Lean Six Sigma is a set of tools and skills to help you “simplify and perfect” your business processes.

The “simplify” comes from the Lean background, which focuses on only doing value-added tasks by removing the 8 types of wasteful activities. Learning to see these 8 types of waste is something you will learn in training. The “perfect” comes from Six Sigma, which is a data-driven way to reduce the amount of variation that exists in your processes. That really means you can be more consistent and reliable with your customers when your processes perform with less variation from customer expectations – it is said that customers don’t experience the “average” level of service they experience the variation which can lead to customer disappointment.

Where should you start with Lean Six Sigma?

There is no single right answer to this question, but a better question is “Where is the best place for us to start with Lean Six Sigma?”

Some organisations will have a single particular problem they want fixed, a problem with no obvious solution, and will require some expertise to come in and step through the Lean Six Sigma methodology to achieve the desired results.  D9 can support this targeted approach and take away your particular pain points.  At D9 we call this option the “Quick Fix” pathway

Other organisations will want to develop capability within their people, the capability of improving work processes themselves, and to grow that knowledge and grow business performance.  This can involve a mixture of classroom training, coaching your newly-trained Green Belts, and also leading high-impact projects.  When taking your first steps on a Lean Six Sigma deployment D9 can lead the early projects to get some quick wins and provide a “proof of concept” for all in the organisation.  Success leads to success and early wins are a confidence booster and provide positive reinforcement with your stakeholders.  This is how D9 has worked most often with clients as this is preferred by the majority of clients.  At D9 we call this option the “Work Together” pathway

Maybe an incremental approach is best, and doing some training and coaching with your people is the best choice for you.  If “learning by doing” is the most comfortable approach where you learn and do by yourself, then D9 can support with various training classes on-site, classes that will give you the skills to run your own improvement efforts

• Green Belt (7 day) certified by IASSC
• Yellow Belt (two day) certified by IASSC
• White Belt (one day)

At D9 we call this option the “Training” pathway

Sometimes clients would just like an insight into how Lean their processes could be, and will want to speak with an advisor they can trust and can communicate with.  D9 are always open to learning more about other businesses and welcome general enquiries.  You may even be interested in a Lean audit of your facility – this can take 3-4 hours and can share with you improvement opportunities that we can see – improvement opportunities that can be implemented by yourselves or others.  D9 can also give guidance on how to prioritise these opportunities and help you develop a fit-for-purpose plan.

Experience

Your problem is unique to you, and we have supported many others with similar problems

Flexibility

We work across many industries in different countries across different time zones.  We work with you at times that work for you

Pragmatic

We love to aim for perfection, and we would rather 80% of the benefit in half the time

Inclusive

We will work together – when leading improvement projects we have subject-matter-expects from your organisation as equal team members.  Together we’ll find the root causes of the problem and together we’ll implement improvement.  You will own the results and the sense of achievement