Lean Six Sigma is a tool that many people turn to when they need the best tools for waste elimination and process improvement. Lean Six Sigma is a combination of Lean Methodology and the Six Sigma Methodology, which is designed to apply the tools of both practices into one formula for problem solving and waste elimination within a company or organization. Using the principles of lean, there are many different types of wastes that can be eliminated, depending upon the company and their specific needs for waste elimination. All you need is the proper Six Sigma Training and a little experience with Lean Enterprise to ensure that you’re prepared for what you’re getting into.
If you take the time to learn about the wastes that you have, you’ll likely realize that you have more than you might have initially thought. By looking deeper than the surface and using the tools of Lean Six Sigma to identify all areas of waste, why they happen, and how to eliminate them, you will be much better able to make your business more efficient. For example, a doctor’s office sending patients who have appointments for specific reasons to a triage room is an unnecessary step in the process of patient flow.
Using Lean Six Sigma, this process can be restructured so that the flow is more efficient and the triage isn’t wasting their time or the time of the patients, making the business operate better for everyone that is involved. The great thing about this combination is that you have very basic principles of waste elimination from Lean Enterprise or manufacturing, and that is coupled with the statistical analysis that is offered by the Six Sigma Process. Together, these two tools create a dynamic solution to many process improvement and waste elimination projects in various industries.
Lean Six Sigma will eliminate wastes on many levels, and for many different reasons. If you have unnecessary waste in your processes, you can benefit from Lean Six Sigma projects just as well as anyone else. It doesn’t matter how big your company is or how many projects you need to take on, because the methodology is very basic and able to be molded to just about any industry and situation that exists. Once you have eliminated the wastes within your industry you will be much more efficient, which will increase your customer satisfaction, profitability, and even your overall workplace atmosphere in some cases.