Lean VS Six Sigma W3 OM - Essay Example

School: LEAN VS SIX SIGMA W3 OM Lecturer: LEAN VS SIX SIGMA W3 OM Value creation is an important concept forall manufacturers and producers. But to create value, various methodologies ought to be applied. Two of these are lean and six sigma methodologies. In terms of similarities, both lean and six sigma can be said to be methods that emphasize on efficiency and effectiveness (Meredith and Shafer, 2014). To this end, they each end with a good deal of value created for not just the producer or manufacturer but also the consumer or end user (Meredith and Shafer, 2014).

Having said this, it is important to stress that the two are not all the same thing.Lean is an approach that focuses on speed. In the light of this, the emphasis of most producers using the lean methodology is to reduce the quantum of time spent between different activities within the production cycle (Deisell, 2011). The notion is that there must be shorter cycle times so that as many cycles as possible can be completed within a given time frame. Because of the emphasis on speed, various forms of waste are focused on time related waste and bottlenecks including waiting, overproduction, rework, motion, over processing, inventory, intellect and unnecessary transporting (Bollen, 2009).

Six sigma methodology on the other hand focuses on perfection in the production process by reducing the number of errors that the production records (Deisell, 2011). To achieve the goal of this method, standards are set in the form of data inputs. Variations in the data inputs as part of the production therefore tell the extent to which there has been errors and the magnitude of the errors (Calantone, Cavusgil and Zhao, 2002). Root cause analysis is one of the major strategies that most producers have used to identify errors as part of the six sigma.

ReferenceBollen K. A. (2009). Structural equations with latent variable. New York: Wiley-Interscience Publication.Calantone R. J., Cavusgil T. S. and Zhao Y. (2002). Learning orientation, firm innovation capability, and firm performance. Industrial Marketing Management, 31:515–24.Deisell M. L. (2011). Simple Lean Six Sigma. 2nd Edition. New York: WileyMeredith J.R. and Shafer S.M. (2014). Operations Management for MBA. 5th Edition. New York: Wiley