Don't Learn Lean from an LSS Green Belt?

Posted on LinkedIn by somebody with a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt.... it's not her fault if she wasn't taught correctly about the Toyota Production System and Lean.

My thoughts:

To label the Toyota Production System as an “efficiency” system is inaccurate. TPS is about flow (which is not the same as “efficiency”) and quality at the source.

No, Toyota Isn't a Six Sigma Company. No, They Didn't Create a Six Sigma System.

If you do a Google search for "Toyota Six Sigma," the first result is from a company whose URL shows its roots. The domain is SixSigma.us. That tells me their origins are Six Sigma. I would link to them, but I don't want to give them the Google juice for doing so.

Six Sigma people often latch onto Lean to create and sell something called "Lean Six Sigma" or "Lean Sigma." That's what this company does. But far too often, as this blog has documented, the Lean Six Sigma people get Lean completely wrong.

This company has created a bad, inaccurate webpage that seems designed to appear high in the Google search results (hoping the SEO benefit will lead to more sales in spite of how inaccurate the page is). They want to sell training and "Belt" certifications (Green Belts, Black Belts, etc.).

The page is strangely titled: "Benefits of Toyota Production System (TPS)." If you find the actual Toyota TPS page, you will find zero mentions of Six Sigma... because Toyota does not formally use what the belt-peddlers would sell as a "Six Sigma" methodology. Toyota doesn't train belts. They don't do DMAIC projects. Toyota does use statistical methods, but that's due to the history of Total Quality Management (TQM).

The company uses a huge Toyota logo, which isn't their intellectual property to use.

The page starts:

"Toyota production system (TPS) is like a super charged Lean Six Sigma program."

It's NOT a "Lean Six Sigma program" and it's a stretch to say it's "like" one.

"Al the proven and intelligent methodologies of conventional TPS Six Sigma have been charged with immensely motivated team associates."

"TPS Six Sigma" is not a thing.

This is all just written so badly...

"TPS is the outcome of such powerful Lean Six Sigma team associates sigma, which leads to high performance culture and lets employees to know their full strength."

TPS is not an "outcome" of "Lean Six Sigma." I'm not sure what that sentence even means.

"Toyota Motor Corporation created this Six Sigma system..."

What Toyota created is NOT a "Six Sigma system." This page is "fake news."

This is surprisingly accurate (even a broken clock is right twice a day):

Generally, TPS consists of two pillars such as Just-in-Time and Jidoka.

The Toyota TPS page confirms those two pillars.

But, again, the page claims there is a Toyota Six Sigma strategy.

"TPS’s Six Sigma
Below discussed are some of the TPS’s (Toyota production system) Six Sigma strategies:"

I don't think this is true at all. It's been said that the Toyota dealers (independent companies) don't really use TPS. I'd like to see evidence of dealers using "setup reduction" methods.

"Dealers Participation: Toyota treats its dealers as company partner, as integral part of TPS (Toyota production system). Dealers are also well familiar with ways to decrease setup times, defects, inventories and machine breakdowns and take responsibility to render their best possible outcomes."

The article says:

"The Toyota Production System blends attitude, notion and specific techniques into a structured socio-technical Six Sigma system for manufacturing. Gradually, this Six Sigma system spread around Japan and finally to the West, and started gaining other names and variations. Toyota itself was not having any name for its manufacturing strategy until the 1970’s."

Again, Toyota did not create or spread a "Six Sigma" system. Six Sigma has American origins, at Motorola. It didn't spread TO the West. Toyota certainly didn't give the "Six Sigma" name to its strategy in the 1970s, since the term "Six Sigma" hadn't been created yet for a methodology like this.

"Contact us at [redacted] and find out how we can positively help you plan and change the culture and operations of your organization. We offer Green Belt and Black Belt training programs, as well as a Master Black Belt program."

Offering Belts that Toyota does not use or offer internally.

That page is a disaster. It's inaccurate and badly written. But, they've figured out how to game the Google search results system. The new version of "buyer beware" is "searcher beware." You'd like to think Google would point you to accurate and reputable sources, not some "fake news" Six Sigma site. What a shame.

Another false dichotomy of #Lean & #SixSigma

As shared on Twitter... it's flatly incorrect. Lean also helps very directly reduce defects through problem solving...

@MarkGraban never seen it put this way. pic.twitter.com/eXojQuV2Jk

— ChrisM (@chris200) August 17, 2017

Why are we so obsessed with tools?

This is from a healthcare consultant's website....  Lean is just a bunch of tools? That's not what Toyota says... it's also a management system and a culture. Is the "tools in the toolbox" mental model holding back Lean and holding back healthcare?

The text:

Which method is best… Lean or Six Sigma?
Remember that these are tools and methods. Is a hammer better than a screwdriver or saw? Each tool is appropriate for a specific task or function. In our experience, the Lean toolbox is the place for most organizations to start. Lean is intuitive and easy for managers to put into practice. Lean methods lay the foundation for "process and flow thinking." However, most organizations find that they will rapidly need the rich statistical toolbox of Six Sigma. This is especially true when dealing with complex issues of patient flow when the obvious improvements have already been completed.

I've also never found an organization that's run out of "obvious improvements." This toolbox view can perhaps drive short-term improvement... but is that it?

Sometimes, Professors are Wrong Too

Just because you're an "adjunct professor at Georgia Institute of Technology’s Scheller School of Business" doesn't mean you can't be wrong about Lean.

The professor, who has a deep background in Six Sigma, maybe shouldn't be teaching about Lean. I'm not qualified to teach about Six Sigma, so I don't try telling people what Six Sigma is about.

I do know Lean pretty well.

As other posts on this blog point out, a statement like this is very incorrect... factually incorrect...

As written here:

"Six Sigma uses the DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve and control) method to reduce defects. Lean, derived mostly from the Toyota Production System, focuses on cycle time reduction by eliminating non-value-added steps."

The implication is that Lean doesn't help reduce defects. The implication is that Six Sigma is the only way to reduce defects. That's all untrue.

See the Toyota Production System page that explains how Lean is about improving flow AND quality. Improving flow leads to better quality. And, Lean has methods (tools like error proofing and management mindsets) that very directly improve quality.

I wish Six Sigma people would stick to teaching about Six Sigma.

Would you let a physics professor teach biology? Would you "merge" the departments into something called "Physology" or "Physics Biology?"

That's my problem with Lean Sigma... the incorrect things that get said about Lean.

I'm not against Six Sigma. I agree that Lean and Six Sigma can be complementary. But not if you think Lean doesn't address defects. Visit a Toyota plant and see...

"Six Sigma uses the DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve and control) method to reduce defects. Lean, derived mostly from the Toyota Production System, focuses on cycle time reduction by eliminating non-value-added steps."

The implication is that Lean doesn't help reduce defects. The implication is that Six Sigma is the only way to reduce defects. That's all untrue.

See the Toyota Production System page that explains how Lean is about improving flow AND quality. Improving flow leads to better quality. And, Lean has methods (tools like error proofing and management mindsets) that very directly improve quality.

http://www.toyota-global.com/company/vision_philosophy/toyota_production_system/

"Six Sigma uses the DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve and control) method to reduce defects. Lean, derived mostly from the Toyota Production System, focuses on cycle time reduction by eliminating non-value-added steps."

The implication is that Lean doesn't help reduce defects. The implication is that Six Sigma is the only way to reduce defects. That's all untrue.

See the Toyota Production System page that explains how Lean is about improving flow AND quality. Improving flow leads to better quality. And, Lean has methods (tools like error proofing and management mindsets) that very directly improve quality.

http://www.toyota-global.com/company/vision_philosophy/toyota_production_system/

Nope, ThedaCare & VMMC Still Don't Do Six Sigma or "Lean Sigma"

Back in 2013, I wrote about a publication that described that Virginia Mason Medical Center does as "Lean Sigma."

As Dwight Schrute would say on "The Office":

I've very directly asked Virginia Mason's CEO Dr. Gary Kaplan if they do anything with Six Sigma and he says no. 

They use Lean, as in the Toyota Production System. No belts. No formal Six Sigma.

The same is the case at ThedaCare. I know because I've asked them. They don't do Six Sigma.

So, if an organization doesn't do Lean and Six Sigma, you can't call what they do "Lean Sigma."

It's just Lean.

There's a book on the market about Lean Six Sigma for hospitals that makes the same sloppy or misinformed error:

Does it matter? Yes, it matters. Wrongly giving credit to Six Sigma encourages people to sink time and resources into an approach that might not be necessary. If you want to use Six Sigma, then great. If you want to combine Lean and Six Sigma, go for it. 

Just don't call refer to Lean as "Lean Sigma."

This Diagram is Wrong - Lean DOES Help Reduce Defects

I see diagrams like this lot, in the context of Lean Sigma. Click on it for a larger view.

The flaw in this flow chart and thought process is that it implies that Lean is only helpful for cycle time reduction and that Six Sigma is the only methodology that can reduce defects.

As I've said repeatedly on this blog, Lean and the Toyota Production System are designed around improving BOTH flow and quality.

The methods (such as mistake proofing / error proofing / poka yoke) and the management mindsets (allow people to pull the andon cord when they see a problem) all contribute to reducing defects in a very practical way.

Diagrams like this don't help people understand the differences between Lean and Six Sigma or the complementary nature of the two. 

Sh*t Said on LinkedIn About #Lean, or "Professors Aren't Always Right"

Maybe I need to start a site called ShitLinkedInSays.com. There's a lot of misinformation spread around by people in LinkedIn groups about Lean and Six Sigma. It's really frustrating.

Here's one of the recently laughable things I read in a discussion that started with the false "Lean = Speed" and "Six Sigma = Accuracy" dichotomy that I mentioned before.

That ugly PowerPoint slide is wrong. Factually incorrect, as I've said before - just look at Toyota's own Toyota Production System website and you'll see that Lean is about flow AND quality at the source.

Here's the comment.... from a professor... that really kills me:

Six Sigma is a tool used to implement Lean? That's a new one...

Some Product Development Books Get it Wrong Too

Here is a series of books on product development that gets it really wrong too:

It's, again, just dead wrong to say Lean is only about cycle time (or speed). 

Lean Doesn't Have Methods for Finding a Root Cause?

From a really bad article written by a Six Sigma Black Belt: 

If you use the Lean methodology to improve a process that is plagued with frequent defects, errors, mishaps, failures, etc., that have eluded managers and engineers to the point where they just accept that there is no solution, you end up with a less desirable product because you cut corners and features to avoid the defects rather than fix them.

Six Sigma is ideal for solving hard process problems that result in defects in the process output; e.g., broken windshields on cars coming off an assembly line, customer bills calculated incorrectly, data missing off a mainframe server, food getting spoiled long before its expiration date, etc..

Lean tools and methodologies lack the rigor to determine the root cause of elusive defect problems; Six Sigma tools and methodologies are too time consuming and costly to just to improve business efficiency.

I don't know where people get this stuff. Who ever said in Lean or the Toyota Production System that you cut corners to "avoid defects" rather than fixing them?

Who said Lean doesn't help you find a root cause?

The reality is: fishbone diagrams, the "5 Whys," going to the gemba, andon cords, mistake proofing... these are all great examples of how we find and prevent defects in the Lean methodology.

Black Belts should really stick to writing about Six Sigma. There's a reason I stick to writing about Lean...

Again, Lean is Not Just Speed

Common mistake here:

Two years ago, Akron Children’s Hospital adopted a business-improvement methodology called Lean Six Sigma, a blend of the lean-production concept derived from Toyota’s production system and the Six Sigma strategy developed by Motorola in 1986. Lean production focuses on speed, and Six Sigma focuses on quality.

"Lean production focuses on speed." This is factually incorrect. In the the Lean/TPS approach, speed AND quality go hand in hand. Lean, arguably, starts with quality and "speed" is a result of that.

(article link)

It's Wrong, No Matter How Pretty

From an online "Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt" training class:

The whole "Lean is about waste and speed," while Six Sigma is the approach for "defect reduction" is wrong. Lean provides rigorous methods for "effectively solving problems" including reducing defects.

I don't understand why the Lean Six Sigma world doesn't get that.

Lean Six Sigma is just faster Six Sigma?

Ugh.

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.

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.

A Lean Sigma Author Says Lean is Just about the Non-Value Added Steps

From the website of an author of "Lean Six Sigma" books:

"Six Sigma can help you improve the value-added steps and Lean can help you eliminate the non-value added activities."

Yes, Lean often focuses on reducing delays and waiting time between steps in a process or between the value-adding steps in a patient's visit. There are HUGE opportunities in the so-called "white space" between process steps and reducing waiting and non-value-added time can really help improve flow.

But, it's wrong to say only Six Sigma is used to improve the value-adding steps. Lean has methods that are used to reduce waste AND improve the actual work.

Lean uses "standardized work" as a concept and practical method to improve the way the actual work is done - including, yes, the value added steps.

I'm really not sure where somebody would get the idea that Lean doesn't help you with the value adding steps.

A Book Thinks "Mistake Proofing" is "A Six Sigma Tool"

From a seminal "Lean Sigma" book (click for a larger view):

Lean Sigma people have this bias that Six Sigma is the only methodology that can improve quality.

The bias comes out when mistake proofing is referred to as "a Six Sigma tool."

Toyota would beg to differ.

Mistake proofing ("poka yoke" in Japanese) is arguably the FIRST Lean or TPS concept that Toyota introduced to its own company. It's a core Lean methodology.

You can do Six Sigma and also do error proofing, but it's silly to think mistake proofing is "a Six Sigma tool." Good grief.

An additional thought -- real mistake proofing would prevent the error from being MADE, rather than just preventing it from being SHIPPED.

This Article Says Lean is Just About Flow

Click image for a larger view

It's factually incorrect to say Lean is only about "flow" and "waste."

Lean is also about quality. See the dual pillars of the Toyota Production System:

• Just in time (flow)
• Jidoka (quality at the source)

Six Sigma is not the only methodology that focuses on improving quality or reducing variation. Lean does this too.