Misinformation Floating Around on LinkedIn

No matter how many times you repeat or share something like this, it's still a false dichotomy. From LinkedIn:

My comment:

A diagram like this is factually incorrect. It's incorrect to imply that Lean is not focused on reducing variation or improving quality. Look at Toyota's own web page on the Toyota Production System (aka Lean) to see how it's about BOTH flow and quality. You can improve quality without Six Sigma. I'm not saying Six Sigma doesn't help, but don't diminish or misrepresent Lean. 

A Lean Sigma Book Says You Need Six Sigma to Address Defects

A book on Lean Six Sigma for healthcare talks about the eight types of waste. So far, so good.

Until the author talks about the "waste of defects" and claims that Lean addresses everything BUT defects and that you need Six Sigma to address defects.

That's hogwash.

From the book.

He talks about right sizing machines and reducing changeovers... those are core Lean concepts.

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.

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.

This Lean Sigma Program Has A LOT of Six Sigma and a little lean

A website lists its online "Lean Six Sigma" curriculum (click for a larger view):

Far too often, "Lean Sigma" training is basically regular Six Sigma training (a rigorous and oft-helpful statistical methodology) with just a handful of superficial Lean tools.

Lean is more than a bunch of tools. Lean is a philosophy and a management system.

When the Lean component of "Lean Sigma" training is limited to 5S, the types of waste, value stream maps, and spaghetti diagrams... that's very superficial. 

As I've blogged about before, this approach should really be called "Lean Tools Six Sigma" or "5S Six Sigma."

Where is the talk of culture? Where is the discussion about leading differently? This is not Lean, it's just tools.

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.