Lean Six Sigma

About: Lean Six Sigma is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 1919 publications have been published within this topic receiving 29142 citations.

Integração do seis sigma com o lean production: uma análise por meio de múltiplos casos

Abstract: The intense competition between markets has taken companies, regardless of their size, to implement one or more quality improvement programs. One of the main purposes of these programs is the enhancement of company effectiveness and efficiency. There is today a growing interested in a proposal named Lean Six Sigma. Their objective is to apply six sigma concepts integrated with Lean Production. A model named Lean Six Sigma has raised interest, once its objective is to apply the concepts of the Six Sigma program integrating them with the principles of Lean Production. Six Sigma contributes with methods for problem identification, measurement and analysis, and the Lean Production offers techniques and procedures applied to reduce waste in the production. In this context, this paper aims at demonstrating the results of a field research, from which purpose was to identify relevant factors for Six Sigma implementation combined with Lean Production. To meet these objectives, three organizations from different industrial sectors were investigated. It was verified that in two of those companies, the programs were successfully implemented. Based on data analysis, it is possible to identify that one of the major difficulties encountered by the program leaders is related to the company’s human resources infra-structure. It is necessary to take into account that the conclusions are limited to a small sample of three units of analysis. However, this work offers the possibility of an analytical generalization.

A Research Study on How Project Management Can Help Improve Lean Six Sigma: A Proposed Approach

Abstract: Today, project managers are challenged with improving efficiency and overall productivity while working on certain tasks. They must be flexible and understand how to use tools and methods to improv...

Lean Six Sigma and innovation: comparison and relationship

Abstract: The success of an organisation is directly related to the effectiveness of its creation of innovative products or processes and its implementation of continuous improvement (CI) to improve such products or processes. For any manufacturing or service organisation, lean Six Sigma (LSS) and innovation are important approaches. Effective understanding of these methodologies and their relationship will provide an industry with a competitive advantage. Many industrial organisations today are using LSS as the core for their improvement efforts. Also, an increasing number of organisations are setting up programs to transform their culture into an innovative culture. There is a lot of dispute about how they relate to each other, what the common grounds are, as well as their differences. As such, the relationship between LSS and innovation, as well as the development of an integrated model for both, are worth further investigation.

Digital transformations and supply chain management: a Lean Six Sigma perspective

Abstract: Purpose With the advent of technological connectivity and access to massive data, the possibilities of augmenting Lean Six Sigma’s Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control (LSS’s DMAIC) problem-solving approach with advanced technologies are enormous. This paper aims to examine digital transformations (DT) of supply chains from a process improvement angle using the LSS DMAIC approach. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a case study approach. Three exemplary case studies were examined to shed light on how LSS can aid in DT to achieve enterprise-wide improvements and enhance value across the supply chains. Findings The paper provides a conceptual framework based on a structured DMAIC problem-solving approach to drive improvements in supply chains. The conceptual framework also provides a systematic approach for big data to be integrated in LSS initiatives to achieve greater supply chain performance. Originality/value This paper extends research in LSS supply chains by providing a guidance through a conceptual framework that integrate DT and LSS supply chains to support successful digital transformation and LSS supply chains.

Productivity improvement by reduction of idle time through application of queuing theory

Abstract: In Lean Six Sigma one of the primary objectives is to identify and eliminate the waiting or idle time for enhancing productivity and reducing production cost. However, in some situations it is better to replace ‘elimination’ by ‘optimization’ due to the presence of conflicting requirements. Optimization techniques in the form of queuing models are quite useful to resolve this conflict. In an Indian textile manufacturing plant, the waiting (idle) time in the winding process is identified as a reason for high production cost. In this situation, it is to be determined as to how many machines are to be assigned to an operator for reducing waiting or idle time of both the operators and the machines leading to reduced production cost. The situation can be compared and contrasted to a machine repairman problem aiming for optimizing the number of machines per operator. The various process parameters have been estimated and suitably modified or derived to serve as inputs to the Queuing Model. Sensitivity analysis has been carried out to identify and control the significant factors. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate through an application of queuing models the procedure of optimizing the waiting or idle time. Consequently, the focus is on the application of optimization techniques like Queuing Theory and Simulation while implementing lean six sigma.