In reality, lean six sigma remains a powerful tool for continuous improvement especially when combined with other enabling solutions such as agile, advanced analytics and artificial intelligence.
Six Sigma and its offspring, Lean Six Sigma, remain relevant in manufacturing and several service industries, including healthcare and transportation, where error reduction, efficiency, and consistency are critical to achieving optimal productivity, quality control, and customer satisfaction.
Today, agile methodology stands out as the most popular process improvement approach, and Six Sigma comes second, despite its decreasing trend.
Lean Six Sigma's predecessor, Six Sigma, originated from the Motorola company in the United States in 1986. Six Sigma was developed within Motorola to compete with the kaizen (or lean manufacturing) business model in Japan. In the 1990s, Allied Signal hired Larry Bossidy and introduced Six Sigma in heavy manufacturing.
Lack of management support
The project is bound to fail. A strong champion is a key to the Six Sigma program success. If you have a support from the management, there's a good chance of the project being successful, if not, definitely, you're going to fail in your project.
It's too complex.
Another reason many companies don't adopt Six Sigma is because it seems like an overwhelming task. Many people think they need to hire consultants, buy expensive software or train employees before implementing any improvements.
Between the PMP and Six Sigma certifications, one is not better than the other. They just have different focus areas. If you want to be a project manager, you choose PMP. If you want to work in quality assurance or process improvement, go for the Six Sigma certification.
The Competitive Advantage of Lean Six Sigma Green Belt
Quality is a vital and differentiating trait in today's competitive industry for products and services. The implementation of a system within companies that promotes quality and eliminates flaws provides them with a competitive edge.
If your organization is looking for a lightweight, continuous methodology to guide innovation and improvement, Lean might be an ideal fit. If you're looking to reduce variability and risk in a more complex environment, Six Sigma might be better suited for your needs.
In the future, Six Sigma will need to address the demand for more agile processes and adapt to the rapidly changing business environment. Flexibility, speed, and the ability to respond to disruptions will become crucial factors.
Six Sigma is a set of methodologies and tools used to improve business processes by reducing defects and errors, minimizing variation, and increasing quality and efficiency. The goal of Six Sigma is to achieve a level of quality that is nearly perfect, with only 3.4 defects per million opportunities.
Six Sigma projects are generally done by a team. The members of this team are from various disciplines. If the team members do not complete the assigned tasks, it will lead to the failure of the project. Team member commitment, in a way, is linked to the lack of management support.
The Downside of Six Sigma
In some cases, it even leads to increased production costs. That is because the cost savings made by virtue of eliminating returned products, costly reworks, and defective products, are only a process improvement byproduct.
The Competitive Advantage of Lean Six Sigma
Businesses that adhere to Lean Six Sigma frameworks can expect to achieve increased profits, decreased costs, improved efficiency, and a reduction in wasteful practices. These efficiency processes are so effective, more than half of Fortune 500 companies follow them.
Lean 6 Sigma Green Belt Certification is known for its worth in producing both hard and soft cost savings. Process improvement is a straightforward way to save money.
Highlighting Six Sigma skills and certifications on your resume can put you at the front of the pack when applying for jobs. Many companies value the Six Sigma methodologies because they transform business processes and increase profits.
The ability to add Six Sigma Certification to your resume proves your commitment to improving your business acumen and analytical skills, as well as improving the business where you work.
As an indicator of its success, he added, "About 53 percent of Fortune 500 companies are currently using Six Sigma – and that figure rises to 82 percent when you look at just the Fortune 100."
If the goal is to achieve near-perfect levels of quality, Six Sigma may be the best approach. However, if the goal is to create a culture of continuous improvement with a focus on efficiency and waste reduction, then Kaizen may be a better fit.
Agile methodology focuses on better management of projects. Lean Six Sigma methodology focuses on improving processes. Combining the two may be the key to maximizing process efficiency.
Both are effective at improving quality and reducing waste. However, have very different goals, especially in measuring success. Six Sigma aims to reduce defects by improving processes and tools, while Scrum aims to reduce defects by building products that people want.
Criticism 4: Poor measurement system for Six Sigma may erode employee motivation. Also, Six Sigma creates a culture of command, and culture associated which may stifle the employee creativity and innovation. The efficiency programs like Six Sigma are designed to identify problems in work processes.
Examples like Home Depot and 3M show that companies cannot focus on implementing Six Sigma in isolation. Clearly, Six Sigma is a set of process tools that should only be part of a more holistic process improvement strategy.