Lean Six Sigma
Introducing Lean Six Sigma
Understanding Lean
Understanding Six Sigma
Implementing Lean Six Sigma
Why use the Lean approach?
Why use Lean Six Sigma?
Why use Six Sigma?
Principle of Six Sigma: provide reliable, consistent, dependable products to the customer by focusing on defects, variability, and the customers themselves.
Six Sigma has evolved from a problem solving method to a means of improving the operation at all levels.
Six Sigma is all about changing the way you think not just about the problem, but also the solution.
Variation: If it can be reduced, then less variation means less chance for a defect.
Customer: Six Sigma has multiple progressive certifications that aim to provide a higher level of skill to assist a customer.
Defects: there should be no more than 3.4 defects per million opportunities.
What is Lean? The elimination of all non-value additive activities or waste.
Facilitators: Empowered employees, cross-trained workers, flexible equipment, efficient layouts, standard processes, just-in-time delivery, rapid setup/changeover.
The Elegant Solution: Maximum effect is achieved with the smallest and simplest effort.
Examples of Waste: unnecessary steps/activities, rework, waiting time, unnecessary movement of resources, excess inventory.
The aim of a Lean Six Sigma Company is to simplify the production process across the organization while also eliminating all unnecessary waste.
The Lean principles and the Six Sigma method tackle completely different problems making it difficult to use them together.
Lean Six Sigma is the application of both the Six Sigma method and the principles followed with Lean.
Analyze: The Analyze stage is all about understanding why the problem exists at all.
Improve: The Improve stage is about resolving problems while also improving the performance measure.
Measure: The Measure stage is all about understanding the task at hand.
Control: The Control stage allows for the continuous improvement organization.
Define: When Six Sigma was first designed it made use of the MAIC Method, which means to Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control. Define was later added making it the DMAIC Method.
Design for Six Sigma: The design of six sigma addresses how to improve existing or new processes.
The Define stage was an important addition because it is where the team: conducts the process mapping, outlines the expected accomplishments, and develops financial measurements.
Determining Yield: To know a machines yield you need to know it's scrap rate and rework rate.
Measurement Considerations: Data Collection Methods, Operational Definitions.
Determining Throughput: In order to achieve the desired outcome, you need to determine the throughput. Typically this involves the utilization rate, yield, and process time.
Measurement Tools: Data Collection, Cause-and-effect, diagrams, process mapping, value stream mapping, process control charts, process capability charts, and histograms.
In order to analyze the problem there are first some things you need to understand.
How the process works.
How the process should work.
Yield
Capacity
Cost
Time
Review data such as control charts, capability charts, histograms, and pareto charts.
The Five Why's Technique: a technique that involves asking questions until you reach the root of the problem.
Analyzation Tools: Scatterplots, Time Series Graphs, and Analysis of Variance.
Tools used for improving:
Brainstorming: The group comes up with several solutions and evaluates their effects.
Communicating: The best way to implement a solution is to communicate the changes effectively.
Having the support of the process owner makes implementation much easier.
Following good project management techniques is a good way to properly implement the solution.
Some controls that could be put into place include: Checklists, monthly review meetings, document updates, and more training.
The documentation of all new process and guidance on the monitoring of said process is necessary to assist the process owner.
Mistake prevention is the implementation of a procedure that makes it difficult to make an error.
Mistake Proofing is the implementation of a procedure that does not allow mistakes to be made continuously.
You should always document the gains of improving and just how it affected the process.
The design for Six Sigma uses the DMADV Methodology
Analyze: Analyze customer requirements.
Design: Specify the details of the new process, review process, and refine the new process.
Measure: Meause the critical quality attributes.
Verify: Develop a prototype of the process, implement it, and test it.
Design: Define the process and the issues that need to be addressed.
Quality Function Deployment Approach: An approach that assists the design, manufacturing, and marketing of a new product and it's related processes.
The DMEDI Methodology, which is similar to the DMADV Methodology but under a different name.
Explore
Develop
Measure
Implement
Define
Just-In-Time: A manufacturing approach where raw materials, components, and subassemblies are ordered as needed for production.
Total Productive Maintenance: Maintain and Improve the integrity of productions and the quality of systems.
Five S's
Quality at the Source: Doing the job right when no one is looking.
Lean Metrics
Continuous Improvement: "If you're not getting better, you're getting worse."
The Toyota Lean Manufacturing Approach
Make value flow without interruptions
Allow the customer to pull value
Identify the value stream
Pursue perfection
Determine the Value
Manufacturing Metrics
Better use of resources
Reduced Inventories
Improved Customer Service
Higher Quality Products
Activities and Process Metrics
Reduced waiting times
Improved delivery service
Shine: Keep the work area clean.
Standardize: Establish formal procedures to ensure all steps are performed correctly and consistently.
Set In Order: Arrange materials and tools so that they are easy to find when needed.
Sustain: Continue the standardized process through effective training and communication practices.
Sort: Ensure that each item in a workplace is in its proper place.
Arrange company equipment in a way that allows for higher employee skill with less use of employee resources, for example the U shape.
Pull System: When customer demand drives the output of the factory and its internal operations.
Considerations
Kanban System: A system that uses signals to inform employees that more inventory is needed.
Requires an effective delivery system.
Dependant on standardized work processes.
Single-Minute Exchange of Die: Reducing the amount of time and cost for performing a machine set-up.
Preventative maintenance is much less disruptive to the production flow than longer maintenance procedures.
TPM Ensures:
Machines will not break down unexpectedly.
Scheduled maintenance completed in a timely manner.
Each individual is responsible for the quality of their work and does not allow any issues in their line of work, much like mistake proofing.
Quality at the source benefits:
Quicker delivery to customers
Just-In-Time Delivery
Throughout time decreased
Kaizen: Gradual and orderly continuous improvement.
Kaizen Blitz: Expedited improvements made under tight deadlines.
Continuous improvement approach:
The aim is not to perfect the process, but to make it a little better.
Total Improvement
Training
Operating practices and procedures
Control the Project: Success of a project means controlling the product area.
Applying Lean Six Sigma to Services
Lead the Project: Lean Six Sigma success criteria
Lean Six Sigma for the Supply Chain
Skilled Team Members: The leader must be a skilled and highly accomplished team member.
Supporting Infrastructure: Extensive training programs and resources for continuous improvements are necessary.
Leadership from the top: Leadership must communicate the strategy and demonstrate their support for the activities.
Learn from the successes and failures of each projects.
Leadership Responsibilities: Assignments, team coordination, and performance.
Effective communication being more important than any skill.
Technical expertise is also important for problem solving with the help of Lean Six Sigma.
Project review systems keeps the project on focus of its main goal.
Half of the work done in a typical service process adds no value in the eyes of the customer.
A slow process is usually caused by too much "work in process."
80% of delays is caused by 20% of activities.
Only allow the complexity that the cutomer is willing to pay for.
Causes of Inventory Issues: Poor forecast of demand, supplier problems, capacity issue, transportation company.
Supply Chain Projects: Strategic gaps in performance, cost reduction and cost avoidance, customer issues, regulatory issues, and safety issues.
Successful projects should be replicated throughout the company and its supply chain. Replication is a key to success.