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Lean Operations and Six SigmaWhat is Lean Operations?Lean Operations is a series of mathematical and visual tools to streamline material and information flow. It encompasses continual waste reduction and looks at all processes from the perspective of the customer. What is Six Sigma?Six Sigma is a system for reducing variation in processes using advanced statistical techniques. It seeks to reduce defect levels to 3.4 per million units produced or transactions processed. How are Six Sigma and Lean Operations synergistic?Each method seeks to eliminate the constraints on a business. If the constraints are long throughput times, with too much inventory and too many people, then Lean Operations is the best tool to apply. If the constraint is process variation, resulting in defects, scrap and rework, then Six Sigma is the tool we will apply. How is Lean Operations different?We are implementation and education specialists, not consultants. We do not write reports and expect our customer-partners to do the implementation. We facilitate the process from planning to startup. Additionally, we use a highly analytical and mathematical approach in our implementations. What is a Kaizen event, and why doesn’t Lean Operations perform one?Kaizen event is generally a one-week accelerated implementation. We do not believe Kaizen is the proper method for initially implementing Lean. We follow a systematic mathematical approach to Lean implementation. If you try to get it all done in a week, there are possibilities that you may have overlooked something or just make a mistake. In addition, Kaizen events usually do not take on a very large or meaningful scope that justifies an investment in Lean Operations. How long will a Lean Implementation take?Implementation follows a detailed seven-step approach. When taking on a meaningful scope of a customer-partner’s facility, these seven phases of implementation generally take 8 - 16 weeks. What is my investment in implementing Lean Operations?Lean Operations works differently than consulting firms. For a fixed investment, we guarantee our customer-partners will achieve the financial results we assess. Generally this investment ranges from $7,000 - $90,000, depending on the scope. For more information, contact John Krahe at 814/833-3200, 800/815-2660. |