Lean Six Sigma Principles: Understanding the Core Elements

Lean Six Sigma combines Lean Management and Six Sigma principles to increase operational efficiency. Lean management focuses on eliminating waste, while Six Sigma focuses on reducing process defects to a negligible level. Combining these principles gives you a business that minimizes waste and delivers high-quality products, leading to increased profits and customer satisfaction.

This article will explain the core principles of Lean Six Sigma that you should know.

Learn more about our Lean and Six Sigma training.

What is Lean Management?

Lean management is a set of techniques for increasing product quality and efficiency by identifying and eliminating waste. It centers on identifying and removing any non-value-adding activities and leaving only the necessary ones. Reduced waste translates to better product delivery times, quality, and profits.

What is Six Sigma?

Six Sigma is a unique set of techniques for improving business processes. It centers on analyzing business processes to identify and eliminate defects. Six Sigma was developed in the 1980s by an American engineer named Bill Smith while he worked at Motorola, then the world’s leading mobile manufacturer. Though initially designed for the manufacturing sector, Six Sigma has since spread to many other industries with the same goal of reducing product defects and improving quality.

Lean Six Sigma Principles

Lean Six Sigma has five main principles, including

1. Focus on the customer

The customer must be the center of your business. Regardless of your sector, the end goal remains to give customers what they want. Hence, every business process should revolve around your customers’ needs, and you need reliable data about them.

For instance, you can conduct surveys and interviews to determine what customers want. Then, you’ll convert the collected data into formal design principles when creating the product. Every decision made during product development should revolve around delivering maximum value to the customer.

2. Analyze the process and identify problems

Improving a process starts with analyzing every step. Take a deep dive into your business workflow and examine which steps add value and which do not. Lean Six Sigma requires removing non-value-adding processes to cut costs and deliver products faster.

You must also analyze the process to identify any defects. Formally document every defect you observe because you’ll need it in the next step.

3. Remove bottlenecks

Your team should collaborate to brainstorm solutions to the issues identified in the preceding step. Waste can’t be eliminated by wish– you need creative solutions to remove the non-value-adding processes without disrupting the workflow. You also need innovative solutions to solve the defects you identified.

When your team comes up with potential solutions, you can first test these solutions on a micro level. If you observe any problems at the micro stage, it’s a signal to return to the drawing board to fix the issue. If no problems are observed, you can implement the solutions at the macro level and improve the workflow.

4. Communicate clearly and carry all team members along

Lean Six Sigma requires clear communication and collaboration between all team members. No one can be left behind, or they risk disrupting the improvements due to their lack of knowledge. Ensure you document every identified waste and defective process and the steps implemented to solve them. This way, even if a new person joins the team, they can study the documentation and have a good idea about what’s happening.

5. Adaptability and flexibility

Lean Six Sigma embraces change. Don’t be hesitant to tweak any process you identify as faulty or inefficient. Change can be painful in the short term, but it’ll likely generate excellent results in the long term. Always stay adaptable and be ready to implement the required changes to improve operational efficiency.

Final Words

Applying Lean Six Sigma principles helps any business boost its operational efficiency, and we’ve explained the core principles. If you’re looking for formal Lean Six Sigma training, look no further than us here at 6Sigma. We offer Lean Six Sigma courses from the White to the Master Black Belt, imparting valuable knowledge to help you build a successful long-term business.