Successful Lean Six Sigma deployments are affected by change leadership, training, and the use of the best tools. Lean Six Sigma deployment requires active and visible support from top management.  Lean Six Sigma deployment also is more successful in organizations that are open to change, have strategically linked their Lean Six Sigma projects to core company goals, and have experienced previous successes with other quality improvement programs.

 

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Change leadership associated with Lean Six Sigma should begin prior to implementing the business process improvement methodology. Leading change should include aligning the Lean Six Sigma objectives to the organizational goals, tying Lean Six Sigma’s success directly to executive compensation, assessing organizational readiness for a cultural change, planning to obtain the desired organization culture, communicating the Lean Six Sigma objectives to the entire organization, and embedding Lean Six Sigma’s goals into employee performance plans.

Lean Six Sigma training applies to Green Belts, Black Belts, Master Black Belts, and to all other employees in organizations.  Training for Belts typically equips practitioners with knowledge of the process improvement methodology, the traditional Six Sigma tools, change leadership, and team management. Training for all other employees ranges from explaining the Lean Six Sigma deliverables to teaching the entire Lean Six Sigma methodology.

The Lean Six Sigma toolkit contains statistical and diagrammatic methods that define, measure, analyze, improve, and control problems.  The key to effective training is to focus on the tools that best benefit organizations, as opposed to including every tool in the kitchen sink.  Unnecessary training is a waste since time and money are lost focusing on tools that will never be used.  Instead, focus on the high impact and high usage tools that make positive impacts on organizations.

References

De Feo, J. A. (2002). Creating strategic change more efficiently with a new Design for Six Sigma process. Journal of Change leadership, 3(1), 60-80.

Hensley, R. L. & Dobie, K. (2005). Assessing readiness for Six Sigma in a service setting. Managing Service Quality, 15(1), 82-20.

Hilton, R. J. & Sohal, A. (2012). A conceptual model for the successful deployment of Lean Six Sigma. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 29(1), 54-70.  

Näslund, D. (2013). Lean and six sigma – critical success factors revisited. International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences, 5(1), 86-100.

Langabeer, J. R., DelliFraine, J. L., Heineke, J., & Abbass, I. (2009). Implementation of lean and six sigma quality initiatives in hospitals: A goal theoretic perspective. Operations Management Research, 2(1), 13-27.

Raisinghani, M. S., Ette, H., Pierce, R., Cannon, G., & Daripaly, P. (2005). Six Sigma: concepts, tools, and applications. Industrial Management + Data Systems, 105(3/4), 491-506.

Wiklund, H., & Wiklund, P. S. (2002). Widening the Six Sigma concept: An approach to improve organizational learning. Total Quality Management, 13(2), 233-239.