Jarrod Poynton and Jason Meah discuss the benefits of implementing AWD10 as part of a Lean Six Sigma initiative.
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Transcript
What is Lean Six Sigma?
Lean and Six Sigma are actually two separate methodologies that have been developed and used by business over the past 30 years. Lean was developed by Toyota and concentrates on making business process as efficient as possible by removing what is termed as ‘waste’ from within these processes. Six Sigma however, developed by Motorola, focuses on embedding quality within a process to ensure the end-product is free of defects. Combined, Lean and Six Sigma address issues of both efficiency and quality, which is why many businesses perceive this as an attractive combination.
What is ‘waste’?
Business processes are typically divided into three categories. The first of these is ‘value added’ processes, which are essentially activities that the customer is willing to pay for, such as the delivery of the product, or sending of a receipt. The second category is ‘business value’, which includes process activities that despite being necessary, are not typically something that the customer is aware they are paying for or be willing to pay for such as Management Information and marketing activities. The final category is ‘waste’. These are activities that have become part of the business process but do not add value and therefore remove efficiency.
Where can waste occur?
In the services industry for example, a common form of waste is duplication. Within a process, the same event may often be repeated unnecessarily on multiple occasions. By assessing the overall process, these duplicates can be identified and removed. Another form of waste that is common within the services industry is concerning quality. This does not mean checking for quality within a process, but instead removing the opportunities for errors to be made within the process. It is therefore less likely that processes will have to be reworked, resulting in cost reduction and therefore less waste. Waste also occurs in transport, whereby time is lost moving documents and folders between people within an organisation.
How does Lean and Six Sigma complement AWD10?
Lean and Six Sigma business analysts will undertake reviews to produce results that include process maps and value stream charts in order to form the optimum design of a given process. What is then needed is the mechanism to ensure that optimised process is executed each and every time. AWD10 is able to deliver this by guiding the user through the correct process. Furthermore, AWD10 provides a platform for Continuous Improvement by making it easier and cost effective to review the efficiency of the process and identify further enhancements which can be made.
At what point should Lean and Six Sigma teams engage with DST?
Once Lean and Six Sigma teams have identified optimum processes with value stream maps, DST’s Lean Six Sigma accredited team can work with them to assess the best means of configuring these processes within AWD10 to ensure that maximum benefit can be leveraged. The earlier this collaboration begins, the greater the amount of value that be gained from the collaboration.
