Lean Process Blog

What is the main goal of a Six Sigma implementation?

The main goal of a Six Sigma implementation will vary from company to company. Of course every business wants to achieve better results by implementing Six Sigma, but how they do that will vary. No two implementations will be the same, even if on the surface, the... read more

Can Six Sigma be Successful in a Transactional Company?

In a previous post, we explored thefactors that affect the success of a six sigma programme within a company. So in this post we can now consider how six sigma is applied in different types of industry. Typically, statistical process control has been widely used in... read more

11 Research Proven Six Sigma Success Factors

The implementation of a six sigma programme depends upon many variables including, but not limited to, the size of the company, the industry in which the company operates and the resources that the company has at its disposal. Therefore, it is not possible to create a... read more

What happens when Lean Metrics lose focus?

One of the key principles in lean manufacturing implementations is to “make it visual”. The premise is that anybody should be able to understand the current status of a process at a glance.  Any out of standard conditions should be immediately obvious, so... read more

7 Wastes of Lean Manufacturing

Use these links to quickly navigate to the various sections of this article What is waste? The 7 wastes of lean manufacturing How to remember the 7 wastes The 8 wastes of lean manufacturing 7 wastes of lean in services 7 wastes of lean in healthcare What Is Waste?... read more

Lean Manufacturing: Eliminating the 7 wastes

Lean manufacturing is a business improvement methodology focused on optimising the flow of value to the customer. Companies that implement lean manufacturing principles aim to reduce the amount of waste in their processes. There are 7 wastes in lean manufacturing,... read more

Six Sigma Tools - Control Phase

So we’ve finally reached the final post in this six sigma mini series! In the previous posts, we’ve looked at the tools most commonly used during each phase of a six sigma DMAIC project.  Having looked at the improve phase last time, it’s now time to... read more

Six Sigma Tools - Improve Phase

In this mini series of blog posts, we’ve been exploring which tools are most commonly used during each phase of a six sigma DMAIC project.  We’ve already looked at Define, Measure and Analyse, so we’re ready to move into the Improve phase in this... read more

Six Sigma Tools - Analyse Phase

Welcome to the third post in our six sigma tools mini series.  We’ve already looked at the tools used in the define phase and measure phase, so check those out if you haven’t already.  In this third post we’re going to be looking at the tools used in... read more

Six Sigma Tools - Measure Phase

This is the second post in our mini series exploring the tools used at each stage of a DMAIC project.  In the first post we looked at the define phase and so now we are ready to move onto the measure phase. The main purpose of the measure phase in dmaic projects is to... read more