How to Apply System Analysis and System Thinking to Lean Six Sigma Initiatives

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Brian J. Galli ◽  
Lincoln C. Wood
Keyword(s):  
Product Quality ◽  
Process Improvement ◽  
Six Sigma ◽  
Production System ◽  
System Analysis ◽  
Lean Six Sigma ◽  
System Thinking ◽  
Cluster Development ◽  
Primary Focus ◽  
Apply System Analysis

This study focuses on the Toyota production system (TPS) and Lean in relation to innovation. The authors examine the tools and behaviors adopted in the TPS that are absent in the Six Sigma (SS) programs and how these elements may influence innovation and quality. Finally, this research analyzes the hybrid Lean Six Sigma (LSS). System analysis involves assessing a business scenario to improve the situation, establishes the changes needed and required, and innovation and product quality as components of the system analysis. This paper undertook text excavating and focused cluster development on highlighting the level of the Lean Six Sigma representations, as explained in articles on the Lean Six Sigma, such as those that compare Lean and Six Sigma. An iterative cluster examination was adopted to understand the primary focus of research in this area. The analysis shows that there is less research on the intersection of TPS and LSS in the areas of philosophy, partners, and people. These areas represent the opportunity to enhance the application of process improvement methods.

New Horizons for Shipbuilding Process Improvement

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bahadir Inozu ◽  
M. J. Niccolai ◽  
Clifford A. Whitcomb ◽  
Brian Brian MacClaren ◽  
Ivan Ivan Radovic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Process Improvement ◽  
Six Sigma ◽  
Lean Six Sigma ◽  
Defense Contractors ◽  
New Era ◽  
Process Improvements ◽  
New Horizons ◽  
Direct Reports ◽  
Design For Six Sigma ◽  
Strategy Design

“In 2004, we start an Initiative --Lean Six Sigma Initiative to achieve our Op Ex Goals. We will be conducting a number of on boarding sessions for Six Sigma with senior leaders in DOD, NAVY, and most importantly Defense Contractors. We will require Six Sigma training for direct reports.” John Young, ASN (RDA) The announcement of NAVSEA’s Lean Six Sigma initiative has ushered in a new era in the ways that naval combatants are designed, built, and operated. As the Navy’s budgetary constraints increase in the coming years, the challenges they face in the 21st century will grow. New levels of process performance are mandated. This paper first highlights the opportunities that the Lean Six Sigma roadmap brings to shipbuilding process improvement and then details the efforts to adopt Lean Six Sigma and align it with the continuous improvement initiative at NGSS. Aspects of management strategy, Design for Six Sigma, replicating process improvements as part of integrating Lean Six Sigma with Knowledge Management are discussed.

Environmental Performance as Key Performance Indicators in the Lean Six-Sigma Methodology

2012 ◽  
Vol 488-489 ◽  
pp. 1082-1086 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pregiwati Pusporini ◽  
Kazem Abhary ◽  
Lee H.S. Luong
Keyword(s):  
Product Quality ◽  
Continuous Improvement ◽  
Performance Indicators ◽  
Six Sigma ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Key Performance Indicators ◽  
Lean Six Sigma ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
Quality Cost ◽  
Six Sigma Methodology

Lean six-sigma methodology focuses on continuous improvement approach with an emphasis on improving the product quality and reducing waste. Recent studies of lean six-sigma methodology indicated that this methodology commonly focus on four areas of performance namely quality, cost time and service. In this paper, an environmental performance is proposed into lean six-sigma methodology. An environmental performance needs to be integrated into lean six-sigma as a new paradigm of lean six-sigma methodology to achieve overall competitiveness of product.

Effectively Applying System Analysis and System Thinking in Six Sigma Environments

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 9-21
Author(s):  
Brian J. Galli
Keyword(s):  
Systems Thinking ◽  
Six Sigma ◽  
System Analysis ◽  
Project Managers ◽  
System Thinking ◽  
Green Belts

This article provides data on how system analysis and system thinking are applied in Six Sigma. We incorporated different approaches developed by systematically analyzing various literature focused on filling the voids in Six Sigma with system analysis. The article looks at the necessities of project managers, Black Belts, and Green Belts with regards to pursuing and fulfilling projects. The key purpose is providing Six Sigma with an extensive understanding of systems thinking. Improvements will be more focused and the results broader spread in any organization employing Six Sigma. The research applied to this topic will add to previous works and have some valuable input for success in Six Sigma.

