Lean and Lean Six Sigma Practice

Lean and Lean Six Sigma are methodologies that companies apply to ALL aspects of business. .  The fundamental basis for the success of Lean and Lean Six Sigma methods in all facets of an organization is the ability to identify waste, reduce it, and aggressively go for the elimination of non-value added activities and improve response to that business’ customer base, whether internal or external. Lean methods have been proven since the beginning of the industrial revolution, and were quantified and fined tuned during the 1950’s and 60’s to the current available Lean methods available to businesses.  Six Sigma Lean methods are designed to yield benefits quickly by supporting the optimum methodology matched to a company’s business objectives and needs while establishing a sustainable process for ongoing improvement.

Typically, once companies eliminate steps that don’t have value, or the noise, from a process using Lean methodologies, they discover the need for even more advanced methods of uncovering the root cause of abnormalities or variation. And they look to Six Sigma. Or they discover that every problem is not a Six Sigma problem, and that Lean is necessary to identify and eliminate the non-value aspects of organizational activities and the waste inherent in their business processes.

Lean looks at the entire Value Stream in terms of time and flow. We use the elimination of waste as a basic principle to reduce the time it takes to produce the product (a product can be a physical product or a service), which increases the flow of the product through the process. As you look at the flow of the product, some of the delays will invariably be quality problems that cause rework, scrap, and extra cost. Six Sigma problem-solving tools are needed to solve these quality problems (reduce variation and defects).

Clients quickly discover that Lean Six Sigma delivers faster results as it establishes baseline performance levels and focuses powerful statistical tools where they will have the most impact.

Lean Six Sigma practices can Eliminate Waste, Decrease Lead Times, Increase Velocity, Reduce Variation, Achieve Near-Perfect Quality, and Lower Costs

SQC’s consulting designed around the common problem-solving framework of the DMAIC method (design, measure, analyze, improve, and control), leverages the combined strengths of Lean and Six Sigma and brings to bear statistical tools so that potential causes are not overlooked, and effective solutions to chronic problems can be implemented. The benefits include lower costs, less time/quicker response/greater flexibility, and greatly improved quality. Our methods are quantitative and bring to light further areas of opportunity where Six Sigma projects can be taken advantage of. Understanding and comprehension are important first steps towards guaranteeing success in implementing Lean and Lean Six Sigma programs. 

Lean Six Sigma for Service

What surprises many executives is that Lean Six Sigma has far more potential in service businesses, when compared to traditional product/manufacturing companies. Not only is the average project value higher, but gains can often be multiplied by replicating improvements across a large volume of customers (millions of banking customers, insurance subscribers, etc).

Typically, as much as 30-50% of the cost in a service organization is tied up in delays, mistakes and rework done to solve problems for customers. Our unique Lean Six Sigma for Service approach attacks these issues to:

* Speed up service delivery time by as much as 50%
* Reduce your company's service costs by 30-60%
* Expand capacity by 20% -- without adding staff

What is unique about our approach?

Our approach, methodology and curriculum are all built from the ground up to fit service environments. We have worked with leading service companies across a wide spectrum of industries and environments. This experience gives us insight into successful execution strategies in a wide range of environments and cultures. We leverage thought leadership from our other key practices, Fast Innovation and Conquering Complexity, to provide our clients with the best methods to combine strategic insight, operational execution, and the development of enduring management capability. The result: our clients achieve and sustain superior shareholder returns

In addition to consulting and assessment, we also offer instruction geared to meeting the specific needs of the participants to build the foundation for driving successful process improvement initiatives. Typical Workshops include:

Lean Flow Course
Building the Foundation for Success
Driving for Value
The Process View of Lean Flow and Lean Six Sigma
The Rapid Implementation Process of Lean Flow and Lean Six Sigma
Lean Six Sigma through the Supply Chain
Lean Service with Data  
Lean Master