Professional Documents
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Accenture Lean Six Sigma
Accenture Lean Six Sigma
Praise for The Lean Six Sigma Guide to Doing More with Less
As a large multinational financial services corporation, Unum has been driving for simplicity,
continual improvement and lasting productivity gains throughout our entire company. We have
consistently adopted and deployed the strategy of Lean Six Sigma across the enterprise, as Mark
George has described it in this book. This holistic approach to Lean Six Sigma is providing
remarkable returns for Unum.
-Bob BestChief Operating Officer, Unum
Lean Six Sigma builds capabilities in our people at all levels. It gives them tools and a framework
in which to solve problems and address complicated issues. In the end, individuals feel they can
make a difference and are empowered to take on new challenges; teamwork and problem solving
become part of our culture and the company benefits financially and organizationally.
-Al StrouckenCEO, Owens-Illinois
Mark O. George
Executive Summary
Mark O. George
This excerpt from the full book, The Lean Six Sigma
Guide to Doing More with Less, is printed with
permission from John Wiley and Sons.
A note to readers
These days, virtually every business executive I talk with is
concerned about reducing operating costs without
compromising quality and customer service. Newly frugal
consumers and budget-conscious business customers are
certainly paying more attention to price but they still have
high standards for certain product features or levels of
service.
As someone who has spent the past decade architecting
and supporting dozens of Lean Six Sigma engagements for
companies in a broad range of industries, Ive seen firsthand how these methodologies can reduce waste and
costs while simultaneously improving speed, quality, and
flexibility all of which can enable competitive advantage.
The insights derived from these collaborations with clients
are what inspired me and my Accenture colleagues to write
The Lean Six Sigma Guide to Doing More With Less.
The book aims to help anyone, no matter what level of
experience with Lean Six Sigma, take advantage of these
powerful approaches.
Dont just take my word for it. Heres what a few of our
clients say:
Executive Summary
Mark George
Dallas, Texas
Executive Summary
page 53
page 67
page 119
Executive Summary
page 249
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Speed to results
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Part One:
Reducing Process Cost by
Eliminating Waste
Part One of the book speaks to managers or P&L owners
looking for cost reduction alternatives to improve financial
performance within a functional area, department or single
facility. It provides an overview of the tools of cost
reduction.
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Executive Summary
87%
86%
85%
Expected
84%
83%
82%
81%
Observed
80%
79%
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10
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Transportation the movement of process inputs, workin-process, or outputs. Transportation waste typically stems
from the layout of facilities, but it can also result from poor
flow between process steps. An internal request that has to
find its way from department to department and from
individual to individual may get lost for days in the maze of
cubicles and buildings, all which require outlays of cash
and working capital. Lean Six Sigma eliminates
transportation wastes through the redesign of processes
into cellular layouts and streamlined flows that reduce
batch sizes.
Inventory mismatches throughout the supply chain, often
resulting from imbalanced demand and supply. The
mismatch stems from poor understanding of customer
needs, irrational forecasting, attempts to manage
production control from enterprise resource planning
software, and other root causes. Partial products show up
even in transactional processes, such as slow collections of
outstanding sales. Only a thorough understanding of the
sources of variability in the supply chain will lead to the
right mix of reduced inventory levels.
Motion inefficient movement of people. Follow a worker
day to day and you will likely trace a different path each
time, filled with wild goose chases, strange body positions,
and poor posture. Carpal tunnel syndrome alone caused a
generation of typists and assemblers to undergo expensive
surgery, pain, lost time and reduced productivity. Lean Six
Sigma counters with cellular flow that includes standard
walking paths, optimized operating procedures and
ergonomic body positioning.
