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Articles

Image: Lean Management

Lean Management in Lean Six Sigma. Toyota Production System

Organizations must adopt and implement tools and methodologies that promise efficiency increase, reduce waste, enhance customer value, and drive growth. Lean Management focuses on an approach that is widely popular and extensively used across diverse industries. It systematically identifies and empowers the eradication of non-value-adding activities to enhance productivity and save resources, while improving the […]

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Image: Lewin's Force Field Analysis in Change Management.

Lewin’s Force Field Analysis in Change Management. What, Why, and How

Modern-day organizations face multifaceted challenges of varying complexities. The management, oftentimes, finds themselves stuck in situations, divided between the driving/restraining forces of transformation. Lewin’s Force Field Analysis is a powerful framework that resolves these ‘tricky’ situations by enabling companies to understand the dynamics of change. The framework achieves this by identifying and evaluating diverse factors […]

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Image: 6S Method in Lean Six Sigma for Continuous Improvement

6S Method in Lean Six Sigma for Continuous Improvement

The 6S system – Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, Sustain, and Safety, is a powerful tool for businesses across industries to streamline operations, reduce waste, and create a safer, more productive work environment. Whether you’re in manufacturing, the apparel industry, or any other sector, understanding and implementing the 6S methodology can have a transformative […]

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Lean Six Sigma Strategies – Risk Priority Number (RPN) in FMEA

The Risk Priority Number (RPN) is a scoring system used in risk management to rank the severity, likelihood of occurrence, and detectability of potential problems. RPN is a multiplication of three key factors: severity, occurrence, and detection. Key Highlights What is the Risk Priority Number (RPN)? The Risk Priority Number (RPN) is a numerical tool […]

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Image: Essential Guide to Hoshin Kanri

Essential Guide to Hoshin Kanri. Achieve Peak Performance with Strategic Planning and Execution

In my experience as a Lean Six Sigma consultant, I’ve seen many organizations struggle to effectively translate their strategic vision into tangible operational results.  Too often, a well-crafted strategy fails to cascade down through the organization, leaving frontline employees unsure of how their day-to-day work supports the company’s broader objectives. This is where the Japanese […]

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Image: Jidoka Toyota Production System

Jidoka – Toyota Production System. A Complete Guide (2024)

Jidoka, often referred to as “autonomation” or “intelligent automation,” is a fundamental principle of the renowned Toyota Production System (TPS) and a cornerstone of lean manufacturing. This powerful quality control concept empowers workers to detect defects, stop production, and address quality issues immediately, rather than allowing problems to propagate through the manufacturing process. Key Highlights […]

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Image: Process Failure Mode & Effects Analysis (PFMEA) in Lean Six Sigma

Process Failure Mode & Effects Analysis (PFMEA) in Lean Six Sigma

Even the most well-designed processes can be susceptible to failures, which can lead to defects, delays, and costly consequences. To proactively identify and mitigate potential risks, companies employ a powerful risk assessment tool known as Process Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (PFMEA). Quick Overview By conducting a PFMEA, companies can enhance their quality control measures, […]

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Image: 3P Lean Methods in Six Sigma

3P Lean Methods in Six Sigma. A Definitive Guide (2025)

It is critical to optimize processes for effectiveness and the production of value for customers. To align processes with lean concepts and client objectives, the 3P (Production Preparation Process) methodology offers an organized approach to process design or redesign. Fundamentally, 3P Lean entails cross-functional teams working together to assess the current state, find waste and […]

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lean and agile

Lean and Agile: How Can They Make a Difference to Your Business

Lean vs agile is the quintessential question businesses often find themselves in dilemmas about. Modern organizations have diverse processes that are highly variable. Ideally, businesses should be using both lean and agile approaches in their processes, based on their nature. The combined approach, instead of deciding between lean and agile, is often the most beneficial […]

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six sigma vs lean

Six Sigma vs Lean: Everything You Need to Know

Lean and Six Sigma are two of the most popular optimization approaches that businesses the world over use to deliver greater value to their customers while also increasing their net profits. However, too many people confuse Six Sigma vs Lean, which is understandable considering how much these approaches have in common. That said, there are […]

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lean six sigma principles

Lean Six Sigma Principles: Understanding the Core Elements

Lean Six Sigma combines Lean Management and Six Sigma principles to increase operational efficiency. Lean management focuses on eliminating waste, while Six Sigma focuses on reducing process defects to a negligible level. Combining these principles gives you a business that minimizes waste and delivers high-quality products, leading to increased profits and customer satisfaction. This article […]

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Image: 8 Wastes - Lean six sigma

Lean — The 8 Wastes

8 Wastes of lean Taiichi Ohno — a Japanese Industrial Engineer, was known as the father of the Toyota Production System. While searching for better ways for process improvement and to optimize resources, Ohno identified 7 lean wastes (Muda in Japanese) of lean manufacturing (the 8th waste was added in the 90s). The 8 wastes […]

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Image: Lean benefits

Understanding Lean and its Benefits

During the 90s, Toyota’s business value was half of General Motors and 2/3rds of Ford. Today, Toyota boasts more than 50% of revenue than General Motors and Ford. An interesting fact to learn here is that Toyota today is valued more than GM, Ford and Honda combined. So, the question arises, what went different? A […]

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lean it

The Importance of Lean IT and Its Benefits

For teams to succeed, whether in manufacturing or information technology (IT), there needs to be continuous improvement. Teams need to focus on small changes that add up to big improvements that, ultimately, lead to customer satisfaction. This is where Lean comes in, with the tool and techniques necessary for teams to improve not only business […]

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Image: Lean Methodology Tools

4 Lean Methodology Tools Everyone Should Know

Lean methodology is the go-to strategy for reducing waste and improving organizational productivity. Lean techniques help companies improve their efficiency, and they’re often willing to pay top dollar for experts in these techniques. This article will introduce you to the four main Lean methodology tools everyone should know about. Learn more about our Lean training. 1. […]

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lean production

Eliminating Waste Through Lean Production

Making sure the production process is Lean is what many successful organizations do. They use the least amount of resources while maximizing output and ensuring that customers get what they asked for well ahead of time. This might sound expensive or a lot of trouble, but if done right, Lean can save an organization a […]

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Lean Webinars

Lean Webinars: Getting the Fundamentals

As the pandemic has made 2020 a year we could all have done without, it has also shown us that businesses that pivoted did rather well and some even did better. So much better that they even changed the whole dynamic of the industry. We have seen this with companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, […]

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lean six sigma

Lean Six Sigma: The Secret Ingredient Behind It

Regardless of whether you use Lean Six Sigma, there are a couple of “facts” that every gifted business owner knows: Your business runs on two levels — the current processes and preparing for different scenarios of what could happen.      2. The “secret” ingredient is intention. Intention in all that you do This means motion […]

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lean training

Lean Training for the Real World and It’s Virtual!

If you are a doubting Thomas or Tammy and don’t think that you can get real-world training online, well you haven’t seen what we have to offer in our virtual classroom training! Let’s take a look at our Lean Six Sigma training. We offer three levels of Lean training. You can sign up for all […]

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Lean in with Six Sigma

Lean Six Sigma: Celebrating the Methodology

When you think about Lean and Six Sigma as separate entities, it is easy to see how they fit together like a glove. Many feel that Lean and Six Sigma are saying the same thing in different ways. No, the similarity that they both share is in that they have the same goal, which is […]

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