What are the key differences between Six Sigma and Lean methodologies?

Lean es la filosofía enfocada en la eliminación de los desperdicios, utilizando herramientas del TPS, mejorando principalmente la velocidad, el tiempo muerto y los montajes en los procesos; Six Sigma es la filosofía enfocada en el control de las variables que afectan un proceso, utilizando herramientas estadísticas, mejorando principalmente el scrap. Se dice que Lean mejora el 1% de 100 cosas, mientras que Six Sigma mejora el 100% de 1 cosa. Ambas filosofías pueden ser utilizadas en toda la compa?ía, sin embargo, deben ser lideradas y ejecutadas por perfiles de puestos muy diferentes una de otra.

Six Sigma is somewhat similar to Lean, but they are not the same, and it is definitely different from Kaizen. While they share the principle of continuous improvement, they are distinct approaches. Often, people lump Six Sigma, Lean and Kaizen together, without recognising the differences. In fact, Kaizen is not even a methodology. Although Kaizen predates both Lean and Six Sigma, it is primarily a mindset focused on making small changes that can lead to significant improvements over time. Six Sigma is more quantitatively-focused. It relies on data to reduce variances and minimise defects, thereby improve quality. The method commonly associated with Six Sigma is R-DMAIC-R, Recognise, Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control and Realise.

O método DMAIC em uma vis?o geral pode parecer simples, porém ao decorrer da montagem do projeto desde do business case até a etapa 'Control' pode se deparar com alguns percal?os. é importante salientar que os objetivos desde o início do projeto precisam ser bem definidos e mensurados de maneira tangível, aliado a uma base robusta de dados para poder prosseguir com uma análise consistente diante da complexidade da ferramenta.

Six sigma focuses on reduction of variation in a process. The ultimate goal of six sigma is to achieve quality that is near perfect!

Lean Principle's focus is eliminating waste in a process or service. Result is reducing service cycle times, improving on-time delivery performance and reducing cost.

The word 'Lean' in English refers to being slim. To be slim, you will need to remove excess fats, thereby achieving the objective of being lean. In this context here, fats represents wastes. Therefore, Lean is all about eliminating wastes to improve effectiveness and efficiency, focusing on reducing lead time by streamlining processes, improving flow, and achieving a robust production system. The current market trend towards embracing both Lean and Agile together, also known as 'Leagile'. This shift has been especially prominent since the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted global operations, leading to huge doubts about the feasibility of only using Just-In-Time (Pull) systems, and how to effectively manage it with Just-In-Case (Push) strategies.

- Lean is not only about frequent, incremental small change (Kaizen) but also radical change delivered through intense workshops (Kaikaku). - In addition to fighting waste (Muda) a main focus of Lean is to fight variability (Mura). This is something that Lean and Six Sigma have in common. Eliminating Muda and Mura helps prevent employee overburden and burnout (Muri).

Com uma carreira dedicada à aplica??o dos princípios Lean e Seis Sigma na área de saúde, tenho visto como a metodologia Lean pode transformar opera??es e proporcionar um valor imenso aos clientes. O Lean é mais do que apenas uma cole??o de ferramentas e técnicas; é uma filosofia que busca maximizar o valor para o cliente enquanto minimiza o desperdício. Em minha jornada, estemunhei como a aplica??o dos princípios Lean pode levar a redu??es significativas de custos, aumentos na qualidade dos servi?os e uma melhor experiência para os clientes. Estou comprometido em continuar a promover essa mentalidade e a trabalhar com minha equipe para alcan?ar a excelência operacional.

Lean and Six Sigma were initially 2 different methodologies, they focus on the different points in the operations. Lean methodology focuses on speed/low cost/flexibility, we normally would do: 1. Value stream mapping 2. Bottleneck identification and removal 3. “Pull” from the Customer 4. Kaizen & 5S Six Sigma focuses on precision/accuracy/VOC, we normally would do: 1. Voice of the Customers 2. Statistical Process Control 3. Error-proofing 4. Failure Modes Effect Analysis 5. Cause and Effect Analysis We need to combine these 2 different tools, and bring big whole value to our companies.

Six Sigma is about decreasing the variability of products/services and Lean is about decreasing different types of waste during production processes. As such, Six Sigma improves quality and Lean improves economy of production processes.

Enquanto o Seis Sigma foca na redu??o de defeitos e no controle da variabilidade, o Lean enfatiza a elimina??o de desperdícios para agilizar os processos. O Seis Sigma utiliza o ciclo DMAIC para otimizar e estabilizar processos, concentrando-se em uma abordagem de solu??o de problemas orientada por dados. O Lean, por sua vez, usa ferramentas como o mapeamento do fluxo de valor para identificar e eliminar atividades que n?o agregam valor, promovendo um fluxo contínuo e eficiente.

Si on veut comparer le lean et le Six Sigma, on peut les distinguer comme on distingue un médecin généraliste d'un médecin spécialiste. Le lean permet de travailler d'une manière générale sur les projets d'entreprise, en cartographiant, en analysant les causes, en mesurant la performance globale. Le Six Sigma quant à lui va au fond des problèmes et agit de manière quantitative par la statistique exclusivement. On aboutit à une autre comparaison, comme celle de la recherche où on distingue recherche qualitative avec la phénoménologie et recherche quantitative avec les techniques quantitatives de gestion.

