Implementing six sigma requires getting buy-in from employees, suppliers and customers alike. Therefore, communication must remain an integral component of this process to ensure everyone remains involved and stays on board.

First step of creating value is identifying it for customers; organizations need to gain an understanding of their true needs before mapping the value stream and recognizing waste.

1. Focus on the customer

Lean is founded upon a principle called customer focus. This involves understanding what value customers perceive in your product, then aligning production, manufacturing, quality control and other processes with this key insight.

Waste can be defined as anything that does not provide value to customers, such as raw materials being purchased before their customers need them (Just-In-Time); buffers between production steps that slow flow or increase costs; overproduction of finished goods; or changing job priorities (Value Stream Mapping).

Eliminating waste increases productivity and profitability while simultaneously decreasing cycle times, labor costs, and material expenses. Tools such as 5S, poka-yoke and heijunka (leveling production according to actual demand) are effective means of eliminating unnecessary waste in your process.

2. Remove waste

Eliminating waste is the cornerstone of lean manufacturing. Any activity or process that does not add customer value should be eliminated from production processes – this includes unutilized talent, excess inventory or ineffective procedures and processes.

Eliminating waste requires changing your mindset. To be truly lean manufacturing is an ongoing journey rather than one-time event.

An example of waste is overprocessing, or performing more work on a product than needed or required. Similar to motion waste, overprocessing includes instances such as painting areas that won’t be seen and using more advanced precision equipment when simpler solutions would suffice.

3. Make things simple

Lean processes should be designed with simplicity and efficiency in mind, prioritizing customer value creation, streamlining processes, and making it easy to detect potential areas of concern.

SweetProcess can assist teams in communicating what’s working and what isn’t, which enables them to analyze their work and eliminate unnecessary steps. Motion waste refers to unnecessary movement between humans and machines that costs both energy and money while impeding workflow.

Implementing a JIT inventory system can help reduce this form of waste. By producing only what’s necessary at each step in production, costs and storage space will decrease, ultimately improving efficiency in any business! It’s an easy way to increase efficiency!

4. Remove redundancy

Waste occurs when processes fail to add value for customers, making teams less effective while increasing productivity. Eliminating such ineffective processes enables teams to work more efficiently and increase productivity.

Therefore, it’s crucial that you gain an in-depth knowledge of what your customer values and then apply this understanding throughout the entire process. For instance, waiting on files or equipment from another department before proceeding can create bottlenecks that slow down overall workflow and delay customer delivery.

Eliminate unnecessary delays by employing lean tools like value stream mapping to monitor each step your team takes to deliver products for customers. You could also utilize project management software like SweetProcess for documenting repetitive tasks in one convenient place to shorten cycle times and increase efficiency.

5. Respect for the customer

Lean methodology is an efficient means of streamlining business processes. It eliminates waste while increasing efficiency to drive customer value creation.

Wasteful processes should be eliminated as they provide no added value; this includes any that fail to create quality products or services and that require unnecessarily or redundant tasks for completion.

Lean tools, such as value stream mapping and 5S, help to identify wasteful activities, leading to shorter cycle times. This frees team members up for more productive and efficient tasks while simultaneously being responsive to fluctuating demands quickly. The goal is to achieve a sustainable rhythm of work which meets customer demands directly. Heijunka (production leveling or smoothing) is another lean technique which reduces cycle times and variability.