Multi-faceted views on a Lean Six Sigma application Assarlind, Marcus; Gremyr, Ida; Bäckman, Kristoffer
The International journal of quality & reliability management,
01/2013, Letnik:
30, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
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Purpose - Lean and Six Sigma observers, researchers and managers are awaiting the next step, which many feel could take the form of a combination of the two concepts, known as Lean Six Sigma. The ...purpose of this paper is to explore an application of Lean Six Sigma in practical improvement work, as a way of identifying factors of importance for improving future Lean Six Sigma applications.Design methodology approach - The empirical study was conducted through interviews, meetings, document analysis and observations over a period of four months.Findings - The findings of this study suggest it is unfeasible to apply one standardised approach to improvements in one company. Continuous smaller improvements and larger improvement projects demand different formulas. It is appropriate to use Lean and Six Sigma in parallel but this should be done through clever cross-fertilisation, such as taking variations in project complexity into consideration.Research limitations implications - This paper shows one way of working with an improvement initiative in one particular company. It does not propose that this is the only way to combine Lean and Six Sigma nor does it suggest universal applicability. Further research on other possible combinations would be valuable.Practical implications - This paper provides an outline of how to structure a combination of Lean and Six Sigma. This could provide valuable insights to managers who wish to structure their improvement processes depending on the type of problem at hand.Originality value - This paper expands the theoretical foundation for combining Lean and Six Sigma by studying and analysing a practical application of the concept. As a result, it provides new factors of importance for successful Lean Six Sigma applications, such as having a clear structure that guides the company in terms of what components of Lean Six Sigma to apply and what competences to involve in various projects, depending on the scope and complexity.
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the history, trends and needs of continuous improvement (CI) and Industry 4.0. Four strategies are reviewed, namely, Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen ...and Sustainability.Design/methodology/approachDigitalization and CI practices contribute to a major transformation in industrial practices. There exists a need to amalgamate Industry 4.0 technologies with CI strategies to ensure significant benefits. A systematic literature review methodology has been followed to review CI strategy and Industry 4.0 papers (n = 92).FindingsVarious frameworks of Industry 4.0, their advantages and disadvantages were explored. A conceptual framework integrating CI strategies and Industry 4.0 is being presented in this paper.Practical implicationsThe benefits and practical application of the developed framework has been presented.Originality/valueThe article is an attempt to review CI strategies with Industry 4.0. A conceptual framework for the integration is also being presented.
Operating room efficiency Rothstein, David H.; Raval, Mehul V.
Seminars in pediatric surgery,
April 2018, 2018-Apr, 2018-04-00, 20180401, Letnik:
27, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
The operating room is the financial hub of any hospital, and maximizing operating room efficiency has important implications for cost savings, patient satisfaction, and medical team morale. Over the ...past decade, manufacturing principles and processes such as Lean and Six Sigma have been applied to various aspects of healthcare including the operating room. Although time consuming, process mapping and deep examinations of each step of the patient journey from pre-operative visit to post-operative discharge can have multiplicative benefits that extend from cost savings to maintaining the focus on improving quality and patient safety.
The majority of Lean Six Sigma applications have focused on private industry, manufacturing and healthcare. It has not yet been applied to non-profit organisations (NPOs). The objective of most NPOs ...is to support public interest projects. To achieve this mission, most NPOs rely on charitable donations, which can be a scarce commodity. Ways to efficiently utilise scarce resources are usually overlooked. In the case study presented here, Lean Six Sigma tools and principles were used to increase the efficiency of resource management in physical disabilities services. A small machining shop that repairs, produces and customises devices for the physically disabled was the target; the goal was to make its production process more efficient. Use of DMAIC methodology decreased the non-value-added process by 70%. Finally, benefits of, experiences with, and extensions of Lean Six Sigma as applied to NPOs are discussed.
