Difference Between Lean vs Traditional Six Sigma Certification
Speed is the primary difference between traditional Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma Certification. Lean Six Sigma concentrates on speeding up business processes in order to make a company or organization run better and smoother. The process is not enhanced by simply turning up the dial and running the machine at a faster speed. Lean techniques identify problems in core processes and eliminate the speed bumps slowing them down.
Increasing speed also does not mean shortening your core processes or squeezing your delivery schedule just to get the product out of the door faster. It is only about cutting down on defects in the system, which hurt delivery and quality. Quality Lean Certification means the individual has become competent in looking for ways to streamline the work process. Certified individuals have Six Sigma tools that they use to focus on the core process by making it work more smoothly.
It also means the individual understands the basic disciplines needed for speeding up processes, shortening learning cycles or knowledge creation, as well as delaying commitment. A lean Six Sigma Certification shows that the individual has mastered the statistical skills and tools with which to accomplish company goals for streamlining the core process.
Lean Six Sigma teaches that speed and quality come whenever there is more knowledge creation rather than knowledge replication. Knowledge creation always results in flow improvement, resulting in better service. Problems do arise infrequently when project managers foul up the works by front loading a project. In other words, making the project fit instead of letting the project reveal how it works throughout the process.
Front loading is making all decisions about the project before it hits the assembly belt or machine. In a working lean Six Sigma project run by a certified lean Six Sigma individual, the process is studied rather than forced. Studying the core process opens up more options for getting the job done.
Lean Six Sigma certification enables the worker to effectively tinker with the core process enabling a smoother stream with fewer or no problems. Lean Six Sigma and Six Sigma certification also differ in this area as well, because Six Sigma adds layers of procedure that may not right for your core process, sometimes making it slower and unresponsive. Lean, on the other hand, enables the individual to recognize the problem, analyze it and utilize the available tools to remove the roadblock in a reasonable amount of time.
Lean Six Sigma certification and training emphasizes that speed is directly tied to excellence in process. Improve the process flow by eliminating deviations or errors, and you will automatically speed up the process, delivering better quality, and improving your relationship with clients and customers. Possessing a certification in Lean Six Sigma means that you are able to look at the process and locate the speed bumps in order to roll out better products and services more speedily.
Speed does not mean truncating or squeezing your delivery schedule in order to get the product out more quickly. What it means is eliminating mistakes that slow down or stop the process, thereby hurting quality and delivery. Employing Lean Six Sigma means that you have become competent in looking for opportunities to streamline your process. It means you can identify your core process, and you have the tools needed to focus on making that core process run better and more smoothly.
Possessing a Certification in Lean means that you understand the two basic disciplines for speeding up the process; short frequent learning cycles or knowledge creation, and delayed commitment. Being Certified in Lean Six Sigma also means that you have mastered the statistical tools and skills with which to accomplish your goals as well as those of your organization.
Whenever the project involves knowledge creation rather than just knowledge replication, speed and quality will come from improving the flow, and Lean processes tell senior management that you have the skills to accomplish this goal. Some project managers are sometimes guilty of gumming up the process by forcing early choices and reducing the number of possibilities, rather than listening to their Lean professionals.
In other words, the project managers are guilty of project front loading, where they make all decisions upfront rather than allowing those certified to run the process to reveal what is right and what is wrong in the application. Lean Six Sigma certification means having and understanding a multitude of options simply by looking at the core process itself, which is what Lean Six Sigma workers have been certified to do.
Tweaking the process as you move through it will narrow the process into a smoother stream that naturally speeds up because the problems have been eliminated. This is also where Lean Six Sigma certification differs from traditional Six Sigma. Layering in Six Sigma adds practices that are unwieldy and not right for your core process, making it slow and unresponsive, as well as not tolerant to change. This is sometimes taken as applying discipline to an unruly situation. An individual certified in Lean Six Sigma would recognize this problem almost immediately by analyzing the process and why it is slowing down.
