LEAN SixSigma.
The Way We Do Business.
We hear a lot today about companies that say they are “lean.” Often, this means nothing more than they are operating with fewer people than they used to. But are they operating better? Are they focused on those actions that truly deliver quality and value to the customer (and to the company), and discarding practices that only exist because “we’ve always done it that way?” Are they enthusiastically engaged in process improvement, on a continuous quest for excellence?
These are important questions we ask ourselves every day because we have adopted LEAN SixSigma as The Way We Do Business™ at OMNOVA Solutions. In 2003, we joined the world’s leading companies who have implemented LEAN SixSigma and demonstrated its power to transform operations and attitudes.
Less Is More
LEAN SixSigma combines two business processes to drive fundamental and sustainable operational improvement across the organization. “LEAN” thinking enables the elimination of waste (defined as actions that are not valued by the customer), and SixSigma statistical tools help to dramatically reduce process variation (typically the source of most quality problems).
Considering the Customer
At the heart of LEAN SixSigma is an intense focus on the customer. What does the customer value? If actions aren’t centered around delivering what the customer wants, then an organization is not performing at maximum efficiency.
Valuing Employee Input
Equally important is getting the involvement of employees – those closest to the work – to identify improvement needs and implement changes, usually in a matter of days. Tapping into ideas from the workforce provides meaningful solutions for customers, creates operational excellence and helps to motivate and empower employees.
Tangible Results
OMNOVA’s trained LEAN SixSigma BlackBelts facilitate the change process, leading efforts that resulted in a $45.3 million impact between mid-year 2003 and the end of 2006, primarily in the areas of productivity and cash flow improvements.
And our journey has just begun.
