Difference Between Lean Six Sigma and Six Sigma

Lean Six Sigma and Six Sigma are organizational improvement programs. The concept behind the lean approach originated in post-World War II Japan, where Toyota executives created a better match for its mass production needs than that offered by the Henry Ford manufacturing system, which focused on cost-reduction in the mass production of identical products. Toyota’s new production method, designed to resolve problems in high-variety production, focused on the elimination of waste in all processes. An MIT researcher first used the term “lean” in the late 1990s to describe the waste-elimination approach to production and manufacturing. Six Sigma, which was developed in the 1980s by Motorola, stresses quality improvement. Douglas Ferguson, writing for the Institute of Management in an online article, defines "lean" as a philosophy and describes Six Sigma as a dynamic, problem-solving program. Lean Six Sigma combines the lean philosophy with Six Sigma’s emphasis on methodology. Lean Six Sigma and Six Sigma differ in approach and in the ultimate goals sought. A small business owner should look at the differences in terms of cost, implementation and effectiveness before implementing either organizational program in his business.