It has been said that Lean Six Sigma is nothing more than Six Sigma (DMAIC) with a few Lean tools sprinkled in. Five years ago this may have been true, but today it is not. Lean Six Sigma has become a hybridized solution – the result of two systems that have naturally evolved into one blended approach, like the cell phone and handheld computer evolved into the PDA.

The blending of Lean and Six Sigma is the result of many organizations applying each approach in isolation, and a critical mass of practitioners becoming proficient in one methodology or the other. A few enterprising companies – including AlliedSignal and Maytag – soon realized that integrating Lean and Six Sigma would provide a great deal of synergy and allow the initiative to be deployed and executed in a more cost-effective manner. As with any true hybrid, the functionality of the whole always exceeds the sum
of its parts, and Lean Six Sigma is no exception.

Doing Business Faster and Better

Lean Six Sigma provides a world-class approach for doing business faster and better – critical building blocks for value creation and operational excellence.

Many organizations apply Six Sigma to reduce defects and errors. In general, it’s used to optimize processes so they function at their full capability at all times. Thus, Six Sigma tends to address mile-deep, inch-wide problems resulting from complex cause-and-effect systems (like uncovering the cause of a defective tire, or taking variability out of the triage process).

On the other hand, Lean techniques help companies do business faster by attacking bottlenecks and delays caused by organizational waste. As a result, Lean tends to address inch-deep, mile-wide issues that usually, but not always, cross several processes (like improving productivity at a call center, or organizing a factory floor).

Since most organizations have issues related to both time and defects, it makes sense to combine the strengths of Lean and Six Sigma. When a company masters the complete Lean Six Sigma tool set, it enjoys greater flexibility and the power to address a wider variety of operational issues regardless of their nature.

The Right Tool for the Job

In practice, many Six Sigma projects have been turbo-charged with “quick-hit” Lean tools. And Lean Kaizen events frequently uncover problems with process variability, or find defects that need to be corrected to reduce cycle times. Even so, a world-class organization doesn’t limit itself to thinking in terms of one or the other. As Bob Crescenzi, the VP of Business Excellence for NewPage Corporation imparts in this month’s Ask an Expert column, “The tool is not what’s important. What’s important is the problem you’re trying to solve, and equipping the belts with the ability to pick the right tool to fix what’s wrong.”

Rather than using an ad hoc approach by doing a few Kaizen events along with your Six Sigma deployment, or training one Black Belt alongside your Lean practitioners, a structured approach can help you leverage the best of both methodologies. At the very least, you should have a consistent process for determining which approach (DMAIC project, Kaizen event, etc.) is best suited to solve a particular problem. A flow chart like the one below encompasses a variety of methods to help you determine how to approach potential projects.

The Big Picture

Of course, there is a risk in simply training Lean Six Sigma practitioners and assigning projects to them without a well-conceived program framework. When organizations just charge forward with an array of Lean Six Sigma projects, the results can be less than desirable – confusion over roles and responsibilities, duplicated efforts, resistance to change and lack of alignment with strategic objectives. 

Fortunately, Lean Six Sigma can be easily integrated into any existing Performance Excellence initiative. Whether it becomes the way your business is run, or just another tool in your toolbox, you’ll find that Lean Six Sigma is a valuable instrument to help enact swift and effective process change, and to sustain that change over time.