Six Sigma, Lean or Lean Six Sigma?

While both Lean and Six Sigma are business strategies aimed at increasing organisational efficiency and effectiveness, there are theoretical and practical differences between them. Understanding these distinctions might assist you in selecting an approach that is compatible with your company objectives. Learn the minor differences between Lean and Six Sigma to help you decide which is best for your company.

Definitions:

1. Businesses utilised Six Sigma as a quality-control process to remove flaws and enhance procedures.
2. Lean is a set of management methods aimed at reducing waste and increasing efficiency and effectiveness.
3. Lean six sigma is a pragmatic method that combines six sigma and lean, taking the best of both worlds into account. The team-oriented strategy of Lean Six Sigma has demonstrated success in maximising efficiency and drastically increasing profitability for enterprises all across the world.

Let’s take a definitive look at each one:

Six Sigma

Six Sigma is a methodical, disciplined technique to solving organisational challenges by lowering risk and minimising variability. Six Sigma’s use is deeply anchored in complex situations where reducing variability and risk is crucial to success. The requirement for continuous process improvement is universal.

Bill Smith and Mikel Harry, both Motorola engineers, created Six Sigma in 1986. Motorola was the first to employ it in manufacturing. Motorola employed six sigma to improve process efficiency by reducing waste creation and saving money. Companies all across the world embraced this move after that.

The two popular methodologies in Six sigma are:

DMAIC – Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control is an acronym for Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control. DMAIC is a Six Sigma process improvement methodology that is used to improve current processes.

DMADV – Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, Verify is a Six Sigma framework that focuses on the development of a new service, product, or process rather than improving an existing one.

You can refer “DMADV and DMAIC – How Similar and Different are they?“

Six Sigma Specialists can be found at all levels of a business, each with its own set of duties. Green Belts, Black Belts, Master Black Belts, Yellow Belts, and White Belts are some of the most well-known six sigma certifications.

Lean

Lean is a way of thinking — a set of concepts that, when implemented holistically, allow for better decision-making. Continuous improvement is used by lean thinkers to continually seek methods to increase value and minimise waste. Lean is most efficacious when it is ingrained in an organization’s culture and effectuated from square one.

While originally developed for the manufacturing industry, Lean may be applied to any industry and any form of operation. Lean emphasises optimising a process as it passes through many technologies, assets, and departments before reaching customers, rather than focusing on one point in the process.

In lean manufacturing, there are eight different categories of waste:

• Defect – Any problems in the final product should be investigated and addressed as soon as possible.
• Overproduction – When you produce more than the customer or your process requires, you end up with extra inventory and all the associated costs.
• Waiting time – The time spent waiting for people, equipment, resources, or information to arrive so that you can complete your tasks.
• Non-utilized labour – The waste of people’s talent, expertise, and experience that may be put to better use in the business.
• Transportation – People, tools, inventory, and finished goods are frequently transferred from one location to another, but no value is contributed to the product. Excessive movement can degrade the quality of parts and goods, in addition to increasing overhead expenses.
• Inventory – While technically an asset, having more inventory than is required causes a slew of issues. It adds no value and instead becomes a burden as it accumulates.
• Motion – Unnecessary movement of products and labour is referred to as motion.
• Over-processing – All work that consumes time and resources but does not offer any further value or adds value that the client will not pay for.

Lean Six Sigma

The merging of Lean and Six Sigma approaches to minimise waste, defects (variation), and improve effectiveness and results are known as Lean Six Sigma. Six Sigma focuses on how effectiveness may lead to faster results, whereas Lean focuses on efficiency.

When correctly combined and applied, it can be a powerful management tool that can significantly improve an organization’s performance by allowing for an organised approach to problem-solving.

Some perks of using Lean Six Sigma are:

• Profits will rise.
• Planning for the future
• Productivity
• Cost-cutting
• Enhance Productivity and Quality
• Customer satisfaction should be improved.
• Employee Development Enhancement

Conclusion

One commonality between Lean and Six Sigma is that both have shown that optimising procedures may drastically increase the quality of your products and the client experience. They merely adopt various techniques to achieve their goals. Lean is all about minimising waste, shortening processes, and improving flow. The Six Sigma strategy is based on the idea that by decreasing faults in commercial and industrial processes, businesses can gain a competitive advantage.

All three techniques are intended to assist businesses in becoming more market-competitive. Those that are familiar with Lean, Six Sigma, and Lean Six Sigma are in a position to create long-term value and drive process improvement initiatives. If you want to learn more about Lean Six Sigma certification and training, SKILLOGIC offers thorough and extensive training in Lean Six Sigma Certification Courses compiling the best practices of both lean and six sigma. Our Courses are accredited by ICFQ and TUV.