Louisville Residents - Learn Lean Six Sigma’s History Here
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Lean Six Sigma has been used in manufacturing for decades and is not something new. It can be applied to other industries or used as necessary, depending on how the experts handle it. It is well-structured so organizations can see tangible results and improve their performance for as long as they have great practitioners. At Lean Six Sigma Curriculum for Louisville High School Students of Kentucky, our team has all the history and details of this methodology, and before you jump to training or implementation, we find it essential to learn more about Sigma.
Doing your research and learning a bit about the methodology’s history will help you decide whether this is the right path for you. We believe it’s a good idea to include this in your curriculum or implement it in your company no matter the situation, but you should be able to understand why.
This methodology was created to help companies prioritize customers, ensure efficient processes, and increase earnings.
If done right, the methodology can help reduce costs and eliminate waste. It is crucial to ensure that quality and performance are always top of mind during this process as well.
This approach not only meets the above goals but also improves customer satisfaction and reduces lead times, and draws upon the knowledge and experience of all involved.
Lean Six Sigma improves quality and process. This is possible because it uses two methods.
- Lean is all about creating value and increasing flow.
- Six Sigma is committed to ensuring that processes are efficient and stable by identifying problems and finding solutions.
LSS was born from these two methods in order to solve the problem of Japanese companies being on top and beating American ones back in the 80s.
All of this was possible because of the Japanese methods, including the Kaizen one, which boosted production, manufacturing, and performance.
Six Sigma Principles and Origins: What You Should Know
It is essential to fully understand Lean Six Sigma’s founding principles and logic before you implement it or decide to be trained.
Both Six Sigma and Lean have been around for decades, and we need to start with the information about these two individuals as they will build the core principles of LSS.
Lean was actually invented long before Six Sigma, as Toyota invented Lean manufacturing in the late 1940s to reduce non-value-adding activities.
Lean’s main idea is that employees should be actively involved in organizational change to foster excellence and believes that continuous learning and improvement are the two most important pillars for ensuring everyone is happy.
As we have already mentioned, Lean’s foundations came from Toyota Production Systems (TPS). It was founded by Japanese Taiichi Ohno, and Lean was created using Henry Ford’s innovations and Business Process Redesign.
These are the principles and ways it works.
- Lean starts with determining the customer’s added value.
- It is possible to map both the value stream as well as how processes work and all the waste accumulated.
- This will enable you to decrease and identify your waste flow. Data is collected to expose waste and then shared. This is the first step in improving the process.
- Next, Lean refers to setting up the system so customers can request it and it delivers it when they need it.
- Employees will be able to identify areas that need improvement and work together to improve them. This allows for process-wide thinking.
Six Sigma, the next methodology, aims for continuous improvement, but when compared to Lean, it is more data-driven.
The method was developed by Motorola and has been successfully used by General Electric. Six Sigma, a process improvement technique, dates back to the early 1980s.
Six Sigma’s structure centers around the DMAIC option. Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control. This is useful for manufacturing but also in other industries to automate their processes.
How it All Started in the USA
This method was created to enable American companies to compete against Japanese manufacturers. It is a mixture of both existing methods, and, as you can guess, it began in the U.S.A before any other country.
The industry gained valuable insight and efficiency through this addition. This allowed growth without compromising customer service.
Lean Six Sigma isn’t just for manufacturing. This shows how healthcare, education, and other industries can reap all the benefits of Lean Six Sigma implementation.
Schools and educational institutions can develop systems that are more efficient and easier to use. Students can learn LSS, which will improve their career and job prospects.
You can reap many benefits, and it can help you increase your professional and personal chances. If you are interested in learning more and getting involved, contact Lean Six Sigma Curriculum Pros of Louisville.