A new Lean Six Sigma framework for improving competitiveness

Abstract

Manufacturing companies strive for ever-increasing competitiveness through productivity and quality. This goal can be achieved through the implementation of lean manufacturing and six sigma methodologies. Lean manufacturing adds value by reducing waste, while six sigma eliminates variability. In this context, this article proposes a new framework within Lean Six Sigma circumstances. The framework was proposed by means of an exhaustive literature review which identified the positive points of other Lean Six Sigma frameworks available on literature. The framework was applied to a case study, and the assessments were based on semi-structured questionnaires and analysis of records and documents. The implementation was carried out in a manufacturing company in Brazil, which belongs to an American-based multinational. In the case study described herein, the manufacturing company established the proposed framework to support the combination of lean manufacturing and six sigma and introduced an enterprise-wide culture of project through the proposed Lean Six Sigma framework, which resulted in significant benefits.

Food sovereignty and sustainability mid-pandemic: how Michigan’s experience of Covid-19 highlights chasms in the food system

“…Resiliency, the ability of “systems to absorb change” and “still persist” (Holling 1978 , p. 17), adapt, and continue to develop (Folke 2006 ; Lake et al 2019 ), is the hallmark of sustainable food systems. Resiliency requires redundancy and diversity (Kotschy et al 2015 ), two values that run contrary to the principles of popular lean business methodologies (da Silva et al 2019 ; White 2019 ). Diversity is a critical value to resilient food systems in multiple ways: ecological diversity (i.e., a diversity of plants and animals—crops and pollinators), cultural diversity (i.e., a diversity of kinds of food for a diversity of kinds of people), and economic diversity (i.e., a diversity of ways of distributing food among people).…”

Lean Six Sigma E Industria 4.0, Una Revisión Desde La Administración De Operaciones Para La Mejora Continua De Las Organizaciones

“… seiri: subordinar, clasificar, descartar  seiton: sistematizar, ordenar  seiso: sanear y limpiar  seiketsu: simplificar, estandarizar y volver coherente  shitsuke: sostener el proceso, disciplinar Metodología Lean Six Sigma La metodología Lean Six Sigma nace de la complementación de Six Sigma y Lean Manufacturing para la optimización y mejora continua de los procesos organizacionales, teniendo como propósito alcanzar la excelencia operacional (Laureani & Antony, 2019;Patel & Patel, 2021). La utilización conjunta de estas metodologías posibilita obtener dobles beneficios por parte de las empresas, donde se combinan las mejoras en la calidad y la disminución de la variabilidad obtenidas con Six Sigma, con las mejoras de velocidad y disminución de desperdicios obtenidas con Lean Manufacturing (da Silva, Filho, Agostinho & Junior, 2019). Para su adecuada implementación, Lean Six Sigma utiliza la metodología DMAIC (del inglés, Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve y Control), la cual define seis etapas o pasos:…”

Case example of the use of Six Sigma and Kaizen projects in policing services

“…In this case, Six Sigma and Kaizen are the most popular methods used for continuous improvement of the organisation (Bhuiyan and Baghel, 2005; Elnathan et al, 1996; Galli, 2019; Luo et al, 2017; Prabhakar, 2017; Spector, 2006). These methods could improve the business processes of organisations, contributing to an enhanced organisational performance in various areas, such as the quality of product and service, business cost, cycle time, market penetration, customer satisfaction (Scott et al, 2009) and a sustained organisational competitive advantage (Antony et al, 2005; Da Silva et al, 2019; Larsson et al, 2017).…”