Benefits of Lean Six Sigma

Abstract

Lean and Six Sigma are two philosophies that are used within organizations to improve overall quality, processes, and profit. While the two approaches serve the same general purpose and work well alone, many organizations found that a combination of the two – Lean Six Sigma – produces better results.

Lean and Six Sigma are two philosophies that are used within organizations to improve overall quality, processes, and profit. While the two approaches serve the same general purpose and work well as continuous improvement approaches, many organizations found that a combination of the two – Lean Six Sigma – produces more positive results (Asq.org, n.d.). The next few sections will cover the objectives of Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, and Lean Six Sigma.

Lean

Value is defined as the perception placed on a product or service that is linked to the needs or requirements of customers (Hines, Holweg, & Rich, 2004). It is one of the critical focal points of lean thinking. Primarily applied to manufacturing processes, lean manufacturing focuses on improving value by eliminating excess/waste from product flows (Hines, Holweg, & Rich, 2004). By eliminating waste, the time lapse between a customer’s initial order and its shipment is shortened (Pojasek, 2003). Characteristics of lean manufacturing include understanding waste and the value chain, process mapping, pull production, and continuous improvement (Drohomeretski et al., 2014)

One of the tools that is heavily utilized in the lean manufacturing approach is the value stream map. A value stream map (VSM) is a tool that helps companies produce value by reducing time and costs, and improving quality (Womack, 2006). By using this tool, an organization is able to determine its processing time, lead time, and waste time (difference of the two) and develop a strategy as to how to reduce the waste time, along with costs. Other tools utilized in lean manufacturing include the kaizen approach, 5S (sort,...