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.

The application of Lean Six Sigma to improve a business process: A study of the order processing process at an automobile manufacturing facility

Abstract: ...........................................................................................................................v LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................. ix LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................x LIST OF SYMBOLS ............................................................................................................... xi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................1 1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY .......................................................................................2 1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT ...........................................................................................3 1.3 PURPOSE OF STUDY ................................................................................................4 1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ...........................................................................................4 1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY .......................................................................................4 1.6 DEFINITION OF TERMS ...........................................................................................5 1.7 ASSUMPTIONS, LIMITATIONS, AND DELIMITATIONS ................................................8 1.8 ORGANIZATION OF STUDY ......................................................................................9 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................................11 2.1 OVERVIEW OF LEAN ............................................................................................11 2.2 OVERVIEW OF SIX SIGMA ....................................................................................17 2.3 OVERVIEW OF LEAN SIX SIGMA ...................................................... 21

Fishbone flow: integrating lean, Six Sigma, TPM and Triz

Abstract: This booklet, published in June 2006 replaces Cause and Effect Lean that sold (in various versions) over 30,000 copies. The book explains Flow and Lean principles by using fishbone (Ishikawa) diagrams. A new feature is that the book is built around the proven FLOW framework developed by Kate Mackle of Thinkflow Create flow, Maintain flow, Organize for flow, and Measure for flow. There are 57 figures most of tem fishbone diagrams showing everything from 5S to 7 wastes, from lean design to lean supply, and from policy deployment to mapping. Brief text accompanies each figure. The figures are arranged in landscape format one figure to an A5 page. An end-to-end overview of Lean in one book.

An integrated approach incorporating lean six sigma and life cycle assessment to support sustainable manufuacturing

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to discuss the importance of changing traditional manufacturing models towards sustainable manufacturing. For long term survival, manufacturers have to be prepared to modify their manufacturing techniques to meet the needs of becoming more sustainable. This paper will therefore investigate the driving factors of this change and how current manufacturing practices should be improved. To address this problem, the paper has proposed an integrated approach incorporating Lean Six Sigma and Life Cycle Assessment in order to achieve sustainable manufacturing. Finally, the paper concludes with a discussion towards the benefits of the proposed approach by adopting the transformation of sustainable manufacturing.

Using Metamodeling to Represent Lean Six Sigma for IT Service Improvement

Abstract: In today's competitive market, the need to continuously improve quality and lead time of IT services becomes more important. Over the last decades, too much complexity has been added to IT organizations after they had introduced IT frameworks like COBIT for IT Governance or ITIL for IT service management. As a result, many organizations face process inefficiencies and an increase in IT operational costs. Even though COBIT and ITIL, that we use as a reference in our research, contain continuous improvement (CI) processes and guidelines, their approach and effectiveness has been criticized. In this paper, we propose to apply Lean and Six Sigma, CI-approaches that gained popularity in other areas in industry, to CI of IT services. We use metamodeling to integrate Lean and Six Sigma to develop an integrated approach of Lean Six Sigma for CI of IT Services. Our Metamodels provide a visual representation to capture and integrate the main elements of Lean, Six Sigma, and Lean Six Sigma and model their interface with the IT Services framework. We apply metamodeling as part of a Design Science Research Methodology (DSRM) and use the Framework for Evaluation in Design Research (FEDS) to evaluate our results using practitioners in the evaluation. The objective of our research is to present a standard method for IT-Services CI. The resulting framework should support the design and implementation, in a standard way, of CI organizations to improve IT Service delivery.

Letterkenny Army Depot: The Army Teaches Business a Lesson in Lean Six Sigma

Abstract: Letterkenny Army Depot: The Army Teaches Business a Lesson in Lean Six Sigma is a case study of Letterkenny Army Depot, one of five Army maintenance depots. Letterkenny recapitalizes missiles, HMMWV's, generators, and other equipment for the United States Army. Recapitalizing equipment means completely disassembling the system, cleaning and/or replacing every component, subcomponent and part, and reassembling and testing the equipment. Col. William Guinn was assigned as depot commander in July 2002 only to find the depot was in deep financial and operational trouble. Letterkenny had ... • experienced an operating loss of $31 million on revenues of $120 million • work flows that were dysfunctional and inefficient • the highest hourly wage rates among all the depots • an infrastructure that was badly in need of repair Additionally, the depot faced possible closing by the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission in 2005. This case documents Col. Guinn’s Lean Six Sigma deployment at Letterkenny Army Depot from 2002 to 2005. Using the principles and tools of Lean, Letterkenny’s commander, senior leaders, managers, and employees successfully transformed the depot from the Army’s worst to its best performing depot in terms of productivity and cost efficiency. Three years after the depot’s Lean journey began, the 2005 BRAC Commission not only recommended keeping Letterkenny open, but also assigned it additional programs. In the same year, Letterkenny won the public sector Shingo Prize for applying Lean to its Patriot Missile recapitalization program. The authors use a framework developed by Michael George in his book Lean Six Sigma for Service to present the results of their research. In addition to being a research case (i.e., a descriptive case), the case raises issues on deploying Lean Six Sigma – issues that can be addressed in business and military educational settings. Letterkenny Army Depot: The Army Teaches Business a Lesson in Lean Six Sigma is case about Lean Six Sigma, leading change, and business transformation.