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1 – 10 of 15Anna Trubetskaya, Olivia McDermott and Anthony Ryan
This paper outlines how Design for Lean Six Sigma methods aided a medical device manufacturing company in developing a new strategic space management and approval process for its…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper outlines how Design for Lean Six Sigma methods aided a medical device manufacturing company in developing a new strategic space management and approval process for its manufacturing site.
Design/methodology/approach
The project demonstrates the application of the Design for Lean Six Sigma and structured Define, Measure, Analyse, Design, and Verify methodology in designing and implementing a process that enables the case study manufacturing site to improve its space utilisation and free up space.
Findings
The project was validated in one manufacturing department, and the Design for Lean Six Sigma methodology resulted in creating 15% new space for that area, with opportunities identified to free up 44.7% of the total manufacturing floor space and realise over €2.2 million cost savings as well as start to manufacture new products launched.
Research limitations/implications
The manuscript highlights for the first time how the Design for Lean Six Sigma methodology can be utilised for space utilisation and can be leveraged by other manufacturers. The current study's limitations are that it is a single-site case study application. Future longitudinal case studies on Design for Lean Six Sigma application in more manufacturing space utilisation projects would be useful. This study has implications for identifying best practices for Design for Lean Six Sigma methodology application in the device industry, thus improving the state of the art for introducing new manufacturing lines.
Originality/value
This is the first published work to utilise Design for Lean Six Sigma methodology for space utilisation in a medical device company. This review will provide medical devices and other manufacturing organisations with recommendations on utilising Design for Lean Six Sigma and design for improved space utilisation to reduce costs.
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Mary Margaret Crowdle, Olivia McDermott and Anna Trubetskaya
This study aimed to bridge the gap between the financial measurement of process improvement ideas and Lean Six Sigma measurements. It was required to increase employee engagement…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed to bridge the gap between the financial measurement of process improvement ideas and Lean Six Sigma measurements. It was required to increase employee engagement in process improvement initiatives.
Design/methodology/approach
Through both a practical and theoretical application of the Design for Lean Six Sigma methodology, the researcher was able to design a process and a benefit measuring methodology that was acceptable by finance and aligns with the benefits expected from the elimination of the Lean wastes.
Findings
The project found that benefit measurement methodology is not understood by most employees, which leads to a lack of engagement in working on improvements. The result of the study was a model for employees to identify and quantify these benefits. This has resulted in a model for cost-benefit analysis aligning financial costs with non-value add waste costs and cost of poor-quality costs resulting in increased process improvement ideas and activity.
Research limitations/implications
While this study was limited to one company, applying this methodology could benefit any company experiencing the same difficulties.
Originality/value
This is one of the first studies to try and cost the benefits of LSS projects both from an organisational and generic viewpoint.
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Catarina Delgado, Marlene Ferreira and Manuel Castelo Branco
The purpose of this paper is to obtain pertinent information pertaining to benefits accomplished, main difficulties felt, and key lessons learned in the implementation of lean Six…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to obtain pertinent information pertaining to benefits accomplished, main difficulties felt, and key lessons learned in the implementation of lean Six Sigma (LSS), which are likely to be helpful to financial services organizations wanting to implement the same tool.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reports the results of a case study from a financial services organization which has begun the implementation of LSS methodologies ten years ago, in the pursuit of service excellence.
Findings
The benefits derived from LSS implementation, such as lowering the operational costs, improving processes and product quality, increased efficiency, which leads to the increase of productivity, the agility and versatility obtained by the organization, vastly outweigh the costs. At an international level, there are cultural differences pertaining mainly to internal resistance and openness to change.
Research limitations/implications
This work focuses on a specific case study.
Practical implications
The authors compiled the lessons learned and recommendations for future implementations of this methodology. The paper, therefore, will be of interest to managers of similar companies.
Originality/value
The paper presents a successful application of LSS for a financial services company.
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Nikolaos A. Panayiotou and Konstantinos E. Stergiou
The purpose of this paper is to review of the literature about lean six sigma (LSS) implementation in European organizations written by academics or practitioners from European…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review of the literature about lean six sigma (LSS) implementation in European organizations written by academics or practitioners from European institutions to extract useful conclusions about LSS adoption in European companies and to suggest direction for future research concerning the broader LSS application in them.
Design/methodology/approach
This study has been conducted by reviewing 58 papers, found in top journals, coming from European institutions that present studies of European companies and fulfill the selected inclusion criteria.
