Lean Six Sigma Metrics

Lean six-sigma approach:

1.       Latest engineering paradigms, such as total quality management, lean and agile manufacturing, six-sigma, and Kaizen, aim collectively to help companies improve the quality of products and services, increase operations effectiveness, reduce waste and costs, and increase profit and market share.

2.       Measuring time-based performance is the essence of lean manufacturing practices. Such measures are also the focus of six-sigma projects aiming at achieving organizational excellence at both the plant and enterprise levels.

3.       One of the latest developments in six-sigma includes the introduction and application of LSS systems. Through the synergy of lean and six-sigma in combination, LSS provides a set of methods that companies can apply to any manufacturing, transactional, or service process to reduce variability, eliminate or reduce waste (non-value-added), and cut process lead time. This is likely to result in an effective program that brings both cost-reduction results and process performance boost to achieve six-sigma quality at system-level CTQs and CTSs. Better system-level performance is achieved through LSS by adjusting quality and accuracy measures (for products or processes) to match the six-sigma level (high and less variable response).

4.       Less cost is achieved with LSS by reducing process waste, inventory, and lead time.

5.       Numerous process gains can be obtained from applying the LSS method. Process gains are expressed primarily in terms of achieving six-sigma performance at a certain selected process CTQ and CTS with less processing cost and shorter lead time. The process lead time is a key performance metric that can be related to many system-level CTQs and CTSs, such as delivery reliability and agility.

6.       Similarly, processing cost is a key product or order attribute that can be related to the product or service price and market share. LSS therefore implies producing products and providing services with a powerful combination of less process variability and less operating cost.

7.       “Whereas six-sigma is focused on reducing variation and improving process yield by following a problem-solving approach using statistical tools, lean is concerned primarily with eliminating or reducing waste and improving flow by following the lean principles.”