Lean and Six Sigma

I just turned in the pma a couple of hours back. It sure has been very interesting. It was interesting to see how lean and six sigma can be used together. Both have similar goals of minimizing defects, and are quite similar in many other ways.  One of the only difference I found was the lean also emphasises on compressing the process to reduce the lead time, which probably six sigma doesnt really work on. Both also use stastistical tools to solve problems and have a cylewhich helps them solve problem. What I found interesting was the use of hoshin kanri in lean. PDCA cycle is a huge part of lean culture which is a part of hoshin kanri too. Honshin kanri can be used in a lean company. The Catch ball method is a good way of brainstorming. Six sigma too talks a lot about brainstroming and having cross functional teams which would help improve the quality of brainstorming. It is very important to have a facilitator in a six sigma team who is a black belt, who will encourage comunication between members and try and create an environment of trust. There are so many other ways how these are similar. Its interesting to see so many companies such as Xerox, Ford adopting lean six sigma.

: 15 Mar 2009 20:00 |  Tags: Mbe Piuss |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem