Lean Six Sigma finds the cause

People choose Lean Six Sigma (LSS) over other approaches because it first seeks to understand the cause of a problem before looking for solutions, says LSS Black Belt at Rethink, David Grimett.

"Three of the five phases focus on understanding the why and how first, before solutions are even thought of," he says.

According to Grimett, some approaches seek to find the solution first, "often with the solutions being thought up from relatively unsubstantiated thinking”.

However, not everyone is eager to implement LSS approaches and solutions, says Grimett. "It seems generally people are more reluctant to implement it as they do not recognise the value it can add, mainly due to being uneducated about what LSS is."

He says a full-blown implementation of LSS does take dedicated resources, such as an LSS champion and team leaders. "It is recommended that all of these resources are fully dedicated to the projects for the entire duration, and would therefore require organisations that are larger and have the resources spare."

But Grimett also adds that LSS implementations are possible for smaller companies. "LSS can suit organisations of all sizes - the approach will just differ."

He says people who have been part of an LSS implementation will be more likely to implement it in future as they have seen the results. "Generally, once you've used LSS methodology, you tend to want to re-use it due to the structure it provides."

Grimett says that for successful implementation, a company needs support from top management, well-defined goals and effective leadership. He also stresses that LSS should have a high priority in the organisation.

Head of sales and marketing at Rethink, Richard Aldous, will discuss the different deployment models of LSS and the advantages and disadvantages of each at the ITWeb Lean Six Sigma conference on 10 June. The conference takes place at the Sandton Sun on 10 and 11 June.