Welcome to the Lean Six Sigma Experts of Arkansas
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Companies that want to have processes that are more efficient, productive, and faster, will need to follow the Lean Six Sigma methodology to guarantee they identify the problems and address them to achieve the desired results.
This methodology is not new in terms of when it was created and since when it is used in all companies. However, it is probably a very new one for you that you will need to take the time to understand, interpret and implement in your own company. Therefore, before you decide to have your company working around it, take the time to go over every single aspect and element involved with it.
Here at Lean Six Sigma Experts of Arkansas, will give you an introduction to what it is, what you will achieve, and what to expect from the methodology.
What are Lean and Six Sigma?
To understand the main methodology, you must know that it is a combination of two process improvement methods: Lean and Six Sigma. Both of them focus on establishing a path that companies can follow to ensure they meet their objectives and achieve results as fast as possible but also without sacrificing quality for speed.
They do not have the same approach or steps involved when you decide to apply them to your company’s processes, but the main objective is indeed the same. With this clear, knowing the objective and focus of each method needs to come first before you decide to work around the main methodology:
It is a methodology that aims for eliminating waste and optimizing processes that will help to deliver value to your customers. When you decide to follow it, you will have a direct focus on getting rid of all the waste in your processes and company overall and ensure that the elements you are eliminating have a positive result in how efficient and productive your processes are. The processes or operations you can help to improve with it are only manufacturing and transactional ones. But for companies that deliver products or services, it is quite everything they handle in order to deliver valuable results. Although it is also aimed at process improvement, the approach and focus it has do not lie in reducing waste or eliminating it. Instead, companies will achieve the goal by reducing defects in every process in the company, be it for manufacturing or transactional ones. By the time you reach its best practice, you must have more control over processes and the quality of your products and services. All this by just reducing the defects in all processes and guaranteeing there are not many variations—or none.
Lean
Six Sigma
Then, what is Lean Six Sigma (LSS)?
Knowing what Lean and Six Sigma are, how do you take them to the entire Lean Six Sigma methodology? We can say it is the best of both worlds and you can save time and resources by putting it into practice. Now, although it is a combination of both, it is not the same to go for the methodology that includes them compared to handling each method separately.
After all, you will have both focuses on reducing waste and defects, but you will also aim for an approach in your company that helps to reduce variability, speed up processes, improve your performance, and prioritize your clients’ needs and requirements. The entire concept and purpose of following the methodology are to respond to customers’ needs.
Therefore, you will notice that everything you do is for the best outcome whenever you plan, design, develop, manufacture, and deliver products. But what is so special about it besides being just a way to address aspects and problems you are probably aware of by now? The main difference lies in eliminating variations and allowing your business to focus on one result alone and how you can obtain it efficiently and effectively.
In other words, you will work towards eliminating all the aspects and elements that difficult your task of obtaining products that can satisfy your clients’ requirements. If a method you are using does not work, is too difficult for the company, takes more time than it should, or does not seem efficient enough, you will discard it and work towards a better option.
By the time companies have full compliance and understanding of the methodology, they are able to have processes that are completely efficient and effective to obtain the desired products with no waste nor defects involved. And this alone takes them to the road of continual improvement in all processes, which inevitably means faster, more efficient, and productive operations.
How does Lean Six Sigma work?
Since the method is based on solving problems and improving processes based on the solutions you find but also the previous actions you take—reduce waste and defects—, you can follow a framework or structure that makes it simple for any company to implement LSS.
The method consists of 5 steps ad it is called DMAIC. The acronym represents each step depending on the letter and phase you are on:
- Define the problem, the objective of your project, variations, and the requirements of your clients.
- Measure your efficiency, performance, variability, and the current state of your processes to be able to work towards what needs to be improved.
- Analyze your company and processes to determine the causes of the variations and be able to address them.
- Improve the processes by starting to eliminate the main causes and problems.
- Control your future processes, their efficiency, effectiveness, and establish measures to maintain the changes and improvements that took place.
When trying to work with the methodology, keep in mind that reducing or eliminating waste needs to be among the aspects and tasks you take care of as well. For this, you must understand the type of waste you need to eliminate and determine the ones that are present in your company. Lean 6 Sigma focuses on waste such as:
- Defects.
