1. Is Lean Six Sigma still relevant in the current economic downturn?

Lean Six Sigma is even more critical during an economic downturn to help organizations streamline processes and reduce waste to improve the business bottom line.  With the reduction of top line (sales order, revenue), the best investment for organizations now is to look within their organizations to identify opportunities for business performance improvement and reduction of cost.  With the savings resulting from Lean Six Sigma projects typically ranging from 20 to 50%, there are very few, if any, investment opportunities in the current market environment that can match this level of return on investment.  

2. What are some of the areas of consideration for Lean Six Sigma project implementation?  

Some areas of consideration include:  

2.1. Identification and elimination / reduction of waste. Some of the typical 8 wastes are:  

2.1.1 Transportation  

2.1.2 Inventory  

2.1.3 Motion  

2.1.4 Waiting  

2.1.5 Over production  

2.1.6 Over processing  

2.1.7 Defects/ Errors  

2.1.8 Under utilizing of human capabilities & skills  

2.2 Improving efficiency of targeted areas. The targeted areas may include:  

2.2.1 set up time reduction  

2.2.2 Overall Equipment Effectiveness improvement  

2.2.3 Lead time reduction  

2.3 Improving customer satisfaction  

2.4 Improving financial, administrative and support  functions . One example is the accounts receivable process, which is even more critical in the current economic downturn.  

3. Is Lean Six Sigma applicable to service industries?  

Lean Six Sigma is applicable to both manufacturing and service industries, except that the approach, tools and techniques are different.  Some of the service sectors which have embraced Lean Six Sigma include:  

– Maintenance, repair and overhaul operations  

– Banks, insurance and other financial institutions  

– Security services  

– Healthcare institutions  

– Public service  

– Logistics industries  

– Educational institutions  

– Airlines  

– Shipping  

– Public transport  

– Power generation  

– Research & development  

4. Must one learn all the Lean Six Sigma tools before being qualified to do Lean Six Sigma projects?  

It is important not to be overwhelmed with learning and implementing all the Lean Six Sigma tools.  The suggested approach is to identify the root cause(s) of the problem(s) faced by the organization and select the right approach & tools for the problem(s).  Hence one may not need to learn all the Lean Six Sigma tools.  In fact, if a Lean Six Sigma project leader or team member is too focused on testing his new Lean Six Sigma skills, it may do more harm than good to the organization!