Why You Should Embrace Lean and Six Sigma

As the American manufacturing industry struggles to find its place in a competitive global market, individual facilities are finding ways to increase production while managing costs. Lean Six Sigma, which combines two popular process improvement methods, can help. By targeting inefficiencies and stabilizing operations, this useful process can help you stay competitive with foreign production outfits.

Easy Evaluation

One of the challenges of process improvement is selecting your evaluation criteria. Lean Six Sigma removes the guesswork by providing a manageable framework. It starts with the Six Sigma problem-solving approach: define, measure, analyze, improve and control. Then, it employs the question at the center of lean manufacturing techniques: does the item in question add value? Put another way, would the customer happily pay for the step? This simple framework makes it easier to analyze and adjust your operations to create a smarter factory.
Increased Efficiency

The overall goal of Lean Six Sigma is to identify and eliminate wasteful steps, leaving you with a streamlined process. This efficiency has a variety of benefits for your company. It cuts out waste wherever possible and saves money on equipment, materials and parts. The method also reduces the time spent on unnecessary tasks, so your employees can dedicate time where it's most important. A lean approach also cuts out two common manufacturing issues — over processing and overproducing — which saves time, reduces per-item costs and ensures a more manageable inventory.

Improved Predictability and Stability

With its focus on simplicity, Lean Six Sigma can help cut out some of the unpredictability of a manufacturing business. The process enables you to find capacity leaks in your facility and supply chain that can lead to fluctuating output, so you can gain a clearer idea of average daily productivity. With that stability, it's easier to purchase raw materials, process orders and satisfy client deadlines. In a time when many manufacturers are experiencing uncertainty about the future, this steadiness can be an invaluable asset.

Increased Revenue

Once you achieve a more efficient, stable manufacturing operation with Lean Six Sigma, your business is uniquely positioned for increased revenue. In the beginning, greater efficiency frees you up to produce more units in less time, which automatically boosts profits. In the long term, the true value lies in identifying the gap between capacity and demand. If you know that your facility can produce 1,000 units per day with existing equipment and manpower, but your customers only require 800, you have a gap of 200 units. With that knowledge, it's easy to go after new business. Plus, since the extra units can be manufactured without adding employees or machines, the profit margin is considerably higher.

Lean Six Sigma targets the core problem for modern manufacturers: how to produce quality items at a manageable cost. By investing the time and money to implement these lean strategies, your business can regain its competitive edge.

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