- Overproduction.
- Waiting time.
- Wasted talent.
- Unnecessary transport.
- Inventory.
- Unnecessary mobility.
“Eliminating” does not have to mean that you are getting rid of these aspects entirely. Instead, it consists of managing them more efficiently or finding a function for them.
An example of this would be to take the wasted talent and make sure it does not continue in that way but rather use it in other areas and processes in your company where it can be useful.
How to learn Lean Six Sigma
By now, you must be certain that following this methodology in your company will be of great benefit, and we could not agree more with it. However, reading how it works is not the same as actually knowing and understanding how you can practice it in your company. People who want to include it in order to achieve all the objectives LSS establishes need to get trained properly on it.
And for this, you even go through different levels that determine your understanding and knowledge of the methodology. Part of our role at Lean Six Sigma Experts of Arkansas is to provide you with all the required training to finally be able to implement it in your company. Or you can even choose to take your knowledge and experience and start implementing it in other organizations that require it—or just want to follow it.
Our training consists of introducing you to the entire idea of the methodology and making sure before anything else, that you understand every step, aspect, element, and concept involved with it. Once this is done, our team will focus on your training depending on the current level you are in or want to achieve, get you certified when finished, and define your role with the method.
What are the LSS belts?
The levels and roles we previously mentioned are divided into belts when discussing the methodology. In our company, the training we offer is for any of the 3 belts available for it:
The level of preparation will allow you to understand the basics of the method and all the concepts around it. As for your role in a company that implements it, you will have the task of reporting process issues to green and black belts but also get the chance to participate in project teams while continuing to receive training. You will have more understanding of the norms, steps, processes, and aspects involved with the method. Which is going to allow you to lead and support projects thanks to the expertise you should have gained during your yellow phase and the training you have been taking all this time. Besides continuing to get trained in the last aspects involved with the method, you are able to provide it to others as yellow belts or very new additions to the team. You must understand every norm and element in the methodology while also staying updated with any changes in it as well as in the company you are helping to implement it. The lead and management of the projects will most likely be in your hands and you will cover other functions such as:
Yellow belt
Green belt
Black belt
What belts do we offer?
All the previous belts are available in our company. This means you can rely on us to start your training as soon as possible and be able to be part of the team in your company that implements and creates the LSS culture. Or start working as an expert on it in any other organization that requires your services.
Since we do not have problems when it is about starting with people that know nothing about the methodology, you do not have to worry about being able to learn from zero. And if you are either certified in yellow or green belt but are looking to move onto the next one, you can still contact us for it.
You are welcome to our training anytime since we can work around your current knowledge and the belt you own. Now, something you must be wondering is: how can you demonstrate you are experienced enough to be part of the team during the methodology’s implementation?
Once you complete our yellow, green, or black belt training, we will provide you with a certification for each belt you obtain. If you start with the basics, we will give you your yellow belt certification once you have met all the requirements. And the same will happen if you decide to continue your training at the other levels.
Learn about Lean Six Sigma remotely or in-person
If you are considering taking our training but you do not have time to come to our offices and spend a few hours every day to finally get certified and start implementing it, you do not have to continue worrying about it. At Lean Six Sigma Experts of Arkansas, we offer online training to any individual in any of the belts available in our company.
You can easily contact us and ask about our online options that will mostly take place via Zoom or using other programs and apps that are comfortable for you and us. Now, if you still love the usual option of coming to your training in person and having our experts working elbow to elbow with you, it is also possible to go for it.
Although the current COVID-19 situation makes it a bit more difficult, we can still offer our training by scheduling your visits and determining how long they will take. We only ask you to comply with all the sanitary measures necessary to keep everyone safe—including you.
How do we help you with your needs?
Training sounds more than enough at the beginning. However, there is a lot involved with the methodology besides getting you trained. As we briefly mentioned, we will provide you with a certification whenever you comply with all the steps and requirements in one of the belts.
Therefore, you can expect to obtain a free Lean Six Sigma certification without any issues once you have completed one of the levels—or all of them. Or you can let our experts know if you are trying to get certified by taking the exam for one of the belts. Training and certification are two of the needs we want to cover for you since we know how difficult is to find reliable, experienced, and qualified professionals in the field.
