Lean Six Sigma is an altered form of Six Sigma Training, but also a process all its own in many capacities. Knowing the vital differences that come with Lean can prove to add more to your quality improvement projects than you might have thought possible. There are basic fundamentals of Six Sigma that will not be absent in the Lean process, but there are also a few additions to the process that make it what it is.

Lean Six Sigma focuses on eight elements of waste, or work that doesn’t add value to an organization or company. It has been found that many places that eliminate these wasteful areas can actually improve quality with just that elimination alone. The following is a list of the wastes according to the Lean process, along with examples of what each one alludes to:

-Wasted human talent: this includes people who don’t have a specific job function within the process or are simply slowing down the process with their presence.

-Defects: This can be products or processes that are not right. These obviously need solutions to fix them before they can be eliminated.

-Inventory: This is when there is to much work that is on a waiting pile. For example, If you are a doctors office and you have to many patients waiting to be seen at one time.

-Overproduction: Having too much of anything before it is needed can get in the way of efficient process operation.

-Wasted Time: The amount of time that is spent waiting for a product. Any down time should be spent on needed areas of various activities or process. For example, you should never have five employees just standing around waiting for a supply truck to arrive, instead find other areas that they can be useful while they wait.

-Motion: Simply put, too much unnecessary movement by people. For example, a clinic that sends patients to triage when they have booked appointments is wasted movement because they can go straight to the exam room.

-Transportation: Ineffective transportation that moves people and products can be wasteful when it isn’t needed. Imagine a warehouse using a forklift to deliver items across the factory to a truck, when the production line could be streamlined to deliver right into the truck off of the line.

-Process Waste: Anything that needs to be done within the company, but does not add any value to the process, product or service. For example, a manager may be required to fill out paperwork each night, but it has nothing to do with improving the product or customer service.

Understanding these areas of waste will assist you company with enhancing the quality of the projects you produce.

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