Lean or Six Sigma: Which One?

08 January 2018

You can find the answer to this question in an article written by Kent State Facilitators John Novak and John Potkalitsky. In their opinion, today more than ever, organizations are faced with the challenge to reduce costs and increase capacities while delivering increasingly better products and services. Facing global competition in the marketplace, organizations are struggling to be competitive, struggling to be profitable, and most importantly, struggling to survive.

Dr. W. Edwards Deming once commented, “It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.” With the reality of going out of business, organizations in all industries are asking, “How do we change our approach to business to keep us relevant in our industry?” The key word here is CHANGE. Organizations need to embrace a culture where continual improvement is a strategic objective. To be a leader in an industry, continual improvement may not even be enough and innovation will be necessary.

If an organization requires certification to one of the many Quality Management System standards (i.e. ISO 9001) a continual improvement program is mandatory. You must document the measurement and improvement of your processes.

Two very popular methodologies come to mind to address this need, Lean and Six Sigma. Lean and Six Sigma are not new. They have been around for decades. They are proven methodologies that deliver results. For years, many organizations have struggled with the dilemma of which improvement program to use: Lean or Six Sigma. While some continue to debate the issue, others have come to realize that Lean and Six Sigma can work well together to improve processes, increase quality and drive out costs......