The author uses the first chapter of the book to discuss why
you should use lean six sigma to reduce cost.
This is a departure from many books, which use the first few chapters as
a history lesson. This book is written
for any skill-level; however, it’s clear that people with some process
improvement or business skills will benefit the most. We think this chapter is summed up best with
this statement: “The correlation between speed and cost—both at a process level
and at an enterprise level—is a powerful concept and one that has provided a competitive
advantage to manufacturing and services companies alike.” The author also includes a spotlight section
that explains exactly how the book should be used. This is a small addition but a valuable one
since many practitioners carry a reference book with them at all times during a
project implementation.
The second chapter is about ways to find cost reduction opportunities
in waste. It’s clear that the author
intends to focus on Lean methods heavily in this book. On page 26 he states, “Wastes = Costs =
Opportunities - When wastes are properly identified and measured as costs, the
appropriate sequence of improvements becomes apparent. Lean Six Sigma counters
these process costs with improvements at the root-cause level, focusing on
high-cost wastes first. This chapter is designed to help you recognize process
waste: the seven common types of waste spelled out in Lean.” The chapter focuses on the cost reduction
opportunities associated with cutting waste and inefficiencies and how Six
Sigma helps eliminate variation and drive priority improvements across the
business. TIMWOOD, the common acronym is
describing the seven common wastes (Transportation, Inventory, Motion, Waiting,
Overproduction, Overprocessing, Defects).
The 3rd chapter is where the author introduces ‘Use the
Voice of the Customer to Identify Cost-Cutting Opportunities’. VoC is a big area of concentration within
MSI, so we always review the Voice of the Customer sections of books
carefully. The author chose to co-author
this section of the book with Ken Feldman; Two experts are better than one. This book does an excellent job at detailing
VoC and how it should be used. While
discussing customer value-add they state “Over the past few decades,
businesses have embraced the philosophy that ‘‘quality begins and ends with the
customer’’—meaning that only customers know what they really need and whether
or not the business has met or exceeded those needs. Never is that notion more
important than when you’re engaged in a project to reduce costs. Knowledge of
customers is essential to make sure your resources are focused on delivering
what they need, and that when making changes to reduce costs, you don’t
inadvertently cut something that will hurt you in the long run (via customer
dissatisfaction).”
The last chapter we’ll mention is chapter 5, Measure Process
Efficiency - Finding the Levers of Waste Reduction. Here the author focuses on two main concepts,
Process Cycle Efficiency (PCE) and Process Lead Time (PLT). You’re walked through the basic concepts like
how to calculate PCE [PCE = 100 x (Value-Add Time) / PLT] with examples.
Recommended for:
Six Sigma Black Belt Certification
Six Sigma Green Belt Certification