The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of lean six sigma and the quality of the product and manufacturing process. Further, its focus on understanding the impact on the defect, over ...production, Motion, Waiting time, through the role of Manufacturing Process on quality of products. The study applied the questionnaire, which was adapted from past literature. The questionnaire was distributed to a sample of 180 respondents, and the number of returned items was 142. The study applied a purposive sample that (employee) hold positions related to quality management, production, research and development (R&D) at Jordanian food industry. The data analysis was performed using Statistical procedures being used several methods were used, including the exploratory analysis, the global empirical analysis, the Cronbach alpha analysis, Impact coefficients (beta), and the arithmetic mean, standard deviation, multiple regression, to test moderating hypothesis the Process macro analyses. Accordingly, and based on a multiple regression analysis, the alternative hypothesis is adopted, concluding that the elements of lean six sigma influence the consistency of the goods excluding the variables of motion and waiting time from the respondent's point of view. As a consequence of the manufacturing process, the relationship between the lean six sigma variable and the quality of the product has a positive moderation effect.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of the European Foundation for Quality Management Excellence Model and Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma approaches in public organizations. ...Design/methodology/approach: A systematic literature review was conducted based on articles from three academic publishers (Emerald, Elsevier/Science Direct and Taylor & Francis). The 88 selected journal articles were published between 2004 and 2022 and documented the results of the quality tools. Findings: The effects of applying the models in the public sector are presented. From the literature review, specific findings were identified regarding the motivations of all areas of education and services and the challenges they face in applying the qualitative tool methodologies. The main topics discussed are the human factors involved in implementing quality tools. Research limitations/implications: An important limitation is that data were drawn from only three major journals and the authors did not always have access to all databases and peer-reviewed journals or to any review articles in languages other than English. Multiple keywords limited the article search, as qualitative tools have been widely used in the private sector but less so in the public sector. Practical implications: The results and limitations detailed in the study and presentation of the 88 articles will motivate academic researchers to further study the application of qualitative tools in the public sector and fill the knowledge gap caused by the limited publications on this topic. Originality/value: The European Foundation for Quality Management Excellence Model and the Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma approaches have not been widely implemented in the public sector, and literature reviews are limited despite the increasing trend of their use in the sector in recent years. More future research in public administration is needed to determine the effects and limitations of implementing qualitative tools.
Purpose
During the past few decades, Lean Six Sigma (LSS) in the health-care sector has received increasing attention from both researchers and practitioners because it plays an imperative role in ...quality improvement and cost reduction initiatives. Although researchers have often focussed on evidence of model effectiveness through the study of performance indicators, too little attention has been given to the factors that lead to implementation failure and the causal relationships among them. This study aims to investigate the factors that may inhibit the successful implementation of the method by focussing on Italian public hospitals.
Design/methodology/approach
Through the use of the Delphi technique and fuzzy cognitive maps, this paper derives new and relevant results for researchers, hospital managers and policymakers.
Findings
The results show the factors with the greatest impact on LSS implementation and provide insight into the causal links and degrees of influence between critical failure factors and performance variables.
Practical implications
The findings could be considered useful, in particular, to hospital managers and policymakers, who could leverage the suggestions derived from the study to address LSS implementation.
Originality/value
This work overcomes a gap in the literature related to the absence of studies on the causal relationships between factors that determine the success or failure of LSS implementation.
Purpose
The success rate of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) in the service industries is dismally poor, and most organisations discontinue LSS initiatives prematurely. This paper aims to identify the LSS ...barriers (LSSBs) and analyse their interaction via a hierarchical model developed by using interpretive structural modelling (ISM) and Fuzzy Matriced Impacts Croise’s Multiplication Appliqué à un Classement (MICMAC). These allow the LSS execution and implementation to be much more effective and avoid the high cost of implementation.
