Monday, August 26, 2013

The "Buzz" About Lean Six Sigma is Often Wrong

From a hospital news trade journal, "The Buzz about Lean Six Sigma" included this inaccurate quote:


As I've pointed out before, Lean is not just about efficiency... it's about quality and flow. Efficiency and higher profits are an end result, not a primary goal.

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Seminal Lean Sigma Book Gets it Wrong

From the cover of a well-known Lean Sigma book:


Again, it's wrong to say:
  • Lean = speed
  • Six Sigma = quality
Lean and the Toyota Production System are about BOTH speed (flow, really) and quality. See for yourself on the Toyota website.


This Lean Sigma Book Thinks Lean is Only About "Faster and Cheaper"

A diagram proposed by a Lean Sigma book:


Lean is only about Faster and Cheaper?? Wrong. Lean is about Better, Faster, and Cheaper. The Lean Sigma people ignore the quality methods and quality tools that are a core part of Lean and Toyota Production System. "Better" is not the exclusive domain of Six Sigma. Sorry, just not true.

As I say on the "About This Blog" page:

"Everyone is entitled to his own opinion but no one is entitled to his own facts."      
Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan
The book further explains that Lean is about "productivity" and Six Sigma is about "Quality." Wrong!


Wrong!

An Ironic Complaint about "Bastardization"

It kills me to see a Lean Sigma book complain about methodologies being "bastardized" when this book does the exact same thing to "Lean."

To say Lean is only about reducing waste or that lean is only about Flow is a complete bastardization of Lean and the Toyota Production System.

It's a shame that people who don't know any better accept this stuff as gospel truth.


Lean has many principles and methods that help improve what we should be doing. The aim of Lean is to get it right the first time, every time... that's not the exclusive domain of Six Sigma.

Ridiculous.

Lean Sigma thinks Lean Six Sigma Works Well With Lean

From an unnamed book:


What a nonsensical statement from a "Lean Sigma" book. If Lean is a part of Lean Six Sigma, of course it works well with Lean???

Friday, August 9, 2013

A Lean Six Sigma Book Thinks It's All About Projects

From a lean six sigma book, a view of an integrated approach (click for a larger view):


The problem is this "Lean Six Sigma" view has a project-centric (project only?) view of the world.

This ignores Lean as a management system and an organizational culture. 

How do you create a project plan (in the "Define" phase) if you haven't yet identified potential solutions (in the "Improve" phase)?

If you "finalize solutions," where is the room for continuous improvement, or Kaizen?