It’s easy for novices to under-estimate
the total breadth of change needed to get
the full benefits of either Lean or Six
Sigma.
Both Six Sigma and Lean initiatives
suffer when only parts are implemented.
For instance, some organizations will
claim to be doing Six Sigma when they
send a handful of part time resources to
Six Sigma training.
A similar phenomenon occurs in Lean
when an organization reduces inventories
to JIT levels and claims to have “done
Lean”.
Both Lean and Six Sigma get their best
results when the initiative addresses the
total business management system.