What is Lean Six Sigma?

Lean Six Sigma (LSS) is a proven disciplined, customer-centric, data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating waste (non-value added steps as viewed by your customers) and defects (driving toward six standard deviations between mean and the closest specification limit) in any process.

	Lean	Six Sigma
	Speed and low cost	Culture and quality
Goals	Reduce waste and increase overall process speed.	Improve performance on customers' Critical to Quality (CTQ) items.
Focus	Identify and eliminate non-value added steps and causes of delays.	Use DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control) work process to eliminate process variability.
	Lean enables Six Sigma by faster cycles of learning.	Six Sigma enables Lean by producing fewer defects meaning less rework.

 

True productivity is the product of effectiveness and efficiency!

There is a synergistic relationship between lean and six sigma.  Integrating and deploying them both together  minimizes the "non value added" dialog which is more important and valuable.   In reality, both are needed for true productivity.

There is also a linkage between Lean Six Sigma and drive for productivity.    True productivity is the product of effectiveness and efficiency.  If productivity is "what" needs to be accomplished, Lean Six Sigma is "how" you achieve it!

 

What it's not!

• It's not a "silver bullet" that alone will solve an organization's issues.  It tends to be a piece of the overall puzzle.

• It's not only for manufacturing.  To be effective, it should be deployed enterprise-wide as major breakthroughs are typically cross-organization and/or cross-functional.

• It's not just about training.  Training is the means to the end!  Other elements need to be addressed for a successful Lean Six Sigma deployment.

• It's not just about statistics!  It's also about discipline, critical thinking and other key characteristics.

• It's not about getting certified(certification is not the end, it's the beginning).  It's about sustained application and used of Lean Six Sigma tools in all that you do going forward.

• It's not just for a select few.  To be effective, Lean Six Sigma needs to become the way everyone acts and interact.