This paper analyzes two popular process improvement methodologies—Lean and Six Sigma—to compare and contrast the differences and commonalities which can lead to a successful continuous improvement program. The views of Lean and Six Sigma professionals across financial services, healthcare, hospitality and ITES sectors were studied and analyzed for understanding the real-time challenges of corporates in the current markets for quality deployment. The study was conducted using surveys, interviews and case studies. The scope of the study is restricted to transaction-based service organizations. Lean being an on-floor improvement technique and Six Sigma a popular statistical-based methodology are looked at from a focused perspective for developing a hybrid methodology. Lean Six Sigma model is proposed in the paper for successful deployment. The model is further tested for acceptability as a proposal of usage for process improvement professionals and proved successful with an acceptance rate of 98.8%. The paper also presents important failure modes of Lean Six Sigma deployment, its advantages and points of caution.

The way the organizations have evolved through continuous improvement initiatives to higher customer satisfaction and lower operational costs has been evident throughout the last few decades. From the first few instances of improvements made through the invention of machines to the recent way of using statistical methods to analyze processes, the journey of evolution of organizations has been colorful. History shows examples of many companies which viewed the continuous improvement initiatives as a cultural change, more than cutting costs or improving quality. Companies believe that the cultural change in the motivation and desire of the employees continually improves business processes and policies. This fundamental change in operating and managing processes requires the stimulus of a structured method of continuous improvement.

Lean Six Sigma is a combination of two popular continuous improvement methodologies—Lean and Six Sigma. Lean and Six Sigma focus typically on improving the production and transactional processes of an organization. Each of these methodologies has been individually popularized by successful implementation at companies like Toyota, GE, AlliedSignal, etc.; however, they complement each other. Many companies are now recognizing the powerful synergy of these two methodologies and have successfully implemented the same. This paper models the working of successful Lean Six Sigma deployment in transaction-based environments, highlighting the synergies of the combination of Lean and Six Sigma.

Operations Management Journal, Synergies, Lean, Six Sigma.