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SBTI Lean Six Sigma Podcast
#2
November 23, 2005
Combining Lean and Six Sigma Methodologies
Bill Hertzing, Joe Ficalora & Joe Costello
http://www.sbtionline.com/podcast/Combining_Lean_and_Six_Sigma_Methodologies.mp3
http://www.sbtionline.com/podcast/Combining_Lean_and_Six_Sigma_Methodologies_transcript.php

Bill Hertzing: Hi, this is Bill Hertzing and this is the SBTI Lean Six Sigma Podcast. I'm sitting here with Joe Costello, Executive Director for SBTI and resident Lean expert. Welcome, Joe, to the podcast.

Joe Costello: Hi, Bill. Glad to be here.

BH: And, on the Internet we have Joe Ficalora, Executive Vice President of Technology for SBTI. Joe, welcome back.

Joe Ficalora: Thanks, Bill. Hi Guys!

JC: Hey Joe!

BH: Now, I see you two have co-authored a paper titled "Combining Lean and Six Sigma Methodologies". Should Lean and Six Sigma be separate?

JF: In a word, Bill, I'd have to say, "No." To get the most from either one, you really do need both tools and methodologies. They can be deployed independently based upon the local problems to be solved, the biggest issue each organization is looking at. But, every organization ultimately needs both Lean and Six Sigma.

JC: I agree, Joe. It only makes sense that we use both sets of tools. Basically, the two approaches address, traditionally, two different types of problems. Six Sigma addresses the problems of variation.controlling and reducing variation, where Lean addresses problems with time. If you are trying to reduce time, typically you'll use the Lean tools to reduce durations of processes, Six Sigma to reduce variation of processes. So, often times they blend together very nicely. But depending on the problem set, you might think about that approach.

BH: So, which methodologies should come first assuming they're deployed independently?

JC: Well, I believe probably if you think about the processes and what you have in business today, you would typically look at a process and ask to remove the waste from a process. Stop doing those thing you just shouldn't be doing in business. So, removing the waste, controlling what's left over, such that the output of that process is very predictable. With that in mind, probably do Lean first.

JF: You know, I'd have to agree. It's so much easier to work on the chronic, complex problems and find them once the waste has been removed, the whole process is streamlined. These kind of things Six Sigma addresses so well. And, we found that with a line that has been leaned out or a business process that has been made more efficient with less waste, it's easier to find the chronic problems and apply the Six Sigma tools in generally a faster and more complete fashion.

JC: Glad we have you on tape saying that exact same thing. Spoken as a true Lean zealot.

BH: So, Joe Costello, what are the benefits and limitation of Lean?

JC: Well, the benefits of Lean, obviously,.many, many benefits. What really gets me excited about Lean is the fact that, traditionally, we take the problem and resolution the problems into the business. What the Japanese term for the business operational area is gemba. So, we take the problem into gemba, we get the people who know the processes, work the processes every day, involved in improving the processes. So, they have a lot of buy-in, a lot of pride-of-ownership in the future state. And those.that pride-of-ownership and that buy-in greatly reduces the implementation resistance. So, we can improve the processes much faster if we have those folks involved. So, it's really a great asset of Lean is go into gemba, getting those folks involved, and making those improvements to the process.

Some of the restrictions on Lean: It kind of has a little bit of a connotation of, "Well, you're here to.you know, take away my job.or you might be here to tell me how to work faster." And, that's really not what we do. We don't focus on the activities we focus more and first on those gaps in the activities.

BH: Joe Ficalora, same question to you. What are the benefits and limitation of Six Sigma?

JF: Well, you know, a lot of people have said once Lean started to get integrated with Six Sigma, that Six Sigma takes too long. So, there's one of the limitation in that you wouldn't want to go through the five phases of define, measure, analyze, improve and control for projects that, ultimately, all about taking waste out. So, that would be a misapplication of the Six Sigma tools.

And, like Lean, you know if it's focused the right way at the right type of problems, specifically the chronic problems where there's no known solution, it is an investigative process and it works really well. That, plus the fact that Six Sigma is driven usually top down where you've got great alignment between the biggest issues facing the business, the best people, the best projects and focused on the right processes, you can make some great, great strides. But, it will take time and it is an investment.

BH: How can the methods and tools of these two methodologies be combined?

JC: Well, really, working with the champions is the key. Getting the executives excited about what can this process do or this business really do. How can it really spin? What's the potential? So, alignment and setting the expectations with the champions is definitely key point number one. Driving those expectations through the projects and making sure we communicate that down through the business is really where we get the exponential improvements to the business processes.

JF: Another thing to consider in terms of mining these tools, is once you setup a phase gate process, like DMAIC D-M-A-I-C, the tools can be aligned with the various stages so that a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt would know which tools to apply when and how they work well together.

BH: The last question is, what examples of best practices have you seen in the joint deployment and application of Lean and Six Sigma?

JF: Well I'll tell you, Bill, one of the first things we saw early on, first wave Master Black Belt a fellow named Todd Smith of Osram Sylvania, combined the tools on one of his large projects and found just tremendous results. The project went faster, the results were close to 2 million dollars in savings. So, here you have an acceleration of time as well as an acceleration of results. He just used the tools aligned with the D-M-A-I-C phases, and proceeded right through the roadmap. We've seen some organizations that already have some Lean accelerate that as well as bring in Six Sigma. We've also seen quite a variation in the joint deployment of both sets of tools. So, it really depends on your organization and what your needs are as a company.

JC: Have to agree. When you think about best practices, it's identifying those tools that really work hand-in-hand. In classic Lean, we don't use some of the statistical tools. We do use the classic visual management, standard work those kind of things. But borrowing from the Six Sigma toolbox, things like roll throughput yield, what is the synchronized quality throughput the first time through a process when you consider the linkages in the steps of the process. Those kinds of classic tools being used by a Lean Leader, really help him understand the process and the process' capability. So, the hand-in-hand use of some of the classic tools that lend themselves back and forth. Obviously, things like process mapping are used in both sets of toolboxes. Identifying value added versus non-value added certainly a wonderful way to get a baseline understanding of what a current process is and its future state opportunities.

JF: Can I add one thing here?

BH: Go ahead.

JF: One thing we've seen that is really, I think, a best practice is the application of the Kaizen methodology together with a Lean Sigma teaching. So, that the belts are learning not only to accelerate their projects by doing kaizen events and focused in the areas where there are real bottlenecks, but the same time, applying the Lean and Six Sigma tools from the standpoint of total preventive maintenance and process mapping as well as some of the statistical predictions, really works very, very well. And, you get much larger results that much sooner.

This leads us to the program we're describing right now at SBTI for lots of clients called K-Sigma. In which belts do learn Kaizen methodology and have to apply it several times on their project as well as application of the Lean and Six Sigma tools in a coordinated fashion. It has produced tremendous results faster and larger than you would with either one of the two approaches. So, combining them and taking the best aspects of them really accelerates the results.

BH: Alright. Very good. Well, the paper we mentioned earlier can be found on our website www.sbtionline.com . Click the "Free Downloads" link along the left hand side of the webpage. Gentlemen, thank you for taking the time to talk with us.

JC: Bill, great to be here.

JF: Thank you, Bill, it was a pleasure.

BH: And, as always, for more information visit the SBTI website at sbtionline.com or call 888-752-7070. Until next time, take care.