presents the Executive Education Series

Why Lean Six Sigma is better than ‘just doing projects’

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Lean Six Sigma makes problem solving exciting

Written by Francisco Pulgar-Vidal, fkiQuality

fpulgarvidal@fkiquality.com

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Lean Six Sigma projects are

vastly different from typical, everyday

projects,

and can be much more

exciting to be a part of, than most other things at work.

Here is why,

Lean Six Sigma projects

explore and discover important work problems,

and then

make work better for the long term.

See how next.

IDEA ONE: To solve a problem,

explore the current work situation.

Teams following the Lean Six Sigma way

go to the place of work,

…that is, where problems happen,

to gain insights into the work.

The place where work

is done is known as ‘gemba.’

You may see ‘gemba’ written as

Going to the gemba lets you see what is the problem

in its context.

Observing makes you smarter about the problem, because you are

open to what is happening.

But assuming you already know everything around you,

does not.

Is this vastly different from before?

Yes, because you start

with observations, not assumptions.

IDEA TWO: Careful observation leads teams to

identify the real problem.

Do you remember the most important instruction before a test?

‘Read each question carefully.’

In the same way, before you start solving, you must

formulate the problem correctly.

Have you ever worked on

the wrong problem? Who hasn’t?

For instance, this happens when a problem is

formulated as a solution.

The following are actual problem statements. Can you see

anything wrong?

These are

solutions already!

Based on

assumptions like...

Assumption: Train users and they will follow procedures.

Assumption: People are always ready to embrace new rules.

Assumption: To eliminate shipping errors, use a longer form.

Assumption: More pressure will make things better.

We make these assumptions all the time.

Are assumptions always right?

When we

jump ahead from assumption to solution,

we may face several

project setbacks.

Jumping to a solution orients the team to deploy

only one thing, which could be insufficient or just wrong.

Jumping to a solution stops the team’s search to find

the true reason for the problem.

Jumping to a solution reduces your effort to find

a real solution.

So, you could be working on

the wrong problem.

By not jumping ahead to a solution, Lean Six Sigma teams work on the

right problems.

This is

vastly different from everyday work.

IDEA THREE: Going to the gemba and working on the right things

sparks energy and innovation.

In the gemba, you learn

what is really happening.

Nobody can tell you how things are because,

you have been there.

This is great

because you can avoid

false starts.

As an employee, false starts make you feel

annoyed and unproductive.

As a manager, false starts make you

waste resources.

Over time, the worst waste is

the loss of interest and creativity of the associates.

Can you afford this loss?

On the contrary, working to solve

things that matter,

make you feel that

your day-to-day also matters.

This makes for teams filled with

energy and desire to innovate.

This is much better than how

most teams feel everyday.

In summary, Lean Six Sigma projects focus on what matters and bring back

discovery and innovation to the work.

Next presentations will discuss:

• What you should think about when thinking of lean and six sigma.

• How lean six sigma and project management go together.

• In which way lean six sigma projects go deeper than other efforts.

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