Na implementa??o, o Seis Sigma exige uma infraestrutura de especialistas treinados e um enfoque rigoroso em dados e análises estatísticas. Projetos s?o escolhidos com base em seu potencial de impacto financeiro e na capacidade de medir e controlar variáveis críticas. Já o Lean promove uma cultura de melhoria contínua em toda a organiza??o, incentivando todos os colaboradores a identificar e eliminar desperdícios. A implementa??o Lean pode ser mais rápida e menos custosa inicialmente, pois foca em mudan?as incrementais e constantes.

Cultural change is another important topic for operational excellence transformation, as most time we talk about the tools or methodology, it is not the change its self, but the sustainability as well. For this aspect, we are dealing with people, take the expectation that you will meet resistance, and find the right tactics to move this forward, make sure your people: “I understand why…”, “I have decided to…”, “I know how to…”, “I am able to…” “I will continue to…” Make them in the gene for your company!!

Lean Promotes a culture of continuous improvement (Kaizen) and employee empowerment. Six Sigma Promotes a culture of quality and data-driven decision-making. Combining these cultures can lead to an organization where employees are continuously seeking ways to improve efficiency and quality. This fosters an environment of innovation, accountability,

A implementa??o de ambas as metodologias exige uma mudan?a cultural significativa. O Seis Sigma introduz uma cultura de tomada de decis?es baseada em dados e rigor analítico, enquanto o Lean promove um ambiente de respeito e empoderamento dos colaboradores, focado na elimina??o de desperdícios e na melhoria contínua.

O Seis Sigma busca melhorar a qualidade reduzindo a varia??o nos processos, enquanto o Lean visa otimizar a eficiência eliminando desperdícios. O Seis Sigma utiliza análise estatística para identificar e resolver problemas, já o Lean simplifica fluxos de trabalho e maximiza o valor para o cliente. Enquanto o Seis Sigma é comum em setores críticos como manufatura e saúde, o Lean é mais abrangente. O Seis Sigma requer uma mudan?a cultural para adotar análises estatísticas, enquanto o Lean promove a melhoria contínua e a participa??o de todos os funcionários na identifica??o de desperdícios. Essas metodologias, embora distintas, se combinada melhora os processos organizacionais de forma abrangente.

Eine klassische Trennung habe ich seit Jahren nicht mehr gesehen. Beide Ans?tze verfügen über Methodenbauk?sten die sich überschneiden und k?nnen sinnvoll in der Synergie eingesetzt werden.

People use Lean when they are embarrassed after they learn to see, and use Six Sigma when they are disappointed with process outputs.

As the focus point for each tool is different, thus combines the time-based strategy and solution sets inherent in Lean with the cultural, organizational, process and analytical tools of Six Sigma. With the result that we respond to our customers better, faster and with less waste.

The synergy between Six Sigma and Lean methodologies lies in their complementary strengths, which, when combined, can lead to more comprehensive and effective process improvements. Together, they ensure that processes are both efficient (Lean) and consistent in quality (Six Sigma). Lean can quickly address obvious inefficiencies, while Six Sigma tackles more complex issues through rigorous data analysis. Both methodologies prioritize the customer, but combining them ensures that the customer receives high-quality products and services efficiently and consistently.

Lean has a much wider focus than Six Sigma: If we consider the classic seven wastes: - Conveyance - Excess inventory - Excess motion - Waiting - Overproduction - Excess processing - Defects & rework It turns out Six Sigma is a sophisticated and very effective methodology to tackle complex cases of one of these: Defects. This is a reason I would recommend anyone starting in their process improvement journey to focus initially more in Lean than Six Sigma.

Six sigma is a fantastic tool in lean world, the most complex and the most powerful But is related to high volume process, need an high level of technical knowledge and is poor in terms of involvement of the people and, in my opinion is the big gap compared the lean approach that put the man in the centre of the process as key factor I love 6 sigma but is not lean approach

Start by learning the distinct differences between Six Sigma, Lean and Kaizen. It helps to know their differences, and therefore knowing which of these practices suits the Organisation more. There's a reason why there's a synergy of Lean with Six Sigma e.g. Lean Six Sigma, yet there're no such term Lean Kaizen or Six Sigma Kaizen, because as earlier written, Kaizen is more of a mindset rather than a methodology.

Embora Seis Sigma e Lean compartilhem o objetivo de melhorar os processos e a eficiência, eles o fazem de maneiras complementares. O Seis Sigma se destaca na análise estatística e controle de variabilidade, enquanto o Lean se concentra na cria??o de valor para o cliente e na elimina??o de desperdícios. Combinadas, essas metodologias podem proporcionar uma poderosa abordagem para alcan?ar a excelência operacional e a transforma??o organizacional.

Then there's the Taguchi Loss function, which argues that the further you get from the target, even if you're still within specs, the product loses value. It's like combining Six Sigma and Lean principles. The loss might not be immediate, but the customer could be less satisfied or the product less useful. So, reducing variation (Six Sigma) helps promote Lean principles.