Waiting with costs accumulating at every interruption in
process flow. A mortgage application typically spends 99%
of its time waiting to be processed at various desks. Lean
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Company
Compet 1
Compet 2
Compet 3
Importance ratings
(10 = very; 1 = not at all)
10.0
9.0
8.0
7.0
6.0
5.0
4.0
On
-ti
me
li
De
%
ve
ry
Co
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O
ete
rde
Wa
rra
nt
e
yR
tur
ns
Inv
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rn
Tu
ry
Co
rec
v
t In
oic
Sp
Pr
l
cia
ice
Or
de
rL
la
Re
d
ea
Ti m
s
ion
hip
N
an
ew
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ag
me
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nt
tD
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nt
B
ran
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Of
ge
fer
B
ing
Pr
ox
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im
dth
it
o
oC
yT
ns
um
er
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S
U
P
P
L
I
E
R
Boundary
(End of
process)
N
P
U
T
PROCESS
U
T
P
U
T
U
S
T
O
M
E
R
Requirements, specifications,
information, feedback
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Planning
Production
Control
Customer
Work
Supplier
Demand
information
Step 1
Warehouse
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Movement of materials
Step 5
Step 6
Information flow
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Executive Summary
Storage
Storage
Demand
Time Avail
1
49
1440
!"#
Surface Treatment
# of Opr
Demand
Rej/Scrap
Time Avail
Cycle
VA Time
Storage
Demand
Time Avail
0.5
49
1
1350
1440
720
High
WIP
$!"#
NVA
Process
%"#
Clean
# of Opr
Demand
Rej/Scrap
Time Avail
Cycle
VA Time
1
49
0
1350
480
0
High
WIP
Set Up
Time
&$#
Weld
# of Opr
Demand
Rej/Scrap
Time Avail
Cycle
VA Time
0.5
49
3
1350
1320
600
Interlock
# of Opr
Demand
Rej/Scrap
Time Avail
Cycle
VA Time
0.5
49
1
1350
144
36
'"#
1
49
1440
&$#
Inspection
# of Opr
Demand
Rej/Scrap
Time Avail
Cycle
VA Time
1
49
1350
1120
0
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25
Storage
Storage
Demand
Time Avail
1
49
1440
Interim storage
eliminated; matl
goes directly to
next step
Next Process
40
Surface Treatment
Pallet
40
# of Opr
Demand
Rej/Scrap
Time Avail
Cycle
VA Time
0.5
49
1
1350
33
24
Weld
18
# of Opr
Demand
Rej/Scrap
Time Avail
Cycle
VA Time
0.5
49
0
1350
275
240
Interlock
# of Opr
Demand
Rej/Scrap
Time Avail
Cycle
VA Time
0.5
49
1
1350
72
18
Inspection
# of Opr
Demand
Rej/Scrap
Time Avail
Cycle
VA Time
1
49
1350
84
0
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Executive Summary
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Work-in-process (WIP)
Process
Process Lead Time
Exit rate
# completed
in a given time period
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Part Two:
Reducing Costs at the Enterprise
Level
Part Two of the book explores the characteristics of
companies that have built true competitive advantage from
Lean Six Sigma. These firms focus on enterprise speed,
the hidden costs of complexity, the enterprise costs of
capital, and extending Lean Six Sigma to suppliers,
distributors and retailers.
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Executive Summary
Economic Profit
+70%
High margins
and low capital base
Large capitalconsumers
w/ nominal returns
Not making
their cost of capital
+50%
+30%
+10%
-10%
Invested capital
Evaluate
links to
shareholder
value
(levers with
direct impact
highlighted
in reverse
text below)
-30%
Acquisitions (M&A)
Capital
employed
Expansion
Improvement
Shareholder
value
Market
realization
Operating
costs
Variable costs
Invested capital
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Batch A
Setup A
Batch B
Process A Setup B
Batch C
WTT Z
WTT is how long it takes for the workstation to complete
one full production cycle of all products scheduled for that
station. Here there are two full cycles for three products (A,
B and C).
Batch B
Process A Setup B
Batch C
CTI A
Batch A
Setup A
CTI B
CTI C
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Process A Setup B
Batch B
Process B
Batch C
Setup C
Process C
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Executive Summary
Supplier Base
Disruptors/
Issues
Supplier failures
Quality issues
Transportation
disruptions
Shipping/delivery
errors
Weather and
labor issues
Long lead times
Insufficient
capacity
Enterprise
Disruptors/
Issues
Benefits
Lower probability
of failure
Flexibility from
multiple suppliers
Individual supplier
increased agility and
flexibility
Higher quality
and flexibility
Analytically
determine safety
buffers w/o excess
inventory and its
associated costs
Maximum
capacity
Fast lead times
Market shifts
Economic
downturns
Transportation
disruptions
Staff changes
Dealer failures
Poor customer
service
Product
misrepresentation
Low growth
Distributor/
Dealer Base
Benefits
Flexibility to
address changing
demand
Responsive to
product changes
Robust processes
less affected by
staffing changes
Optimum dealer
network design to
deal with individual
dealer disruptions
or failures
Increased sales
effectiveness
Critical link to
understanding
heart of the
customer and
feeding into
supply chain
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Executive Summary
Part Three:
Getting More, Faster
Part Three of the book addresses a common complaint
about legacy Lean Six Sigma programs: The projects take
too long, the returns are too small for the effort required,
and projects are under-resourced. This part of the book
explains how to inject rigor and discipline to enterprise
project portfolio management. Flexible, scalable, rapid
deployment models can drive high returns for a relatively
low commitment of resources.
