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 appropriateness of the Design of Experiments to support Lean Six Sigma for variability reduction

Abstract: A Design of Experiment (DoE) is a strategy for planning, conducting, analysing and interpreting the experiment so that valid conclusions can be drawn efficiently and economically. It has the ability to reduce product and process variability. Hence, this study examined if DoE is an appropriate tool to support Lean Six Sigma in selected automotive component manufacturing companies in South Africa. The automotive component manufacturing sector uses various tools aimed at reducing variability. This includes Lean Six Sigma. Consequently, companies that participated in the study have (over and above Lean Six Sigma) adopted a DoE strategy. Thus, the study was designed to establish if DoE is an appropriate tool to support Lean Six Sigma. Of the 123 participants identified, 107 completed the questionnaires. Middle managers of four automotive component manufacturing companies in the eThekwini District Municipality participated in the study. The study investigated production and the related experiences of the automotive component manufacturing companies. Descriptive and correlation were used to analyse data. Results indicated that the appropriateness of DoE to support Lean Six Sigma in various business activities (like finance, strategy and product development) has no relation to both product improvements through reformulation during product development and process optimisation using quality control tools. However, study participants provided a number of reasons for implementing DoE in the automotive component manufacturers. It is advised that the automotive component manufacturers develop a comprehensive variability reduction policy that aligns DoE tools to business performance.

Lean Six Sigma's Impact on Firm Innovation Performance

Abstract: Lean Six Sigma’s Impact on Firm Innovation Performance Austin Michael Strong School of Technology, BYU Master of Science Following Toyota’s dramatic rise to prominence within the automotive industry in the late 1980’s, firms around the globe have widely sought to adopt Lean Six Sigma (LSS) as a means of reducing costs, improving quality, and gaining an overall competitive advantage. While the operational benefits of LSS are largely undisputed, there are criticisms of the movement with regards to its effect on firm innovation capability. Prior academic studies investigating the relationship between LSS and innovation are largely conceptual in nature, rely heavily on qualitative data, and display a high degree of variability in results. The objective of this work was to empirically confirm whether LSS adoption had a positive, negative, or neutral impact on firm innovation performance. Financial data was collected for 151 publicly traded firms over the period from 1985 to 2018. The year of company-wide adoption of LSS was identified for each sample firm. Firms were paired with industry rivals using Coarsened Exact Matching (CEM), and statistical regressions were performed to show correlations between LSS implementation (as measured by inventory turns) and innovation performance (as measured by Total Factor Productivity, Research Quotient, and Tobin’s Quotient). Regression results indicated that LSS implementation had a positive correlation with firm process innovation performance and the overall market perception of firm innovation and value, and a negative-to-neutral correlation with firm product innovation performance. Additional regressions performed at the industrysector level revealed that the LSS-innovation relationship varies greatly by industry environment and is subject to unique industry effects and management implementation decisions.

Improvement of Vehicle Service System by the Application of Lean Six Sigma

Abstract: This research aims to improve the efficiency of vehicle service system in Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University. The study adopted the lean six sigma methods with DMAIC process and New Service Development by following 5D steps which are Discover, Define, Design, Develop and Deploy. In this process, the Lean Six Sigma or DMAIC is implemented and considered as the main tool which is used together with the development of service innovation in order to equip the tools with fully developed characters. The occurred problems and its root causes were discovered and defined by using SERVQUAL questionnaires to evaluate customer satisfaction levels to 20 service dimensions. Innovative solutions were generated by using the Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and lean techniques. The action plan includes: 1) developing a vehicle reservation system which can be done via intranet, 2) redesigning the back-end procedure by applying the ECRS principle and developing the manual, 3) improving the quality control and assessment system, 4) developing a new working standard for customers and drivers. After the implementation of this new system, the car users were satisfied with the service as the score (1-5 Likert scale) increased by 30% from 3.35 as the medium level to 4.37 as the good level. The time of check back system is decreased by 87% from 15.5 minutes to 2 minutes