Process improvement for printing operations through the DMAIC Lean Six Sigma approach

2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Roth ◽  
Matthew Franchetti
Keyword(s):  
Process Improvement ◽  
Six Sigma ◽  
Lean Six Sigma ◽  
Six Sigma Approach

scholarly journals Lean Six Sigma and Athletic Training: A Primer for Athletic Training Educators

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 259-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Noller ◽  
David C. Berry
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Athletic Training ◽  
Process Improvement ◽  
Six Sigma ◽  
Athletic Trainers ◽  
Lean Six Sigma ◽  
Health Care Facilities ◽  
Athletic Training Educators ◽  
Robust Process

Context Lean as a quality improvement philosophy is new to athletic training despite widespread use in health care for many years. Objective To introduce the concepts of Lean and Lean Six Sigma and create a primer document for athletic training educators in the classroom. Background Lean requires organizations to exercise effort along with several dimensions simultaneously to improve patient quality and efficiency while controlling costs and reducing waste. When appropriately executed, Lean transforms how an organization and its employees work, creating an avid quest for quality improvement and, ultimately, patient safety. Synthesis Lean is a cultural transformation that changes how an organization operates. It requires new habits, skills, and attitudes throughout the organization, from executives to front-line staff. Lean is a journey, not a destination. The culture of Lean involves the relentless pursuit of continuous quality improvement and is composed of 6 principles and numerous tools. Recommendation(s) Whether athletic trainers approach Lean or Lean Six Sigma in a leadership role, or as a stakeholder in a Kaizen event, all should have a working knowledge of the principles, methods, elements, philosophy, and tools of robust process improvement. Moreover, while no best-practice statement exists about how to incorporate Lean Six Sigma into a curriculum, addressing process improvement early may allow immersive-experience students an opportunity to engage in a process improvement initiative, facilitating a greater appreciation of the content, and offer opportunities to engage professionals from other disciplines. Conclusion(s) Lean is reproducible in sports medicine clinics, orthopedic practices, and outpatient and athletic health care facilities, but only when athletic trainers understand the application. Moreover, for this reason, athletic training programs should strongly consider adding a robust process improvement course/content to their graduate curriculums.

scholarly journals Reducing surgical cancellations: a successful application of Lean Six Sigma in healthcare

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. e001342
Author(s):  
Stijn Schretlen ◽  
Paulien Hoefsmit ◽  
Suzanne Kats ◽  
Geofridus van Merode ◽  
Jos Maessen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Process Improvement ◽  
Six Sigma ◽  
Treatment Time ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Continuous Process ◽  
Bypass Graft ◽  
Lean Six Sigma ◽  
Data Driven

ObjectiveThe COVID-19 pandemic emphasises the need to use healthcare resources efficient and effective to guarantee access to high-quality healthcare in an affordable manner. Surgical cancellations have a negative impact on these. We used the Lean Six Sigma (LSS) methodology to reduce cardiac surgical cancellations in a University Medical Center in the Netherlands, where approximately 20% of cardiac surgeries were being cancelled.MethodA multifunctional project team used the data-driven LSS process improvement methodology and followed the ‘DMAIC’ improvement cycle (Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control). Through all DMAIC phases, real-world data from the hospital information system supported the team during biweekly problem-solving sessions. This quality improvement study used an ‘interrupted time series’ study design. Data were collected between January 2014 and December 2016, covering 20 months prior and 16 months after implementation. Outcomes were number of last-minute coronary artery bypass graft cancellations, number of repeated diagnostics, referral to treatment time and patient satisfaction. Statistical process control charts visualised the change and impact over time. Students two-sample t-test was used to test statistical significance. A p<0.05 was considered as statistically significant.ResultsLast-minute cancellations were reduced by 50% (p=0.010), repeated preoperative diagnostics (X-ray) declined by 67% (p=0.021), referral to treatment time reduced by 35% (p=0.000) and patient Net Promoter Score increased by 14% (p=0.005).ConclusionThis study shows that LSS is an effective quality improvement approach to help healthcare organisations to deliver more safe, timely, effective, efficient, equitable and patient-centred care. Crucial success factors were the use of a structured data-driven problem-solving approach, focus on patient value and process flow, leadership support and engagement of involved healthcare professionals through the entire care pathway. Ongoing monitoring of key performance indicators is helpful in engaging the organisation to maintain continuous process improvement and sustaining long-term impact.

