lean Six Sigma

Better Together
ComBining lean and Six Sigma leadS To greaTer SuCCeSS

By Lloyd C. Patterson, Master Black Belt, ITT Communications Systems

hich is better: lean or Six Sigma? The question is absurd, yet it is often debated among continuous improvement professionals. Through a simple classroom or group demonstration, participants can gain an understanding of the advantages of lean and the advantages of Six Sigma. More importantly, however, they will see how beneficial it is when lean and Six Sigma work together. Lean and Six Sigma can exist separately, but the benefits of bringing them together are tremendous, such as the alignment of an organizations resources and the creation of a single improvement strategy. If kept separate, the disadvantages are just as great: Employees are sent confusing messages for improvement, and competition is established for continuous improvement resources. Six Sigma can improve the effectiveness of a system by optimizing it and by reducing process variability. Lean can improve the efficiency of that system by stabilizing work in process (WIP), reducing inventory and eliminating waste. A traditional process includes so much WIP that the people involved have no idea where to look for problems. Consider a process in which a large amount of WIP must account for a process with lots of variability. In this process, some imaginary work (or value-added processing) is accomplished at each of four work stations. The stations are in series, so A must complete its task before B can perform its task. Each station draws from a bufferor inventoryof goods located just before it in the flow. Variations at each station, such as defects and downtime, cause output levels to vary. The process flow (see Figure 1) works like this: 1. The buffer at each work station and the warehouse starts with 16 items. Each area draws from its buffer of items. Items sent or pushed to the next station are not available until the next day. 2. Receiving sends seven items to the buffer of the first work station each day. 3. The number of items each station completes is based on the roll of a pair of dice. The number rolled is the amount of items sent to the buffer of the next station. 4. The last station moves a certain number of items to the warehouse, again based on the roll of the dice. 5. Shipping sends seven items each day from the warehouse to the customer. The customer expects seven items per day. Because the roll of two dice results in seven more than any other number, each station will move an average of seven units. Items can be represented by poker chips or other small items that are easily stacked and counted. Round one requires 150 items.

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Figure 1. Round one process flow

Traditional manufacturing company

Buffer of 16

Buffer of 16

Buffer of 16

Buffer of 16

Warehouse 16 items

Customer

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Round one To simulate the first day, start with the shipping department delivering seven items to the customer from the warehouse. Then move upstream, and have Station D roll the dice and send that many items to the warehouse. Next, have Station C roll the dice, sending that many items to Station D. Continue the process upstream until receiving delivers seven items to Station A (from an imaginary supplier). This completes day one. Run the factory for 10 days. The actual class time it takes for one day will shorten as the students get more familiar with the simulation. Make sure everyone is on the same day. This can be accomplished by having everyone roll their pair of dice simultaneously. Remember, items sent or pushed to the next station are not available until the next day. But the dice may call for more than what is in a particular buffer. If that happens, push all that can be moved, and that marks the end of the day. Have a piece of paper with 10 squares so the customer can keep track of the daily deliveries. Remember, customer demand is seven items per day. Process cycle times (PCT) can be calculated or measured by placing a uniquely colored item at the very beginning of the process at Station A and by maintaining first-in, first-out at each station. Ask the following questions: How much WIP do we have at the beginning? 16 items x 5 locations = 80 items.

How much WIP do we have at the end? Probably about the same. What is the PCT? Estimated to be 11 to 12 days. Was the customer satisfied? Probably, because full deliveries should happen. How many items were delivered? 7 items per day x 10 days = 70. Using a flip chart (see Table 1), keep track of the answers for all three rounds. Typically, the buffers are large enough at the beginning of the first round that the customer receives seven items per day. Even with a low number being rolled occasionally, the process keeps up with demand. Round twolean applied There is a very good chance that the customer was satisfied in round one and received each days delivery.

Table 1. Flip chart example

Work in process end of round one end of round two end of round three Process cycle time Units delivered

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Figure 2. Round two process flow

Lean applied

Buffer of 8

Buffer of 8

Buffer of 8

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Warehouse 8 items

Customer

Sum of t wo dice

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At that point, there is a great temptation to reduce WIP and inventory to free up cash and floor space for the business. But forcing WIP reduction too quickly in the name of lean would be a disaster. Lets cut the WIP in half and run the process again. Run the factory for 10 days with one changebegin with a WIP of eight items at each station (See Figure 2). How much WIP do we have at the beginning? 8 items x 5 locations = 40 items. How much WIP do we have at the end? Probably about the same.

