getting you results quicker and maintaining it over time. Making success stick, so to speak.

So, ask yourself first and foremost how you think Lean Six Sigma can help you in your business, consider your options, pros and cons or doing/not doing it and then make your decision.

Enable and strengthen your business by using Lean Six Sigma tools to drive improvements, cost reduction and implement it across the levels and aspects of your business that matters most and reaps the highest rewards quickly.

Other aspects of lean to consider for Lean Six Sigma deployment in your business are as follows:

 Leadership
Initiative and leading by example from the top is key. The main flag-bearer and champion of this Lean Six Sigma process and initiative starts with the business leader (CEO/President) and the senior management team. Buy-in and support can make or break the efforts of LSS.

Personal, hands-on, practical engagement, commitment, practice and even reward for full participation in these initiatives, being the drivers of performance per se is critical to and for Lean Six Sigma success. Inspire and mobilize others.

Corporate, business culture and infrastructure, support and championing of the Lean Six Sigma efforts contribute to the momentum and success of it throughout the organization.

Include and engage EVERYONE! Lean Six Sigma provides you the opportunity to harness and leverage the talents of the entire workforce and collective, not merely a hand-full of individuals or some employees. MAKE EVERYONE COUNT AND CONTRIBUTE!

If lasting results and sustained top performance matters to you and your business here are the means to that end in the LSS toolkit!

Metrics and goals make things easier to achieve and practically act upon, effect, change, impact, reshape etc. MAKE EVERY ASPECT OF YOUR BUSINESS COUNT!

 Infrastructure, support and deployment
Share the commitment, discipline and persistent toil to get to where you need to be. It starts with everyone, not just some! Have you customers front-of-mind at every step, process and corner of what you are doing, planning, improving, know what they value, why and how to get it to them quickly, effectively, consistently and affordably, any time, every time! SHIFT YOUR FOCUS.

Shareholder value and $ impact is a good guidelines for priorities and activity within LSS. IMPROVEMENTS CAN/SHOULD BE MEASURABLE AND ACTAULLY TRACKED!

Engage everyone in the process, assign roles and responsibilities and tap into the full potential everyone has to bring to the table. Committed resources, time and training (initial investment) will pay off quickly. Mobilize your workforce and enable, empower and energize them.

 Vision
Making it all about our customers is another key. They are your incoming revenue streams, what keeps the wheels of your business churning. For once, make it count! Quality, time, what they want, when they want it can make you fail or success. Reducing variability is essential. Be consistent, predictable and reliable as a provider and/or supplier, business partner and make what they want a priority. Never merely focus on reducing defects, also know why you are doing it and how it adds value to your customer(s).

Everyone has to understand this mutual undertaking, its value and potential and the role, contribution and recognition of their efforts and input.

 Right resources and projects
Having dedicated resources working tirelessly and exclusively on Lean Six Sigma type processes and work, improvements and projects will have desired outcomes and effects. For meaningful performance improvement you need the right people and the right projects, working on the right value-added things within your business. Focused, deliberately targeted WORK is essential for results and success.

 Teamwork
IT IS ABOUT EVERYONE’s ROLE AND RESPONSBILITIES. ALL MATTER. Leaders, shop-floor, administrative, all staff can contribute and make a difference. Leaders often mount the charge and get the ball rolling, providing support and encouragement along the way. Direction and results matter here. Full-time sponsors, champions and process leaders encourages accountability and gets results quicker. Problem-solving leadership, training and coaching might be required to, grunt-work, data collection and analysis and support. Investment in time and resources is well worth the effort and cost. It will reap you rewards you can only imagine when starting out. It will exceed your expectation in as little as 1 year! YOU WILL START SEEING RESULTS EVEN QUICKER THAN THAT!

 Process and Tools
Tools and culture go hand in hand. You need both. So jumping right in and just focusing on implementing some key LSS tools, might not be the most appropriate and/or effective way of unleashing the power of lean on your organization. Getting the support and infrastructure in place up front, planning for success, resources etc. might save you lots of time, money and headaches down the line, when it comes to actually doing the work and making the improvements!


If you enjoy reading my blogs, please take a look at my many other on-line resources,
Website, http://www.beyondlean6sigma.com/
Blog, http://leansixsigmauk.blogspot.co.uk/
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/programmes/




#leansixsigma, #beyondlean, #leansixsigmacertification, #leansixsigmatraining
lean six sigma, lean six sigma training, lean six sigma certification, lean six sigma

Complaints are a gift – Listen to your customers !

Listening to your customer complaints can give you great hints as to where some of the problems

might lie. DO NOT hesitate to ASK them! They will tell you. It is a wonderful opportunity and channel to let your customers know that what they want, say and need, REALLY MATTERS. If you provide this level of responsive personalized business, you will have success, not only now, but also, in the future.

