Lean Six Sigma is a process improvement approach that uses a collaborative team effort to improve performance by systematically removing operational waste and reducing process variation. It combines Lean Management and Six Sigma to increase the velocity of value creation in business processes.
Lean Management focuses on eliminating the eight kinds of waste (muda), such as overproduction, waiting, defects, inventory, etc. Six Sigma focuses on improving process output quality by identifying and removing the causes of defects (errors) and minimizing variability in (manufacturing and business) processes.
Lean Six Sigma uses the Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control (DMAIC) phases similar to that of Six Sigma. The five phases aim to identify the root cause of inefficiencies and work with any process, product, or service that has a large amount of data or measurable characteristics available.
Lean Six Sigma also uses different levels of certifications, divided into belt colors. The highest level of certification is a black belt, signifying a deep knowledge of Lean Six Sigma principles. Below the black belt are the green and yellow belts.
Lean Six Sigma is a fact-based, data-driven philosophy of improvement that values defect prevention over defect detection. It drives customer satisfaction and bottom-line results by reducing variation, waste, and cycle time, while promoting the use of work standardization and flow, thereby creating a competitive advantage.