How can you overcome common risks when implementing Lean Six Sigma?

There is one great tool in LSS called FMEA. It helps in identifying potential risks in the process and prioritize. FMEA assesses and rate the risk associated with each minute step and element in the processes. Here's how it works: 1️⃣ Severity: We rate how severe the impact of a potential failure could be on a scale of 1-10. 2️⃣ Occurrence: We assess the likelihood of that failure occurring, again on a scale of 1-10. 3️⃣ Detection: We gauge how easily we can detect this failure before it impacts our process, once more on a scale of 1-10. Multiplying 3 together gives risk Priority Number (RPN). 📊 A higher RPN indicates a more critical risk. FMEA is a fantastic tool tailor-made for managing risk in Lean Six Sigma processes.

1. Thorough Risk Assessment 2. Strong Leadership Support 3. Clear Project Objectives 4. Employee Training 5. Data Accuracy Assurance 6. Stakeholder Communication 7. Continuous Monitoring 8. Flexibility in Adaptation 9. Experienced Six Sigma Teams 10. Mitigation Strategies in Place

When identifying the risks first and foremost the team has to be committed and have complete faith in six Sigma technique.so that they give their 100%to the project .Next after identifying the project the analysis has to be done so that risk identification is proper techniques like Fish Bone ,FMEA ,Pareto Regression etc so that risk is minimised or eliminated

Implementing Lean Six Sigma is a great way to improve processes and reduce waste in an organization, but it does come with its fair share of common risks. People are often resistant to changes in their work processes. To overcome this, it's essential to communicate openly and transparently with your team. Explain why the changes are happening, how they will benefit, and involve employees in the decision-making process as much as possible. It requires a commitment to learning, adapting, and staying focused on the ultimate goal of delivering value to your customers and improving your organization's efficiency and effectiveness.

Two of the most important techniques to help with team education and engagement (which can create risk if not addressed up front): 1) Go and see (go to the gemba) - part of the data collection process that allows Lean team members actually see what is happening currently 2) Outside eyes - even though your Lean project will be led by front line team members, it’s important to get perspective from those who are not imbedded in the process every day These 2 items should happen early and often as the project goes along. Documentation during these phases can assist the process to see what is changing and working. Bring to life you’re value stream mapping while in progress will keep morale high, outside eyes will help consistent confirmation

It’s vital to consider the purpose of your role if you’re the project lead in a Lean Six Sigma project (Green/ Black belt). Too many project leaders are consumed by believing they already understand the problem or worse, believe they know the solution. The role of the project lead is to guide the team into finding the answers, making it their change from day 1

Implementing Lean Six Sigma is always a journey full of opportunities for improvement, but it is not without its challenges, which can be significant at times. Organisations frequently face challenges such as change resistance, a lack of leadership support, insufficient training, and the risk of selecting the wrong projects. Priority must be given to effective communication, fostering an empowerment culture, ensuring robust data analysis, and maintaining a long-term commitment to continuous improvement in order to succeed. Organisations can maximize the effectiveness of their Lean Six Sigma initiatives and drive meaningful change if emphasis is placed on identifying common risks and eliminating, controlling, or managing them.

A common example of mitigating risks through communication is when new information arise that basically provide direct impact on traditional identifiable risks or commonly inherent risks with a particular activity. In my experience 1 minute briefings in fast paced projects are very useful specially from shop floor or field personnel as live data can reduce risk steadily.

Remember communication is a two way exchange. Don’t get so enamoured with the sound of your own voice and your clever ideas that you exclude the very people who you really need to hear from.

Six Sigma is a team activity and all suggestions and possible causes are important don't go by preconceived.notions involve all the members and navigate through the process

Never underestimate the power of the control phase. It's easy to overlook this step once we start to see improvement. Sustain the gains before we celebrate. Have a control plan for every initiative. Utilize SPCs effectively and don't ignore what it's trying to say.

Truth is, who cares if we make mistakes during a six sigma project? It's an experiment, that's kinda the point. We can talk about FMEAs & Poka Yoke, but the heart of lean six sigma is innovation. Innovation requires space to mess up. Overtime we learn how to 'fail better', but a little failure is important if we want a lot of success. With that being said, I like to review each project and consider any opportunities for improvement after 3 cycles of leading data and every cycle of lagging data. This gives the project team space to be innovative and fail fast. I also like to create an environment that rewards you for raising your hand even if you get the answer wrong.

One of the most difficult parts of this step is while data & outcomes are being reviewed to keep team members focused on the benefits of incorporating the improvmenets. Ensuring people that they are not being "targeted" is key to make sure they keep wanting to try new ideas as well as see how they can incorporate other groups successful methods into their own.

When unexpected risks arise, I've learned to be open to modifying the project plan, fostering a culture of continuous improvement, encouraging innovative thinking, relying on data for decisions, and ensuring transparent communication with stakeholders. This adaptability and innovation have proven effective in addressing risks as they emerge and keeping the project on track.

Risk Management needs continuous focus and FMEA/Risk & Issue logs should be live documents which need to be reviewed and updated constantly to ensure effectiveness.

I have been part of many Lean Six Sigma efforts. One thing always comes up, During the project phase, there is so much focus and effort that improvement is visible but, as soon as you try to hand over to BAU process, most of the impact is lost. - Ownership from people who will ensure sustainability of improvement is key. - Always involve end-users from beginning!!

It is important that all important stakeholders are aligned and are a part of the team of six Sigma to ensure success and implementation The sense of ownership has to be given to the stakeholders so that it must not be felt that the results of six Sigma is thrust upon them

If you are not willing to put the effort into sustaining with SOPs, process confirmation, layered process audit etc. then it almost better to not even start the process. You can end up completely disengaging people and then have to work twice as hard to try and win them over when the next improvement opportunity arises. Remember it’s people processes that = performance. Take your people on the journey as partners in change rather than victims of change.

One thing I also have found helpful is to have the understanding of Global risks, Local risks, and systemic risks. All these will allow the expert to identify and create an FMEA analysis while finding ways to mitigate them or allow it to go through.

From my perspective, it is important to adhere with following things while considering any improvement. Voice of the process is associated with Voice of customer indirectly. Risk communication down the line is very important. All Critical Quality Attributes and Critical Process Parameters should be identified and considered .

Implementing Lean Six Sigma requires a systematic approach, continuous improvement, and adaptability. By addressing these common risks proactively, organizations can increase the chances of successful implementation and achieve sustainable process improvement

Customize Lean Six Sigma methodologies to fit the specific needs and challenges of your organization, modifying tools and approaches as necessary. Continuously evaluate the effectiveness of Lean Six Sigma. Consider benchmarking against organizations with similar challenges and industries to learn from their experiences and apply relevant best practices. Align projects with organizational goals to ensure they contribute to broader objectives. Prioritize high-impact projects that have the potential to deliver significant improvements and align with strategic priorities. Promote cross-functional collaboration to align processes with customer needs by involving employees from various areas in VOC analysis and improvement efforts.

Lean is a complete management system, not just a waste reduction as it have been seen for more than 100 years! Because of this short narrowed view, we still confused and repeating the same errors from the past. Six sigma was develop to reduce variation only, and that's it. You can combine and use both, but before you do that, first Tey to understand what Lean really is, afterwards you will see that you may not ever need to use any six sigma tools.