Findings
The analysis of the literature revealed the level of penetration of the LSS methodology in organizations of each European country. The study of the papers revealed the sectors and the size of companies that are more active in LSS application, the method used in each project, the tools which are deployed and the interconnection between LSS and other topics through the project implementation.
Research limitations/implications
The limited access provided by the authors’ institution only to three major publishers (Emerald, Elsevier, Taylor and Francis) and the focus of the search only in European organizations were the main limitations of this review.
Practical implications
This paper provides both academics and practitioners with valuable insights about LSS implementation in European organizations, presenting a complete analysis framework of the literature and highlighting gaps for further research.
Originality/value
An extended and detailed analysis of LSS adoption in Europe has not been conducted before. This review presents a clear view about how LSS projects in European organization have been applied so far and suggests ways of how the literature could be enriched to facilitate the LSS implementation.
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Jiju Antony, Vijaya Sunder M., Chad Laux and Elizabeth Cudney
Ida Gremyr and Jean‐Baptiste Fouquet
Six Sigma and lean production are established concepts in industry and academia. Both have given rise to associated concepts that have been applied in product development: Design…
Abstract
Purpose
Six Sigma and lean production are established concepts in industry and academia. Both have given rise to associated concepts that have been applied in product development: Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) and Lean Product Development (LPD), respectively. Proposals are being published for the merger of DFSS and LPD, and the purpose of this paper is to discuss potential benefits and risks of such proposals.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on an interview study encompassing 11 interviews at seven companies.
Findings
The results show that a possible merger of DFSS and LPD could prove beneficial in providing guidance both on the structure and the content of improvement efforts. Further, a merger has a potential of supporting radical, as well as incremental, improvements. However, differences in industrial practices that should be considered in applications of a merged initiative are the overall goal of the improvement work (cost reduction versus waste reduction), the emphasis on what to do or on how to do it, and the documentation demanded (extensive versus short and visual).
Research limitations/implications
This study has taken DFSS and LPD applications as its starting point, as the merged initiative of DFSS and LPD has started to develop further studies based on the implementation of the merged initiative would be of value. These studies could especially focus on the organisation of improvement work, identified in this paper as a potential area of conflict.
Originality/value
This paper discusses potential benefits as well as risks of merging DFSS and LPD based on industrial experiences. Consideration of the differences addressed, by practitioners as well as academics, will contribute to a well thought‐out design of a merger of the two concepts.
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Jiju Antony, Olivia McDermott, Michael Sony, Daryl Powell, Ronald Snee and Roger Wesley Hoerl
The paper aims to investigate the pros and cons of having a standard for lean six sigma developed in 2015. The study follows up on a previous study by Antony et al. (2021) in more…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to investigate the pros and cons of having a standard for lean six sigma developed in 2015. The study follows up on a previous study by Antony et al. (2021) in more depth and aims to provide a more detailed investigation of various aspects of the standard.
Design/methodology/approach
A sequential mixed methodology was utilised by interviewing a panel of leading academics and practitioners familiar with lean six sigma followed by distributing a survey questionnaire to continuous improvement and operational excellence (OPEX) personnel.
Findings
The findings indicate that continuous improvement and OPEX professionals have conflicting views of International Standards Organisation (ISO) 18404. A majority of the participants of the qualitative study suggested, whilst supporting the requirement for a lean sigma standard, voiced concerns about the auditability of the standard and whether it is currently “fit for purpose” and proposed that it needs to be revised. Within the quantitative survey, 42% had never heard of the standard, and of the 58% who had heard of it, 90% had read it. Just 10% stated that they had or would apply the standard within their organisations. Just fewer than 50% felt that the standard was fit for purpose which suggests for further refinements of the standard in the future. Finally, 85% of respondents of the quantitative survey suggested for the revision of the standard whilst just 15% felt it should be removed.
Research limitations/implications
Other than a previous study by Antony et al. (2021), implementation of ISO 18404 in organisations and its benefits as well as empirical study looking into the impact of the standard on corporate performance in the literature were limited. An opportunity to review lessons learnt from a case study on the ISO 18404 standard implementation within an organisation would further enhance the research.
Originality/value
The paper provides a valuable resource for organisations to obtain insight into a standard in lean six sigma and whether to implement it or not. Furthermore, the results can form the basis of a case for the future revision of the standard by consolidating and strengthening the findings from the first study with more detailed quantitative and qualitative study.
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Jiju Antony, Vijaya Sunder M., Chad Laux and Elizabeth Cudney