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.

An empirical investigation of implementing Lean Six Sigma in Higher Education Institutions

Abstract: Purpose The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the applicability and implementation of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). LSS is considered as the most recent service quality practice which has proved its success in manufacturing and service sectors. Though there is plenty of literature available with regard to the application and benefits of LSS in services sectors (like Banking, healthcare, information technology sectors, etc.), there is apparently no evidence in the literature about the implementation of LSS in HEIs. Design/methodology/approach A five-phased approach is followed. A multiple case-study method is used in this paper to explore this implementation of LSS in two select international University colleges. LSS toolkit comprising of define-measure-analyze-improve-control phases is used for the execution of the projects. Featuring student teams in LSS project management adds novelty to the approach. Findings The paper empirically validates the application of LSS in HEIs. Further, it highlights the practical challenges and benefits of LSS in the HEI setup. An in-depth empirical analysis of LSS toolkit application, LSS change management and using student teams in LSS project management are the highlights of this paper. The paper concludes that LSS is applicable and could provide positive benefits to HEIs. Research limitations/implications LSS application in HEIs is perhaps a new research area, which is at its nascence and upcoming in the researchers’ community. Hence, this paper would serve as a platform and provide directions for future scholars to ponder on the subject. Practical implications Since the cases are executed in the real-time setup of HEIs, the paper has several practical implications. First, the academia and practitioners’ collaboration in executing projects adds novelty. Second, the involvement of student teams from project selection to execution brings in practical perspectives alongside the academic education. Several other key lessons learned and benefits of LSS in HEI setup are presented as part of the paper. Originality/value LSS has been successful in the past few decades in the manufacturing and service sectors. However, its application in HEIs was very nascent, and few researchers even doubted its relevancy of application in HEIs. This study illustrates its importance and application to the higher education sector which is a highly responsible area of the service sector, for imbibing quality excellence, serving as an excellent resource for researchers and higher education professionals.

Applying Lean Six Sigma methodologies to improve efficiency, timeliness of care, and quality of care in an internal medicine residency clinic.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE Patients' connectedness to their providers has been shown to influence the success of preventive health and disease management programs. Lean Six Sigma methodologies were employed to study workflow processes, patient-physician familiarity, and appointment compliance to improve continuity of care in an internal medicine residency clinic. METHODS We used a rapid-cycle test to evaluate proposed improvements to the baseline-identified factors impeding efficient clinic visits. Time-study, no-show, and patient-physician familiarity data were collected to evaluate the effect of interventions to improve clinic efficiency and continuity of medical care. RESULTS Forty-seven patients were seen in each of the intervention and control groups. The wait duration between the end of triage and the resident-patient encounter was statistically shorter for the intervention group. Trends toward shorter wait times for medical assistant triage and total encounter were also seen in the intervention group. On all measures of connectedness, both the physicians and patients in the intervention group showed a statistically significant increased familiarity with each other. CONCLUSION This study shows that incremental changes in workflow processes in a residency clinic can have a significant impact on practice efficiency and adherence to scheduled visits for preventive health care and chronic disease management. This project used a structured "Plan-Do-Study-Act" approach.

Modelling of readiness factors for the implementation of Lean Six Sigma in healthcare organizations

Abstract: This paper aims to identify, analyze and categorize the major readiness factors for implementing Lean Six Sigma (LSS) in health-care organizations using total interpretive structural modelling technique. The readiness factors are identified would help the managers to recognize the areas that lack and provide importance to the successful implementation of LSS in those areas. The paper further intends to understand the hierarchical interrelationships among the readiness factors identified using dependence and driving power.,In total, 16 readiness factors are identified from the literature review and expert opinions are collected from hospitals. The scheduled interview is conducted based on a questionnaire survey in hospitals in the Indian context to identify the relevance of the relations among the readiness factors. The expert opinions are used in the initial reachability matrix and interpretative interaction matrix. Matrix impact cross multiplication applied to classification (MICMAC) analysis uses dependence and driving power to understand the hierarchical relationship among the readiness factors identified.,The result indicates that customer-oriented and goal management cultures are the key readiness factors for LSS. The execution technique and training are given according to the current demand of customers and goal change of organization. The manager needs to concentrate more on readiness factors to formulate the execution process of LSS for continuous improvement of the health-care organization. The readiness level helps the manager to identify the target area for LSS execution.,This research focuses mainly on readiness factors for the implementation of LSS in the health-care industry.,This study would be useful for researchers and practitioners to understand the readiness factors before starting the implementation process of LSS.,Many research studies are being done on the success and failure rate of implementation of factors. The present study identifies the readiness factors related to LSS, especially for the health-care industry.

Critical success factors of TQM, Six Sigma, Lean and Lean Six Sigma: A literature review and key findings

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to review the existing literature on the critical success factors (CSFs) of various continuous improvement (CI) like total quality management (TQM), Lean, Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma (LSS), and perform a content analysis (CA) leading to an agenda for future research.,CA is based on literature review of 41 papers published in peer-reviewed scholarly journals. A four-stage methodology is used by the authors, with Stage 1 featuring relevant material collection; Stage 2 presenting a descriptive analysis; Stage 3 outlining the category selection; and Stage 4 featuring the material evaluation using clustering and Pareto analysis.,The CA revealed various research implications and directions for the future. The number of studies in the literature regarding CSF assessment is found to be far from substantial while compared to CI implementation. Assessment methodologies developed have been ranging from qualitative to quantitative models. Key gaps were identified and directions for CSF assessment are proposed which requires further validation.,Only articles that appeared in peer-reviewed journals were analyzed; conference papers, reports, manuals and white papers from practice were excluded. Another limitation of the paper would be the scope of CA limited to four CI constructs – TQM, Lean, Six Sigma and LSS. Research implications indicate that the future studies in this domain would be intensive toward analyzing the vital CSFs for enterprise organizational excellence and not merely process excellence.,This review study can serve as a resource for both researchers and practitioners to understand the importance of CSFs and positioning CSFs for the successful implementation of CI programs.,The CA on the existing literature on CSFs for CI presents a unique, systematic effort to identify an agenda for future research. This study is the apparently the first of its kind on CSF assessment.