Assignment 4

Make a research about Six Sigma covers; Concepts,

Principles, Methodologies, Techniques, Levels (belts),
and Lean Six Sigma

Provide your answer with a real case study!

NAME: Karim Hisham Baher ElGazzar

ID: 19200058

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 Lean Six Sigma is an approach for enhancing organisational performance and removing wasteful procedures
that combines the two well-known business principles of lean and Six Sigma. It blends Motorola's Six Sigma
management strategy with Toyota's lean manufacturing ethos as well as qualitative and quantitative methods
for accelerating process improvement.

Lean Six Sigma acknowledges the value of data collection and analysis in assisting stakeholders in
understanding the efficacy or inefficacy of the workflow, as well as the role that stakeholders play in every
project's success. It is a practical strategy that enables an organisation to choose the elements of each
discipline that will best aid it in achieving its objectives.

To understand the flexibility that Lean Six Sigma provides, it is important to be aware of the similarities and
differences between the two disciplines. Both lean management and Six Sigma seek to eliminate waste and
improve business process. An important difference, however, is that lean management relies on people to
identify what problems are causing waste. The philosophy of lean management is to do more with less, and it
is built around two important principles -- Kaizen continuous improvement and respect for people.

All employees are expected to help eliminate waste; they receive just-in-time (JIT) training regularly, and the
tools they are given to identify and eliminate waste are designed to be easily understood and implemented.
Lean management tools for process improvement include the following:

• The 5 Whys. A problem-solving technique, the concept of 5 Whys was popularized by Toyota in the
1950s. It is based on this simple belief: Whenever a problem arises, ask the question "why?" at least
five times or more, until a solution is found. This helps organizations perform root cause analysis and
troubleshoot by answering each subsequent "why" until the eventual solution is revealed.

• Kanban inventory control cues. A Japanese term that means visual card, kanban is a visual system
used to manage and keep track of work as it flows through a process. Kanban can be done in many
variations, but generally a series of cards are used on a visual board such as a heijunka box, to provide
an overview of the amount of work and the total number of tasks that need to be performed. The board
is generally divided into three areas -- waiting for production, in production and produced.

• Heijunka box. A wall-size visual scheduling tool, a heijunka box is used for achieving a seamless
production flow. Typically, heijunka is a wall-mounted grid of small boxes, or pigeonholes. The row of
boxes represents a process, whereas each column signifies a time period.

• Ishikawa fishbone diagrams. A fishbone diagram is a cause-and-effect visualization tool that helps
track down the reasons behind problems and defects. It combines the practice of brainstorming with a
type of mind map template to determine the root cause of a problem.

• Takt time calculations. This calculation is used to identify the maximum acceptable time to meet the
demands of the customers. To come up with the maximum acceptable time, the takt time formula
divides the net time available for production by the customer's daily demand.

• Value stream mapping. Value stream mapping uses a flowchart to document every step required for a
process. By providing a structured visualization and analysis of the key steps, value stream mapping
improves the flow of information and materials required for building products and services for
customers.

Types of waste defined by Lean Six Sigma

The tenets of Lean Six Sigma classify any resource that does not add value to customers as waste that should
be discarded. There are eight types of waste defined by Lean Six Sigma and the acronym DOWNTIME is
commonly used for easy recall. Each letter in this acronym stands for the following:

• Defects. A defective product that is not meeting the quality standards.

• Overproduction. Excessive production that surpasses the demand.
• Waiting. Bottlenecks and unplanned downtimes.
• Non-utilized talent. Underutilizing and improper allocation of employee talents and skill sets.
• Transportation. Poorly managed shipping and transportation methods.
• Inventory. A surplus of supply that exceeds customer demands.

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 • Motion. Excess movement of products, machines or people.

• Extra processing. The creation of repetitive tasks and doing more than what is required.

Lean Six Sigma in manufacturing

As mentioned above, the Lean Six Sigma methodology is the combination of the lean manufacturing
ideology popularized by Toyota and Motorola's Six Sigma strategy. This combination makes Lean Six Sigma
an effective tool to optimize business processes and customer relations and, in turn, improve profits.
Shortly after World War II, Toyota's manufacturing process prioritized minimizing bloat and maximizing
flexibility. Inspired by Toyota's ideology, a Motorola engineer in the 1980s invented the Six Sigma
management strategy.

Where lean manufacturing emphasizes streamlining processes, Six Sigma focuses on eliminating defects in
these processes. Six Sigma teams achieve this by minimizing variation in the processes.
Lean Six Sigma is often associated with the Xerox Corp. In the early part of this century, the company
implemented Lean Six Sigma to improve customer experience and to become more cost-competitive. Since
then, Xerox has promoted how it has successfully combined the infrastructure of Six Sigma with the
philosophy of continuous improvement from lean manufacturing to streamline the company's internal
processes and provide customers with quality products and services at speeds and prices that customers
value. One of those services happens to be helping Xerox customers use Lean Six Sigma to improve their
own business processes.