Slow and inefficient processes, finished goods just sitting around or waiting for things to happen all cost money. Finding ways to cut down on these is the challenge and opportunity that LSS brings to your business. This is oftentimes referred to as the so-called ‘hidden factory’ or unseen cost of ‘doing business’. Once you put a number on it and are aware of it, you will benefit from ways to reducing it or eliminating it, adding to your bottom line and cutting down on cost and waste. That is the heart and purpose of LSS.


Getting rid of things (even internal process steps, time and inventory) that add NO VALUE TO YOUR CUSTOMERS is a TOP PRIORITY TOO! The costs of poor quality products, services and waste add up over time and could cause you the loss of loyalty and potential repeat/new business. Really taking issues with these aspects can save you money, time, ensure quality and customer retention, satisfaction and more business!


Customer want to do MORE business with a provider that is reliable, quick and affordable, stable and predictable.

If you set certain targets in certain areas of your business and work diligently towards them, the results will be evident quickly and these changes will ‘stick’ and be sustainable over time, which is what you are really after.

Ask yourself how long it takes you to get your product and service out the door and in the customer’s hand. Seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks. Asking the question is important, raising awareness. Putting a number to it, makes it visible, measurable and enables you to do something about it! For example cutting it down or in half!



If you enjoy reading my blogs, please take a look at my many other on-line resources,
Website, http://www.beyondlean6sigma.com/
Blog, http://leansixsigmauk.blogspot.co.uk/
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/programmes/



#leansixsigma, #beyondlean, #leansixsigmacertification, #leansixsigmatraining
lean six sigma, lean six sigma training, lean six sigma certification, lean six sigma

Turning Lean Six Sigma Theory into Practice

Many people read the books and study the theory but only action on the back of this can get you

results…

Taking the theory of Lean Six Sigma to the practical implementation will take planning, patience and persistence. Determination, detail orientation and discipline. We often refer to these as the THREE p’s and the THREE d’s to make them easy to remember. Gradual, planned, focused effort is what it is all about. Step-by-step instructions and actions to get to improvements over time, that can be sustained, stable and predictable are essential.

If any of the following scenarios are important to your business, LSS can help you reach targets and goals in this area that you set for you, your team and your business:

 Increasing operating margin and revenue
 Reduce manufacturing lead, wait and cycle times
 Lessen WIP or work-in-progress inventory (half-completed product), time and space costs money! Reduce costs
 Reducing manufacturing overhead and quality costs
 Increase gross profit margin
 Get customers what they want, when they want it, any time, every time and all the time, quickly and correctly, affordably and on-demand.
 Achieve consistent quality and low defect rate (scrap/waste)

Make the most of your shareholder value and you can not go wrong. Achieve high levels of improvement rates and customer satisfaction, quality products, low costs and do so quickly and you remain competitive and profitable.

Get and keep your processes under control and improve, getting better all the time, setting and positioning yourself head-and-shoulders above the masses and mediocrity. Help define and execute your competitive edge with a well-thought out, supported, gradual deployment, through Lean Six Sigma in your business and you are set for fantastic outcomes, success and results!


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

Website, http://www.beyondlean6sigma.com/
Blog, http://leansixsigmauk.blogspot.co.uk/
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/programmes/




#leansixsigma, #beyondlean, #leansixsigmacertification, #leansixsigmatraining
lean six sigma, lean six sigma training, lean six sigma certification, lean six sigma

What are the Key Benefits of Lean Six Sigma?

This is the first question EVERY client asks before they get started on the LSS journey, or in other words, what’s in it for me ?

Why is Lean Six Sigma thinking so prevalent in the modern current economies? To remain competitive, agile and the lowest cost producers, providers and streamlined business, getting rid of waste and being highly sustainable is key for survival and thriving in this new economy.

Lean Six Sigma thinking is exactly what the name sounds like – it is about ‘cut to the bone’, fat-trimmed, streamlining operation and organizations.

Authors Womack and Jones define lean thinking as a set or collection of ‘efficiency tools’ that you can unleash in your business to save money, reduce cost and waste and deliver consistent and effective service that is affordable and pleasing to your customers. It is about vision and tools for reducing variability and cutting down on waste, being efficient and running a smooth and competitive, even profitable operation, well.

The thinking was initially championed by pioneers like Toyota and it was eventually adopted by the Japanese automakers as the principle upon which they wanted to build, run and grow their businesses.  Only a little later, will the Western world catch onto the value and potential of this approach to their respective organizations and operations.

Some have referred to Lean Six Sigma as flow productions, line operations, value streams, Kaizen (which we will get to later). In any Lean Six Sigma process and approach there are a couple of things to pay attention to. There is discipline, planning, rigor, scientific approach and statistically-based tools required and applied to make this business paradigm fit, work and last.

Lean Six Sigma will help you in your business take a serious look at visible causes and effects in your business. Aspects that could get some attention could include things like:

(i) inventory
(ii) movement/motion
(iii) waiting or queues
(iv) broken machines or tools (missing)
(v) dirt and clutter
(vi) noise
(vii) Variation  … and many others.

Things that we can see that is obvious waste or inefficiencies attract attention and demand action. This is where Lean Six Sigma steps in and makes the difference. It deals with the problems that we can actually SEE and do something about.