What is the PCT? Estimated to be five to six days. Was the customer satisfied? Probably not, because deliveries fall short. How many items were delivered? Because WIP was cut, the process encounters problems (large variability), and deliveries are not met. While this forces immediate quick fixes in the real world (such as overtime, expedited material and disciplining employees), the purpose of this exercise is to simulate fixing the root problemreducing variability. Variability is reduced through the vigorous use of Six Sigma, which is applied to the worst problem until it is no longer the worst, then attacking the next worst and so on until the lean goal of reducing WIP is attained. We are using standard dice to inject variability into the process. Each die has an equal chance of having the numbers one through six displayed. Together, they can display two through 12, with seven being most likely. That should keep deliveries at seven items per day, but a low roll cant always be compensated for if the buffers begin small and variability is high (see Figure 3). But what if we used a custom set of dice at each station (see Figure 4)? The custom dice only work when properly paired. One needs to have four sides

Figure 3. Variability using standard dice

25 Mean 7 Standard 2.449 deviation Number 36

20 Frequency

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6 7 8 10 Result of rolling two dice

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Figure 4. Process for customizing dice

Custom die Four sides of three dots Two sides of four dots Custom die Four sides of four dots Two sides of three dots

Standard die

Existing dot Existing dot removed New dot added

with four dots, and the other needs to have four sides with three dots. This can be accomplished by placing the correct pair in a clear plastic case large enough to roll the dice in or by using multi-colored dice so matching colors create a correct pair. To remove dots, use a small drill to clean out the paint. Drill a small indentation, and use paint to add new dots. Together, the custom dice (see Figure 5) will pro-

duce a total of six, seven or eight. The number seven is most likelymatching customer expectationbut variability is greatly reduced (see Figure 6). Round threereduce variability For the final round, run the factory for 10 days, but start with a WIP of eight items at each station and use the custom dice, which reduce variability (see Figure 7, p. 14).

Figure 5. Custom dice

Figure 6. Variability using custom dice

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Mean 7 Standard 0.6761 deviation Number 36

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Figure 7. Round three process flow

Lean and Six Sigma applied

Buffer of 8

Buffer of 8

Buffer of 8

Buffer of 8

Warehouse 8 items

Customer

Sum of t wo cus tom dice

Sum of t wo cus tom dice

Sum of t wo cus tom dice

Sum of t wo cus tom dice

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How much WIP do we have at the beginning? 8 items x 5 locations = 40 items. How much WIP do we have at the end? Probably about the same. What is the PCT? Estimated to be five to six days. Was the customer satisfied? Probably, but deliveries might fall short. How many items were delivered? Discussion points Round three doesnt always result in 100% delivery. If it doesnt, should we allow more WIP or tighten the variability even more? The answer is whichever is economically more feasible. In some cases, tightening the process variability is a small investment in process changes or new equipment, and the items being produced are expensive. Other times, the cost of the items is small compared to the cost of variability reduction, and larger buffers make more sense. Should Six Sigma or lean be applied first? Lean can lead Six Sigma in implementation, but they must be applied together, with Six Sigma used to attack problems and lean to combat waste. What will happen if just Six Sigma is applied? The financial advantages of reduced WIP and improved PCT will not be realized.

Other combinations could be created and used to make different points. The distribution could be further tightened, with one die having five sides with four dots and the other having five sides with three dots. The mean could be shifted by altering the dice to have sides with four and five dots, effectively increasing capacity. Regardless of the approach taken, this hands-on exercise is an effective way to illustrate the power of lean and Six Sigma working together.
Notes This demonstration is an expansion of the one created by John McConnell that illustrates one of the most vital quality principlesthe fundamental importance of minimizing variation. An animated and shorter version called The Dice Experiment can be found in PQ Systems Quality Game Box. Special thanks to Atomic Hobbies & Games, the source of the standard dice.

What Do you thiNk of this aRticle? Please share your comments and thoughts with the editor by e-mailing godfrey@asq.org.

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