This past decade has changed the way businesses work.

Forget
monopoly now. It is hard to find it anymore in any industry. Today,
sector specific competition is at its peak and a decade hence, only
those businesses will thrive, which seek to achieve not just profit, but
also efficiency and effectiveness in the way they generate those
profits. And this is precisely where Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma
come into play.

What is Six Sigma?

While Six Sigma might come off as a new concept to most, it has its
origin in the 1980s. The term was first coined by Motorola company.
In order to sustain in the business where its Japanese counterparts
were giving it tough competition, Six Sigma tools came to its rescue.

Six Sigma tools focus on making operations of any industry more

efficient. It sees to it that the businesses achieve maximum profits and
customer satisfaction at a minimum cost. It is that quality goal, in
which the number of defects in a product or a service are significantly
reduced to 3.4 defects per million opportunities or 0.0003%. Sigma
gets its meaning from statistical studies, which means standard
deviation.

When Motorola was able to survive tough competition by using Six

Sigma, it adopted this quality goals across all its departments. Soon,
many companies started using and adopting Six Sigma to achieve
quality goal. Today, Six Sigma has become ‘a must’ for any industry.

What is Lean Six Sigma?

Lean Six Sigma is relatively a new concept. At first, one might get
confused on hearing these two terms – Six Sigma and Lean Six
Sigma, and believe that these terms are interchangeable. On a closer
look, both these methodologies are different. Lean Six Sigma is a
combination of two different theories, i.e., Lean Management and Six
Sigma. Let us look at what Lean Six Sigma is and how it is different
from Six Sigma.
Lean Six Sigma is a management tool that focuses on eliminating
waste in an industry. On the other hand, Six Sigma is that
management tool that helps in eliminating errors and defects in a
product or a service.

In other words, Lean Six Sigma streamlines operations of an industry

or a business, whereas Six Sigma focuses on the quality of a product
or a service that a particular business delivers. Both these six sigma
tools were first utilised in manufacturing sectors.

Lean Six Sigma involves identifying steps in operations of a business

and constantly improving and eliminating those steps that do not add
any value to the business. This is done using available data.

The DMAIC Methodology

When you realise that there may be problems and defects in operations, you should know it’s
time for Lean Six Sigma. The question is, how do you identify these defects and how do you
rectify them? The DMAIC model or six sigma tools is our saviour here.
DMAIC is short for a five-phase cycle, that is, Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve and
Control. All these are used throughout the project to analyse changes, defects and deviations
with the help of relevant data and come up with resolution techniques. Here’s what DMAIC
means:

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Define goals of an organisation and its customer requirements. Move on to the next step to
understand and analyse what can be done to achieve them. Define also means pointing out
areas or zones that are or may face problems and that may need improvement.

Measure the problem. Quantifying is the easiest way to showcase the magnitude of any
issue. Preparing process maps and flowcharts will give a very clear picture and by just
skimming through the figures, top management is better placed to take further course of
action.

Analyse the root cause. It is important to go deep into a problem to avoid recurrence, and
analysing the core issue helps in getting rid of them permanently. Various tools used at this
stage go deeper into the cause of any glitches and therefore, Analyse becomes the most
important stage of DMAIC model.
Improvement is understanding the root cause of a problem and asking questions like ‘why
did this ever occur in the first place?’ It involves developing new methods that need to
replace the antiquated so that everything falls into place.

Controlling means taking stringent measures so that the history doesn’t repeat itself. This is
a continuous process and you need to keep track to deliver your best.
Now you must wonder, ‘how do I achieve these 5 phases?’
The answer lies in tools that can be used to achieve Lean Six Sigma, and they are right at
your disposal. The DMAIC model acts as a base. Each step can be achieved by using specific
six sigma tools specifically developed to win that stage.
Let us now look at some of these Lean Six Sigma Tools one by one:

Six Sigma Tools for DEFINE Phase

 #1. Affinity Diagram
Also known as the KJ method, Affinity Diagram is an analytical tool
where different ideas from different people working in that industry,
relating to a specific problem, are combined and then classified
according to their relationship. This tool is very beneficial in identifying
and sorting customer issues and requirements.

#2. Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA)

FMEA recognises those areas in a process that are most likely to fail
and the degree of impact it may have. Past experiences and
brainstorming works best to identify these areas.

#3. Process Mapping

Process Mapping or Flow Charts are pictorial representation of steps
that constitute a process. This comes as a big help for new
employees who are completely lost and want to understand how an
organisation works. It is highly beneficial and helpful to resolve
communication gaps through this six sigma toolsin an industry.

#4. Value Added Flow Analysis

If you are looking for a tool that focuses on efficiency, then this is it.
This tool is a combination of Value Addition Analysis, which shows all
those steps that add value to a process in the eyes of a customer,
and Flow Chart, which indicates time taken for all these steps. The
result is a clear-cut report of unnecessary steps that consume a lot of
time. All you have to do is get rid of them.

#5. Value Stream Mapping

This involves drawing a layout that captures all the activities required
to be done in a process, from inception to completion. All the
processes, from the moment the order is placed, to the time when it is
delivered, for example, are put in a form of a flow chart with cycle time
of each step and classifying steps as value addition and non-value
addition.

This gives the workforce a clear direction and understanding as to

how long a process takes to complete. For instance, If you say to your
customer that your product takes 2 days to deliver, you can very well
be assured that it is 2 days, and not 7.

#6. 7 wastes
Taiichi Ohno of Toyota has made our lives easier by identifying 7
waste areas that every business must watch out. It indicates focal
points in any business where waste in terms of time and money are
likely to occur. The 7 waste points are Defective Products,
Overproduction, Waiting, Underutilisation of Resources, Extra Time in
Processing, Transportation and Motion.

#7. Takt Time

Again a Japanese term which means clock interval. Takt Time is the
pace or speed at which one must finish smaller tasks in order to finish
a larger assignment. This helps in keeping track of time and boosts
productivity of employees.

#8. Prioritization Matrix

This is an analytical tool that helps in figuring out which project needs
utmost priority. It uses a concept called Project Priority
Calculator which is a statistical or rather mathematical representation
to understand which project, among all, is likely to give the best
returns on investment. This means no speculations any more. You
have the data and a tool to be very sure of a viable project.

#9. The 5Ss

The 5Ss are a series of Japanese terms, i-e, Seiri, Seiton, Seiso,
Seiketsu, Shitsuke, meaning, Sort, Arrange, Clean, Improve and Self-
Discipline. An organisation is wasting a lot of time when its employees
squander precious hours looking around and finding things that are
not arranged very well. The tool therefore comes to your rescue in
that it directs an organisation to sort and arrange things and keep
cleanliness a top priority so that no one has to fritter away.

#10. PDSA
This is a four-phase model and a simplified version of DMAIC
methodology. Among other six sigma tools, this can be used to carry
out certain changes in your organisation. PDSA means Plan, Do,
Study, and Act. The Plan stage involves identifying a core issue, Do
means developing a hypothesis, Study involves digging deeper into
the reasons for the occurrence of a problem, and Act means actions
needed to resolve them.

Six Sigma Tools for MEASURE Phase

#11. Histogram
This is a graphical representation of frequency distribution of data that
is falling in separate groups. If you want to represent the results of
your operations in the easiest way possible, then histograms are ‘the
thing’. It gives a very quick visual summary of the data you want to
understand.

#12. Pareto Chart

This helps you list down all your problems and helps analyse the one
problem which has or may have a major impact on your operations.
Sometimes a pool of problems may just affect only 10% of your
operations, whereas that 90% may be a result of a single problem.
Focus on that one difficulty, and a great deal of issues in your
operations will fall into place.

#13. Trend Chart

This tool shows whether you are headed in the right direction. It
shows results over a long period of time. It helps you look at where
you were, where you stand now, and what your future looks like.

Six Sigma Tools for ANALYSE Phase

#14. The 5 Whys

The best way to get to the root cause of any issue is by asking
questions and seeking answers. Ask the following question to yourself
‘Why did the X incident happen?’. Your quest to seek answers will lead
you to asking further questions, ultimately leading you to the core
issue.

#15. Ishikawa Diagram

Another term for Fishbone Diagram, this tool seeks to know all the
contributing root causes that are or may be leading to a defect in a
process. Since the issue is represented like a fish spine and all
contributing root causes as branches emanating from that spine, it
ends up looking like a fishbone, hence the name.

#16. Regression Analysis

This establishes a correlation between X component and Y
component in any process model. X is an input variable, whereas Y is
an output variable. No matter how perfect is the process model you
created, it will always have some error points in it. But creating a line
that has least error points and is closest to the company goal is what
you need, and that is regression analysis.

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Six Sigma Tools for IMPROVE Phase

 #17. A3
t takes its name from a metric paper size ‘A3’. It is a tool where a
project report is presented on a single sheet, preferably A3, which
provides all the information relating to the background of a project, its
current situation, updates, target goals, follow up etc. It helps in
keeping a manager abreast of the latest developments in a project.
Since it is a continuous process, it must be carried out on a regular
basis.

