1. What it is…and what it isn’t
Lean Six Sigma
What it is…and what it isn’t
Moore Allison

2. Lean Six Sigma is Lean and Six Sigma!
To delight our customers…
We have to focus on speed and quality
It’s the truth!
Lean
Six Sigma

3. Lean Six Sigma is just Common Sense!
It’s not JUST common sense
Structured approach to address problems (DMAIC)
Team based
Integrated tools for efficient and effective working
Proactive Change Management
Measurable improvements
And many process management concepts such as recognising waste and knowing how to react to variation (which are both inherently present in all processes) are not intuitive
It’s a Lie!

4. Lean Six Sigma is all about Statistics
It is true that data is valued in Lean Six Sigma
It enables customer performance to be measured so that managers know what to prioritise
It tells us if process improvements have been successful
It promotes data driven decision making in general
It stops needless, endless firefighting
It blames the process rather than the person
It is also true that Lean Six Sigma can use advanced statistical techniques to help analyse problems
But only when it needs to (and usually it doesn’t need to)
Tools like waste analysis, process mapping, fishbone diagrams, visual management are used all the time
Along with simple data tools like Pareto Charts, Run Charts and Histograms
It’s a Lie!

5. Lean Six Sigma is more about Change Management than Statistics
Generally, Lean Six Sigma practitioners rate Change Management skills as being more important than advanced statistical skills
It’s True!

6. Lean Six Sigma is only for Improvement
Lean Six Sigma does provide a rigorous approach which has been proven to deliver breakthrough performance improvement in organisations of every kind…but that’s not all
Managers and teams apply the same tools and principles to achieve and sustain everyday operational excellence
5S, Visual Management, Activity Boards, Data Display, Control Charts, Bottleneck Management, Standard Working…
And there’s a whole methodology for innovating and designing new products, services and processes – Design for Lean Six Sigma (DMADV)
It’s a Lie!

7. Lean Six Sigma projects are Big and Complicated
Three rules for Lean Six Sigma Project Selection
Cause-unknown problem
Important to the business
Bite-Sized
It’s a Lie!

8. Lean Six Sigma is for Assessments
Lean Six Sigma tools are very applicable to assessing a process
When projects can’t be focused the first part of the DMAIC approach should used to assess the process and determine what should be prioritised
It’s not for Organisational Assessments…
But it does align and support the Excellence Model
It’s True!

9. Lean Six Sigma is more for Manufacturing
It’s used successfully in every kind of organisation
You can only get so far by copying
It’s about building a learning, Continuous Improvement culture
It’s a Lie!