Small and large organizations are driven by the desire to deliver products and services that are appreciated by their customers. For this reason, they endeavor to put in place quality management systems that help them determine quality levels that customers are willing to pay for. Lean Six Sigma is one of the effective Quality management systems that organizations implement to improve their planning, assurance, control, and improvement processes and ultimately deliver the best possible quality to customers. The Six Sigma Green belt training, as one of the most undertaken by professionals, empowers them to handle complex process improvement projects most of the time under the supervision of a certified black belt professional. This is because businesses are ready to bear the cost of high-quality outcomes.
Why is quality management important?
The importance of quality management boils down to quality. Quality is an important aspect of the business as it not only contributes to customer satisfaction, it affects the overall growth and performance of a business.
Quality management system enables organizations to:
• Improve processes ultimately leading to the development of more consistent products with increased efficiency
• Lower the cost of operations which in turn improves the profitability of the company
• Satisfy customers’ specific needs hence which leads to increased customer satisfaction
• Reduces risks related to lack of customer satisfaction such as loss of customers, loss of revenue, and damaged reputation thanks to fewer errors and inconsistencies in the final product.
• Reduce waste in the course of production
• Increase market share
• Facilitate training on quality management for a change of culture to focus on quality
• Increase employee morale in the long run
What is Lean Six Sigma?
Lean six sigma as a system was introduced by Michael George and Robert Lawrence in 2002 when they combined Six Sigma and Lean principles. Over the years, Lean six sigma has stood out as a collaborative system that has been used to improve organizations’ performance through the elimination of wastes and defects.
It involves a creative application of both the tools from six sigma and the philosophy of lean manufacturing. Companies implement these strategies to eliminate waste of resources like money, time, effort, and even the innate skills of employees to enhance overall quality in organizational processes.
Contribution of Lean philosophy and Six Sigma principles
Lean as a concept of management is based on the elimination of eight types of wastes identified in organizations’ processes. These types of waste, Abbreviated as DOWNTIME, stands for:
• Defects
• Overproduction
• Waiting
• Non-utilized talent
• Transportation
• Inventory
• Motion
• Extra-processing
Lean Six Sigma is a strategic management practice for improving quality processes though minimizing errors. As one of the popular quality management systems, it uses a data-driven approach in improving both the process and product quality. Its contribution includes ensuring organizations’ products are of superior quality through the removal of defects in the production processes and systems. It identifies and removes the entire hurdle in a system hence steering the organization to attain its desired level of perfection.
In lean six sigma, any procedure that does not contribute to customer satisfaction is classified as a defect and should be eliminated.
Levels of lean six sigma
In implementing lean six sigma, organizations establish a special level of employees with cadres like Green Belts, Black Belts, etc. to signify the different levels of the employee expertise and training. This makes it a profession that one can start and grow it patiently to the highest possible level
The learning levels are denoted as follows:
• Yellow belt. This means that one is aware of the fundamentals of Lean Six Sigma.
• Green Belt. Denotes that one is competent in using tools and application like DMAIC and Lean principles
• Black Belt. Signifies the competency of a project leader
• Master Black Belt. Identify a black belt holder with an experience of a minimum of two years. This qualifies the holder to teach others in the workplace about Lean Six Sigma.
Organizational roadblocks to Lean Six Sigma
Most problems related to implementing Lean Six Sigma stem from the nature of the organization’s structure. Organizations can be classified into two categories, based on their models. That is traditional organizations and customer-driven organizations. One common bottleneck that has affected many businesses is being so attached to their structure that it becomes difficult to integrate Lean Six Sigma systems in their corporate cultures.
Other common challenges encountered in Lean Six Sigma implementation include:
i. High initial cost of investment. The organization’s leaders are more often than not the first hurdle to the implementation of Lean Six Sigma. Some leaders have found it too expensive for their operations and have, as a result, failed to commit to making that initial investment. While it could be true that there is a high initial investment associated with implementing Lean Six Sigma, the full impact of its benefits, especially after wastes have been reduced from the processes far outweigh the cost.
ii. Non-cooperative team members. A common challenge in Lean Six Sigma is overcoming the differences between teams and staff and bringing them together to have a common approach. Resistance most likely comes from those employees who form a negative perception about the changes being introduced. While others may resist for fear of their roles being rendered redundant, some employees are simply just used to the old way of doing things and are not willing to learn anymore.
iii. Lean Six Sigma is too statistical. Lean six sigma implementation is also limited by the perception that it is too technical and out of reach for many in the organization. Further, some employees and organization leaders may actually hold the view that Lean Six Sigma is purely statistical, and its tools and instruments too complicated based on the nature of the business.
iv. Lean Six Sigma is a fad that will soon be replaced. This hindrance occurs when leaders view Lean Six Sigma as systems without any value to the organization processes. Consequently, some cadre of employees will always be ready to revert to the old ways immediately they encounter a challenge.
Initiatives to overcome common roadblocks to lean six sigma
For project leaders, it is vital to be mentally prepared to deal with such kinds of challenges and others, whether simple or technical. A positive mindset should be the very first goal that the project team should aim at achieving. If the team leaders have embraced it, it then becomes easy to rally the other staff and change their attitudes.
Here are some of the strategies you may want to consider:
• Invest in an effective communication system. Good communication solves many organization’s problems since most resistance is caused by staff who feel left out of vital decisions. Good communication reduces misunderstandings. Start by establishing a methodology of communication to reduce people’s reliance on hearsay, rumors, and other non-ethical methods.
• Careful selection of the project team. It is vital that the planning stage involves interviewing and selecting people who possess the needed expertise along with an in-depth understanding of both the sector and Lean Six Sigma principles.
• Use of rewards and incentives. Considering that Lean Six Sigma brings efficiency through the removal of processes and efforts that are deemed not necessary, having a reward system can encourage employees to upskill and be better placed to support the new work culture in the organization.
• Dealing with the bottleneck of cost. A Lean Six Sigma practitioner needs to initiate the project by first calculating all the costs compared to reduced wastes the system will bring to the company.
Lean Six Sigma has been and continues to be used widely in many industries across the globe. However, the success or lack of it depends on the skill and the expertise of the professionals implementing it. Professionals with the green belt certification can certainly be in a good position to implement Lean Six Sigma principles successfully.
