Lean Six Sigma Methodology
Two methods of improving a business are Six Sigma and lean manufacturing (also known as just "lean"), and in the past few years the two have been combined into a more powerful methodology, Lean Six Sigma.
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Lean
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Lean, known best from its use at Toyota, is the reduction of waste in any process to maximize profit and reduce costs. Its tools identify where the "sleeping dollars" are and how best to wake them up and put them to use.
Six Sigma
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Six Sigma tools, brought to the forefront by GE, are used to find and eliminate process variation. The phrase "Six Sigma" refers to the mathematical concept of making only 3.4 defects per million opportunities (99.99966 percent good).
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DMAIC: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control
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The acronym DMAIC is the project flow of every Six Sigma effort. It involves defining the problem, understanding how to measure the effects of the project, analyzing the process through experimentation, improving the process based on the solution and putting controls in place to maintain the improvement.
Lean, The "IC" of DMAIC
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Lean's techniques of optimizing a process fit into D.M.A.I.C. as the foundation of sustaining the improvements. Implementing things such as standard work, improved walk patterns and better tool organization reduces the chances of falling back into the "bad" process.
Lean's Incorporation Into Six Sigma Training
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Lean has proven itself such a good fit with Six Sigma that it is taught throughout the various levels of Six Sigma certification (White Belt, Yellow Belt, Green Belt, Black Belt and Master Black Belt).
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