#18. Kaizan
Kaizan is a Japanese term, which means continuous improvement.
The goal is to improve product and service each day to increase
profits and customer satisfaction. It also involves updating industry
specific knowledge and coping up with fast-pace changes happening
in this world.

#19. Hoshni Kanri

Called ‘value of lean deployment’ in layman language, this tool helps in
guiding employees of an organisation to work towards that long-term
goal which the business strives to achieve. If you have not drawn a
long-term goal yet, it is high time you do so. It is essential because
you will base all your future predictions on it.
Hoshni Kanri not only sustains business, it also drives the employees
in their endeavour to bring out the best to the table.

#20. Kanban Pull System

Kanban is a tool used in keeping the inventory of an organisation
updated at all times. It squarely means having enough inventory to
fulfil demands, but at the same time not exceeding the demand so
that the inventory doesn’t end up being a dead stock. Regular
exchange of information and drawing communication channels
between inventory department and sales department helps in keeping
a check on this.

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#21. Poka Yoke

Also known as Mistake Proofing. You do not want a customer to point
out mistakes with your products or services. The best way to deliver
without any error is by preparing checklists and going through them
one by one before sending them out. This way you will spare yourself
the embarrassment.

#22. Heijunka Box

This tool is used to balance out the workload. You don’t want extreme
workload on your employees one day, and see them sitting idle the
next day. Doing work on an average basis makes sure that the
employees deliver on a regular basis and are constantly kept in loop
with the activities of a business. This also contributes to increased
employee efficiency.

#23. Single Minute Exchange of Die (SMED)

Single Minute Exchange of Die helps in significant reduction of
wastes. When you switch from one task to another, you take a while
to get adjusted to the new zone. You lose concentration momentarily,
get confused and hence end up making mistakes. This applies to all
industries.

Switching machines from making one part of a product to making

another may take time, but you still have to pay costs for that lost
time. SMED focuses on reducing the switchover time by brainstorming
and developing techniques to help cut time.

Six Sigma Tools for CONTROL Phase

#24. Statistical Process Control (SPC)
Once you have made an improvement in a process, you need to
make sure that you hold on to it. Sustaining the development and
meeting end requirements at the same time is what this Lean Six
Sigma certifications helps us with. SPC ensures that the process
remains stable.

#25. Standardised Work

This Six Sigma tool tells us to adopt best practices and best ways to
accomplish a particular task. Experienced employees already have a
nerve on this. All they have to do is clearly lay them down, document
them, and update them regularly if need be. This also works as a
base for new employees.

Conclusion
Lean Six Sigma and other six sigma tools is a very recent development. However, its tools
and principles have been in practice since ages, in one way or the other, in various sectors
across the globe. Most of us may have seen our parents apply these somewhere in their
workplaces, businesses and in their day to day lives at home.
However, with the increasing complexities in businesses and organisations, we need a much
more improved version. A version that can quantify situations and make it easy to
understand. And Lean Six Sigma does all the job. Just a glance at notes, presentation and
charts simplifies our understanding and explains the state of affairs.
Lean Six Sigma certification is a feather to your cap, will pass you as a strong candidate, will
make you better at what you already do, and will land you a job you have always dreamt of.
Here are few FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs) on Lean
Six Sigma:
What all industries can use Lean Six Sigma?
Lean Six Sigma is no more industry specific. It is a concept that helps
improve functioning of any business. Since it is more function specific, it can
be used in our day to day lives as well.

Here are some industries that have been using Lean Six Sigma for quite a
while now:

• Pharmaceuticals
• Construction
• Manufacturing
• Airlines
• Logistics
• Consulting
• Legal
• Finance
• Hi-Tech

How is having Lean Six Sigma Certification Beneficial?

Six Sigma tools have become an absolute necessity for any business and
having Lean Six Sigma Certification on your resume is very likely to fetch
you a better salary than those who don’t. It shows how well versed you are in
efficient operations management, control functions and gives out a sign of
having good analytical skills. You can give your best as a business manager,
team leader, data/business analyst, quality assurance manager, in project
management etc. Since Learning Six Sigma tools and Lean Six Sigma
involves understanding high level concepts, practitioners in these areas are
highly respected for their expertise.
Research suggests that Six-Sigma certified professionals in Europe made
more money than those who didn’t have that certification. In the United
States of America, Six Sigma certified professionals were able to earn
somewhere around $167,000 per year.
How to learn Lean Six Sigma?
There are various institutions that will tutor you on Lean Six Sigma Online.
Among all the available online courses, you may want to hop on
to www.henryharvin.com as it is ranked No.1 Six Sigma Certification in
India.
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