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 AMSE Lean Six Sigma governance model

Abstract: Purpose The sustainability of the Lean Six Sigma (LSS) program represents the most challenging aspect for most of the organizations dealing with this methodology. In this scenario, the purpose of this paper is the description of the AMSE (which stands for Assessment, Monitoring, Sustainability, Expansion) Model, that represents a leading-edge approach to implement an effective LSS deployment on a permanent basis, by means of a structured roadmap. Design/methodology/approach The AMSE roadmap is made of four operating phases – Assessment, Monitoring, Sustainability, Expansion – it is a Model to govern the LSS deployment and to maximize both operative and economical results on a long-term basis. Findings One of the main problems of LSS programs is their sustainability (sustainability of projects and the overall program) over time; the AMSE Model allows the deployment of an LSS Governance Structure with a clear definition of tasks; this model can be effectively applied both to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and global companies, regardless of the sector. Practical implications Both SMEs and global corporations could benefit from applying the AMSE in terms of operational efficiency, culture improvement and people engagement. Originality/value The AMSE Model represents an innovative approach for sustaining a continuous improvement culture in the organizations over time, by defining four steps (Assessment, Monitoring, Sustainability, Expansion), divided into detailed tasks, each of which is characterized by its own specific tools.

Lean Six Sigma implementation in East Africa: findings from a pilot study

Abstract: Purpose – This paper reports the results of a pilot study on the implementation of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) in East African service and manufacturing organizations. The purpose of this paper is to determine the critical success factors for implementation of such a strategy as well as any barriers. A further aim was to determine the knowledge, usage and usefulness of LSS tools and techniques within those organizations. Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative approach was taken utilizing a survey questionnaire which was sent to a sample of organization employees who had attended Yellow, Green or Black Belt LSS training courses organized by the Kenya Institute of Management in Nairobi. Employees attending such courses came from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda. Findings – Results indicate that the most useful tools are most of the original seven tools of quality improvement proposed by Ishikawa over 50 years ago and the most important factor for successful implementation of LSS is management involvement a...

Applying Lean Six Sigma methods to reduce length of stay in a hospital's emergency department

Abstract: Operational excellence is critical to throughput and patient flow in an emergency department. This case study applied the Lean Six Sigma DMAIC methodology to improve throughput as measured by reduc...

Lean Six Sigma in financial services industry: a systematic review and agenda for future research

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to explore the trend and most common themes about Lean Six Sigma (LSS) implementation in the finance sector, and also to identify gaps in the themes that may be prevent...

Maintaining sustainable performance in operating petroleum assets via a lean-six-sigma approach: A case study from engineering support services

Abstract: Purpose This paper aims to demonstrate the possibility of maintaining triple bottom line (TBL) sustainable performance in the petroleum industry via a case study. In particular, it presents the utilization of a lean-six-sigma (LSS) concept for investigating one of the underperforming support service activities in an engineering contractor (EC) and to indicate how LSS concepts enable the barriers to maintaining sustainable petroleum operations to be reduced for maintaining sustainable petroleum operations. Design/methodology/approach A case study has been carried out in an EC organization in relation to one of the support services (i.e. valves requisition process [VRP]) to demonstrate how LSS concepts enable the barriers to maintaining sustainable petroleum operations to be reduced for maintaining sustainable petroleum operations. Value stream mapping (VSM) and value stream analysis (VSA) have been utilized to investigate the barriers that inhibit sustainable operations. VSM and VSA have been performed to investigate the underperforming activities in the selected support service (i.e. VRP) using a current state map. After performing VSA, a future state map has been developed, indicating possible improvements in overall TBL sustainable performance. Findings VSM and VSA enable the barriers to maintaining TBL sustainable operations in the petroleum industry to be investigated, while minimizing waste in the ECs and asset owners’ organizations. Research limitations/implications The study has been limited to ECs’ support services, which have been delivered based on asset operators’ requirements. Practical implications The suggested LSS approach and related analysis help practicing engineers to perform similar analysis for different engineering support services. Improved performance in support service results minimize health, safety and environmental challenges in asset operations, and the resulting waste reduction increases the return on investments. Social implications Effective delivery of the assessments minimizes potential delays in projects related to petroleum operations, mitigating future accidents. It enhances the TBL sustainable performance of an asset-intensive industrial organization. Originality/value This manuscript addresses the inherent TBL sustainable performance challenges in the petroleum industry that have been caused by delayed projects. The responsibilities of projects’ delivery are mainly attributed to ECs. The EC organizations are operating in project mode, and projects delays are inherently caused by the frequently changing nature of: operators’ requirements; suppliers’ and/or manufacturers’ capabilities and restrictions; and lack of standardization in documentation and work processes (i.e. because of different engineering projects’ demands). Hence, this manuscript illustrates a methodology to demonstrate the possibility of TBL sustainable performance improvement in the petroleum industry via a case study (i.e. VRP-related project delivery performance improvement) in an EC organization utilizing the lean concept.