Design/methodology/approach
A structural review of the literature and interviews with experts and professionals from the service industries in the UAE supplied data wherewith to identify LSSBs. Sixteen LSSBs were determined and analysed using ISM and the MICMAC approach to discover the strong drivers and highly dependent barriers. The Fuzzy set was included in the MICMAC analysis to obtain a more precise output and create an effective hierarchical model of the barriers.
Findings
The research findings suggest that the top barriers to LSS implementation in service industries are lack of top management commitment, lack of customer focus, resistance to change management and lack of alignment between the LSS and organisational strategy. A deeper analysis using the Fuzzy-MICMAC approach categorises these barriers on the basis of their driving power and dependency.
Research limitations/implications
The relationships between paired LSSBs were obtained through an experts’ interpretations of limited numbers in one country. Conducting a large-scale survey with a more comprehensive demographic or deep focus in one service industry might deepen our understanding of the interactions of LSSBs and models.
Practical implications
The developed ISM that model suggests that the dependencies and relationships among the barriers must be accurately determined so as to remove the collaborative effect of barriers on the implementation process is at the earliest opportunity. This would improve service companies’ competitive advantage and profitability, drive out waste and reduce the cost associated with poor quality. Similarly, academicians may advocate ways in various issues can contribute to improve LSSBs for amended LSS implementation now that business services are booming in the fourth industrial revolution.
Originality/value
The structural model was developed holistically on the basis of the inputs from practitioners and academicians to ensure its practical validity. Though the model has theoretical foundations, its practical applicability is a key factor in its development, so this approach was helpful for practitioner wanted to focus on removing the key dominant barriers and be able to deploy LSS concepts smoothly in service industries. The results support the proposition that top management is a crucial factor for LSS project implementation, whatever the complexity of the research methodology and the nature of the service industries.
Reducing fabric faults in the textile knitting industry is one of the main challenges for knit fabric production. Due to the fabric defects, the sigma level of knit fabric production is between 3 to ...3.5. This study aims to increase the sigma level of knit fabric productions. Here, we implement a six sigma strategy in the textile knitting industry. The Six Sigma methodology is applied step by step on the knitting fabric production floor. The DMAIC approach is clearly stated through the phases of defining, measurement, analysis, improvement and control. The types and reasons for different fabric defects are identified by using the cause and effect diagram. The Pareto chart showed that the highest percentages (51%) of defects are related to yarn quality. In the improvement phase, the defects are eliminated by utilizing the Six Sigma methodology. Then, the sigma level of our knit fabric production went to 4. The risk priority number was calculated and suggestions for preventive actions were analysed in the control phase. Implementing the six sigma methodology on the knitting production floor also reduces the cost of production. As a result, this real time study on the knitting production floor has proved to be an economically sustainable production of knit fabric.
Abstract
Operating room (OR) management is a complex multidimensional activity combining clinical and managerial aspects. This longitudinal observational study aimed to assess the impact of Six-Sigma ...methodology to optimize surgical instrument sterilization processes. The project was conducted at the operating theatre of our tertiary regional hospital during the period from July 2021 to December 2022. The project was based on the surgical instrument supply chain analysis. We applied the Six Sigma lean methodology by conducting workshops and practical exercises and by improving the surgical instrument process chain, as well as checking stakeholders’ satisfaction. The primary outcome was the analysis of Sigma improvement. Through this supply chain passed 314,552 instruments in 2022 and 22 OR processes were regularly assessed. The initial Sigma value was 4.79 ± 1.02σ, and the final one was 5.04 ± 0.85σ (SMD 0.60, 95%CI 0.16–1.04, p = 0.010). The observed improvement was estimated in approximately $19,729 of cost savings. Regarding personnel satisfaction, 150 questionnaires were answered, and the overall score improved from 6.6 ± 2.2 pts to 7.0 ± 1.9 pts (p = 0.013). In our experience the application of the Lean Six Sigma methodology to the process of handling the surgical instruments from/to the OR was cost-effective, significantly decreased the costs of poor quality and increased internal stakeholder satisfaction.
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