True to its Japanese origin there are lots of ‘legacy’ terminology here, one of which is MOST appropriate as we start this discussion on lean tools and the implications for your business:

It is referred to as MUDA, essentially meaning WASTE. In any process and business there are EIGHT forms of MUDA/WASTE present:

(i) Making products, delivering service that no-one wants OR NOT MEETING USER NEEDS (useless)
(ii) DEFECTIVE products or flawed services (mistakes)
(iii) Making too much of something (overproduction)
(iv) Inventory
(v) Unnecessary processing (non-value added steps)
(vi) Unnecessary movement of people
(vii) Unnecessary movement of things
(viii) Waiting or queuing

There are many reasons people would want to use Lean Six Sigma in their organization or business
(i) breakthrough performance
(ii) increased quality
(iii) shorter cycle times
(iv) creating shareholder value
(v) applying the principles throughout every level of the organization

When you focus on any improvements for production and profit you will have to pay attention to the saying ‘time is money’ and ‘quality matters’. These two principles and fundamental pillars for Lean Six Sigma will reward you greatly if considered in all aspects and areas of your business.

 Achieve cost reductions on your terms
 Cut lead/wait times within a short period of time, in a planned fashion using lean tools to get you there!
 Cut down on processing time from start to finish, from the moment and order is placed to when it is shipped and delivered, (also called cycle time).
 Improve your quality and customer referral rates

Through using Lean Six Sigma, you can in effect combine business improvement with business strategy. YOU WILL NEED BOTH TO BE SUCCESSFUL and GET RESULTS THAT LAST.

There are ways that you can decide which specific approach or major projects can have the MOST impact on your bottom line, strategy and overall financial priorities.

Get rid of delays, waiting times, obstacles, bottlenecks and unnecessary waste hindering expedient, reliable, efficient and affordable products and services.

Cutting costs and saving money is at the very heart of Lean Six Sigma thinking. It is a philosophy and practical business strategy that will reward greatly and even increase shareholder value significantly.

The tools and approaches we will be discussing and highlighting as part of this process, will be enlightening and inspirational. They are effective and they work. They complement and reinforce efficiency and streamlined operations, with measurable returns to your pocket and bottom line!

The reason we are all in modern-day business at all, is to earn return! It has to pay to do business, otherwise why do it at all?

In a time when businesses have to keep up with all the constant changing and evolving world or exciting, global business, agility and adaptability is key. Everyone is talking about the ‘organic’, collaborative workplace where we all work together well towards mutual goals.

Business, transactional and production efficiencies are an essential part of success, processes and outcomes that will serve and enable all of the above.

 There is the definite potential to significantly cut costs, waste, be more efficient, increase shareholder value and profits.
 Tools, utility and processes are needed to effect these outcomes.
 These approaches and tools can help you leverage and position your business, above mediocre and stand out from the crowd, in that quality matters.

Lean Six Sigma has helped the big guns like GE and Toyota lower cost, cut waste and improve how they utilize their resources, quality and time. What are you leveraging to keep your company competitive?

If you are paying close attention to time and quality in your business, then Lean Six Sigma is for you.

Reducing waiting times, bottlenecks, cycle and lead times all matter to both the business and the customer
Variation in the time it does take to complete any given process (or steps within a process) causes variation and has to be dealt with to ensure customer satisfaction.

The favourite example is delivery ‘windows’ and managing expectations around that. Lean Six Sigma is about MORE than identifying and dealing with defects. It goes beyond cause and effect and gets rid of the little jackals in the vineyard, with the potential for causing the most damage.

To make your operation and business reliable to your customers is a top priority and Lean Six Sigma, thinking, approaches and tools can help.
In our modern economy BOTH speed and reliability makes the difference. What was the gold standard yesterday, quickly becomes the entry-level requirement and prerequisite, in a highly competitive market. To stay on top, you need to be able to adjust and deliver consistently.

Reducing overhead cost, variation and inventory is at the heart of Lean Six Sigma.

Some business metrics that are oftentimes used to gage a business’ performance is on time delivery and reduction in lead time. Scrap and rework, other forms of waste are good indicators too. Speed and quality often suffer in our fast-paced business, yet the consumer of the present and the future will be increasingly demanding and insisting on both as BASIC service!

Companies typically improve at a slow pace. Change takes time. Lean turbo-charges these improvement efforts and underpins with some muscle, the processes and outcomes undertaken.

High quality, high speed and low cost is what you are after with lean six sigma tools, thinking and manufacturing.

If you are after sustained value creation in your business then Lean Six Sigma is the answer and solution for you. Oftentimes combined with process and business improvement tools like Six Sigma.

You will find as you start out on this path, that lean thinking is sometimes really quite counterintuitive and brilliant, yielding great results, applying simplistic method and wisdom to process and outcome.
Lean Six Sigma requires a strong sense of leadership and leading by example will be required. If you are in fact looking for a niche and competitive edge in your business, THIS IS IT!




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