Lean Is About Quality, Not Just Speed or Efficiency… in Factories or in Hospitals

There’s a lot of misinformation about lean and Six Sigma

Given all of the problems that exist in our American healthcare system, it’s encouraging that most healthcare organizations are endorsing or practicing some form of process improvement or operational excellence strategy. Under the banner of different labels and using different combinations of methods, some organizations are preventing errors and improving care, while reducing waiting times, lowering cost, and improving the workplace environment.

Others are, sadly, confused or ineffective in their approach. What matters is improvement (or the lack thereof), not “turf battles” for using different methodologies. One cause of confusion and ineffectiveness is that experts are teaching concepts that are just flatly incorrect.

Unfortunately, there are far too many people who are writing and speaking about how, supposedly, “Lean is for speed and Six Sigma is for quality.” Sure, Six Sigma has a lot to contribute toward quality—that is, if it hasn’t been bastardized into just another corporate cost-cutting program.

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I'll be on QDL this Friday

I look forward to the comments and discussion from the community. I'll be the guest on this week's episode of "Quality Digest Live" by the way.

http://www.qualitydigest.com/QDL-Weekly-play.php

Mark

Interview Video

Here's the QDL interview recording:

https://youtu.be/d6xiQ6GpmoA

Lean Sigma is hogwash

Great article!

Not to bash either Lean or Six Sigma but the two are not synonymous or interchangable.

I do agree that Lean and Six Sigma complement each other when executed properly. (both Lean and Six Sigma are victims of people who don't really understand them)

*I* explain - and practice - the difference as: Lean is for 'people' processes and Six Sigma is for 'physics' processes. Lean can't fix science and six sigma can only address science based waste/defects.

One slight disagreement: Toyota does use 'six sigma'. Oh they don't use the DMAIC phase gate overly/quasi statistical statistical powerpoint multi-colored belt six sigma. but they do use statistical quality engineering practices to design their products and solve their physics problems. And given some of their recent physics problems they *might* benefit from either a refresher or some additional training and practice of some of the more effective of these tools and methods (reflection and continuous improvement is at the heart of lean after all). Strong, effective quality tools existed long before Motorola named it 'six sigma' and gave it some marketing pizazz; just as the Toyota Production System existed long before it was named 'just in time' and later renamed 'lean'...

Toyota, Six Sigma, and their factories

Hi - thanks for your comments. I think we're actually in agreement.

Toyota Financial Services does use formal Six Sigma along with TPS. But, the factories are quite specific they don't use formal Six Sigma. They use statistical methods (the 7 basic QC tools from TQM), but they don't train belts or use DMAIC or other methods. Of course, they have engineers and specialists with deep statistical knowledge and skills, but that was true of every automaker 20 years ago when I worked for Ford and for GM.

So, I agree "strong, effective quality tools"are not the same thing as Six Sigma. Six Sigma, to me, is a formal methodology... different colored belts, use of DMAIC as a framework, etc. Like you said, these statistical methods existed long before Six Sigma. For example, I learned how to do DOE and multiple regression analysis as an engineer and it had nothing to do with "Six Sigma" as practiced in the last 20 years.

LeanSigma

At Maytag Corp. (which registered the term LeanSigma®), we taught that lean is about reducing waste and six sigma is about reducing variation. Waste and variation are both enemies of quality and efficiency.

Sure

Lean also helps focus on reducing variation, through approaches like standardized work, 5S, etc. Maybe the word "variation" gets used more in the Six Sigma side of things... but I'd agree both Lean and Six Sigma should help address both quality AND efficiency. That's the point of my piece, reminding people that Lean focuses on both.

But, I'd add there's also a subtle distinction between "efficiency" and "flow." Lean focuses on improving flow - preventing delays, improving the end to end flow. "Efficiency" is basically a measure of outputs divided by inputs. They're related... the Lean idea would be improving flow and quality leads to better efficiency, which is different than the old approach to "cost cutting" that puts efficiency first (and often reduces inputs without giving mind to outputs).