5 Lean Six Sigma Tools that Apply to All Processes
Lean six sigma is a highly data oriented subject which analyses data to comprehend problems & identify customer needs. It helps measure the defects & cause behind, accompanying waste reduction. This is done with the help of LSS methodologies & tools. From many tools that can be useful to organizations, we will discuss a few which have been found most valuable.
5S: Being a workplace paradigm, it aligns towards improving safety, reducing waste & streamlining the flow of value to the customers. 5S absorbs in it the principles of Sort, Straighten, Shine, Standardize & Sustain. It helps remove what’s no longer needed (sort), organize things to increase efficiency (straighten), maintain cleanliness to help identify problems easily (shine), implement coding & labels to maintain consistency with other areas (standardize) & control the organized environment for long term (sustain).
A3 Report: It documents background, current flow of process, analysis, goals, recommendations & implementation plan in one-page. The data incorporated comes from many sources to form this actionable document. So, it has everything needed to make decisions & report for a particular process.
Control Charts: It represent the baseline, considering which improvement can be initiated. It does so by enabling visualization of outputs of a process. It has upper & lower control limits which helps recognize common cause variation that indicates the process has not changed & special cause variation that indicates a problem or shift in the process.
Standard Work: To achieve consistent & predictable results, it is necessary to maintain uniformity in the performance of process. This is attained by developing, documenting & enforcing standard work. So, it represents the present best practice for performing individual part of the process. It even turns out to be the baseline upon which improvement is measured.
Value Stream Mapping: Value is something that a customer is willing to pay for. This tool ensures that every part of the process delivers value to the customer. Here the current process is documented first, then steps or resources that does not produce value are targeted & eliminated.
From the list of many, these are few LSS tools that can be applied to all processes independently or together to achieve quantifiable business goals in terms of cost savings, quality improvement & increased customer satisfaction.
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