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Executive Summary
Step 2
Screen
initial list
Step 3
Scope and
define projects
Charter
Charter
Charter
Criteria& wt
Project
1
2
3
Step 4
Prioritize list and
select projects
Score each
project on
benefit/effort
and create
matrix
Select highest
priority opps.
for further
analysis
Assign selected
opportunities to
sponsors
Draft project
charters
Score
Step 1
Rapid assessment
and validation
7 10 5
17
1 1
9 108
9
3 3 9 96
Assign selected
opportunities to
sponsors
Draft project
charters
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Continuum
Representative
Resources reside primarily within the business units, with
a small core of central expertise
Governance body consists of representatives across the
business units
Central body responsible for decisions related to degree of
standardization and work jointly to capitalize on lessons
learned
Strategic decisions guided by central authority, which LSS
decisions made within business units
Distributed
Resources reside within the individual business units
Central body responsible only for overseeing the most
top-level of decisions
Each business unit responsible for its own process
strategy and improvement approach
There is little or no information flow between business
units
Each has awarenessof LSS Center of Excellence: rationale
for adopting its methodology; how CoE supports
organizational goals and objectives; scope and deployment timeline; how BUs can leverage the CoE
Maximizes individual business unit autonomy
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Preevent
work
1 week
1 week
Prework
on key
process
areas
1&2
VSA
Training
Kaizen
2-6
weeks
Prework
Kaizen
1 week
VSA
24
weeks
Prework
Kaizen
Training
Kaizen
Prework
Kaizen
Final data
collection
and mapping
Stakeholder
alignment
Team
stand-up
Logistics
1st Kaizen;
training,
execution led
by expert
faciliator
Basic tools
training
Identify next
business
issue
Participant
co-leads
next Kaizen
with expert
facilitator
(on issue
previously
identified)
Project #2
objectives
completed
Advanced
tool taining
Identify next
issue
Continue with
Kaizen cycles
on targeted
areas
Blended e-learning. This approach combines selfguided study plus interactive, live classroom activities.
People work at their own pace on e-modules that convey
basic concepts, then attend classroom sessions where
they get to apply what they learned under the guidance
of an instructor. The training is scheduled for a specific
time, on a specific day. Blending the types of learning
has proven more effective at improving skill transfer, at a
reasonable cost, than either type used independently
Success with these newer approaches will depend on the
same factors as more traditional models: having highly
engaged executives, linking project selection to a deep
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Executive Summary
Review monthly
perf. metrics
with SVP and GM
Monthly deliverables
for Executives
Target vs. actual
Variance analysis
Countermeasure
proposals
Did Perf.
Mgmt. meet or
exceed
target?
YES
NO
Create
countermeasures
to close gap
Discuss:
Target vs. actual,
action plan, and
continuous impvt
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Get your copy of the full book, The Lean Six Sigma
Guide to Doing More with Less
The Lean Six Sigma Guide to Doing More with Less,
published by John Wiley and Sons, will be available
February, 2010.
Books are available at leading retail stores, such as Barnes
& Noble and Borders, and online through amazon.com,
barnesandnoble.com, books-a-million.com, borders.com,
and 800ceoread.com.
To learn more about Lean Six Sigma, author Mark George
or Accentures Process & Innovation Performance work,
please visit www.accenture.com/leansixsigmabook.
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About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology
services and outsourcing company. Combining
unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities
across all industries and business functions, and extensive
research on the worlds most successful companies.
Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become
high-performance businesses and governments. With
approximately 177,000 people serving clients in more than
120 countries, the company generated net revenues of
US$21.58 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2009. Its
home page is www.accenture.com.
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