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When going over the LSS history, you will need to familiarize yourself with more than one methodology or at least understand where everything originated and how. Some people don’t have the same history as others, but we will be able to provide the basics and a little more to ensure you don’t get lost in all the fake information that only misleads your research. At Lean Six Sigma Curriculum for Huntsville High School Students of Alabama, our company specializes in this methodology and has a deep understanding of every aspect of it, starting from its inception to today.
First, you must understand that this methodology was created to help companies prioritize customers and increase earnings. It combined the principles and structures from two major methodologies, Six Sigma and Lean.
If done right, the methodology can help reduce costs and eliminate waste. Throughout the whole process, it is crucial to maintain quality and performance. This method has been proven to be an excellent addition to customer satisfaction and can also improve results based on how its implementation is handled.
We must make it clear that LSS is not just a combination of the previous two methodologies only. It improves quality and process, and even though the core principles of Lean and 6 Sigma are important, there is more to it than just the existing structure and principles. In fact, some Japanese methodologies have influenced it.
LSS is believed to be Japanese due to the Kaizen method that was developed in Japan. This method helped Japan’s manufacturing industries as it helps to focus on how to encourage the company and all its members to think about customers’ needs and offer better quality products. This led to increased production and manufacturing.
When going to its history, you will learn that LSS is more of an answer to the Japanese companies that have achieved better results than those who worked in America back in the 80s.
Lean & Six Sigma Origins
Six Sigma and Lean, both well-known concepts, have been around for decades. We need to learn them before we jump to the conclusion of LSS, as you will learn how much they influence the main methodology and help achieve other results.
Toyota invented Lean in the 40s as a way to reduce non-value-adding activity.
Lean believes employees must actively participate in organizational change to foster excellence. Continuous learning and improvement are two important pillars to ensure that everyone is happy and gets the desired results.
It was born from the foundations of Toyota Production Systems (TPS), which Japanese Taiichi Okno established. Henry Ford’s innovations and Business Process Redesign were the keys to Lean’s birth.
This is what you must remember about Lean when working with it:
- Lean starts with understanding your customer’s added value and how you can satisfy it.
- It is important to map both the value stream as well as how the processes are done.
- It is necessary to later identify the waste flow. This data can then be gathered to identify waste and share it, and this is the first step toward improving the process.
- Next, Lean refers to the process of setting up the system so that customers can request it, and it delivers it when they’re ready.
- Employees will be able to identify areas they can improve upon and work together to solve the problems.
- This allows everyone to think across the process and be focused on customer requirements efficiently and effectively.
Lean is based upon all of the above. Six Sigma, however, is more data-driven. Motorola invented the method, and General Electric successfully used it in the 1980s.
Six Sigma’s structure revolves around the DMAIC option. This can be used in manufacturing, but also in other industries, to automate processes, reduce waste, and improve cycles by addressing problems but, first, identifying them. The structure of Six Sigma is Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control.
How Lean Six Sigma Was Developed in the USA
Companies realized that Lean and 6 Sigma performed well as standalone methodologies and came up with the idea to combine them while adding elements that were more focused on the primary goals of continuous improvement or waste reduction.
American companies had to adapt their methods to Japanese companies of the 80s when Kaizen and other methods were improving their products and making American companies fall behind.
This efficiency provided valuable insights for the industry, while the combination enabled growth in the USA without compromising customer service—and yes, we’re referring to LSS.
The methodology is now used in more than just products. Healthcare and education are seeing how they can cut down on time and resources to improve their systems.
Lean Six Sigma Curriculum Pros of Huntsville is so determined to provide anyone who needs the methodology or tries to use it with all the training required and certification.
We are available to provide advice and solutions, so make sure to contact us for more information!