But for other needs or problems you might have, we offer extra services that can cover them as well:
- Consulting: you are always welcome to contact us and request one—or a few experts—that can deliver advice and guidance with the methodology either because you are trying to learn about it, implement it in a company, or clear some doubts and questions.
- Curriculum for high school students: students that know about LSS and understand it can add great value to their curriculums and we will help you to make it possible but providing you with proofs to add it to it after you take our exam.
For any of these services and solutions to your problems and needs regarding this method, you can contact us anytime and from any city in Arkansas.
Why Lean Six Sigma is important in 2021
You are aware of how to get trained, certified, and even implement in your company or other organizations. But do you actually understand why the methodology is important in the first place? In our years of experience, we have learned that it is easier to understand it and have a better picture of what LSS can achieve for you through an example:
Imagine that you own a company that manufactures computers or laptops with specific characteristics. You are not Microsoft, Acer, Apple, or any of the sort, but rather a business that builds and manufactures products based on your clients’ needs and desires—all good so far? Great. A client comes and asks you to manufacture 100 laptops with an Intel Core i5 10th Generation processor, 15 GB Ram, 2 TB SSD, 8GB AMD RX 570, and a 64-bit Windows 10 OS.
Your current processes and systems allow you to obtain all the computers your clients want but to reach this number, you had to discard 20 laptops in the process because they did not meet your customers’ requirements. Well, this is without implementing Lean Six Sigma in your company. When you take the methodology and reduce waste, determine where are the problems that are causing you to lose so many products while manufacturing them, and find solutions for them, you will be able to improve your productivity and efficiency.
By the time you implement it and finish all the steps and processes, you should be able to have an improvement that allows you to obtain the same number of laptops and only 3 to 5 will go to waste. It is a very general example but very straightforward in the results you will obtain.
But if we have to tell you something that answers the main question without any hesitations, it would be as simple as letting you know that it is important because you reduce costs, can obtain better products, and will meet customer satisfaction easily.
It is also crucial to add extra benefits that will make you want to implement it today:
- Increase profit.
- Decrease costs.
- Improve efficiency.
- Improve effectiveness.
- Build effective teams within the company.
- Find solutions for your problems in all areas and processes.
- Create a culture of continual improvement and customer satisfaction.
Now, these benefits are focused on companies that follow the methodology. But what happens with those that are trying to get trained and certified in it in order to work around its implementation?
Professionals that want to perform a role when following the methodology will have other types of benefits coming their way:
- Excellent salary.
- Career advancement.
- Nurture your curriculum.
- Be of value to any company.
- Develop leadership skills.
Can Lean Six Sigma be implemented in any business?
In any company, organization, entity, business, and commercial groups that comes to your mind. As long as you are looking for improvement, have efficient and effective processes, and obtain all the benefits that come from it, you can implement it with the right assistance and experts. Or you can always start to train on it to handle the problems in your business.
What is important is that no one is limited to implement it. In Arkansas, even schools, banks, universities, and other organizations decide to implement it in order to boost their activities. Although LSS is focused on customer satisfaction—a part of it, at least—, the continual improvement you can achieve is not only possible for processes involved in manufacturing and delivering products.
With the correct adjustments and changes, you can use the methodology to bring more efficiency and productivity to the framework of any entity. It is a matter of following the same DMAIC method, which will maintain everything clear despite the few changes you will experiment with compared to implementing it in a manufacturing business or one that offers products.
How to access training and certifications
It only takes a call or emails to our team that will get back to you in only 24 hours and clears all your doubts as well as answer your inquiries. Our training and certifications are available for any individual in Arkansas and companies that are looking for the services to introduce a part of their team and employees to it.
And even if you are looking for consulting or other services available, we can still deliver them no matter where you are located in the state. You can also visit us by finding the nearest office to your location.
We are excited to prepare you for this new world, help you to bring more career opportunities to your life, or finally allow you to implement a methodology that will be game-changing for the future of your company.
There are so many areas or regions where we offer these services with most of them being cities.
However, if you need any of these services, you need to contact us. The list below comprises the areas where we offer these services.