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How Is Lean Different From Six Sigma

Lean Vs Six Sigma

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Ahmed M Amin
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22 views3 pages

How Is Lean Different From Six Sigma

Lean Vs Six Sigma

Uploaded by

Ahmed M Amin
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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How is Lean different from Six Sigma?

OK, so in here lets us have a broad overview which traces the roots of Lean and Six Sigma and
the differences between the two:

A Visual Overview …

Let’s Talk about Lean First:

Lean is a process improvement Philosophy which got high impetus in the 60’s onwards in Japan
with Organizations like Toyota and Mitsubishi and its foundations and evolution can be traced in
the TPS or the “Toyota Production System”. The evolution of Lean has occurred both
individually and as a trusted partner of six sigma. Lean is a collection of well put together tools
and techniques, that get the job done for a quality consultant, but it is a solid philosophy which is
built on the ideas of JIT - Just In Time (very briefly: stream line production processes, like
Kanban) and Jidoka (again very briefly: autonomous and self-correcting behaviors in systems,
Poka Yoke roots can be traced to Jidoka)

Putting the jargon aside, the short and sweet Crux of the matter is that Lean emphasizes on
cutting down on wasteful processes while simultaneously adding value added processes to
improve customer satisfaction levels. Lean Enterprises strive for continuous improvements by
gradual but connected quick wins. Manufacturing floors/production-areas use intuitive
Scheduling and Leveling techniques to reduce production imbalances, track simple and intuitive
metrics like “Takt-time”, “Changeover Time” etc., these are all topics which demand greater
details to truly understand nuances therein, and i usually take these all up in detail during our
Lean Six Sigma Workshops, including online courses for both the Lean Six Sigma Green Belt
Certification and Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification.
Lean often uses simple intuitive techniques and best practices to increase efficiency, for
example, the simplest of techniques is simply called 3M (first used by Toyota) which looks for
just 3 simple conditions on any production/service floor and tries to eliminate those:

 Muda: Means “Waste” and seek to eliminate “muda” in its many forms to improve
processes, whether a waste of time, excess production or movements or inventory etc.

 Muri: Means “overburden” and a continuous exposure to this state will inevitably result
in breakdowns or simply absenteeism in equipment and people respectively.

 Mura: Means “unevenness” refers to unevenness in workloads of individuals or


production stage performances. Fluctuations in demand/supply also causes this.

Now, let’s talk about six sigma…,

Six Sigma was term coined by Motorola for their group of Project-Management and statistical
techniques used to create processes with very low defect count such as 3.4 DPMO (Defects per
million opportunities) for a six sigma process. Among Early adopters of Six Sigma were
organizations like GE and Honeywell.

The core six sigma mechanics can be summarized via the following step by step approach called
DMAIC to improve your processes. DMAIC can be considered as a project management
technique as it represents the following phases of a six sigma improvement project:

1. Define: Define The Problem Objectively (What are the key data points).
2. Measure: Measure the numbers related to the problem (Key Process Inputs /
Outputs).
3. Analyze: Work on numbers to see what works and what does not, how end
quality is getting impacted in the current process.
4. Improve: Brainstorm, Pilot and Apply the data-based knowledge to improve
your process.
5. Control: Sustain the improvements and institutionalize them.

Six Sigma has today evolved to encapsulate many excellent industry best practices and is an
excellent set of problem solving methodologies which can be used irrespective of Industry type
to improve your organizational / personal quality levels as well as an increase in customer
connect and satisfaction.
The below table summarizes some of the numbers used to define various six sigma levels and
what they correspond to ..

Coming to the Methodology, It is a problem-solving methodology encapsulated ( mind my IT


background manners please ) in a Project Management methodology and seeks to reduce
errors/defects and reduce process variations. The methods used in here are statistical based and
numbers speak on improvements in terms of dollars/rupees saved by an organization.

At ProSigma you will find that you will learn mostly by experience and interactivity and our
Lean Focus is simply unparalleled in India, and we make it available via a range of lean six
sigma programs designed to cater to every level of professional. However, before we conclude
this blog, for those interested in more such topics should try our and 100% Online and Free
Lean Six Sigma White Belt Certification,

There is no charge/hidden cost of any type, no bothersome follow-up emails, and you also get a
Certificate after a short online exam (also free), to brighten up your credentials on any online
platform such as LinkedIn for free (we bear the hosting cost of the certificate online, no
questions asked).

Cheers,

Kamal Chopra

Founder and CEO - ProSigma

India’s Best Lean Six Sigma Certifications

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