How to deploy Lean Six Sigma in organizations

© The School of Continuous Improvement v1.0

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Introduction

1. Close to 80% of Lean Six Sigma transformation efforts fail.

2. Reasons cited are:

a. Lack of strategic involvement

b. Lack of a defined framework

c. Improper deployment

d. Improper governance

e. Lack of sustenance

3. This presentation details factors to be reviewed by companies where Lean

Six Sigma initiatives are already in progress.

4. Organizations who want to deploy Lean Six Sigma to achieve business

transformation can also use this questionnaire with some tweaks.

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The SFDGS Plan

● Strategy

● Framework

● Deployment

● Governance

● Sustenance

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Strategy

1. Do you understand the strategic goals of the company?

2. Has your top leadership communicated the strategic goals to you?

3. Are you aware of the alignment of the strategic goals to the customer

needs?

4. Does your organization have a clearly defined plan for adoption of Lean

Six Sigma (LSS) tools/ techniques/ projects?

5. Has the strategy been communicated to the deployment team and

subsequently, to all the employees of the organization?

6. Have all concerned objections been listened to, and dealt with

appropriately?

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Framework

1) Are you aware of a well defined framework in your organization, which

supports implementation of Lean Six Sigma initiatives?

2) Does the framework imbibe a clear plan of action for implementation of

Lean Six Sigma projects?

3) Does the framework include communication channels with all process

stakeholders?

4) Does the framework include a clear training plan ongoing with Lean Six

Sigma initiatives?

5) Does the framework include a rewards/ recognition plan for Lean Six

Sigma initiatives?

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Deployment

1) Are strategic impact/ business impact projects identified all the time?

2) Do(es) the project(s) have clearly defined financial gains?

3) Have the estimated financial gains been ratified by the Finance department

at the start of the project?

4) Did the identified project(s) follow the necessary prerequisites and

qualifications needed for the project?

5) Were roles and responsibilities clearly defined for all team members for the

project?

6) Was the process owner involved at any stage during the selection of the

project opportunity?

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Governance1) Did the project(s) have regular tollgate meetings?

2) Were stakeholders committed to the progress of the project in the tollgate

meetings?

3) Were change-management issues dealt with by the top leadership in a

timely manner during execution of the projects?

4) Did the project(s) move as per plan towards desired results as defined

during the project kick-off?

5) Were appropriate crashing measures used in case projects didn’t meet

desired milestones?

6) Did the Master Black Belt/ Technical Guide/ Process owner(s) align the

project appropriately during the project pilot?

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Sustenance1) Did the projects(s) validate financial benefits as below:

a) Realized by the end of the pilot

b) Estimated annual savings.

2) Were operational and financial benefits signed off by the below:

a) Process owner

b) Top Leadership

3) Were appropriate control measures set for long term sustenance of the project?

4) Were roles and responsibilities assigned to the sustenance team?

5) Does the organization have a clearly defined ongoing training plan?

6) Does the organization have necessary interventions to deal with change management issues in

the long term?

7) Is customer impact measured at all times?

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Please submit your answers to the Lean Six Sigma Deployment checklist

and check back with our Interactive Assessment tool to know about the results

of your organization.

1. CEOs of the organization

2. Operational Excellence Leaders

3. Managers or anyone who is in the deployment line chain of Lean Six

Sigma

4. Quality Leaders

5. CFO/ CTO/ CIO

Who should do the scoring?

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If you have any questions/ clarifications, feel free to write into

vishy@theschoolofci.org. Alternatively, feel free to follow us on Linkedin at The

School of Continuous Improvement.

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Successful Lean Six Sigma

Deployment Link