Lean Six Sigma : For improve Efficiency Lean Manufacturing and Lean Six Sigma an Integrated Approach perform excellent.
Over the past 15 years, the words Lean six sigma and lean manufacturing have become commonplace.
May be often you hear, “we have already heard this or tried it, nothing new…”
You ask in more detail – and the situation resembles an anecdote when on the review –
So, there are still a lot of questions: who, where how and in what conditions tried to apply lean manufacturing and its principles.
Only after answering these questions can the result be evaluated, and conclusions drawn.
It is precisely these “conditions” that I want to consider more deeply, I think it is fundamentally important to understand the effectiveness of applying this approach.
Several times, clients, turning to me, said that they had a request for lean optimization, the introduction of lean production, while after the diagnosis it turned out that the request was about something else.
The request was about reducing costs (in addition to financial management), restoring order, increasing manageability, improving the quality of products or services provided.
But to what extent, and in what forms, the principles of lean manufacturing can be applied in these organizations is a big question.
What do I mean? : Lean Six Sigma
The market in which I work is America, organizations, too. People – both ordinary workers and managers – are also their own, American. And their mentality is also ours, formed in the American. There is no other one yet.
And it has features. One of the features is a rather rigid hierarchy, centralization of power, a small possibility of delegation, the desire to control everything from a single center. This approach has its pros and cons, but this is the topic of a separate article.
In the case of strong centralization, the implementation of the Lean principles in a relatively complete way is possible only if the first decision-maker (owner, main shareholder, manager) is completely, 100%, passionate about the ideas of Lean, shares its principles, and he has not the slightest doubt about the need for this approach …
If this is not the case, then only the use of some tools is possible.
What exactly is possible then? : Lean Six Sigma
For me, this is by no means an idle question. There is a specific example (and not the first client with such a request) when the first person says –
“I want Lean, I want lean production.” You do diagnostics.
The processes are not perfect, to say the least. Strict hierarchy of management.
But is the owner willing to take the risk of making the changes that accompany Lean? After all, changes in the current management system are always a risk – now it works hard, but what if you change? So, you can ruin the business …
About the changes In one company (network retail, strict centralization, everything is closed to the manager).
The owner directly said – “I understand the limitations of the current manager, but he knows how to find a common language with external inspection bodies, the entire management team is built for it (it will also have to be looked for if he is fired).
I have no time to carry this business myself, I still need to do other things.” In general, reasonable, there are clear arguments.
We did what we could for this business, in terms of processes, their debugging and standardization, but …
The system of material incentives could not be changed fundamentally, there was no trust between employees and the manager, it was not possible to form well-coordinated teams on streams, personnel selection also remained with the manager.
After 3 years, the business has lost ground to competitors. Fully. At all. Was the owner, right?
Reducing centralized control, transferring part of the functions to the field is also a risk. Is the first-person ready to delegate functions?
Do managers see fit to take on more responsibility?
Without answers to these questions, it is impossible to undertake a redrawing of the management system.
Next, the question is – what optimization do business processes require?
Who should formulate queries for optimization?
After all, in order to involve employees in optimization, they must be interested in it! Including executives.
There may be different degrees of involvement of the first person, there may be different culture of organization and requirements of the industry/market.
A description of possible approaches to optimizing business processes is presented in the table below.
Opportunities for optimization / reduction of costs (including reduction of labor costs and labor resources):
| NO. | OPTIMIZATION OPTIONS | DIGNITY | DISADVANTAGES | FEATURES |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | From the top down is an order to reduce costs, including as a percentage of the payroll fund or people. Directive. | Possibly, with a hierarchical management system. | (1)There are risks of increasing losses or stopping business through an “Italian strike”. (2)The effect is that as long as there is a hard press. | It requires managerial will, perseverance, strict control (the main resource). |
| 02 | From top to bottom – process re-engineering (optimization by consultants or a special management team), rationing + power pressure, the need for execution to the result. | (1)Possible with a hierarchical management system. (2) The use of standardization is possible and necessary. | (1)Qualified specialists are required to carry out rationing and process changes. (2) Risk of resistance from below. (3) There are no offers from employees. | (1)It takes managerial will and perseverance for a long time – up to the receipt of results. (2) It is advisable to use standardization, including those based on ISO 9001 |
03 | Lean (TQM) – top and bottom:(1) Guarantee of non-reduction of employees | (1) Making the most of employees’ creativity (2) Maximum long-term economic effect (3) The use of standardization is possible and necessary. | (1) Hierarchy is possible only with a very strong commitment of the top manager (owner) to the ideas of Lean and the willingness to change among top managers. (2)The effect is not short-term. It requires a long-term perspective. | Required: (1) Full, 100%, acceptance of Lean ideas, (2) changing the hierarchy of the control system with the transfer down of part of the powers and (3) organization of appropriate material and moral incentives for employees. |
| 04 | Allocation of independent units (flows) interested in profit + training in analysis and optimization tools. | The ability to find different, most suitable optimization tools. | (1) We need readiness for this system (both those who give authority and those who are ready to accept them) (2) An accounting system is required to allow transactions to be accounted for. | A well-developed system of economic relations is required. |
The cornerstone question is:
How best to realize the opportunities to improve the efficiency of processes in a particular enterprise?
It is clear that here we are not talking about the specifics of a set of Lean-tools (they are selected by a set of problems), it is about involving employees, showing their initiative in formulating problems and finding ways to solve them. Their intention to take responsibility. Without the qualities listed above, Lean is not applicable as a system, it is only possible to use it fragmentary, with tools.
In the enterprises with which I worked, the implementation of Lean was really obtained approximately between approaches 2 and 3, i.e., between the re-engineering (rethinking and optimization) of processes with the help of attracted specialists and the full involvement of employees, with the provision of opportunities for them to show responsibility and initiative.
By the way, the implementation of really working quality management systems based on the ISO 9001 standard is put on the same rails. But there are still fewer requirements for the involvement of all personnel, it is quite possible to implement top-down (approach 2).
Approach : Lean Six Sigma
Although, if it is possible to really convince employees of the usefulness and rationality of standardization for business and for them personally (and this happens), then the return on the system increases many times – tested by personal experience and more than once.
It is clear that the closer lean manufacturing & Lean Six Sigma is (approach 3), the greater the return…, but this, as we have already said, depends on many factors.
And the application of the approach in reality is the art of the possible in current conditions. With the management that exists today and the challenges that are formulated today in every industry or market segment. Someone perceives these requirements; someone considers it possible not to notice them as much as possible.
You will inevitably remember the famous phrase of E. Deming – “You cannot change, survival is not your duty at all.”
And what does your experience say?