The Core Concepts of Lean Six Sigma

Lean manufacturing is a management philosophy focusing on reduction of the seven wastes (Over-production, Waiting time, Transportation, Processing, Inventory, Motion and Scrap) in manufactured products or any type of business. By eliminating waste (muda), quality is improved, production time is reduced and cost is reduced. Lean “tools” include constant process analysis (kaizen), “pull” production (by means of kanban) and mistake-proofing (poka-yoke). Lean, as a management philosophy, is also very focused on creating a better workplace through the Toyota principle of “respect for humanity.”

The five core concepts of lean are:
1. Specify value in the eyes of the customer
2. Identify the value stream and eliminate waste
3. Make value flow at the pull of the customer
4. Involve and empower employees
5. Continuously improve in the pursuit of perfection.

And the key lean manufacturing principles are:

• Perfect first-time quality – quest for zero defects, revealing & solving problems at the source
• Waste minimization – eliminating all activities that do not add value & safety nets, maximize use of scarce resources (capital, people and land)
• Continuous improvement – reducing costs, improving quality, increasing productivity and information sharing
• Pull processing: products are pulled from the consumer end, not pushed from the production end
• Flexibility – producing different mixes or greater diversity of products quickly, without sacrificing efficiency at lower volumes of production
• Building and maintaining a long term relationship with suppliers through collaborative risk sharing, cost sharing and information sharing arrangements.

Six sigma kicks in when undertaking the drive for perfection by reducing variation.

Why Lean and Six Sigma

• Six Sigma will eliminate defects but it will not address the question of how to optimise process flow
• Lean principles exclude the advanced statistical tools often required to achieve the process capabilities needed to be truly lean
• Each approach can result in dramatic improvement, while utilizing both methods simultaneously holds the promise of being able to address all types of process problems with the most appropriate toolkit.

For example, inventory reduction not only requires reducing batch sizes and linking operations by using Lean, but also minimizing process variation by utilizing Six Sigma tools.

Resources
This is an excellent presentation (pdf file) which describes:
1. The origins of Lean and Six Sigma,
2. What makes Lean Six Sigma effective,
3. How organizations are implementing it,
4. Some keys to success.

And here and here are some free chapters from leading Lean Six Sigma publications.

Finally, this article (pdf file) offers a useful comparison of not only Six Sigma and Lean but also of the Theory of Constraints.

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