Bruce Williams

To understand how to apply Lean in any organization, you should know the basics: the principles, the definitions of value and waste, how to lead effectively, and how to define and improve the value stream. You should also be aware of how a Lean leader thinks and acts.What is Lean?Lean is a customer-centric methodology used to continuously improve any process through the elimination of waste in everything you do; it is based on the ideas of “Continuous Incremental Improvement” and “Respect for People.

To apply Six Sigma to your business and produce the best results, you need to understand what Six Sigma is, the principles of Six Sigma, and the DMAIC problem-solving method. The correct tools and use of the Six Sigma scale and methods will keep your data dependable and reusable.What is Six Sigma?Generally, Six Sigma is a set of techniques and tools that help businesses improve their processes.

A cause-and-effect matrix — sometimes called a C&E matrix for short — helps you discover which factors affect the outcomes of your Six Sigma initiative. It provides a way of mapping out how value is transmitted from the input factors of your system (the Xs) to the process or product outputs (the Ys). With these relationships visible and quantified, you can readily discover the most-influential factors contributing to value.

To begin understanding the technical side of Six Sigma, you have to first answer a seemingly straightforward question: What is quality? A traditional and widely held definition of quality is Quality = compliance with specifications The following mental experiment walks through the traditional definition of quality and highlights why measuring quality this way is a flawed approach.

When defining a project, you get into the nuts and bolts of Six Sigma. Doing this step right is well worth your time because 50 percent of your project’s success depends on how well it’s defined! Different people can be part of defining a potential project, including the following: Champions Belts Process leaders Functional managers or process owners Note: Any employee can suggest a Six Sigma improvement project, but have one of the people in this list consider and sponsor the project.

After you know what your problem statement is and how much improvement you’re aiming for with Six Sigma, you’re ready to craft your objective statement. Your objective statement spells out the specific, quantifiable amount of improvement planned above the baseline performance that was indicated in the problem statement.

The problem statement serves several purposes in a Six Sigma project. First, it significantly clarifies the current situation by specifically identifying the problem and its severity, location, and financial impact. It also serves as a great communication tool, helping to get buy-in and support from others. When problem statements are well written, people readily grasp and understand what you’re trying to accomplish.

For Six Sigma, 5S can be invaluable for reducing waste. High-performing processes and workplaces are always characterized by organization and cleanliness. The whole point is to reduce or keep out waste, and the method that helps you with that is called 5S. The process behind 5S began decades ago in Japan as a means of immediately engaging frontline process teams in the daily work of improvement.

The term Kaizen is derived from two Japanese characters; kai, meaning “change” and zen meaning “continuous improvement.” Eliminating waste in the value stream is the goal of Kaizen. The PDCA (or PDSA) Cycle is the Lean working structure –the system for executing Kaizen. The acronym stands for: Plan. Create a plan for change, identifying specifically what you want to change.