Applying Bayesian Network Techniques to Prioritize Lean Six Sigma Efforts

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanzhen Li ◽  
Rapinder S. Sawhne ◽  
Joseph H. Wilck
Keyword(s):  
Bayesian Network ◽  
Process Improvement ◽  
Six Sigma ◽  
Manufacturing System ◽  
Lean Six Sigma ◽  
Limited Resources ◽  
Systematic Evaluation ◽  
Competitive Advantages ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Manufacturing Organizations

In order to retain competitive advantages, many manufacturing organizations have applied Lean Six Sigma techniques to improve production processes. The general approach for implementing Lean Six Sigma is to perform various projects to tackle specific problems or areas. However, with the manufacturing system and its external environment becoming more and more complex, it is simply not possible to solve all the problems given the limited resources. The purpose of this study is to develop a model that provides a systematic evaluation for potential opportunities to enhance the effectiveness of Lean Six Sigma. Deriving from the Bayesian Network methodology, the proposed model combines a graphical approach to represent cause-and-effect relationships between events of interests and probabilistic inference to estimate their likelihoods in the area of process improvement. The developed model can be used for assessing the problems associated with Lean Six Sigma initiatives and prioritizing efforts to solve these problems.

Using the socio-economic approach to management to augment Lean Six Sigma

2016 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean P. Goffnett ◽  
Lawrence Lepisto ◽  
Randall Hayes
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Process Improvement ◽  
Six Sigma ◽  
Lean Six Sigma ◽  
Economic Approach ◽  
Production Environment ◽  
Organizational Assessment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Organizational Issues ◽  
Operational Change

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a framework and a case that delineates the coordinated use of the socio-economic approach to management (SEAM) and Lean Six Sigma (LSS) to facilitate operational change. Design/methodology/approach – This study uses action research and thematic analysis to explore the augmentation of existing process improvement and organizational assessment methodologies in a production environment. Findings – Organizations are under increasing pressure to improve all aspects of business. Project leaders and consultants often follow popular quantitatively oriented protocols like LSS to evaluate explicit operational processes. Including a qualitatively oriented protocol like SEAM expands the project leader’s capability through greater consideration of implicit organizational issues. This paper presents a case where LSS was complemented by SEAM to assess a process that was entangled with several latent organizational dysfunctions. Practical implications – SEAM and LSS are accepted protocols to facilitate process improvement and organizational change. Pairing the two protocols into a SEAM-LSS model offers the strengths of each approach, while compensating for the limitations of each. The result is a more inclusive change protocol that reduces potential oversights and inefficiencies that could occur if project leaders worked within the purview of only one methodology. Originality/value – This paper uses action research to propose a model to bring qualitative and quantitative methodologies together into a larger complementary framework to use when evaluating organizational problems and opportunities. This paper aims to stimulate discussion and research that would lead to more robust process improvement protocols.

Lean and Six Sigma Innovation and Design

2019 ◽  
pp. 337-349
Author(s):  
Rick Edgeman
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Financial Performance ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Six Sigma ◽  
Production System ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Lean Six Sigma ◽  
System Innovation ◽  
Lean Enterprise ◽  
Social And Environmental Performance

Enterprises are always seeking best and next-best practices and sources of competitive advantage. Two consistently successful means of delivering these have been Lean Enterprise Methods that are often associated with the Toyota Production System, and Six Sigma approaches to product, process, service, and system innovation and design that have contributed significantly to, especially, enterprise financial performance. The integration of these approaches, commonly referred to as Lean Six Sigma, is highlighted in this chapter with some emphasis dedicated to the use of Lean, Six Sigma, and Lean Six Sigma to enhance not only enterprise financial performance but also social and environmental performance and impacts.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document