Lean Six Sigma: What Is It?

Posted on24. Apr, 2009 by carolesf.

Lean and Six Sigma

Most people in business today have heard the term “Six Sigma.”  Over the past few years, though, we’ve also begun to see the term “Lean Six Sigma.”  You may be wondering, “What exactly is Lean Six Sigma?  Is it different from “regular” Six Sigma?”

Originally, Lean and Six Sigma were seen as competing methods.  The Lean approach focused on minimizing lead time for a given process, seeking speed and efficiency.  Six Sigma focused on minimizing variability in a given process, seeking to minimize minimizing defects in output.  Followers of each approach were quick to point out the shortcomings of the other method.  A Lean process could still produce poor-quality outputs; and a Six Sigma process may not necessarily have been faster or more efficient than the process it replaced.

But why should you have to choose between quality and speed?  Shouldn’t the ideal business process result in both quality and speed?

This realization led business leaders to see Lean and Six Sigma as the complementary tools that they are.  Using the integrated Lean Six Sigma approach, a company can improve both efficiency and quality — at the same time.

Sound good?  Broadly speaking, here’s how Lean Six Sigma works.

The basic problem-solving framework is known as DMAIC:  Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control. 

Define & Measure: 

Identify the process and problem we want to work on.  Then, measure the extent of the problem. 

For the target process, the Black Belt leading the project will produce a an As-Is map.  The idea here is to capture the process as it currently exists.  Not as it was designed to be.  Not as we wish it could be.  But as it is.  (This is typically quite an eye-opening exercise.)  The value stream map identifies costs in the process. 

Analyze

Next, the Black Belt will want to capture the voice of the customer, to identify issues that are critical to quality — in the customer’s eyes.  Remember, the customer is the key stakeholder in any business process.  If the business doesn’t keep its customers happy, none of the other stakeholders will be around for long.  Therefore, the costs in the value stream map can be put into one of two bins from the customer’s perspective:  Either value-add or non-value-add costs.  In other words, ask yourself this question about any of the identified process costs:  “Will the customer be willing to pay for this?”  If YES, it’s a value-add cost.  If NO — get rid of it; it’s a non-value-add cost. 

Here I want to remind you of something I said in an earlier post:  Defects are a waste that the customer does not want to pay for.  This fact illustrates why the Lean and Six Sigma methods of process improvement, in reality, work so well together:  Both approaches zero in on this point. 

Improve:

Now that the Lean Six Sigma team has identified areas of wasted cost, wasted time, and/or sources of defect-producing variability, we can revisit the process map.  Now we define what the process should look like. 

Control:

The team’s work doesn’t end with a new and improved process map.  We must also consider how to avoid a similar problem in the future, and how to recognize it more quickly if it does occur.  In other words, we must ensure that we can maintain control over this new process as it is moved from the Powerpoint slide into the real world.  This is the Control phase of the DMAIC framework. 

If the Lean Six Sigma team has done its job well, the new process should be shorter, faster, less costly, and more effective than the old process.

Welcome back to Lean Six Sigma Source! Thanks for your continued support.

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Voice of the Customer: Do you have super Sonic hearing?

Posted on01. Jan, 2009 by Monique.

The Voice of the Customer is the primary reason for engaging in continuous improvement efforts. Happy customers are critical to long term growth and profitability.  As Lean Six Sigma practitioners we must always make sure the Voice of the Customer (VOC) remains paramount in the evaluation of existing processes and the design of new processes.  Challenge yourself to listen to the customer.  Does the customer have any frequently asked questions or challenges?  What can be done to improve the customer’s experience?

During my last visit to Sonic America’s Drive-In, I noticed some really great things about the new menu design.

Healthy Meal Selections

As a parent of a pre-schooler, I really appreciated the new side options for the kid’s meal.  The kid’s meal now includes a choice of a fresh banana, string cheese, or milk.  Fresh fruit and dairy sides for kid’s meal is a trend that has been adopted by other fast food restaurants such as MacDonald’s, Wendy’s, and Subway.   This new menu selection will enable Sonic to compete with other chains that market to health conscious parents.  In addition, Sonic now offers fresh bananas on the Dollar Menu for customers who may want a quick snack with a beverage.

Happy Hour Drink Specials

During my visits to Sonic’s happy hour, I have often asked myself, “Which drinks are half-price?”  In response to a frequently asked question, Sonic has an answer in it’s new menu layout.  Beside each happy hour drink there is an icon on a clock.  The icon represents that this is a happy hour drink.  I no longer have to ask or wonder.  This is a great example of how we can use lean and visual displays to improve customer experience. 

Placement of the Treat Menu 

The treat menu is now located above the main menu on the driver’s side.  The treat menu used to be on the bottom right-hand side with a darker blue background.  Now, it has a lighter blue background and is easier to see than the passenger side menu board.   I used to have a difficult time seeing the passenger side menu when I was sitting in the driver’s seat.  This simple placement change is most likely the result of visual display research with the goal of drawing attention to the meal options because the meal options take up most of the menu board.

So, are you listening? 

The changes implemented on Sonic’s new menu are responses to customer frequently asked questions and business metrics.  I can’t help, but recognize how much putting bananas on the dollar menu will help Sonic reduce costs related to perishable good storage.  From a business prospective, people feel good about making healthy food choices and it would not hurt to reduce your perishable good waste.  The more people that order bananas as a side that’s fewer bananas to trash because they go bad.  It’s a win-win for the customer and Sonic.  So the next time, you go to Sonic think about all the hard work and effort Lean Six Sigma practitioners make to keep customers happy and want to come back.  It’s simple, listen to the voice of the customer.

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