Industries where Lean Six Sigma makes the most significant impact
Lean Six Sigma has been around since the 1980s with varying degrees of success. For many years, it has served just one industry, the automotive industry. Toyota used its key methods as a manufacturing advantage.
In the early 2000s, more industries started noticing the impact of Six Sigma. Auto manufacturers reported profits previously unheard of, while quality indicators were rising. Other manufacturers started investigating the processes implemented by Toyota and experimenting with improvement techniques.
Today, Six Sigma is used in almost every industry. Transportation, Healthcare, Governments, information technology, and even Education have discovered the benefits of continuous improvement.
Measuring a Process
One of the defining facts of Six Sigma is that if something can be measured, it can be improved. This is why it’s such a natural fit for manufacturing. When a product is manufactured, it goes through a series of steps. It will typically go from one stage to the next, being assembled by different people or machinery at each stage.
In 1913, Henry Ford installed the first moving assembly line to mass-produce an entire automobile. His innovation reduced the time it took to build a car from more than 12 hours to one hour and 33 minutes [1]. This process didn’t rely on Six Sigma techniques, just Mr. Ford’s revolutionary idea to improve the manufacturing process. While this assembly line process significantly improved the manufacturing process, it still had many problems.
The assembly line did nothing to improve Ford’s supply chain. It also ignored many factors we consider important today, like safety, re-usability, environmental impact, reliability, and more.
Industries using Six Sigma to their advantage
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the industry best known for using Lean Six Sigma. Lean manufacturing and six sigma methodologies both seek to improve quality and efficiency. They do this by eliminating manufacturing defects and waste. Lean manufacturing uses a five-step process for continuous improvement:
· Identify value
· Create a value stream map
· Generate a process flow
· Develop a “pull” system. It is an on-demand manufacturing process.
Beyond “Lean methods”, Six Sigma focuses on eliminating variation. When you eliminate variation in manufacturing, it results in reduced costs and greater customer satisfaction.
Healthcare
Healthcare was one of the first industries outside of manufacturing to embrace Lean Six Sigma. Lean Thinking and Six Sigma can be combined to provide a practical framework for producing systematic innovation efforts in healthcare. Controlling healthcare cost increases, improving quality, and providing better healthcare are some of the benefits of this approach [2].
Medical errors in the United States contribute to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people annually. The cost to the healthcare industry is over $17.1 billion each year.
Implementing Six Sigma within healthcare has been shown to:
· Shorten wait times in emergency rooms and general doctor visits
· Prevent falls and injuries
· Reduce medication errors when prescribing and administering drugs
· Improved turnaround time for lab results
Logistics
Businesses implemented Six Sigma in Logistics and transportation because it was an intricate part of improving manufacturing. Suppliers need a way to deliver products to manufacturing facilities on a needs basis. As more manufacturers started to pull inventory through their supply chain on an as-needed basis, transportation companies needed to match supply with demand.
Government (Federal and State)
Government agencies have invested heavily in Lean Six Sigma over the last 10 years. Here are just a few examples of the many government agencies using Six Sigma to save taxpayer dollars.
· EPA
· Miami-Dade County
· Nebraska Dept of Administrative Services
· NASA
· USDA
· Houston Tx
· USPS
Information Technology
Information technology has embraced Lean because it works well with software development. Developers can use the DMAIC to align software development cycles and establish clear roles. I.T. practitioners help organizational leaders incorporate a proactive, data-driven Six Sigma culture. They do this in a manner that has the least resistance in terms of technological change.
Organizations talking about Six Sigma
Initially implemented at GE in the 1990s by Jack Welch, Six Sigma took GE by storm. Company leadership was required to support the initiative 100 percent. Leaders were required to take a 13-day, 100 hour training program and integrate improvement methods within their departments.
Six Sigma was so ingrained into every aspect of GE, that it was famously parodied on the TV show 30 Rock. Jack Donaghy used his Six Sigma Wheel of Happiness in the episode to tackle life’s biggest problems.
