Leading Holistic Improvement with Lean Six Sigma 2.0

A Holistic Approach to Performance Improvement That Reflects 30 Years of Six Sigma Learning

Leading Holistic Improvement with Lean Six Sigma 2.0 distills all that’s been learned about Six Sigma over the past three decades, helping you build and execute on modern holistic strategies to radically improve processes and performance. It’s the definitive modern guide to Lean Six Sigma for executives, champions, Black Belts, Green Belts, and every stakeholder concerned with performance improvement. In addition, it notes the limitations of Lean Six Sigma and explains how to broaden deployments to true holistic improvement, integrating multiple improvement methodologies.

Renowned experts Ronald Snee and Roger Hoerl help you launch or accelerate comprehensive “Lean Six Sigma 2.0” initiatives, integrating modern techniques to improve customer satisfaction, employee engagement, growth, and profitability across your organization. They introduce important recent advances in Lean Six Sigma theory and practice, and offer new case studies illuminating opportunities for holistic improvement. With an ideal mix of fundamental concepts and real-world case studies, the authors help you broaden your portfolio of improvement methodologies, integrating systems for process management, control, and risk management.

This revision incorporates decades of collective experience in improvement initiatives, the most relevant research on what does and doesn’t work, and contains three completely new chapters, as well as two previously unpublished holistic improvement case studies. This innovative approach is specifically designed to help you solve large, complex, and unstructured problems; and manage risk in a world of cyberattacks, terrorism, and fragmentation.

• Plan and deploy a modern Lean Six Sigma strategy that fully reflects your organization
• Learn and apply key lessons from the world’s best implementations
• Integrate key success factors into a step-by-step process for improvement, and avoid common pitfalls that lead to failure
• Master all facets of Lean Six Sigma leadership, including strategy, goal setting, metrics, training, roles/responsibilities, processes, reporting, rewards, and ongoing management review
• Evolve your deployment to true holistic improvement that leverages modern methods and encompasses the entire organization
• Make the most of big data analytics and other modern methods
• Choose the optimal improvement method for each complex challenge you face
• Use a focus on improvement as a leadership development tool

Ronald Snee, PhD, Founder and President of Snee Associates, LLC, has 25+ years of experience in process improvement, strategic planning, quality, management, training system design and delivery, and statistics. Prior to this role, he was employed by the DuPont Company for 24 years in a variety of assignments.

Roger Hoerl, PhD, Associate Professor of Statistics at Union College, formerly led the Applied Statistics Laboratory at GE Global Research. Co-authors of several books, Snee and Hoerl are each recipients of one of the American Society for Quality’s highest honors, the Shewhart Medal.

