An evaluation of Lean and Six Sigma methodologies in the national health service

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to conduct an empirical study derived from the previous literature from the perspective of benefits, tools and techniques, continuous improvement (CI) and quality improvement (QI) methodologies and critical failure factors (CFFs) of Lean and Six Sigma (SS) in the national health service (NHS).Design/methodology/approachA literature review was carried out to identify previous findings, empirical data and critical variables concerning Lean and SS in healthcare for over ten years. Second, primary research in quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews was carried out with 110 participants who have experience using Lean and SS in the NHS.FindingsLean and SS have evolved into common practices within the NHS and now have an established list of tools and techniques frequently employed by staff. Lean and SS are considered robust CI methodologies capable of effectively delivering extensive benefits across many different categories. The NHS must overcome a sizable amount of highly important CFFs and divided organizational culture.Originality/valueThis paper has developed the most extensive empirical study ever produced on Lean and SS in the NHS and has expanded on previous works to create new and updated research. The findings produced in this paper will assist NHS medical directors and practitioners in obtaining up-to-date insight into Lean and SS status in the NHS. The paper will also guide the NHS to critically evaluate their current CI strategy to ensure long-term sustainability and deliver improved levels of service to patients.

Lean implementation: analysis of individual-level factors in a biopharmaceutical organisation

“…Organisational commitment has long been considered to be an important aspect of employee rapport, which has strong implications for work behaviour (Mowday et al , 1979). As mentioned previously, gaining employee commitment and motivation (Albliwi et al , 2014; Antony et al , 2021) is a key organisational readiness factor for a lean deployment and for enabling a CI and change management culture (Antony, 2014; Antony et al , 2021). Therefore, organisational commitment and by extension job satisfaction are integral to any successful change management process.…”

A study on critical failure factors of Design for Six Sigma in Indian companies: results from a pilot survey

“…They allow the researcher to effectively collect data from broad populations in a practical manner that can easily be adapted to administering the study questionnaire online or in-person (Saunders et al, 2010). Many recent studies in SS have adopted a survey methodology for empirical studies (Antony et al, 2019(Antony et al, , 2021aAmbekar and Hudnurkar, 2017;Zhang et al, 2016).…”

“…Six Sigma (SS) is used to reduce defects and produce measurable and tangible financial results for the past three decades. SS ensures processes perform in the right way to achieve a defect-free system (Nonthaleerak and Hendry, 2006;Antony et al, 2021a). There are two variants of SS.…”

Application of Six Sigma methodology to enhance the productivity and performance of a hotel in the UAE

“…It is a series of standards for a quality management system that provides accreditation and certifications to organizations (Sun, 2000). Later, SS was developed as a quantitative approach to quality improvement in the mid-1980s by Motorola (Antony et al. , 2021).…”

“…It is a series of standards for a quality management system that provides accreditation and certifications to organizations (Sun, 2000). Later, SS was developed as a quantitative approach to quality improvement in the mid-1980s by Motorola (Antony et al, 2021). After incorporating SS initiatives, the organization witnessed a steep increase in its sales, reaching up to 44% in profits and 23% in sales in 1987 (Pearlman and Chacko, 2012).…”