Did you know that every year businesses lose billions of dollars due to unnecessary waste? And this goes beyond recycling your plastic, when was the last time you evaluated your processes with an eye on waste?
If you’ve never considered how you can save money every year through reduced waste then you need lean six sigma. Don’t worry if you don’t know what that is, keep reading to learn everything you need to know including the difference between lean vs six sigma.
What Is Lean Six Sigma?
Simply put, lean six sigma is the process of eliminating waste and defects throughout production. Whether you’re creating a digital product such as a software program or a physical product such as a car, lean six sigma has incredible value for your company.
Both lean and six sigma are problem-solving methods focused on reducing cost and improving efficiency. In addition, both concepts focus on teamwork and improving your bottom line so you can grow without waste.
To achieve these goals, you will need to create a culture with complete buy-in from your team. This sort of sustainable growth is only achieved through continuous improvement.
Lean and six sigma are often used interchangeably even though they started as separate ideologies. Many companies choose to use them together as they align together in working towards common goals. However, there are distinctions between them when put into practice.
What Is the Difference Between Lean vs Six Sigma?
While lean and six sigma are a great compliment to each other, there are a few key differences. Mainly the biggest difference is where they look to save on manufacturing and cost.
Using Six Sigma is a process of ensuring that your products are free from defects. This will not only ensure that you have less waste and don’t need to discard the defects in the dump. But it can also save on costs as you reduce your manufacturing costs to the bare minimum.
The process of creating a lean environment within your company involves analyzing every aspect and ensuring that there is no waste involved. This can include waste in the traditional sense such as ordering too much raw material and needing to discard the extra. But it can also include less traditional forms of waste that you’ve never considered such as creating too many products and needing to store them in a warehouse for any length of time.
A great way to ensure your team is on board with creating a lean environment is to offer continued lean six sigma training. You can learn more about lean to ensure that you don’t have unnecessary waste.
Go Lean to Get Ahead
Now you know the differences between lean vs six sigma and why it’s so important for your business. Across the globe, businesses everywhere are beginning to understand the importance of minimizing waste to maximize efficiency. if you want to get ahead and stay competitive in your industry, you will as well.
For more great information on this and other topics, check out the rest of our blog.
