An outline of the “Control Phase” for implementing Lean Six Sigma

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a guideline of the control procedure and tools depending on dominance pattern. In Lean Six Sigma (LSS) implementation, the control phase plays a vital role in sustaining the gains achieved from the improvement phase. The process control schemes should be developed by studying the process dominance pattern as suggested by Juran.

Design/methodology/approach

Discussion has been made on identification of various methods with the help of a few real life examples for effective LSS implementation.

Findings

The dominance pattern helps in identifying the control mechanism. However, with the advent of new business processes, the dominance pattern needs a little bit of modification.

Research limitations/implications

The case studies mainly are from the manufacturing sector and one from the service sector, where authors have studied the control mechanism. There exists scope of future research in service sector for adequate representation.

Originality/value

The treatise provides a road map to the practitioners for an effective implementation of the control phase in LSS. It is also expected to provide the scope of future work in this direction for both researchers and practitioners.

Citation

Sarkar, A., Ranjan Mukhopadhyay, A. and Kumar Ghosh, S. (2014), "An outline of the “Control Phase” for implementing Lean Six Sigma", International Journal of Lean Six Sigma, Vol. 5 No. 3, pp. 230-252. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLSS-08-2013-0044