A brief overview of the comparison and integration of ISO9000 and Lean Six Sigma

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This post was last edited by shmily327 on 2011-3-24 21:53. Comparison and Integration of ISO9000 and Lean Six Sigma: Although each management approach was initially considered independent of the others, it is now gradually being recognized that they complement each other. Bryan Carey, Executive Vice President of DeLeeuw Associates Ltd., who has made significant contributions to the company’s Lean Six Sigma financial services practices, published an article in Six Sigma Magazine in January 2004. The article reviews the concepts of these two methods, compares Lean Six Sigma with the ISO9000 standards, and examines the benefits that arise from integrating them. It combines the high quality aspects of Six Sigma with the efficiency aspects of lean production to create Lean Six Sigma. 　　In recent decades, many different methods have emerged to help organizations improve quality, speed, efficiency, and serve customers better. Manufacturing enterprises are primarily concerned with the ISO system, which consists of a series of increasingly stringent manufacturing standards and requirements established by the International Standard Organization. Lean production (originally called the Toyota Production System) focuses on process speed and eliminating waste. Total Quality Management originated in the 1980s, while Six Sigma was developed in the 1990s. Although the service industry is more likely to employ various process improvement systems, ISO is also widely used in this sector. 　　The main contents of the ISO9000 system Brian Carey believes that ISO9000 is a set of international standards that define the most fundamental activities necessary for a company to control quality. The ISO9000 quality management system is a framework that includes systematic approaches, documented processes, and defined responsibilities. This system must include the following aspects: · A quality system that can clearly describe how the company meets the requirements of established standards ； 　　· Actual operations are in line with the documented quality policy and quality procedures ； 　　· Maintain quality records ； 　　· Regularly review the quality status. 　　ISO9000 can provide a platform for continuous improvement, which is achieved through the following approaches: · Establishing benchmarks that allow for the measurement and evaluation of changes and improvements ； 　　· Clarify the quality requirements and responsibilities of customers and suppliers ； 　　· Improve employees' understanding of the control factors that affect quality and ensure the capability to provide quality services ； 　　· Facilitates vertical and horizontal exchange of information on technology and practical operations among various levels ； 　　· Promote training and cross-departmental training through improved documents ； 　　· Improve the efficiency of communication among internal staff, customers, suppliers, and in daily operations through responsibilities and interfaces defined in documents ； 　　 · Through formal modifications/preventive measures and internal audits, various methods for updating and improving the system are established. 　　Key elements of Lean Six Sigma Lean Six Sigma combines two key tools that drive corporate success. Lean improves process speed by reducing waste and eliminating non-value-added steps. Six Sigma improves performance by focusing on the key quality factors of processes from the customer’s perspective and eliminating process variability. Lean makes use of “Kaizen events” – focused improvement efforts with a duration of usually a few weeks – to quickly identify improvement opportunities, and it employs value stream maps, which are superior to traditional process maps. Six Sigma uses a structured project implementation method, namely DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control), to ensure that project outcomes can be measured and replicated. 　　Furthermore, the active involvement of management, as well as the full commitment of advocates and black belts, ensure that high-quality projects are implemented effectively. The project benefit matrix helps identify the most critical projects, those that will have the greatest impact on the outcomes and can be completed the fastest. 　　Both Lean and Six Sigma are based on the same principle, namely that business is composed of processes, which begin with customer needs and end with customer satisfaction from using the product or service. 　　Viewing issues from a process perspective has a profound impact on how an organization functions and how teams perceive their work. Today, most company organizations structure departments based on functional or \"regional\" perspectives: departments and individuals have narrow scopes of responsibility, covering specific functions such as accounting, customer service, and marketing. The changes actively implemented within the organization are limited to certain specific departments, and optimization has not been achieved across the entire organization. Customer needs are likely to fall in a \"vacuum zone\" between departments, as no single person is fully responsible for ensuring customer satisfaction. Another common scenario is that multiple projects are carried out simultaneously within an organization; sometimes these projects conflict with each other over limited resources, and it is difficult to quantify the outcomes of these projects in terms of profit and/or customer satisfaction. 　　Conversely, organizations that adopt a process-oriented approach assign Lean Six Sigma professionals (champions, black belts, green belts, etc.) to create process maps that transcend current cross-departmental and cross-functional boundaries. This helps to clearly define the scope of the problem, allowing Lean Six Sigma practitioners to propose cross-departmental solutions. This process-oriented perspective aids in decision-making and helps in advancing project selection based on customer needs, strategic direction, financial requirements, and the performance of company processes. 　　Lean Six Sigma and ISO9000: The standards for departmental processes, as well as documents and data, and the pursuit of quality, all fall under the scope of ISO9000. When integrated with Lean and Six Sigma methods, they contribute to continuous improvement. Lean Six Sigma will affect all standards, documented processes, and data. Lean Six Sigma can introduce certain tools to help create process maps that enable the measurement and identification of non-value-added processes (eliminating such processes makes the process more efficient). Seiyo Six Sigma also introduces another level of customer focus as well as a structured methodology (DMAIC) to drive cross-functional change. Lean Six Sigma also encourages active involvement from management, enabling better allocation of resources to projects that have the greatest financial impact on the organization’s strategy. It has been recorded that a black belt program can save a company an average of $250,000 to $500,000. 　　For companies that have obtained ISO9000 certification, the article proposes 8 additional methods or techniques for achieving continuous improvement through Lean Six Sigma: · Using customer feedback as the definition of quality ； 　　· Use Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control (DMAIC) as a method for system improvement ； 　　· Do not focus solely on \"output,\" but rather concentrate on improving the key process of \"input\" in order to address the root causes, rather than just dealing with superficial symptoms ； 　　· Train CEOs and P&L managers to actively participate in the process ； 　　· Use a value-based benefit matrix to select those projects that help implement the strategy and achieve the desired outcomes ； 　　· Defining the responsibilities of organizations and individuals (black belts, advocates, supervisors) helps to clarify who is responsible for improvement ； 　　 · Key personnel are fully committed to process improvement ； 　　· Utilize lean tools comprehensively to eliminate waste and the complexity of non-value-added processes/accelerate delivery (through optimization projects and value stream mapping). 　　Integrating Lean Six Sigma and ISO9000 Many companies that started with ISO9000 have adopted Lean Six Sigma. Document standardization, process mapping, data collection, and process auditing are all essential to ensure quality control; both ISO9000 and Lean Six Sigma play important roles in this regard. ISO9000 and Lean Six Sigma work together; in companies that implement ISO9000, Lean Six Sigma plays a key role in continuous improvement. 　　The author believes that management support and employees’ full commitment serve the following two purposes. On the one hand, a fundamental premise of Lean Six Sigma is that management support is key to success. Most companies that have already carried out the foundational work in Lean Six Sigma assign their trained personnel to leadership positions. This move is of great significance. On the other hand, black belts are basically selected from the \"best and brightest\" employees who are highly focused on their work – for example, the top-performing employees chosen from each line of business. While working as black belts, their role was to work for the managers of each business unit, overseeing the company’s operations from both strategic and day-to-day perspectives. They have grown into leaders and drivers of change by leveraging their extensive industry knowledge, as well as Lean Six Sigma techniques and tools. Therefore, leadership training is a key component of the black belt certification process. In companies such as GE, obtaining Six Sigma certification is a prerequisite for promotion.