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Six Steps to Introduce Lean Six Sigma

Using a structured method to create a sustainable approach to improvement within any organisation

"When a man does not know what harbour he is making for, no wind is the right wind". Thus said Seneca, in 422 BC. In essence, if you don't know where you are going, then nothing will help you.

2,000 years later, it is surprising the number of organisations that don't know where they are going with their improvement activity. For improvement to become a sustainable approach to doing business, organisations need a clear idea of where they are going, and have a map to follow to make sure they get there.

Most organisations are so busy just making sure that work gets done, services get provided, orders get shipped and customers are satisfied that they don't have the time to stand back and plan out improvement. So, they either leave it, or end up doing half a job which no-one buys into, and carry on doing the same old thing and wonder why it gets harder and harder to do, and why their organisational improvement efforts don't seem to help much.

In reality, standing still means going backwards. The world keeps turning, customer requirements keep increasing, the competition keeps getting stronger, and shareholders become ever more demanding. Improvement is a fundamental part of any organisation, without it the organisation will not survive.

At SigmaPro we are very clear about the purpose of improvement activity. The purpose is to address strategic gaps within the organisation - gaps between where the organisation wants to be and where it is right now. For example, the organisation may need to introduce a new product to break into new markets, it may need to improve customer service to help grow market share, or improve process efficiency to increase profitability. These are the strategic gaps that the improvement activity should be focusing on.

We advocate a six step approach to introducing a sustainable approach to organisation improvement. These six steps help to create a clear roadmap for the organisation to follow.

Step 1 - Assess

The first of these stages is to carry out a review to establish current status of the organisation: strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for improvement. The review uses 7 components, ranging from strategy deployment methods, through resources available and prioritisation approach, to methods used. Once this review has been carried out, there is a clear picture of current status, a potential future status, and the gaps between the two. A business case can be estimated that considers the financial benefits of addressing the gaps against the resources involved in doing so.

Step 2 - Prepare

Assuming the business case makes sense, the second stage is to prepare. This has three main components: Agree the goals for the improvement programme; create a top level implementation plan; and get commitment to the implementation plan at senior level. In defining what the goals for the improvement programme are, remember that improvement activity is about addressing strategic gaps, not just about making random improvements for the sake of it.

The top level improvement plan should give an idea of phases of work (this could use the six steps described in this article), the resources that will be used (number of belts, whether these will be full time or part time, tracking resources and so on), priority areas for improvement in the short term, and outline timescales (typically a 2-3 year period).

Once the goals and outline plan have been put together, these need to be agreed by the senior team for the organisation. Most often this is done in the form of a workshop, where senior leaders are given the opportunity to make decisions on the goals, resources, priorities & plans. This senior team commitment is very important to creating a sustainable approach, if there is not full commitment from the start, it is quite possible that the programme will not survive beyond the first wave of improvement projects.

Step 3 - Launch

The third step is to launch and complete a number of initial improvement projects that are strategically aligned, and have been prioritised by the Senior Team.

Each project should have a leader, and a project team. Practitioner training is designed to teach a wide range of tools that enables delegates to identify and eliminate waste and variability in processes. Each participant runs a live project between training weeks.

The training programme covers the DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control) methodology which is used for all improvement projects on existing processes. Although in theory it is possible to start by running projects to develop new products and or services, in practice most organisations start with improving existing processes, because these projects are easier, and organisations often have many such opportunities for improvement available. The organisation should also set up a steering group to review progress on the projects.

By the end of the launch phase, which typically takes 4-5 months, there will be a number of completed projects that have added value to the organisation, Fundamentally, any improvement programme must be considered as, and deliver, a return on investment. The average value to the organisation of a Lean Six Sigma project has been estimated as £100,000 from research carried out by Lean Six Sigma consultant Mikel Harry. It will depend on the organisation, the strategic gaps and the projects chosen, but in our experience there is no reason why early projects cannot add significant value to the organisation.

Step 4 - Progress

Once the first wave of projects has been completed, the objective is to continue the programme by running more projects. The organisation may train other staff as Belts at this stage if the launch phase has been seen as a pilot. The organisation is most likely to train staff in the principles of new product and process design (Design for Six Sigma, or DfSS) at this stage.

Running sustainable improvement projects requires 3 components to be operational: people selection, project selection, project processes. Choose and train the right people, select project areas to be working on and run the projects using defined methods and tools. Typically, the organisation will have a Champion that looks after the programme as a whole, and the role of the Champion is to ensure that these three components are working, liaising with the Belts and working with other managers in the organisation to achieve this.

Step 5 - Sustain

In step 5 the aim is to embed improvement activity at all levels within the organisation. Organisational goals must be clearly cascaded down to people at all levels, and improvement activity aligned to these goals. Learning for others in the organisation who have not yet been involved should be carried out, and the programme can be refined to improve its fit to the culture of the organisation. Effective deployments always consider both the technical side (tools, methods, processes) and the cultural side (stakeholders, management of change, recognition, and communication).

The objective is for the organisation to have a sustainable approach to identifying, selecting and tackling improvements at all levels in the organisation. This may mean that at overall organisation level strategic projects are being selected and tackled, and at local department and section level smaller improvements are being made by local staff. In Lean Six Sigma typically the strategic level projects are led by black belts, and local level improvements are led by Green and Yellow Belts.

Larger organisations by this stage may look to become self sufficient, and will develop some Black Belts to become Master Black Belts that are able to train and coach others within the organisation. At this stage, the organisation should revisit the original plan and objectives developed in the prepare phase, look at the strengths and weaknesses of the programme, and make any adjustments necessary.

Step 6 - Enlarge

The final phase, Enlarge, involves considering how the learning that the organisation has achieved can be passed on to others within the supply chain: Customers, suppliers and partners. Optimal performance can only come when all parts of the supply chain are working at or close to perfection! By this stage, the processes will be embedded in the organisation; it becomes the normal way to do business, and is no longer considered a programme. The programme has become a sustainable approach to improvement.

Many organisations don't have a clear goal for improvement activity. The goal for improvement activity is to address strategic gaps, the objective of the deployment is to create a sustainable approach to improvement at all levels within an organisation.

Whilst every organisation is different, and therefore each deployment will be different in some way, the six step approach is designed as a framework that all organisations can use to deploy Lean Six Sigma.

If you would like to know more about Lean Six Sigma contact us to book a place on our FREE introductory seminar, or find out more about formal training.

Author Bigraphy

Chris Rees - Director of UK Operations

Click here to read more about Chris