Another organization that focuses on Lean Six Sigma is Siemens. Siemens uses a manufacturing operations management system (MOM). It incorporates six sigma software and the six sigma methodology. You can learn more about Siemens use case here: Siemens
Why the Six Sigma Champion is so important
Many organizations have implemented Six Sigma over the past 20 years. Many succeed, any some fail. For the projects that fail, one of the primary reasons is the lack of a Six Sigma Champion. Companies either skip the position of Champion altogether or select someone who isn’t suitable for the role.
The Six Sigma Champion is the go-between for the Six Sigma Black Belt and the project stakeholders. The Champion must have sufficient leverage within the company to remove roadblocks. What are roadblocks? The most common roadblock is financial. The second most common roadblock is a lack of buy-in. Let’s discuss both briefly.
Financial Roadblock
o To save money, sometimes you need to spend it. It may be new equipment, rearranging a warehouse, or making personnel changes. The project Champion must have access to financial decision makers. This usually means direct access to the CEO and all departments in the company. A good example would be a vice-president or director. Sometimes the CEO will even take on the role.
Buy-In
Everyone within the company must believe in a Lean Six Sigma project for it to work. Change is challenging however, and most companies find some resistance. Champions must know how to motivate and encourage everyone in the organization to participate. Employees often fear layoffs when they hear words like “continuous improvement”, so champions must clearly break down the reason for the project, and the expected results.
The Y=f(x) equation and the “old days” of Six Sigma
Okay, we can’t really say the Y=f(x) equation is outdated. In fact, it sort of sits at the very heart of the DMAIC method. You can break it down like this:
· Define: How to understand the Y (the outcome), and how to measure it.
· Measure: Helps to prioritize the potential x’s and measure the x’s and Y.
· Analyze: How to test the relationship between x and Y. You can then verify and what the important x’s are.
· Improve: Implementing fixes to help Y and address the x’s.
· Control: Monitoring x and Y over time.
When we say the “old days”, we’re implying that much of the work today is handled by computers. Six Sigma Black Belt’s and continuous improvement professionals must still understand the basics, but software and the introduction of A.I. is making implementation easier than ever.
Is every organization using the Belts ranking system?
If you’ve made it this far in the article, you’re probably aware that team members on a project have belts to indicate their role. Contrary to belief, these belt designations aren’t necessary for the success of a Six Sigma project. Small projects, like Kaizen Sprints, don’t use the belt system since the projects are so collaborative. Large organizations still use the belt system however, since it helps to define everyone’s role on the project.
Where Can You Find Training
Many organizations now exist to provide Six Sigma training and Six Sigma certification. You’ll find in-person training, online training, training at colleges, and even within companies themselves.
In-Person Training:
· 6Sigma.us — delivers Six Sigma Class Scheduled programs at over 20 locations.
· ASQ.org — ASQ provides all levels of Six Sigma training. Choose from a wide variety of beginner to advanced course.
Online Training:
· Management and Strategy Institute — Official Six Sigma certification organization for hundreds of companies in the US and internationally.
· Greycampus.com — Provides all levels of Six Sigma training.
· Udemy.com — Large selection of Six Sigma programs and options from multiple providers.
Universities (May offer online and in-person options)
· Drexel University, Goodwin College — Technical Skills courses are offered in-person, or in some cases, a hybrid of in-person and online. Essential Skills courses are self-paced and offered entirely online.
· Penn State, Great Valley — Lean Six Sigma is fundamental for continuous improvement in any service industry, technology group, health care sector, office environment, or manufacturing business.
· Purdue University — Add value to your organization, acquire the expertise companies seek, build industry connections, and earn CEUs.
· Butler Community College — Prepare for application of Six Sigma Black Belt principles and techniques
· University of Michigan, College of Engineering — Learn how to effectively solve problems by integrating Lean and Six Sigma within the DMAIC approach.
· UMass Amherst — Become a Lean Six Sigma Expert. Post Graduate Program in Lean Six Sigma.
References:
[1] https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fords-assembly-line-starts-rolling
