Why use Lean Sigma
Companies are increasingly adopting an integrated approach known as Lean Sigma or Lean Six Sigma or Sigma + amongst many other titles. The content is the same however it is the outlook that is different, taking a more ‘holistic’ view to process improvement.
Combining the two philosophies, already large in their individual right, makes it even more important to only use tools that are appropriate to the business need. Key to success and to minimise cost of development, is to always have a business review and map the process/business complexity and type against the tools from Lean and Six Sigma and determine which are the most valuable tools to deploy.
Joined together, Lean Sigma serves to increase production or service delivery rates whilst reducing variation and defect rates. Lean elements are used by an organisation’s Leaders and Engineers to fine tune daily operations whilst Six Sigma supports innovation in business processes to increase quality of service / products.
As a result, combining Lean and Six Sigma allows leaders of businesses to effectively address issues of capacity (speed), quality and cost more quickly than through the more traditional route. Rather than eliminating wasteful steps or spend months testing a variety of innovative options, Lean 6 Sigma balances the worth of each of the philosophies from which it originates.
The thing to remember is, that every business is different and does not require for every tool in both Lean and 6 Sigma to be learnt and applied in the business. Most can in fact make significant improvement to their business processes through the application of the core waste elimination tools of Lean and basic statistical tools from Six Sigma.
