More and more manufacturing companies are realizing the value of combining Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma. Who doesn’t want a strategy that eliminates waste, simplifies procedures and speeds up production combined with quality-assurance principles?
Reliable Plant features an Oracle whitepaper on combining Lean and Six Sigma. The paper listed the following chief benefits:
- Cost efficiency: Many companies initially look to lean methods as a means to reduce manufacturing costs. But focusing too much on reducing cost could leave the company with unsustainable improvements. A healthier approach is to treat lean as a stimulus to growth.
- Inventory reduction: Carrying inventory costs a company in warehouse space, constrained capital and potential handling damage. However, inventory management is crucial when a manufacturing company imports raw materials. There is really a need to make careful forecasts that anticipate market demand rather than relying solely on real customer orders.
- Shorter cycle times: This eliminates waiting in lengthy queues, and the company can attend to customer orders in a timely manner.
- Greater flexibility: Be real-time enterprises with enhanced agility — the ability to respond almost immediately to customer demands.
Source:
Reliable Plant, “Lean/Six Sigma: The quest for efficiency in manufacturing,” with link provided by iSixSigma.
*Photo credit: MorgueFile.com