Lean Six Sigma levels, certificates and training

An individual can attain Lean Six Sigma certification at varying levels based on their training. Testing and
training for the Lean Six Sigma certification is conducted by the globally recognized International
Association for Six Sigma Certification (IASSC). The certification levels are divided into the following belts,
similar to the levels used in martial arts training:

White Belt. This first level of Lean Six Sigma certification aims to provide trainees with a fundamental
understanding of Lean Six Sigma methodology, including but not limited to process improvement,
variability, eliminating negative effects on process performance and deciding what roles specific team
members should play.

Yellow Belt. This belt builds off of the White Belt certification course and aims to give trainees a more
detailed and comprehensive understanding of Lean Six Sigma methodologies.

Green Belt. The Lean Six Sigma Green Belt focuses on the application of the methodologies outlined in the
White and Yellow Belt courses. In Green Belt certification courses, trainees learn to chart and plan the roles
of individuals within Lean Six Sigma teams, in addition to learning how to run statistical tools tests that are
used to improve processes.

Black Belt. This belt certifies the trainees as experts in the principles and philosophies of Lean Six Sigma.
They are known to be agents of change who provide training and thought leadership for complicated team
projects. Lean Six Sigma Black Belts also train and coach the Green Belt project leaders.

Master Black Belt (MBB). The final belt that is given out in the Lean Six Sigma certification process
teaches trainees to explain multiple regression, perform factorial experiments, determine size calculations for
experiments and describe different types of process optimization. In short, the MBB is the pinnacle of Lean
Six Sigma training. According to IASSC, the Master Black Belt certification exam is a closed book,
proctored exam with 150 questions and takes about four hours to complete.

Benefits of Lean Six Sigma methodology

The Lean Six Sigma methodology offers huge transformation opportunities across all industries. By adding
the Lean Six Sigma principles into their daily workflows, employees, businesses and customers can reap the
following benefits:

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 • Benefits for employees. Lean Six Sigma promotes high levels of employee engagement during
process improvements. This boosts team spirit and accelerates development and organizational
performance. Employees not only gain a better understanding of the effect their work has on business
success, but they also develop a deeper appreciation for the work of other employees and departments.
• Benefits for business. Reduced cost is the most desirable benefit that businesses gain by engaging in
Lean Six Sigma principles. The efficient process flows, reduction of wasted resources, decreased lead
times and standardization of processes all lead to higher bottom-line results.

• Benefits for customers. Lean Six Sigma requires a strong focus on customer satisfaction and
delivering high-quality results. This, coupled with the streamlined processes offered by Lean Six
Sigma, help improve customer experience and retention rates. Customers enjoy product improvements
and enhanced product delivery methods which, in turn, elevates customer satisfaction.

History and examples of Lean Six Sigma

Inspired by Japan's Kaizen model, a Motorola engineer introduced the Lean Six Sigma principles in 1986.
Any organization, regardless of its size or industry affiliation, can benefit from the Lean Six Sigma model.
Following are examples of how Lean Six Sigma is used to remove various obstacles:

Manufacturing defects. Lean Six Sigma can prevent manufacturing defects. For example, natural gas must
be dehydrated to prevent oversaturation and corrosion from the water vapors. By using Lean Six Sigma,
companies can address these defects during the manufacturing process of natural gas dehydrators.

Repairs. Lean Six Sigma can reduce the number of repairs during construction projects. For example, in the
construction and connection of pipeline sections, welded connections can deteriorate, causing connection
failures. By implementing Lean Six Sigma training, welders can learn how to avoid connection defects,
which can reduce the number of weld repairs in pipeline construction projects.

IT downtime. Unplanned IT system downtimes can have adverse effects on companies. By using the Lean
Six Sigma principles, companies can avoid and prevent unnecessary downtime.

Billing problems. By applying the Lean Six Sigma principles, home healthcare organizations can reduce
billing denials and rejections related to Medicare.

IT security threats. Lean Six Sigma can mitigate security threats. For example, pipeline infrastructure is a
combination of thousands of companies and miles of pipelines responsible for the transportation of oil,
natural gas and other precious commodities. By incorporating Lean Six Sigma, companies can reduce the
risk of cyber and IT security threats in pipeline control systems.

Payroll processing errors. Payroll processing errors are a common occurrence for many organizations. By
applying Lean Six Sigma principles, payroll processing errors can be eliminated for biweekly employees.

Environmental impact. Companies practicing Lean Six Sigma can have a positive effect on the
environment. For example, Lean Six Sigma principles can guide biochemical industries to reduce the
hazardous impact of batch chemical processes on the environment.

REFERENCE

• https://www.techtarget.com/searchcio/definition/lean-Six-Sigma

• https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjWx4jTiq_-
AhXRQUEAHUBMA_kQFnoECCgQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fgoleansixsigma.com%2Fwhat-is-lean-six-
sigma%2F&usg=AOvVaw1RUpbRmqA5L5LFz5CUpqxG

• https://www.goskills.com/Lean-Six-Sigma
• https://leansixsigmainstitute.org/

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