Preface     xvi
Chapter 1  A New Paradigm Is Needed     1
The Expansion to Lean Six Sigma     2
Macro Societal Shifts Since 1987     3
    Accelerated Globalization     3
    Massive Immigration into North America and Europe     4
    Growth of IT and Big Data Analytics     4
    Recognition of Uniqueness of Large, Complex, Unstructured Problems     5
    Modern Security Concerns     5
Current State of the Art     6
    Versions 1.0 and 1.1     7
    Version 1.2: Lean Six Sigma     7
    Version 1.3: Lean Six Sigma and Innovation     8
The Limitations of Lean Six Sigma 1.3     9
    Still Not Appropriate for All Problems     10
    Does Not Incorporate Routine Problem Solving     11
    Not a Complete Quality Management System     12
    Inefficient at Handling Large, Complex, and Unstructured Problems     13
    Does Not Take Advantage of Big Data Analytics     17
    Does Not Address Modern Risk Management Issues     19
A New Paradigm Is Needed     21
References     22
Chapter 2  What Is Holistic Improvement?     25
The Ultimate Objective: Comprehensive Improvement     26
    A Holistic View of Improving the Business     26
    An Example of Holistic Improvement     29
    A Strategic Structure for the Holistic Improvement System     30
Creating a Common Improvement System: The Case of Lean Six Sigma     32
    An Integrated Project Management System     35
Summary and Looking Forward     39
References     40
Chapter 3  Key Methodologies in a Holistic Improvement System     41
Six Sigma: An Overall Framework and One Option for Improvement Projects     42
Quality by Design Approaches     45
    Innovation and Creativity     45
    Design for Six Sigma (DFSS)     46
    Quality Function Deployment (QFD)     48
    Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ)     50
Additional Breakthrough Improvement Methods     51
    Lean Enterprise     52
    Statistical Engineering     54
    Big Data Analytics     57
    Work-Out Approach     59
Quality and Process Management Systems     61
    ISO 9000     61
    Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award     63
    Kepner–Tregoe Approach     65
    Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)     67
    The Internet of Things     68
Summary and Looking Forward     69
References     70
Chapter 4  Case Studies in Holistic Improvement     73
Case Study: Inside the GE Deployment     73
    The Beginnings: Jack Never Bluffs!     74
    No Second Guessing     75
    The First Year: 1996     76
    The Push for Tangible Benefits     78
    DFSS and a Critical Mass of Green Belts     79
    A Refocus on Customers     80
    Application to Finance     81
    Digitization and Six Sigma     82
    At the Customer, for the Customer (ACFC)     82
    An Expansion and Reinvigoration     83
    Connection to Innovation and New Product Development     84
    Lessons Learned     84
Case Study: The DuPont Story     85
    Improvement at DuPont: 1950–1990s     85
    Strategy of Experimentation     86
    Product Quality Management     86
    Other Approaches     88
    Six Sigma Begins in 1998     88
    Creating a Holistic System     90
    DuPont Production System     91
    DuPont Integrated Business Management     92
    Product Commercialization Framework     93
    Lessons Learned     93
Case Study: The Scott Paper Experience with Holistic Improvement     94
    Process Control Initiative     96
    Parallel Efforts     97
    Early Efforts Toward Lean Design     98
    Reorganization of the Quality Organization     100
    Quality by Design     101
    Early Attempts at Integration     103
    Lessons Learned     104
Summary and Looking Forward     106
References     107
Chapter 5  How to Successfully Implement Lean Six Sigma 2.0     109
Why Are Organizations Successful in Implementing Lean Six Sigma?     109
    Some Common Misconceptions     110
    Success Starts at the Top     111
    Lean Six Sigma Requires Top Talent     112
    An Infrastructure to Support the Effort     112
Why Were Others Less Successful?     114
    How Committed Was Senior Leadership?     115
    Who Was Selected for Key Lean Six Sigma Roles?     115
    A Lack of Supporting Infrastructure     116
The Keys to Successful Lean Six Sigma Deployment     117
    Committed Leadership     118
    Top Talent     120
    Supporting Infrastructure     122
    Improvement Methodology Portfolio     124
High-Level Roadmap for Lean Six Sigma 2.0 Deployment     125
    Launching the Initiative     127
    Managing the Effort     129
    Sustaining Momentum and Growing     129
    The Way We Work     131
Summary and Looking Forward     135
References     135
Chapter 6  Launching the Initiative     137
Full or Partial Deployment?     138
Developing the Deployment Plan     140
Deployment Plan Elements     144
    Strategy and Goals     145
    Process Performance Measures     146
    Project Selection Criteria     147
    Project Identification and Prioritization System     148
    Deployment Processes for Leaders     149
    Roles of Management and Others     149
    Curricula and Training System     150
    Project and Initiative Review Schedule     150
    Project Reporting and Tracking System     150
    Audit System for Previously Closed Projects     151
    Reward and Recognition Plan     152
    Communications Plan     152
Selecting the Right Projects     153
    Six Sigma and Lean Projects     154
    Selecting Good Lean Six Sigma Projects     158
The Concept of Process Entitlement     161
Developing the Project Charter     164
Selecting the Right People     167
    The Leadership Team     169
    Champion     169
    Black Belt     170
    Green Belt     171
    Master Black Belt     172
    Functional Support Groups     173
    Forming Teams     173
    Where Do I Find the Resources?      174
What Training Do I Need?     176
    Sample Black Belt Course for Finance     177
    Sample Black Belt Course for Manufacturing     179
    Sample Green Belt Course for Manufacturing     181
Selecting a Lean Six Sigma Provider     183
Summary and Looking Forward     184
References     185
Chapter 7  Managing the Effort     187
Managerial Systems and Processes     191
Management Project Reviews     193
Project Reporting and Tracking     197
Communications Plan     200
Reward and Recognition Plan     205
Project Identification and Prioritization     208
Project Closure: Moving On to the Next Project     211
Lean Six Sigma Budgeting     213
Deployment Processes for Leaders     213
Integrating Lean Six Sigma with Current Management Systems     215
Summary and Looking Forward     216
References     217
Chapter 8  Sustaining Momentum and Growing     219
Playing Defense: Sustaining Momentum     220
    Holding Project Gains     221
    Quarterly and Annual Reviews     223
    The Training System      226
    Leadership Green Belt Training     229
    Lean Six Sigma Organizational Structure     231
    Six Sigma Leaders Must Work Together As a Team     233
    The “Lean Six Sigma Sweep”     234
Playing Offense: Growing the Effort     237
    Expanding Lean Six Sigma Throughout the Organization     237
    Using Six Sigma to Improve Supplier Performance     242
    Expanding the Improvement Portfolio     244
    Which Methodologies to Add?     245
    Implications for Infrastructure     248
    Selecting the Most Appropriate Methodology     249
    Growing the Top Line     251
Summary and Looking Forward     256
References     257
Chapter 9  The Way We Work     261
Creating a Holistic Improvement System     262
The Improvement Project Portfolio     264
The Improvement Organization     267
Integration of Quality and Process Management Systems     269
Synergies with ISO 9000     270
Synergies with the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award     272
Synergies with Risk Management     274
Don’t Forget About Process Control     276
Don’t Forget About Managerial Processes     280
Motorola Financial Audit Case     283
The Long-Term Impact of Holistic Improvement     284
Holistic Improvement Drives Culture Change     287
Improvement As a Leadership Development Tool     289
Summary and Looking Forward     290
References     291
Chapter 10  Final Thoughts for Leaders     293
Understanding the Role of the Methods and Tools: A Case Study     294
    Define Phase     295
    Measure Phase     296
    Analyze Phase     301
    Improve Phase     302
Control Phase     304
    Results     305
How to Think About the Methods and Tools     306
    Tools Themselves Don’t Make Improvements     308
    Tools Must Be Properly Sequenced     309
    Leadership Is Still Required     311
    Incorporate Subject Matter Knowledge     311
Summary and Looking Forward     313
References     314
Appendix A  Ensuring Project and Initiative Success     315
Appendix B  Glossary     327
Appendix C  Acronyms     333
Index     335